Competition: FA Cup
Heaton Stannington v Garforth Town
Having brought them back to Grounsell Park following a 1-1 draw in West Yorkshire, Heaton Stannington were eliminated from The FA Cup by nine-man Garforth Town in an entertaining replay.
The Stan came flying out of the traps and within less than a minute had opened the scoring. A Connor Walker tackle midway into the Garforth half presented Konner Lamb with the time and space to shoot from around 35 yards, with his effort flying into the top corner. A goal to remember, especially when we come to choose our favourite of the season when all is said and done.
Just seven minutes later, that lead would be doubled. The Stan drew a foul in a position which would ordinarily be a good place to cross from, but Dan Stephenson decided to throw his hat into the ring for Goal of the Season and hammered the ball, squeezing it between the near post and the goalkeeper at full stretch.
Midway through the half, Garforth began to fight back. Connor Walker slipped with the ball in the centre circle, and Jay Davis seized upon it quickly. Spotting the keeper slightly off his line, and using the swirling wind to his advantage, Davis took one touch to steal possession and a second to loft the ball over Corkhill from inside his own half.
From there, the away side had their tails up and piled on the pressure. The Stan’s narrow lead survived until half time, but was eliminated just three minutes down when a Garforth player was bundled over in the box and Max Tweddle converted the penalty.
The game took another twist on 55 minutes. Konner Lamb was put through on goal and managed to get a shot away, albeit not the sort of clean strike he would have hoped for had he not been pulled back by the last man in defence Joe Smith, who was shown a straight red card.
A basketball match ensued as both sides had big chances – Garforth even tried another goal from ridiculously long range – but no-one could prevent the game going longer.
Having battled against 10 men, but without making their man advantage count, the Stan’s task appeared to get easier with a few minutes of extra time remaining when Jamie Barkway was shown a second yellow card. But it was the nine men of Garforth who secured a place in the next round, as substitute Charlie Marshall was found on the edge of the box, and his first time finish was cushioned low into the net.
A night to forget for the Stan, one that manager Dean Nicholson called the worst in his tenure as manager in his post-match comments. Heaton will return to cup action with the club’s first ever FA Trophy tie at home to NPL East Division rivals North Ferriby on September 7th.
Callum Corkhill; Liam Doyle (Kailem Beattie 46), Mark Turnbull (Alfie Marriott 74), Joe Shepherd, Daniel Sayer (Jay Hornsby 102); Connor Walker, Richie Slaughter, Dan Stephenson; Konner Lamb (Matt Foster 88), Louis Anderson (Jordan Lashley 74), Leighton Hopper
Subs not used: Marc Ellison, Andy Burn
Liam Milburn
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2024-08-21 Garforth FACP-R 2
2 vs 3 
Garforth Town v Heaton Stannington
The Stan face the prospect of a home tie with former Football League giants Bury in the Emirates FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round – but an 88th minute Garforth equaliser in their Preliminary Round tie in West Yorkshire denied immediate progression.
After a bruising 3-0 defeat at Pontefract earlier that week, manager Dean Nicholson will have been hoping to see a response from his players. Both sides kept it tidy for the first ten minutes and signs were much more positive that this would be a more even contest.
The first big opportunity came for the Stan on 11 minutes, when Daniel Sayer – having played a beautiful one-two with Leighton Hopper on the left – was able to drive a mid-height cross into the area for Louis Anderson, who ran to the near post to meet the ball, but his flicked effort to the back post went agonisingly over the bar.
Moments later, the Stan were handed another chance to cause chaos in the Garforth box. This time, a floated Dan Stephenson free kick to the far side of the area was flicked into the six yard box by Joe Shepherd, but the home team’s defence got in front of Anderson to stop him having a shot.
Garforth’s first opening followed shortly after, as a searching ball from the halfway line wasn’t deal with by Kailem Beattie on the edge of the Stan’s penalty area, which allowed them a chance to shoot, but the effort was slightly too high, and would’ve been palmed away by goalkeeper Lewis Brass if it was lower.
The ball was in the net for the Stan midway through the first half. Hopper and Sayer combined again, this time Hopper pinging the ball from the right side to Sayer on the left, who used the momentum of the ball to loop it into the area for Konner Lamb who – much like Anderson for our first chance – flicked over his head to the back post, finding the net on this occasion, but denied by the assistant referee’s flag.
But a breakthrough came ten minutes later. Sayer was once again instrumental, played in behind down the left by Richie Slaughter, then had his shot pushed to the other side of the box by the Garforth keeper. Lamb leapt to strike the rebound towards goal, but was denied by another big save – except this time it was by defender Harry Viggars, who therefore conceded a penalty and could’ve had no complaints about the red card he was issued. No problem for Hopper who calmly tucked away his second penalty of the season and third goal overall.
With their man advantage, the Stan looked to make their lead more comfortable heading into the break, but Lamb’s right-sided effort from the edge of the area flashed wide of the far post. That attacking pressure continued in the second half as a panicked goalkeeper – under the duress of Lamb – played the ball straight to Anderson on the edge of the area with the goal gaping, but the Stan no.9’s decision to shift the ball between his feet took the sting out of the gift he’d been given and it went wide.
Garforth may have been a man down, but they never considered themselves down and out as they pushed for a route back into the game. A first time cross into the area on 70 minutes may not have found someone to poke it towards goal, but it was an indication of the kind of pressure the Stan defence would face in the closing stages.
Victory should’ve been secured for the Stan a couple of minutes later. A dominant spell on the ball in the final third – which started with the Garforth keeper giving possession away cheaply yet again – eventually found Dan Stephenson in acres of space on the edge of the area. A towering defensive header fell nicely onto his favoured left foot, but seconds later he fell to the floor in disbelief as he watched his low curling shot hit the base of the post.
With six minutes of normal time to go, Garforth would also crack the woodwork. A neat ball in behind from midfield to their left winger allowed him to run onto goal, carve between two Stan defenders, but his cushioned finish towards the near top corner smashed against the frame.
The home side had turned the tide and were determined to stay in the hat for Monday’s 1st Qualifying Round draw. No.8 and no.16 combined once again, and even with four Stan defenders in front of him, Muhammed Fadera found a gap to shoot low and snuck it under Brass to equalise.
Having rode their luck to stay in the game on numerous occasions, it was almost the ten men of Garforth who booked their place in the next round in the closing seconds. They moved the ball around well in a packed penalty area before finally getting a shot away. Brass had to keep his concentration to get down low and hold onto an effort that could’ve easily crept in.
The way the win fell away from the Stan at the end will have frustrated Dean and his players, but there was much to be encouraged about from the way they played. Although not a league game, this was the first game the Stan have faced this season against a side from the Northern Premier League East Division in which they avoided defeat.
If the Stan can be more clinical in Wednesday’s replay at Grounsell Park, they’ll face Bury – who were in League One until they were expelled in 2019 – on the weekend of August 31st.
Lewis Brass; Liam Doyle, Kailem Beattie, Alfie Marriott, Joe Shepherd, Daniel Sayer (Jay Hornsby 75); Richie Slaughter, Dan Stephenson; Konner Lamb (Marc Ellison 83), Louis Anderson (Jordan Lashley 74), Leighton Hopper
Subs not used: Callum Corkhill, Andy Burn, Matt Foster, James Harper
Liam Milburn
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1 vs 1 Heaton Stannington v Easington Colliery
The Stan’s 1st competitive match of the new season saw them start on the road to Wembley with a Friday night FA Cup tie in front of a crowd of 603. A 2-0 win saw the Stan get revenge against the visitors Easington Colliery who had beaten them 72 years ago when they last met each other in the FA Cup. There were competitive debuts for Connor Walker, who started the match. & for both Matt Foster & Marc Ellison from the bench while Jay Hornsby made his 100th start for the club.
There was a quiet start to the match until the Easington keeper caught the ball from a Stan corner after 6 minutes. 2 minutes later & an Easington effort went wide under pressure followed by Hopper shooting wide. In the 13th minute, Brass easily caught the ball from a long-range free kick. He then sent a long ball up for Lamb, but he could not get to it before it went out. Soon after the Stan sent the ball into the away box & Hopper got up to head but the ball came off the bar &, although the keeper & a defender nearly collided, Easington managed to clear the ball. After 16 minutes, a great run by an Easington forward was stopped by a Turnbull intervention. Sayer then supplied Lamb at the other end who shot wide across the goal. Both teams were trying to attack & in 24 minutes a Stan corner saw Shepherd head the ball at the back post, but it was cleared. In 27 minutes, another Stan corner ended with Evans blasting the ball towards the net but the keeper made a great save. It was now end to end as both teams tried to attack. In the 40th minute, Walker was brought down as he advanced & the resulting free kick saw the ball being sent wide by Slaughter. In 44 minutes, an Evans shot in the box was blocked. Hopper was then brought down just outside the box. Lamb took the resulting free kick & although it went past everyone in the box the keeper made a full length save to stop him scoring & keep the score 0-0 at half time.
The Stan started the 2nd half positively with the Easington keeper having to catch the ball in the 47th minute & 2 minutes later Lamb sliced an effort under pressure. After a quieter few minutes, the Stan were in the lead in the 56th minute when Sayer passed to Walker who was blocked but the ball went back to Hopper who blasted it under pressure past the keeper & into the back of the net. 2 minutes later & Sayer made a solo run into the box & a 1-2 with Hopper saw him then shoot wide. Hopper then supplied Sayer who was blocked followed by Foster & Evans also being blocked. The Stan had stepped up a gear & another Sayer effort was just stopped in time by the Easington keeper. In the 60th minute, an Easington long range effort forced a great save by Brass. Although the Stan were still putting pressure on it was the visitors who came close in 69 minutes when a long range effort that went just wide. Both teams were now trying to score but it was the Stan who got the craved for 2nd goal in 76 minutes when Hopper passed to Sayer who passed to Lamb who was able to shoot & blasted the ball into the net. It was all now mainly one way Stan traffic until the 83rd minute when an Easington attack was ended by a great block by Sayer. The last few minutes saw both teams trying to attack but the match ended with a 2-0 win for the Stan.
Although Easington put up a good fight, overall the Stan earned a comfortable win. The Stan now travel to Garforth Town in the Preliminary round of the FA Cup on Saturday 17 August but before that they have the not so small matter of their 1st ever PitchingIn Northern Premier League East match at home against Belper Town on Saturday 10 August.
Stan Team: Brass; Evans; Hornsby; Palmer (Ellison 86); Turnbull; Shepherd; Walker (Burn 74); Slaughter; Lamb (Y) (Foster 79); Hopper (Anderson (Y) 79); Sayer (Lashley 88). Attendance: 603. MoM: Connor Walker.
Kevin Mochrie
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2 vs 0 
