Report

The Stan were back to winning ways, at the 4^th attempt, when they beat promotion rivals Guisborough. The match was action packed & competitive although the performance given by all the Stan player deserved the win. There were 5 changes from Saturday’s defeat at Shildon with Brass, Hornsby, Scott, Doyle & Reid replacing Corkhill, Shepherd, Marriott, Palmer & Stephenson. There were home debuts from the bench for Lennox & Palmer.

The Stan started on the attack & their 2^nd one saw them win a free kick, taken by Doyle in the 2^nd minute, which saw Lashley confidently get up to head the ball into the back of the net for 1-0 Most of the play was from the Stan who started very positively. Unfortunately, in the 12^th minute, Guisborough scored from their 1^st attack. They won a corner from which Reid cleared with the rebound shot being blocked by Brass but the 2^nd rebound shot was put in the net for 1-1. There was another attack by the visitors in 15 minutes, but it was still mainly the Stan. A minute later & Reid broke through on goal & was pushed just outside the box but surprisingly nothing was given. An advancing Guisborough forward then had a great opportunity to score when he turned & shot but Brass made a great save. After 22 minutes, there was some sustained pressure from the Stan with shots by Hopper & Lashley being blocked. Both teams were trying to attack & it was the Stan who scored in 28 minutes when a great move then shot by Lashley saw the ball go into the net off the post. In 30 minutes, a Guisborough free kick into the Stan box was headed out for a corner. 2 minutes later & the Stan were 3-1 up when, after 2 blocked attempts in a crowded Guisborough box, Scott sent the ball into the net. Both teams were trying to attack but the Stan defence in particular were working well & as a result Brass was rarely threatened. He did though have to get down to save from a free kick in 38 minutes. In 40 minutes, Lashley passed to the advancing Hopper whose shot was blocked for a corner. The Stan kept the pressure on the Guisborough defence but there were no more goals & the half ended 3-1 to the Stan.

Although the 2^nd half was goalless, it was not a dull affair & both teams, but especially the Stan, tried to add to the goal tally. In 48 minutes, a Stan corner saw the ball being punched clear before the visiting keeper had to make a save. From the resulting corner the keeper punched the ball clear & from the 2^nd corner Doyle sent the ball into the side netting. Guisborough then blocked the ball from a 3^rd corner. In 57 minutes, a Guisborough player broke through & sent the ball diagonally to Brass’s right but it hit the left post before going across the goal & out when it looked like it was going into the net. This was followed at the other end by a Doyle free kick being punched clear then Hopper forced a corner. The resulting Doyle corner was cleared before the ball came back to him & he shot well over. In 62 minutes, Doyle supplied Evans who crossed to Reid in the box & his header went just wide. The action was end to end as both teams continued to attack when they could. In 67 minutes, there was a great run by Burn although he eventually shot over. 3 minutes later & Hopper won the ball but was blocked in the Guisborough box. In 76 minutes, Hopper made a great turn & passed to Doyle who crossed into the box towards sub Lennox but the ball was headed out for a corner. From it, the keeper punched the ball clear. The Stan kept pressing & the traffic was now mainly one way. In 82 minutes, a long ball to Lennox saw the Guisborough keeper make a good save from his great shot. Guisborough had a couple of attacks cleared before it was back to the Stan & the match ended 3-1 to the Stan.

The Stan Army were delighted after witnessing an important win over good opposition which saw the Stan go back up to 6^th place & level on points with Guisborough in 5^th. The hard-working Stan now only have a 2 day break before they host Sunderland RCA on Friday night.

Kevin Mochrie

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