Report

What a night & what a season for the Stan who lifted the Senior cup for the 1st time and on the hallowed pitch of St James’ Park in front of a huge crowd of 3841. The Stan matched their opponents & the fact that they play in the league below Morpeth was not apparent from their display on the pitch. They held their nerve during the penalties & thoroughly deserved their win after 1st entering the Senior Cup 100 years ago in the 1925-26 season. They had not played in the Senior Cup final since 1980, having also played in it in 1964, & had not played at St James’ Park since 1990. Winning the Senior Cup rounded off a great season which had seen the Stan play at the 4th Tier of non-league football for the 1st time & deservedly avoided relegation including through only losing once away in the league in 2025. There were 3 changes from the final league game with Brass, Capewell & Lamb replacing Cassop, Turnbull & Errington. This historic match was particularly so for Dan Stephenson who started his 150th match for the club & Richie Slaughter who was starting his 100th. It was a family final for Kane Evans as his brother Rhys was playing for Morpeth.

The Stan started positively & had the 1st effort of the match in the 3rd minute when Hopper passed to Slaughter just outside the box but his effort went just over the Morpeth bar. Although there was much activity in the middle of the pitch, the next clear attack was for Morpeth but not until the 8th minute when the ball was deflected out for a corner from which the ball was cleared. 2 minutes later & a defensive mistake allowed Lamb in, but the Morpeth keeper mopped up the ball before Lamb could do anything with it. The game was still very even when, in 15 minutes, Morpeth attacked & after an initial clearance the ball came back in & they had their 1st shot of the match which went over the Stan bar from just outside the Stan 6-yard box. In 19 minutes, the Stan had a sustained attack which ended with the Morpeth keeper punching out a ball from Slaughter for a corner. From Stephenson’s corner, the ball was initially cleared but it landed with Lamb whose effort from the edge of the box went well wide. In 23 minutes, a Morpeth player sneaked through the Stan defence, but his shot went wide. In the 28th minute, the Stan came close to scoring when Stephenson sent a free kick into the Morpeth box to Slaughter but the ball was cleared back to the edge of the box to Stephenson whose long-range effort hit the bar. The Stan kept the pressure on & won a corner from which Robson had a header at the far post cleared on the line. In the 31st minute though it was Morpeth’s turn to have an effort when they sent a long range shot over the Stan bar from a good goal scoring opportunity. Hopper then had an effort cleared & it was followed by a couple of minutes of Morpeth pressure that included a clearance by the Stan then a shot going over the Stan bar under pressure. In 36 minutes, Slaughter supplied Lamb but his shot went straight to the Morpeth keeper under pressure. Slaughter, who was battling well, & Evans then stopped a Morpeth attack. In 39 minutes, a long ball into the Stan box saw great defending by Evans who was fouled. Soon after, a joined-up Morpeth attack saw Brass brought into action for the 1st time when he had to block with his feet. The ball eventually went back into the Stan 6-yard box but was cleared by Slaughter. A Morpeth attack was then deflected out for a corner from which Shepherd put the ball out for another corner which was cleared. In the 43rd minute, Lamb won the ball & advanced but was brought down just outside the Morpeth box when he had a clear goal scoring opportunity. The guilty Morpeth player, who was the last man, was booked rather than being sent off. The resulting Stephenson free kick hit the wall & Lamb’s follow up shot was cleared followed by an uneventful minute of added time.

The 2nd half although still relatively even, saw less chances for both teams. The 1st shot came in the 49th minute when a Slaughter long range effort went just over. The Morpeth keeper then had to parry shots by Lamb & Burn but this was followed almost immediately by Brass having to get down to block at the other end followed by Evans ensuring that the ball was cleared. In 53 minutes, Slaughter made 2 clearances followed by another by Shepherd. There was another Morpeth attack in the 57th minute which saw Brass get down to save a shot from the edge of the box. The Stan then had an attack cleared. In the 60th minute, a Morpeth 30-yard free kick went well over the bar. After a couple of Stan advances, Morpeth shot wide in the 63rd minute. Both teams were trying to attack but the next effort came in the 68th minute when Shepherd shot wide. In 72 minutes, Slaughter passed to Burn who sent the ball to Hopper & although he made a great run he was dispossessed just outside the box. The match was pretty even now with neither team really threatening. In 85 minutes, a Morpeth corner saw one of their players fall in the box allowing a Stan counter attack that was cleared. In 87 minutes, a Stan attack ended with a Burn long range effort going well over. Morpeth then attacked but a high ball was caught by Brass. Into 4 minutes of added time & a Morpeth ball into the Stan box was cleared allowing Hopper to counterattack but he was brought down. The resulting free kick into the box from sub Groves was cleared back to him & his follow up shot was caught by the keeper. In 94 minutes, a poor clearance by a Morpeth player allowed Hopper to have a shot but it was caught by the keeper. Morpeth then sent the ball into the Stan box, but the advancing player couldn’t make contact & the ball went out. The match therefore ended in a stalemate & went straight to penalties.

The penalties were taken at the Gallowgate End, nearest the Morpeth fans who were located at that end of the East stand. Morpeth took the 1st penalty & both teams scored their 1st 4 penalties with Slaughter, Hopper, Burn & sub Adamson scoring for the Stan. Lewis Brass saved Morpeth’s 5th penalty but then Langley in the Morpeth goal saved Walker’s penalty. On to sudden death & Brass saved Morpeth’s 6th penalty. The pressure was now on Dan Groves to score & he did so confidently for the Stan to win 5-4 on penalties. The team & coaches all ran onto the pitch to congratulate him & the Stan were now Northumberland Senior Cup Winners for 2024-25.

There were wild celebrations after the winning penalty & the Stan were presented with the trophy in front of their supporters in the East Stand. There had been a great confident performance from all of the team although specific mention should be given to Richie Slaughter who was outstanding all night in the midfield & for Lewis Brass for his 2 penalty saves. So, it’s time to celebrate & have a rest before the 2025-26 pre-season friendlies begin on 5 July.

Kevin Mochrie

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