Northern Premier League East Archives - Page 11 of 16

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

It was a historic sunny Saturday afternoon for the Stan as they played their 1^st league match at tier 4 of non-league & also took on Belper Town for the 1^st 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 5^th minute. The 1^st Stan attack came in the 10^th 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 15^th 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 23^rd 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 38^th 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 1^st half ended goalless.

Both teams started the 2^nd 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 54^th minute was put comfortably into the net by Hopper for 1-0 to the Stan & it was their 1^st 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 1^st home league defat since the 1^st 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 1^st 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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