Report

The Stan’s FA Cup dream continues after a narrow win over Knaresborough Town & they have reached the second Qualifying Round for only the second time with the first being 77 years ago. It was a close & on at least 2 occasions a controversial match but after going ahead after 40 minutes the Stan deserved to hold on to win. There were 2 changes from Monday’s win over Ashington with Hornsby & Djalo replacing Evans & Errington. The match saw Dale Pearson make his 50th start for the Stan.

On a sunny afternoon, Knaresborough from a tier below the Stan in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division, hoped to cause a FA Cup upset. They were 1st to threaten in the 4th minute when they shot wide of the Stan goal. 3 minutes later & Lister got down to stop an effort from an advancing Knaresborough player. In the 8th minute, the Stan thought they had scored from a Gascoigne corner when Hall, the Knaresborough keeper, dropped the ball & it looked like it had crossed the goal line, but the referee disagreed. In the 13th minute, Pearson supplied Giraud, but he shot just wide. Giraud was looking dangerous again in the 21st minute when, from a Lister long free kick, he passed a defender but his ball into the centre of the box missed everyone. 3 minutes later & a Knaresborough long range effort was deflected for a corner. After a quieter period, in 37 minutes, Pearson came close to scoring when he blasted the ball just over the bar after being supplied by Giraud. The Stan took the lead in the 40th minute when, from a Gascoigne free kick, Djalo headed into the Knaresborough net. The goal came after a relatively quiet 1st half & livened things up. A minute later a Knaresborough free kick into the Stan box was headed over but the flag was up for offside. 

Knaresborough started the 2nd half putting the Stan under pressure, but Lister collected the ball twice although the !st time involved him being fouled by a visiting player. Against the initial run of play in the 51st minute, Gascoigne supplied Djalo who turned & shot in the Knaresborough box but his effort hit the bar. After a quieter period, a ball from a Gascoigne corner was cleared. Soon after, Djalo & a Knaresborough player both jumped for the ball as it was sent forward into the Knaresborough box & the visiting player went down. Although the referee did not act initially, after complaints from Knaresborough players & speaking to the linesman Djalo was sent off for violent conduct in the 62nd minute. Soon after, Lister was flattened by a Knaresborough player who only received a yellow card. There was some Stan pressure in the 73rd minute although 2 minutes later a Knaresborough free kick went just over the Stan bar. In 77 minutes, Walker broke with the ball, which had been supplied by Pearson, but Hall dived at his feet to get the ball. 3 minutes later & a Knaresborough player deliberately collided with Lister. The visitors were getting more physical as they sought a way back into the game. In 84 minutes, a Knaresborough free kick into the Stan box saw Lister get up to punch the ball clear for a corner. From it, Lister punched clear a headed effort & the follow up shot from Knaresborough went well wide. In 86 minutes, a ball into the Stan box saw a Knaresborough player head the ball against the bar. As the visitors tried to keep the pressure on, a speculative long-range effort in the 89th minute was caught by Lister. Into 6 minutes of added time & Lister got up to catch another long-range effort & was flattened by a Knaresborough player in the process. Soon after, sub Boothroyd was brought down but nothing was given. Followed by 4 defenders, sub Errington twisted & turned as he approached the visitors’’ box & was brought down just outside it. From the resulting Gascoigne free kick, the ball went to Errington who dribbled the ball into the 6-yard box but was blocked for a corner. In 97 minutes, Knaresborough shot wide at the end of their 1st proper attack of added time. The final whistle came soon after & the Stan were through to the next round.

With a Wembley final still potentially on the cards, the Stan appropriately left the pitch to Doris Day’s rendition of Que Sera Sera. After only a 3-day break, the Stan next travel on Tuesday night to Morpeth Town who they play there in league action for the 1st time since April 1994.

Stan Team: Lister; Fil; Hornsby (Y); Kanda; Milburn; Shepherd; Gascoigne; Walker; Pearson (Boothroyd 90); Giraud (Errington 70); Djalo (R). Subs unused: Hopper; Storey; Morris. Attendance: 415. Man of the Match: Jay Hornsby.

Kevin Mochrie

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