Report

There were no fireworks at Grounsell Park as the Stan were beaten 2-0 by Garforth Town. Although the 6 November 2024 might be remembered for the US presidential election results, the Stan Army will quickly try to forget both the result & the unusually poor performance of their team on this date. There were no changes from the team who lost to Emley on Saturday.

Both teams were trying to attack from kick off, but it was a relatively quiet start until Garforth hit the side netting in the 7^th minute. A minute later & it was the Stan who came close when a flick on to Lamb saw him hit the post when it looked like the ball was going into the net. In 13 minutes, another Stan effort went wide of the post. A sustained Stan attack in the 16^th minute ended with the ball nearly been forced into the Garforth net but it was cleared from just in front of the goal as a crowd of players looked on. In 19 minutes, the 1^st Garforth attack for a while saw them take the lead when Antcliff managed to break through & shoot & although De Jesus went the right way, the ball sneaked into the right-hand corner of the net. 3 minutes later De Jesus had to punch clear as there was more pressure from Garforth. In 24 minutes, the Stan had a period of possession but could not penetrate the visitors’ defence. In 26 minutes, a great long high diagonal ball into the box by Hornsby was punched away by the keeper then cleared by a player under pressure. 2 minutes later & an identical ball from Hornsby was sent into the box but was headed wide. Soon after a joined-up Stan attack ended with a third Hornsby long ball into the box, but it went wide of the goal & was then cleared. After a quieter period, a Garforth free kick was easily caught by De Jesus in 35 minutes. Both teams were trying to attack but could not get through the defences. In 37 minutes, Walker was brought down just outside the box but nothing was given. The 1^st half ended with some late Garforth pressure which included 2 corners, 3 clearances & ended with the visitors shooting well wide under pressure.

For the 2^nd half, Shepherd replaced Hornsby & it started with Ellison being booked for a tackle just outside the Stan box. The resulting free kick was cleared. Both teams were trying to get forward but there was no clear early attack from the Stan. In 52 minutes, Lamb was brought down as he was about to advance with the ball. The resulting Stephenson free kick was cleared & although a Garforth player counter attacked, he over ran the ball under pressure from Stephenson & it went out for a goal kick. A minute later & a speculative long range Garforth effort went wide. In 55 minutes, the Stan got the ball into the Garforth box for the 1^st time in the half, but it was cleared. Lamb then had a shot easily cleared. In 61 minutes, Stephenson headed out for a Garforth corner from which De Jesus got down to the ball & held it before a Garforth player could get to it but the player then went down & a penalty was awarded. From the penalty, Tweddle confidently made it 2-0 to Garforth in 62 minutes.

Garforth kept the pressure on the Stan & in 66 minutes a long-range shot was easily caught by De Jesus. In 71 minutes, the ball was sent up to the advancing Lamb, but the Garforth keeper got to it at the same time as him & although Lamb was brought down nothing was given. In 73 minutes, a Garforth corner was headed clear & a long range rebound effort was blocked. After 75 minutes, there was a period of Stan possession but mainly in their own half. In 78 minutes, Capewell stopped a Garforth attack for a corner from which Shepherd headed clear. In 79 minutes, a ball was sent into Capewell in the box & although he had an opportunity to score, the keeper blocked for a corner. From the corner, the ball went out to Ellison on the edge of the box & although the keeper tipped his effort over the bar, a goal kick was given rather than a corner. In 81 minutes, De Jesus came out to block resulting in a Garforth player trying to score by sending the ball over him, but it went just wide. The Stan were trying to attack but it was still mainly Garforth who were dominating play. In 86 minutes, a ball by sub Burn was blocked & Garforth countered & forced a corner. From it, De Jesus cleared at the 2^nd attempt. As the match entered 6 minutes of additional time, the Stan finally stepped up a gear & now looked like they could score. In 93 minutes, a ball from a Stan corner was cleared by the visiting keeper & although it was sent back in he got down to collect it. Lamb then supplied sub Beattie but he sliced his shot. The Stan were still pressing & in 97 minutes an attack was blocked by the keeper for a corner. From the corner, the keeper punched clear & although the ball was sent back in towards the Garforth goal it was headed clear just before the final whistle.

Although overall it was a flat performance from the Stan with some key players missing, there were some glimmers of what the fans usually see from the team and, after 2 consecutive home defeats, hopefully it will be back to normal service on Saturday when the Stan welcome Ossett United to Grounsell Park.

Kevin Mochrie

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