Competition: Northern Premier League East
Liversedge vs Heaton Stannington
The Stan rounded out August with their first ever non-league step 4 win in a warm and wonderful away day at Liversedge.
They almost got themselves into a sticky situation in the opening minutes however, as a lofted back-pass to goalkeeper Callum Corkhill was chased down by the Liversedge attack, but thankfully the resulting move was blocked. This gave the Stan a platform to counter-attack, and great work from Konner Lamb to carry and cross was just missing someone to finish in the box.
This same pattern of play happened several times in the match – with Lamb and Hopper linking up to get the ball into good crossing or shooting positions without finding the net.
But the deadlock was broken midway into the first half, and it was a gift from the Liversedge defence who tried to play out from the back from a goal kick, but panicked goalkeeper Dylan Parkin turned possession over to Louis Anderson. His shot rebounded off the defender, fell to Hopper, who found Lamb in front of him in acres of space to slot home.
The Stan presented the home side with a gift of their own 15 minutes later, when failure to clear our lines from a Liversedge attack allowed Jack Dyche enough of a sight of the ball to steal it from Kailem Beattie’s feet with one touch to bend it beautifully into the net.
Moments later, Liversedge almost went ahead with a shot from the edge of the area, but Corkhill did well to get down low to push it away.
Having scored a magnificent free kick in the Garforth replay, Dan Stephenson will have fancied his chances from 30 yards on the hour mark after he was bundled over on his way towards goal, and while his effort was powerful enough, it was low and wide.
But the Stan wouldn’t wait too much longer for their chance to get ahead again. A Liversedge attack on 64 minutes was broken up by the corner flag, which our players seemed to think was going to result in a free kick against them, but play continued and we used the hesitation to our advantage.
A big punt up field was controlled by Konner Lamb, who used the momentum of the ball to drive out to the right, drag his man with him and then left him for dead as he steamed into the box. Hopper ran almost parallel with him into a scoring position and was there for the cutback across goal, and although his first effort was blocked, the second was a simple tap-in.
The Stan secured the vital first victory six minutes later, as a Kane Evans long throw into the centre was knocked on by a Liversedge defender, straight into the path of Lamb, who was able to play it to substitute Andy Burn. His pass into the box found Hopper in space to hold up and then feed the on-rushing Stephenson to poke home at the near-post.
While Liversedge piled on the pressure to take something from the game, there were no real tests of Corkhill in goal for the remainder of the game, and if anything the Stan could’ve made it even more convincing.
The performances have been there in recent weeks but the 3 points have eluded us, but in this game the win was totally deserved and now that it’s off our back, there’s every hope for more to follow in the coming weeks.
Liam Milburn
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1 vs 3 
Heaton Stannington vs Consett
Having picked up their first point of the season at North Ferriby two days earlier, Heaton Stannington ended the August bank holiday weekend with a first point at Grounsell Park with an entertaining 3-3 draw against Consett.
The away side had the first chance inside the first minute – Callum Corkhill’s kick up field was seized upon by a red shirt in midfield, who played the ball forward to their left winger. He ran into the area and tried to sneak the ball in under the keeper at his near post – it was off target but it showed their confidence in attack and willingness to hit us early.
The Stan took the lead on 10 minutes. A corner pinballed around the box, eventually landing for Hopper inside the six-yard box, but he was tripped as he tried to hold it up and the referee had no hesitation as he pointed to the spot. The only person with less hesitation was Hopper himself as he calmly side-footed the penalty into the bottom-right corner.
It was almost 2-0 just a few minutes later as some good combination play between Hopper, Sayer and Walker put Louis Anderson in on goal, but a heavy touch on the bouncing ball meant that he had to improvise and scissor kick for his finish, and ended up giving the keeper a save from close range.
Being more clinical is something the Stan need to sort out sharp if they are to start turning draws into wins. Having had plenty of opportunities to go further ahead, Consett seized upon some good fortune and equalised with four minutes of the first half remaining. The referee incorrectly awarded them a throw 18 yards from goal, which they used to their advantage, managed to work a cross into the area for Marc Costello to flick home.
Just before the break, Richie Slaughter forced a good save from the Consett keeper with a neat side-footed volley from the edge of the area.
The Stan restored their lead on 56 minutes. Kane Evans pumped forward a diagonal ball towards the penalty area, and Leighton Hopper got between the Consett centre-backs to control it beautifully. He had the time and space to work it onto his left foot and he bent a shot into the far top corner.
But the lead was short-lived – a cross from the right wasn’t dealt with and allowed Isaac Walker to drill a shot low into the bottom corner.
Things would get even worse just four minutes later as Consett went ahead. Another failure to clear our lines – this time from a corner – presented Liam Colledge with the chance to head into the far corner.
If there’s one thing we’ve seen so far this season, the Stan don’t go down without a fight, and they piled on the pressure to take something from the game. Having had one saved in the first half, Slaughter tried his luck from outside the box on 76 minutes and was successful this time.
The Consett keeper fisted away a corner, but the Stan got back onto the ball and kept the move alive. A second cross was headed out of the six-yard box, but only to our captain, who controlled, took it past one man, and then unleashed the cleanest of hits, leaving the keeper unable to do anything but watch it fly past his head.
Both sides had chances to win the game. Corkhill made a brilliant save low to his left on 86 minutes, and Connor Walker should’ve done better with an opportunity presented to him from Consett trying and failing to play out from the back.
Although it’s far too early to take the league table seriously, this point lifted the Stan out of the relegation zone, and once again there were plenty of signs to be optimistic about the first win of the season not being too far away.
Callum Corkhill; Kane Evans, Kailem Beattie (Jay Hornsby 58), Mark Turnbull, Joe Shepherd, Daniel Sayer (Marc Ellison 80); Andy Burn (Connor Walker 71), Richie Slaughter, Dan Stephenson; Leighton Hopper, Louis Anderson (James Harper 62)
Subs not used: Jordan Lashley
Liam Milburn
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Photo Gallery 2
3 vs 3 
North Ferriby vs Heaton Stannington
History was made at the Dransfield Stadium as Heaton Stannington picked up their first ever point in the Northern Premier League East Division – but they would’ve had three if they hadn’t conceded another late goal.
The first big chance of the game went to the home side midway through the first half – some good footwork from North Ferriby’s left winger allowed him space to drive a bal into the area, a gift for someone in the area, if only that person existed. They would have an almost identical chance at the start of the second half, again with no-one to turn it in.
The Stan responded with their first good opportunity on the half-hour mark as some good pressure from Marc Ellison forced the home side to turn possession over, Richie Slaughter seized upon the loose ball to ping a lofted ball into the path of Hopper, who dragged his defender this way and that before bending a strike towards goal from the edge of the area – narrowly off-target.
A few minutes later Konner Lamb had a go at a curling shot, this time from the other side of the box. Given that this was the same spot that he scored his play-off final screamer from in May, you’d have fancied him to find the back of the net, but it was an easy catch for home goalkeeper Ben Bottomley.
The Stan took a deserved lead on 60 minutes. Mark Turnbull lofted in a free kick from just inside the North Ferriby half which was gleefully knocked on by Danny Sayer. The men in amber were dominant in the box and eventually found Konner Lamb in an ideal position to shoot on his left. The home defence will have felt that they had him covered from his favoured weapon, so he improvised and flicked the ball with the outside of his boot and found the top corner. A goal just as impressive as his stunner in the previous game against Garforth – but in a completely different way.
It looked as though the lead was going to be short-lived, as just four minutes later North Ferriby were awarded a penalty when their right-winger burst into the box and was hauled down. But Callum Corkhill – deputising for Lewis Brass – dived to his left and confidently pushed the penalty out of danger.
Just as they have in previous games, the Stan could’ve put the game out of sight and made sure of their first win. A good low ball across the face of goal on 77 minutes was just missing a touch to double the lead. Minutes later a central free kick on the edge of the D was fired straight at the keeper.
The Stan are learning fast that they need to take their chances when they get them – and they were punished once again on 88 minutes. North Ferriby piled on the pressure, found space to cross from the right, and in trying to clear the ball, Marc Ellison turned it into his own net.
A heartbreaking way to drop two points in the dying minutes, but another encouraging performance showed that if the Stan can be more clinical and concentrate on seeing games out, the first win at Step 4 can’t be too far away.
Callum Corkhill; Kane Evans, Kailem Beattie, Mark Turnbull, Joe Shepherd, Jay Hornsby (Jordan Lashley 74); Richie Slaughter (Andy Burn 61), Marc Ellison; Konner Lamb (Louis Anderson 66), Leighton Hopper (James Harper 86), Daniel Sayer
Subs not used: Alfie Marriott
Liam Milburn
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1 vs 1 Pontefract Collieries vs Heaton Stannington
The Stan’s first away game in the Northern Premier League East Division was another indication of the difficult task ahead this season as they fell to a 3-0 defeat at last season’s play-off semi finalists Pontefract Collieries.
Having felt hard done by and unlucky in the previous game against Belper to lose having gone ahead, there could very little argument this time as the West Yorkshire side set out their stalls from the first minute and frustrated the Stan from then on.
The home team’s breakthrough came after just over a minute. A free kick from Stan goalkeeper Lewis Brass just to the left of his penalty area was returned his way by a Pontefract defender which quickly put them on the front foot. You would have backed our 3-man central defence to deal with them this early on, but when Mark Turnbull lost his footing, a crack in our armour appeared. Mikey Dunn gratefully accepted his gift and slotted it under Brass.
Moments later, the Stan had their first chance to respond but Slaughter’s effort from 25 yards was high and wide. At the other end, Brass was forced to save at his far post following a Pontefract corner which eventually landed for an attacker in a lot of space.
The Stan struggled to settle for the first quarter of the game, with Pontefract’s dominance clearly frustrating our lads, leading to mistakes, turnovers and limited possession.
The deficit doubled on 27 minutes as the Pontefract right back received the ball midway into the Stan half, decided to run at the back line, cut onto his left and fired at goal. Brass got down to make the save, but could only push it into the path of Kieran Ceesay who was fast to react and squeezed the ball in from a tight angle.
The game was almost completely out of sight just a minute later. A failed Stan free kick sparked a counter attack and put Pontefract’s winger in a battle with Jay Hornsby down the left. The home side’s fitness and sharpness was evident throughout the game, and especially here as the usually unmovable Hornsby was brushed aside. The winger cut into the box, rounded Brass, but typical of a side that doesn’t let their heads drop, Hornsby recovered from losing his tussle to hack the shot off the line.
After a shaky start, the Stan grew into the game and while they never looked like taking anything from the match, there were glimpses of the ability that got us promoted in the first place. A left-footed Stephenson shot on 37 minutes registered our best effort on goal of the half, and three minutes later a header was flashed wide from a corner.
Konner Lamb is an integral part of the Stan’s attacking play, and will have considered himself unlucky to have failed to score on the stroke of half time, but also that he didn’t win the Stan a penalty after being hauled down in the area. The linesman’s flag nullified all possibilities, but better timing on Slaughter’s through ball to find him could’ve given the Stan a lifeline.
The introduction of Liam Doyle – a half time sub for Mark Turnbull who limped off for the second consecutive game – provided the Stan with a new outlet and suddenly more questions were being asked of the home side’s defence.
The Stan can take heart from the fact that having largely struggled in the first half, they more than matched Pontefract for the first 30 minutes of the second.
A mostly tight and technical spell turned into a light flurry of action in the final 15 minutes as the home side looked to make sure of their win. Two saves in a minute from Brass kept the faint Stan hopes alive, but they were ended once-and-for-all on 84 minutes when substitute Derry Robson pinched the ball from the tired legs of the Stan defence and fired into the far top corner from 6 yards out.
Nobody said it was going to be easy for the Stan at this level, and these opening games have proved that there is still much to do. After the game, manager Dean Nicholson accepted that they lost to a good team and didn’t get the basics right, but he is well aware of the ability, togetherness and character of the squad which has got them so far, and based on the never-ending effort and commitment shown at Pontefract, there is every hope that things will turn back in our favour soon enough.
Lewis Brass; Kane Evans, Alfie Marriott (Matt Foster 72), Mark Turnbull (Liam Doyle 46), Joe Shepherd, Jay Hornsby (James Harper 82); Andy Burn (Jordan Lashley 55), Richie Slaughter, Dan Stephenson; Leighton Hopper, Konner Lamb
Liam Milburn
3 vs 0 Heaton Stannington vs Belper Town
It was a historic sunny Saturday afternoon for the Stan as they played their 1st league match at tier 4 of non-league & also took on Belper Town for the 1st time. Unfortunately, after going ahead, the Stan ended up losing the match by a goal. There were 2 changes from the previous Friday night’s FA Cup win with Marriott & Anderson replacing Hornsby & Sayer. The match was preceded by a minute’s applause in memory of Stan volunteer Brian Pratt who sadly passed away in May.
After a quiet start, Belper headed wide from a corner in the 5th minute. The 1st Stan attack came in the 10th minute & a minute later a Slaughter free kick was cleared & although the ball was again sent back into the Belper box twice it was cleared on both occasions. Soon after Belper had a corner which saw the ball initially blocked with the rebound shot being cleared off the goal line by Palmer. Both teams were now trying to attack as the match got livelier. Belper shot wide in the 15th minute followed by Walker being blocked in the visitor’s box, but nothing was given. In 18 minutes, an attack started by Slaughter was headed out for a corner. From it the ball went out to Lamb who crossed to Palmer, but his shot was blocked. 2 minutes later & a Stan attack was cleared & although the ball was sent back in it was headed clear under pressure. In the 23rd minute, a Lamb free kick hit the wall & Hopper’s rebound shot went over the bar. Stan then had a free kick cleared. After a good initial start by Belper, it was now the Stan who were in the ascendancy. Both teams were though trying to attack & it was Belper who came close to scoring in 27 minutes. At the end of a Belper attack the ball was kept in by a visiting player when it looked to everyone else that it was going out. He managed to send the ball across the goal line & although it was missed by everyone except a Belper player on the far side of the goal whose shot was expertly aved by Brass. 3 minutes later & Belper shot well wide. There was then a quieter period until the start of a few minutes of Stan pressure from the 38th minute. Lamb ran down the left & shot wide & in 41 minutes, after Anderson was brought down just outside the box, Slaughter sent the resulting free kick wide but it was deflected for a throw in. After a Belper attack was cleared, the 1st half ended goalless.
Both teams started the 2nd half positively. In 50 minutes, the Stan came close to scoring when a Lamb free kick into the box just missed Hopper & Turnbull & it went just wide. In 52 minutes, Hopper advanced into the Belper box & was brought down. The resulting penalty in the 54th minute was put comfortably into the net by Hopper for 1-0 to the Stan & it was their 1st goal in the Pitching In Northern Premier League East. There was then some more pressure by the Stan although Palmer & Turnbull both had to be replaced due to injuries. In 67 minutes, Belper were level when a shot was blocked but the rebound effort was put into the net. In 70 minutes, a Lamb free kick into the packed Belper box saw a shot by blocked by the keeper & the rebound shot was also cleared. An almost identical free kick from Lamb a minute later was headed clear & although Slaughter was fouled Belper were allowed to continue with their counterattack involving 5 players against 1 although they shot over the bar. 2 minutes later & another Belper counterattack ended with a shot going well wide. In 74 minutes, a Lamb shot was caught by the Belper keeper. The Stan defence had to work well for a couple of minutes although after 80 minutes a Hopper high ball into the Belper box was blocked. In 82 minutes, a ball from a Belper free kick was blocked in the Stan box twice before an opportune shot from the edge of the box went past everyone & into the net for 2-1 to Belper. In 85 minutes, Lamb sent a ball into the Belper box for sub Lashley at the far side of goal but his downward header was somehow stopped by the Belper keeper. The ball was sent back in by sub Burn but the keeper caught it. The Belper keeper Dan Moore again frustrated the Stan when in 87 minutes he got to the ball just before the advancing Lamb & he hit the ball off Lamb & was able to catch it. Belper then sent a ball up & into the 6 yard box but it hit one of their own players in front of goal but was unseen by him allowing Brass to catch it. Into 4 minutes of added time & Belper managed to keep the ball in the Stan half for most of it.& the match ended disappointingly for the Stan.
Despite the Stan deserving at least a draw, the visitors left with all 3 points. It was the Stan’s 1st home league defat since the 1st match of last season with them only losing once at home in the league last season. There is more history on Tuesday night as the Stan travel to Pontefract for their 1st away fixture in the Pitching In Northern League East.
Stan Team: Brass; Marriott; Evans; Palmer (Burn 62); Turnbull (Lashley 74); Shepherd; Walker (Foster 86); Slaughter; Anderson; Hopper; Lamb. Attendance: 417. MoM: Kane Evans.
Kevin Mochrie
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1 vs 2 
