Report

An Easter Monday visit to relegation rivals Ashington saw the Stan’s league resurrection completed by a win that saw them secure Northern Premier League East status for another season. A huge contingent of the Stan Army greatly contributed to Ashington’s highest crowd of the season which saw 707 fans witness the Stan’s success although Ashington were also save just over 2 hours later after Brighouse had been defeated & relegated. There were 3 changes with Corkhill, Shepherd & Slaughter replacing Brass, Turnbull & Burn.

The Stan attacked from the kick off, but Lamb’s shot was caught by the home keeper. Then at the other end, Shepherd helped stop an Ashington attack. The Stan then lost the ball but there was good work by Robson to recover it. Both teams were trying to attack but neither came close until 11 minutes when an Ashington corner was punched clear by Corkhill. In 16 minutes, Stephenson headed an Ashington cross into the Stan box clear & although the ball was sent back in, a home player sliced it over the bar. In 18 minutes, Errington was brought down as he advanced & the resulting free kick by Stephenson went over the bar. Both teams were still trying to attack. In 30 minutes, an Ashington corner saw the ball go across the Stan goal & it nearly went into the net at the far post. After 2 attacks that came to nothing, the Stan had a corner headed clear in 37 minutes. The last 4 minutes of normal time saw some sustained pressure from the Stan. In the 1^st minute of added time Corkhill punched the ball clear from an Ashington corner & a relatively even 1^st half ended 0-0.

Burn replaced Lamb for the 2^nd half & it started with Errington charging into the home box, but the ball was eventually blocked for a throw in. 2 minutes later Evans cleared in the Stan 6-yard box followed by an Ashington corner being cleared. Errington then shot over at the other end followed by Hopper being shoved off the ball in the home penalty box but nothing was given. To the joy of the Stan Army, the Stan went ahead in the 51^st minute when a long throw in was cleared in front of the home goal by the ball deflecting off a player & a bounce saw it landing at the feet of Burn who made no mistake in sending it into the Ashington net. There was some good defending by Shepherd 2 minutes later before Errington attacked again twice. In 59 minutes, Ashington shot over the bar from a corner. They then had 2 further attacks cleared followed by 2 Stan attacks that came to nothing. After a quieter spell, Errington was brought down in the 67^th minute as he advanced with the ball. The resulting 30-yard free kick saw Burn shoot just over the bar. An Ashington long range effort then saw Corkhill get down to catch. This was followed soon after by an Errington shot being blocked by the home keeper & the rebound ball was cleared. In 73 minutes, Hopper forced a corner from which Capewell headed just wide. 2 minutes later & an Ashington shot was blocked by Capewell. The Stan were on top but Ashington were still a threat & in 79 minutes they had a corner cleared after Corkhill had dropped the ball under pressure. In 81 minutes an Ashington attack was blocked by Evans followed by a Hornsby counter attack although a defender got to the ball 1^st. 2 minutes later Capewell cleared an Ashington attack in the 6-yard box & it was followed soon after by a long range Ashington effort going just wide. At the other end, Burn blasted an effort over the bar. The last few minutes of normal time saw some Stan pressure, but it was Ashington who came close in the 90^th minute when Corkhill punched clear & when the ball came back in he got down to catch it. 2 minutes later & a deflected shot looked like it was going into the Stan net at the far post, but Corkhill managed to catch it although the flag went up for off side anyway. In the 4^th added minute, an Ashington attack ended with a header going well over.

It was a hard fought but deserved win for the Stan. After an even 1^st half, the Stan got the only goal of the game early in the 2^nd half & held onto their lead through good defensive work, especially through Capewell, but they also kept looking for more goals with Errington especially playing an important role upfront. The Stan’s last game of the season is on Saturday at home against North Ferriby where there will be a party atmosphere as the club looks forward to next season as well as the Senior Cup final.

Kevin Mochrie

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