Report

After wins against Benfield & Hebburn & a draw with Gateshead, the Stan played their annual friendly against their own reserves. Despite the 6-0 score, this was not a walk over & Stan A were competitive & put up a good fight.

The Stan took an early lead in the 4th minute when they advanced up field with the move finishing with Djalo who slotted the ball into the Stan A net. Soon after, a Djalo free kick hit the Stan A wall. In 7 minutes, the Stan were 2-0 up when Errington won the ball from a defender & advanced &, with only Simpson in goals to beat, he comfortably shot into the Stan A net. Stan A immediately attacked & forced a corner from which Milburn headed off the line. The ball then came back in & Basey got up to clear. Both teams were trying to attack & Basey easily caught in the 14th minute. 2 minutes later, & Basey came out to clear & blocked Stan A’s Nagel who was advancing into the box. The referee decided that the incident had happened just outside the box & awarded a free kick. Poole took it & expertly bent the ball round the wall but Basey made a great stretching save to prevent a goal. In 19 & 21 minutes, 2 further Stan A attacks were cleared as they kept the pressure on. After a quieter spell, in the 31st minute there was a great pass from Djalo to Errington whose shot was stopped by Simpson but as he spilt the ball, Walker was able to score from the rebound effort. There was then another quieter period before half time.

The start of the 2nd half saw the Stan make 7 changes. It was Stan A who were 1st to threaten though when they forced a corner in the 50th minute which came to nothing. 2 minutes later, a good shot from Enwere was saved by the keeper. After 60 minutes, Hopper forced a corner from which the ball was cleared out to Pearson who blasted the ball against a defender for a corner. In 73 minutes, Robson headed into the Stan A net to make it 4-0. Just 2 minutes later & the Stan attacked again with Hopper’s shot not being held by the Stan A keeper which allowed Enwere to score from the rebound shot. The Stan put the ball over the Stan A bar in the 80th minute. 2 minutes later & Basey easily caught from a Stan A corner. The Stan countered attacked with Hopper supplying Djalo who passed back to Hopper who forced the ball out for a corner. The ball from the corner was blocked but went back to Pearson whose great diagonal shot from the left went into the net for 6-0 in 83 minutes. In 86 minutes, a Djalo free kick went straight to the keeper & the match ended more quietly a few minutes later.

Overall, it was a comfortable win for the Stan but the scoreline was partly a result of Stan A tiring as the match entered its final 15 minutes. The Stan now travel across the border on Saturday for an international friendly against Scottish team Dunbar United.

Stan Team: Basey; Evans (Djalo 66); Hornsby (Storey 64); Kanda (Robson 64); Robson (Capewell 46); Milburn (Shepherd 46); Morris (Hopper 46); Walker (Chrisp 46); Djalo (Pearson 46); Storey (Boothroyd 46); Errington (Enwere 46). All subs used. No cards. Attendance: 70.

Stan A: Simpson; Doyle; Digby; Dunbar-Phillips; Riley; De Pino; Smith; Cochrane; Nagel; Poole; Gilchrist. Subs: Podbury; Peters; Watson; Taylor; Elliot; Dodd-Peterside.

Kevin Mochrie

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