Report

A healthy mid-week crowd of 413 witnessed only the Stan’s 3^rd home match of 2024 as they sought revenge for last month’s unlucky 1-0 defeat at promotion rivals Whitley Bay. The match looked early on as if it would be a goalless stalemate although both teams eventually managed to score once but neither team seemed to reach their expected potential on the park compared to most previous recent encounters. The Stan worked hard, including through Slaughter & Hopper, & there was a classic equaliser from Nick ‘Predator’ Cassidy. There were 3 changes from Saturday’s defeat at Bishop Auckland with Marriott, Lashley & Sayer replacing Turnbull, Shepherd & Stephenson.

The match started with both teams trying to attack but they were wiping out each other’s threats up front & as a result the 1^st clear effort wasn’t until 6 minutes when Bay shot wide. The Stan shot wide in 12 minutes, followed by the Bay doing the same, but neither team really threatened until 22 minutes. A Hornsby ball to Hopper on the edge of a busy Bay box saw his shot deflected over the bar for a corner which was eventually cleared. Unexpectantly, the visitors took the lead in 28 minutes when they had a shot blocked by Brass but a rebound shot from close range saw the ball forced into the net. The Stan didn’t sit back & in 29 minutes, after Hopper had won the ball & forced a corner, Lashley shot high & wide from outside the box. In 31 minutes, there was pressure from Bay as twice they shot across the Stan goal from a tight angle & both times the ball went just wide of the far post. From a resulting corner, a Bay player headed just wide. Although there was a quieter spell, in 35 minutes a joined up Stan attack ended with Sayer shooting wide. In 42 minutes, Hopper’s solo effort unluckily hit the post & this was followed by a bay counterattack which was stopped by Marriott. The half ended though with Whitley Bay leading 1-0.

The Stan started the 2^nd half positively with Hopper in the 48^th minute dribbling into the visitor’s box but shooting just over under pressure. In 53 minutes, a Stan free kick on the edge of the Bay box was cleared followed by Evans dealing well to stop the counter attack. Both teams were trying to attack but both defences were working well to prevent any real threats. In 65 minutes, the Stan were back on level terms when a ball from a Stan corner was cleared in front of goal & the ball went out of the box to Cassidy on the left who sent it back into the box over everyone & into the far top corner of the net. What a goal, especially given that he had only been on the pitch for 3 minutes. The Stan now started showing more confidence as they knew the match could be won & sub Doyle had a great opportunity in front of goal in 67 minutes but blasted the ball over the bar. There was a quieter 10 minutes as both teams still tried to attack but without making any real threats. The Stan had some sustained pressure in 79 minutes but the Bay keeper & his defence worked hard to deal with it. The last 7 minutes of normal time saw mainly pressure from the Stan as they sought a wining goal. In 86 minutes, Hopper entered into the box but, under pressure, he turned & shot just over. Into 4 minutes of added time & Whitley Bay finally attacked again but shot well over when they had a good opportunity in front of goal to score. In 91 minutes, Shepherd won the ball & passed to Lashley but he couldn’t supply the advancing Hopper. A minute later after a Bay advance, Hopper sent a long ball up to the advancing Lashley but he was wrongly deemed off side. Hopper then made a great run but couldn’t get a shot in & both teams had to settle for a draw.

Although either team could have snatched a victory, a draw seemed a fair result on a night with relatively limited chances for both teams. Next up is the NE6-NE7 derby as the Stan make the short journey to Sam’s Smith Park to take on Newcastle Benfield on Wednesday evening.

Kevin Mochrie

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