The Stan’s season finished with a visit from Sheffield team Hallam but unfortunately it also ended with a narrow defeat due to a 2nd half penalty. There was only the one goal for Hallam & chances were relatively few although the Stan had two 1st half goals disallowed for being offside. On the plus side the Stan have ended their 2nd season in the Northern Premier League East in 7th place which is their highest ever league finish. There were 4 changes from last Saturday’s defeat at Grimsby with Evans, Chrisp, Robson & Errington replacing Johnson, Hornsby, Payne & Storey. Ex Blue Brazil Tom Flynn, who announced his retirement, was on the bench.

On a sunny afternoon, both teams started positively although it was Hallam who had a free kick cleared in the 2nd minute. The Stan had an attack cleared in the Hallam box in the 5th minutes followed by the visitors’ counter attacking but Evans did well to halt them. In 11 minutes, the Stan had an attack cleared & 3 minutes later Warhurst in the Hallam goal had to catch before a Stan player got to the ball. Hallam then counter attacked but blasted the ball over the Stan bar. There was not much between the teams although in 18 minutes a Hallam player broke through & collided with Brass, but the ball was guided out. The Stan then attacked followed by some great defending at the other end by Capewell. In 21 minutes, an Errington shot went wide. After a quieter period, Warhurst blocked a Stan ball in front of his goal in the 27th minute. Soon after Hopper won the ball & forced his way by 3 defenders & blasted the ball towards the net but Warhurst somehow got a hand to it for a corner which was subsequently cleared. Errington then sent a long ball towards Hopper, but Warhurst cleared it for a throw in. Soon after a long diagonal ball was sent to Errington & he eventually passed it to Pearson in the Hallam box but his shot was blocked. 2 Hallam players counter attacked but the resulting shot was blasted over the Stan bar under pressure from Capewell who helped deny a goal scoring opportunity. Errington was then brought down just outside the Hallam box. Burn sent the ball from the resulting free kick to Pearson who supplied the advancing Hopper in the 6-yard box & he slotted the ball into the Hallam net but the flag was up for offside to deny the Stan a 33rd minute lead. 3 minutes later & a Hallam defensive error allowed Pearson to slot the ball into the Hallam net but again the flag was up for offside. After another quieter period, in 44 minutes a Hallam player ran in towards the advancing Brass but he couldn’t get his hot away & the ball went out before another Hallam player could get to it. Although most of the limited number of chances were for the Stan, it was stalemate & goalless at the end of the 1st half.

Half time saw Payne & Lamb replace Burn & Errington. The 1st action of the 2nd half saw a high ball into the advancing Pearson but Warhurst got to it 1st. 3 minutes later & Hopper won the ball on the edge of the Hallam box & chested it down but his shot went just wide under pressure. Walker then had a shot that was easily caught by Warhurst. In 55 minutes, a Pearson ball in from a corner was caught by Warhurst. 2 minutes after & a ball from a Pearson free kick was sent into the Hallam 6-yard box by Shepherd but was blocked by a defender. In 59 minutes, a ball was sent through towards Lamb, but Warhurst got out to clear. The next Stan shot was offside & was followed by a quieter period. There was a period of sustained Stan pressure in the 67th minute but 5 different players were all blocked. In the 70th minute, Capewell blocked an advancing Hallam player on the edge of the Stan box & a penalty was awarded. Salmon- Howarth took the penalty in the 71st minute & scored as Brass went the wrong way. In 75 minutes, Brass took a free kick from halfway which resulted in Capewell kicking the ball high over the Hallam bar from 6 yards out under pressure. In 78 minutes, a joined up attack ended with Walker shooting over from the edge of the Hallam box. In 81 minutes, a ball from a Hornsby corner skimmed over a number of heads & went out for another corner which was cleared. The ball came back in & was cleared but was sent back in & the resulting Capewell header was deflected over the bar for a corner. Hallam then had 2 corners in a row. In 83 minutes a ball from a Walker corner saw a Shepherd shot go wide. The ball was sent back in & although Pearson was brought down nothing was given. In 85 minutes, a Hornsby ball into the Hallam box was headed jus wide by Capewell when it looked like it was going into the Hallam net. By 88 minutes, it was all Stan now but they couldn’t get another shot in including when a ball into the box saw Lamb get up to head but he couldn’t make contact. The ball went back out to Capewell whose long range shot forced Warhurst to get down to put the ball out for a corner. From the corner, a Shepherd header was blocked for another corner. In 92 minutes, a ball from a Walker corner was headed clear. It was still all Stan & in 94 minutes Brass got up for a corner which he just missed making contact with. Soon after, Brass had to easily collect followed by a Stan attack being cleared before the final whistle was blown.

Despite having much of the ball & a number of chances, the Stan failed to find the Hallam net & lost narrowly in a relatively uneventful match. The Stan can now look forward to a 3rd season in the Northern Premier League East but before that there is the matter of the Senior Cup final at St James’ Park versus Whitley Bay on 5 May.

Stan Team: Brass; Evans; Chrisp (Y) (Hornsby 64); Robson; Capewell; Shepherd; Hopper (Johnson 64); Burn (Payne 46); Pearson; Walker; Errington (Lamb 46). Sub not used: Flynn. Attendance 510. Man of the Match: Connor Walker.            

Kevin Mochrie

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After 3 defeats in a row, the Stan didn’t just get back to winning ways but did so through a great team performance. Even more impressive is that they did it with a make-shift team due to injuries & unavailability. This even impacted on the substitutes bench as 3 of those named could not in practice play due to injury, Tom Flynn was the substitute keeper while keeper Alfie Gordon to his credit was named as the only available out field player. Ossett travelled North on a Friday night needing 3 points to help their attempt to get out of the relegation zone, but it was the Stan who actually looked more up for it & who deserved the win. There were 5 changes from Monday’s defeat at Ashington with Robson, Walker, Chrisp, Hopper & Lamb replacing Evans, Milburn, Payne, Burn & Errington.

The 1st action came in the 3rd minute when a long ball to Lamb was cleared. Soon after, Capewell supplied Lamb but he was blocked. Shepherd then sent the ball to Capewell in the Ossett box, but his header was blocked. Lamb then had a good opportunity when he broke with the ball but his shot bobbled & was blocked by the advancing Ossett keeper Petrovic. In 7 minutes, a diagonal ball by Chrisp across the Ossett box was missed by everyone. 2 minutes later & Chrisp sent another diagonal ball to Hornsby who passed to Lamb, but he was blocked. Stoey was then blocked followed by Hornsby sending a ball into the visitors’ box, but Petrovic got up to catch Soon after, a speculative shot by Chrisp was blocked by a defender. It was all one way in the Stan’s favour so far & Ossett’s 1st attack, which resulted in a corner that was cleared, did not come until the 16th minute. In 18 minutes, the Stan had another attack blocked followed by an Ossett counterattack which came to nothing. In 22 minutes, Brass easily caught an Ossett effort. 3 minutes later & Petrovic got to the ball before the advancing Lamb. This was followed by a speculative long range effort by Ossett which went just wide. 2 minutes later Petrovic easily caught & 2 minutes later an Ossett corner was cleared followed by a Lamb counter attack which came to nothing. There was then a sustained Stan attack which ended with a Storey shot deflected for a corner. The ball from the corner was cleared but Walker sent it back into the box towards goal, but it was cleared. Both teams were trying to attack, & in 33 minutes Robson had to head clear from an Ossett corner. There was then a long-range Ossett shot which forced a great save from Brass. The Stan countered through Lamb, but Petrovic got out to the edge of the box to retrieve the ball. Ossett then had a corner cleared which was followed by a sustained Stan attack which ended with a Chrisp blasted shot from just outside the box going wide. In 41 minutes, Brass had to catch but it was the Stan who took the lead in the 43rd minute. A ball from a Stan corner was headed back across the goal line from the far post & although a headed attempt was blocked, the 3rd Stan header was put over the line by Storey for his 1st Stan goal. The half ended with a sustained Ossett attack which saw 2 headed clearances by the Stan, both from corners.

The Stan started the 2nd half positively, & in the 47th minute a Lamb shot was blocked by Petrovic. In 49 minutes, Hopper was brought down. The resulting 51st minute free kick saw the ball sent diagonally into the box to the back post from where it was sent bobbling back across goal allowing Hopper to tap it into the net for 2-0. In 54 minutes, an Ossett shot was cleared just in front of the goal. Ossett kept pressing & after 2 corners a long-range shot was caught by Brass. It was then the Stan’s turn for a period of sustained pressure including a Chrisp ball across the Ossett box which was missed by everyone. In 64 minutes, after Petrovic had come out to clear, Lamb should have scored but missed from 2 yards. In 67 minutes, Petrovic had to advance to catch again & 2 minutes later Ossett shot over the Stan bar. In 79 minutes, an Ossett shot went straight towards Brass who got up to catch. In 83 minutes, a ball from an Ossett corner was headed off the goal line by Capewell. In 88 minutes, Capewell brought down an advancing player in the box. Brass stopped the resulting 89th minute Degruchy penalty, but the ball bounced over the line. There were 3 minutes of added time which saw a Lamb shot easily caught by Petrovic followed by a sustained Stan attack until the final whistle blew.

The Stan not only provided a win but also an entertaining & hard-working performance for the Stan Army to enjoy. Everyone in the team put in a 90 minute plus shift. There are 2 league games to go but 1st there is the Senior Cup home semi final on Wednesday night when the Stan host Newcastle University.

Stan Team: Brass (Y); Johnson; Hornsby; Robson; Capewell; Shepherd; Walker (Y); Chrisp (Y); Hopper; Storey (Y); Lamb. Subs not used: Burn; Flynn; Payne; Gordon; Pearson. Attendance 331. Man of the Match: Connor Walker.

Kevin Mochrie

It was deja vu for the Stan as, for the 2nd Saturday in a row, they took part in a relatively uneventful match & lost to a solitary undeserved & unexpected goal to lower opposition. After 4 wins in a row against high flying opposition, the Stan failed to perform to the standard expected of them & although they had a few chances to at least draw, they lost 1-0 to North Ferriby who had few chances to score. There were 4 changes from last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat away to Blyth Town with Hornsby, Deverdics, Payne & Hopper replacing Milburn, Burn, Lamb & Errington.

The Stan started positively & in 3 minutes a joined-up attack ended with Hopper’s shot blocked. After a corner that came to nothing, the Stan had another attack cleared in the 5th minute. In the 6th minute, the ball went into the Stan box for the 1st time but was easily cleared. 2 minutes later & a ball from a Stan free kick was easily caught by Bottomley in the North Ferriby goal. In 11 minutes, a brief scramble in the Stan box was cleared. 2 minutes later & North Ferriby had an attack cleared. In 16 minutes, Capewell gave away a corner from which the ball was cleared. There was not much happening so far but in 24 minutes, Hopper broke & beat a player & although his shot went into the net the flag was up for offside. In 29 minutes, North Ferriby unexpectedly took the lead when, from a corner, a high ball across the goal line was headed backwards by Evans towards unmarked Jones who was behind him at the far post & he slotted the ball into the net. In 31 minutes, Hopper supplied Pearson who shot under pressure, but Bottomly easily caught his effort. After a quiet period, the Stan had 3 attacks in the 39th minute that came to nothing. After Capewell had cleared a North Ferriby attack in 42 minutes, an Errington effort was caught by Bottomley & that was really the last action of an uneventful 1st half.

In the 3rd minute of the 2nd half, a ball from a Stan corner was sent into Pearson in the North Ferriby box whose shot was cleared off the visitors’ goal line. Walker was then floored in the North Ferriby box but nothing was given. Both teams were trying to attack, but their efforts were coming to nothing. In 52 minutes, Payne headed clear from a North Ferriby corner allowing Payne to counter, but he was stopped on the half way line. In 58 minutes, Bottomley got down to easily save from Payne. Soon after, Payne sent a free kick over the visitors’ bar. In 63 minutes, Bottomley made 2 great saves stopping both sub Storey’s effort & Pearson’s rebound shot. The ball from the resulting Stan corner was cleared. Capewell cleared a North Ferriby attack in 68 minutes & soon after a Stan attack was cleared. In 73 minutes, Chrisp received a 2nd yellow card & was sent off. From the resulting free kick, a North Ferriby player headed the ball wide. In 76 minutes, a Burn free kick was caught by Bottomley & 3 minutes later they had an attack cleared. In 85 minutes, a speculative Payne shot went wide followed by an Errington effort being blocked. Both teams were trying to attack but it was North Ferriby sub Aynsley who had the next clear effort when he won the ball on halfway & advanced forward unmarked but Brass made a great save to deny him a goal. In the 96th minute, there was a great diagonal shot by Errington from just outside the busy North Ferriby box, but his effort went just wide. Immediately after Errington’s shot the referee blew the final whistle.

It was a disappointing afternoon for both the team & the watching Stan Army although Errington nearly rescued a point at the very end of the match. The Stan are back in action in 2 days’ time when they travel to local rivals Ashington for a 1pm Easter Monday kick off with many of the Stan Army travelling there by train.

Stan Team: Brass; Evans; Hornsby (Burn 65); Deverdics (Storey 57); Capewell; Shepherd; Payne; Chrisp (Y&Y=R); Pearson (Milburn 84); Walker (Johnson 65); Hopper (Errington 65). All subs used. Attendance 437. Man of the Match: Joe Shepherd.                  

Kevin Mochrie

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