Competition: FA Cup
Newcastle Blue Star vs Heaton Stannington
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
Photo Gallery
1 vs 0 
Heaton Stannington vs Marske United
The Stan’s journey towards the FA Cup final at Wembley continues as they won 3-0 against Marske United of Northern League Division 1. The Stan bounced back from their league defeat at Redcar Athletic 3 days earlier delighting most of the 419 crowd who were also enjoying the sunshine. There were 2 changes from Redcar with Slaughter & Adamson replacing Shepherd & Pearson.
The Stan started lively & Capewell put the ball over the Marske bar in the 4th minute. The pressure was mainly from the Stan & in 13 minutes Burn headed just wide when the ball was sent into the Marske box from a throw in. 2 minutes later & Brass easily caught the ball. Adamson then advanced into the Marske box but the defender trailing him put the ball out for a corner. From the Stephenson corner, in the 15th minute, Adamson headed the ball into the net for 1-0 to the Stan. In 18 minutes, a speculative long range Errington effort went just over the bar. It was 2-0 in the 20th minute when, from a Stan throw in, the ball was initially cleared in the Marske box but it was sent in again then went out to Stephenson whose 25-yard shot screamed into the back of the net. A minute later & Brass easily caught the ball. Marske started to get more into the game & regularly put pressure on the Stan defence for the rest of the 1st half. In 22 minutes, a Marske shot from the edge of the box was deflected by Capewell for a comer. From the corner, the ball was then cleared off the line followed by Capewell clearing a rebound shot in front of the goal line. In 30 minutes, Capewell stopped a Marske player from advancing into the 6-yard box. In 36 minutes, Marske shot just wide from the edge of the Stan box. Milburn halted another Marske attack in 41 minutes. In 44 minutes, a ball from a Marske corner went over the bar although the flag was up. The 1st half ended with the Marske keeper heading the ball away from the edge of the box.
There was a slower start to the 2nd half although the Stan shot wide in the 49th minute & Brass easily caught 2 minutes later. In 53 minutes, from a Stan corner, Capewell headed just wide. 2 minutes later & a ball from a Marske comer was headed clear by Burn. In 61 minutes, the Stan attacked & although the Marske keeper could not hold the ball, it was eventually cleared. Errington then shot well wide. It was all pressure from the Stan now. In 71 minutes, Stephenson was stretchered off as a precaution. In 71 minutes, a Marske player headed just wide & this was followed by Hopper counter attacking but he was eventually stopped. In 75 minutes, the Marske keeper caught from a Stan free kick followed by a ball from an Adamson free kick being put just wide by sub Shepherd. In 79 minutes, another Adamson free kick was headed wide by Capwell. Capewell then had to clear for a throw in. In 83 minutes, the advancing Hopper passed to Errington in the centre but his shot from the edge of the box was caught by the keeper. 2 minutes later & a great joined up attack by the Stan ended with sub Walker sending a great ball to man of the match Capewell in the middle of the box & he shot into the Marske net to make it 3-0 to the Stan. The Stan kept trying to attack as the match entered 5 minutes of added time although the finals score remained 3-0 to the Stan.
It was 3rd time lucky for the Stan as they had only played Marske twice previously, in the Vase & the Northern League Cup, & had lost both ties. It was a comfortable win for the Stan & a great improvement on the display at Redcar. The Stan now make the short trip to Newcastle Blue Star in the 1st Qualifying Round. 1st there are 3 more league matches starting with a home game against Blyth Town on Wednesday night.
Kevin Mochrie
Photo Gallery 1
Photo Gallery 2
3 vs 0 
Whitley Bay v Heaton Stannington
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
0 vs 1 
