Report

The Stan’s FA Cup dream ended for another season as Newcastle Blue Star sneaked a late winner in a match that looked like ending in a relatively uneventful goalless draw. A strong forward line failed to bring the goals that the Stan Army anticipated but at the other end Blue Star, of Northern League Division 1, threatened even less apart from in the final minutes of the game. Despite the close proximity of each club, it was the 1st time that the Stan had played the current version of Blue Star competitively. There were 5 changes from Monday’s defeat by Consett with Stephenson, Milburn, Walker, Pearson & Lamb replacing Groves, Beattie, Shepherd, Burn & Hopper. Konner Lamb was making his 1st start of the season after a long period of injury.

With a hint of cup fever, & on a blustery & showery afternoon in Scotswood, the match started with both teams trying to attack. After an initial Stan attack came to nothing, Blue Star had a free kick into the Stan box blocked twice. 3 minutes later & Brass made an easy catch followed by 2 Stan attacks with the 2nd ending with a Walker shot being blocked. Another Stan attack was cleared in the box & in 10 minutes the hosts had to head another ball clear. 3 minutes later & a good joined up Stan attack ended with Lamb blasting the ball over the bar. After a period of Stan possession, Blue Star next threatened in 16 minutes when a long-range effort went over the bar. Both teams were still trying to attack but the Stan were having slightly more possession. In 26 minutes, Blue Star were awarded a corner from a Brass kick out when the referee misinterpreted the new 8 second rule. Both Blue Star & the Stan had attacks cleared & the next clear threat was in 31 minutes when, from a free kick, Capewell headed the wrong way followed by a Milburn long range effort going over the bar. From a Stan corner 2 minutes later, Capewell headed just wide. In 37 minutes, a poor clearance by the home keeper saw Lamb intercept the ball & shoot just over the bar. The Stan kept the pressure on &, from a corner, a Stephenson effort from just outside the box just missed going into the top far corner of the net. The Stan had 2 more corners & another Lamb advance, but the final ball continued to let them down & the half ended goalless.

The 2nd minute after the restart saw a Blue Star free kick into the Stan box blocked. This was followed by a period of sustained Stan pressure although the Blue Star defence worked well to thwart their efforts. In 59 minutes, a Stephenson corner ball was initially missed & the ball was then blasted over the bar. Blue Star then had an attack cleared in the box before a Lamb attack was blocked. Slaughter then sent a long ball to Lamb on the edge of the box & although 1 on 1 with the keeper he blasted the ball wide under pressure from an advancing defender. In 65 minutes, from a corner, a Walker shot hit off a defender & out for a corner from which Milburn headed over. Lamb had 2 more unsuccessful attempts. In 71 minutes, from a corner, Blue Star just missed putting the ball into the Stan net. The Stan had more pressure & in 84 minutes Milburn passed to sub Adamson who was under pressure & the keeper just got to the ball 1st. Milburn had to clear twice at the other end followed by a Blue Star counterattack in the 87th minute which ended with them shooting just wide after pressure from Stephenson. In the 88th minute, just as it looked like a replay was looming, another Blue Star attack saw the ball crossed to the advancing Burke who blasted the ball past Brass & into the net. The Stan team & army were shocked as Blue Star had only began to look dangerous in the last few minutes. Into 5 minutes of added time & Pearson sliced wide from a corner. The Stan continued to try to attack but it came to nothing. 

Despite deserving at least a replay, it was not be a happy ending for the Stan in the Newcastle Derby played in front of 813 supporters. Overall, in a lacklustre match, it was a below standard performance from the Stan & they did not deliver the level of threat expected especially against lower level opposition. The Stan continue in cup action on Friday night when they start on the 2nd possible route to Wembley by hosting Emley in the first qualifying round of the FA Trophy.                                   

Kevin Mochrie

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