Report

It was 2 wins & 2 clean sheets in 6 days for the Stan & their well-deserved victory over North East rivals Bishop Auckland saw them move up to 12^th place. They are now 3 points & 7 places from the relegation zone with 8 teams basically battling to avoid 4^th bottom & relegation. The Stan scored twice late in the 1^st half & although Bishop tried to fight back in the 2^nd half the Stan held on for a well-deserved victory. There was 1 change from last week’s win at Grimsby with Marriott replacing Payne.

The Stan showed they meant business from kick off in this Friday night fixture & in the 3^rd minute a great Marriott volley diagonally into the box went just over the bar. 7 minutes later & Slaughter’s 25 yard rocket hit the post. Lamb tried to get a rebound effort in but the ball was blocked for a corner. Brass then had to make his only save of the 1^st half. A twisting run by Walker in 16 minutes ended with him being pulled down but nothing was given. In 21 minutes, Lamb was put through & although the keeper couldnt get to his shot it went wide of the post. 2 minutes later Walker shot wide from outside the box as the Stan kept the pressure on. In 30 minutes Lamb forced a save from the Bishop keeper. The expected goal for the Stan finally came in the 38^th minute when Stephenson sent a cross into the Bishop box which Capewell flicked on to Hopper who forced the ball into the net at the far post. Into added time & a powerful shot from Walker was only stopped by a good save by the keeper. In the 3^rd minute of added time, the Stan went 2-0 up from a corner when Stephenson sent the ball into the box for Marriott to head into the Bishop net.

The 2^nd half started slower than the end of the 1^st & the 1^st effort was from Bishop in 54 minutes when a header from a long throw was deflected wide for a corner. Both teams were relatively quiet although it was Bishop who threatened more as the half went on. In 77 minutes, Bishop shot wide. In 82 minutes, after a Stan free kick had come to nothing, Bishop had an attack cleared. 2 minutes later they had another attack cleared although the ball was sent back in & Brass had to get up to catch. Into added time & both teams had attacks blocked.

It was a comfortable & deserved win for the Stan who worked hard throughout the match & never looked like surrendering their 2-0 half time lead. They now have momentum going into next Saturday’s away fixture at Newton Aycliffe.

Kevin Mochrie

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