Report

The dream of the FA Cup & the road to Wembley started at Hillheads, the ground of Northern League Division 1 Whitley Bay & was watched by a bumper crowd of 786. The Seahorses had already played 2 league games while this was the Stan’s 1st competitive match of the season & it showed to an extent. The last one was the Senior Cup final & there 3 were changes with Flynn, Beattie &, making his competitive debut, Dale Pearson replacing Brass, Slaughter & Lamb. Although the Stan took an early lead, they then had to work hard to keep ahead but a professional performance, including some great goalkeeping by man of the match Tom Flynn, saw them hold on to clinch victory.

On a sunny & warm day at the seaside, the Stan started on the attack with Whitley Bay having to clear a ball into their box. After Burn had forced a save in the 5th minute, the Stan took the lead in the 9th minute when Pearson broke & advanced with the ball to be 1 on 1 with the keeper who he confidently flicked the ball over & into the net. Whitley Bay then won 2 corners & from the 2nd they headed just wide. Flynn got down to easily save in the 14th minute & he had to save again 2 minutes later. The ball was then up the other end for the 1st of 2 Stan corners. The ball from the 2nd corner was headed clear just as Capewell was about to head towards the net. In the 19th minute, a ball from a Whitley Bay corner hit the far post & when the ball was sent back into the box, Flynn had to make a great full stretch save. Both teams were battling & attacking when they could but there were no efforts again that the defences struggled with until Flynn had to get down to easily save in the 37th minute. In the 2nd minute of added time, Flynn had to make a great save to stop a shot from the edge of the Stan box. A minute later & Flynn got up to again save.

Although Whitley Bay had finished the 1st half strongly, it was the Stan who started the 2nd half on the attack followed by a Whitley Bay counter attack. Walker had to be replaced in the 48th minute due to injury & this saw a competitive debut for Max Storey. A minute later & Flynn was under pressure, but the ball went out for a corner & he had to make a save under pressure in the 54th minute. The 1st 20 minutes of the 2nd half saw mainly pressure from Whitley Bay. The Stan finally threatened again in the 65th minute when a Stephenson free kick into the box was cleared & a Stan shot was then blocked. 3 minutes later & Stephenson shot wide. Bay then advanced & the ball hit off Flynn & went along the Stan goal line & was blocked by a defender thus preventing a Bay shot. The home side then had a throw in which resulted with the ball being headed off the Stan goal line with the Stan therefore having 2 lucky escapes in a row. It was still mainly the Stan who were under pressure & in the 72nd minute a home player broke into the Stan box, but Flynn made himself big to block the ball. Soon after a Whitley Bay player advanced again & Flynn grabbed the ball from in front of his feet. In 76 minutes, a Storey shot was deflected for a Stan corner & the start of some Stan pressure which eventually finished with a Capewell shot going wide at the far post. In 79 minutes, a Whitley Bay long range effort went just over the bar. Pearson then sent a ball into the home box, but Storey couldn’t make contact although the ball went back in forcing the keeper to punch it over the bar. The resulting corner was cleared followed by a Stan free kick from just outside the box being blocked. There was then a period of sustained Stan pressure for about 7 minutes including 4 corners & a Burn free kick being headed clear although Whitley Bay still proved a threat on the counter. The match entered injury time with both teams attacking & Whitley Bay knowing that an equaliser would force a replay. In the 92nd minute, a Bay throw in was deflected over the Stan bar for a goal kick. There was more pressure from the home team as Flynn had to clear then save. In the 94th minute a ball from a Stan attack went across the home goal but no one could make contact. There were more attacks by both teams, but the match eventually ended with the Stan coming out on top & progressing to the preliminary round.

The Stan managed to survive Whitley Bay’s efforts & achieve their 12th win in the FA Cup in their 33rd season competing in it. They now host Marske United on 16 August. Avoiding a replay means that the Stan’s next match is next Saturday when their 1st league match of the season sees them host Lincoln United.

Kevin Mochrie