After securing league safety with a game to spare, the Stan entered their last game of the season in both a celebratory & confident mood & secured a win that saw them finish the league in 12^th place out of 22 and 8 points above the relegation zone. Their opponents North Ferriby ended the season in 8^th place. There were 3 changes from the win on Monday at Ashington with Cassap, Turnbull & Burn replacing Corkhill, Capewell & Lamb. It was Mark Turnbull’s last league match as he is retiring after the Senior Cup final. Ryan Bailey made his 1^st appearance of the season from the bench. The match also saw the 1^st appearance of the Stan’s new 100 capacity covered enclosure, the 3^rd 50 seat stand & a new turnstile unit.

North Ferriby were 1^st to threaten in the 2^nd minute when they entered the Stan box, but the attack came to nothing. 2 minutes later & the Stan had an attack cleared. After a continued quiet start, Errington supplied Hopper in the 9^th minute, but his effort was cleared. There was another quiet period until the visiting keeper easily caught in the 15^th minute. In the 16^th minute, a back pass by a Ferriby defender took a deflection & the keeper had to punch the ball over his bar for a corner. From it the ball went across the Ferriby box & was cleared. In the 20^th minute an Errington shot from outside the box was punched clear by the keeper. It was both a good effort & a good save. 2 minutes later it was North Ferriby who unexpectantly took the lead when a ball into the Stan 6-yard box was headed across to Johnson who put the ball into the Stan net for 0-1. Although quieter, the next 10 minutes involved mainly pressure from the Stan. In 25 minutes, a Walker ball into the box was easily collected by the visiting keeper. 4 minutes later & Errington ran into the box under pressure & shot as the keeper advanced, but his effort went wide. In the 30^th minute, a North Ferriby counterattack saw Stephenson lose the ball & a visiting player tried to lob the ball into the net but his effort went just wide. Errington was then pulled down at the other end. From the resulting free kick Burn shot just wide. In 33 minutes, the Stan attacked again but the keeper collected under pressure followed by a Ferriby attack. Errington then advanced but the loose ball was collected by the advancing Ferriby keeper. In 38 minutes, the Ferriby keeper got down to block from the advancing Hopper then cleared again. In 42 minutes, Walker hit the side netting & soon after Ferriby shot wide from the edge of the box. In the 45^th minute, the Stan were back level when the advancing Errington was supplied with the ball & shot into the net to the keeper’s left from just inside the box. Just before the half time whistle, Errington was brought down just outside the North Ferriby box but nothing was given.

Although both sides were trying to attack, there was a relatively quiet start to the 2^nd half. In the 57^th minute, Hopper ran into the visitors box with the ball but his weak shot was easily collected by the keeper. Hopper then got into the box again but was blocked for a corner. A minute later, & Hopper was into the box again & he passed to Errington, but the keeper got down to stop his shot from close range. Ferriby then attacked but the ball was cleared. In the 62^nd minute, a North Ferriby effort from just outside the box was blasted wide. Soon after, a joined-up Stan attack was cleared. After a quieter period, Burn shot just over in 73 minutes. 2 minutes later & a Walker shot from outside the box was put over the bar by the North Ferriby keeper when it looked like it was going into the net. In 78 minutes, Cassap caught under pressure before another North Ferriby attack was cleared. The visitors then won a corner from which Capewell headed clear. The ball came back in & was headed over the bar by a visiting player. In 82 minutes Capewell had to clear. 3 minutes later & the Stan were in the lead when a Burn 30-yard free kick went through everyone in the box & into the net. North Ferriby didn’t give up & a minute later Cassap had to get down to save but he didn’t hold the ball & it went out for a corner. From it, a North Ferriby header at the back post was caught by Cassap. In 87 minutes, sub Bailey broke through but put the ball over the North Ferriby bar. In 89 minutes, a Ferriby attack was cleared & the ball was sent up to Errington who won the ball from a defender & passed to Hopper but he collided with the Ferriby keeper & the ball bounced to Groves but the keeper managed to dive at his feet & catch it. After 3 added minutes, the match ended with a deserved Stan victory.

So the Stan ended the league season on a high & can look forward to tier 4 football again next season. Before that there is the Northumberland Senior Cup Final against Morpeth Town on 14 May at Saint James’ Park.

Kevin Mochrie

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The Stan were back to winning ways in front of crowd of 562 who saw them go 5 points clear of relegation with 2 games to play. This Good Friday match did not see either team crucified although the Stan deserved their win despite the visitors from Yorkshire getting a late goal. There were 3 changes from the defeat at Newton Aycliffe last Saturday with Turnbull, Burn & Errington replacing Marriott, Slaughter & Adamson. Brass’s suspension had not started & Hopper’s red card had been overturned.

The match started with Turnbull slipping allowing Liversedge to advance but Capewell got in front of their advancing player & cleared on the edge of the Stan box. The Stan had a corner in the 5^th minute from which the visiting keeper collected. Liversedge then advanced but Evans forced the ball out for a bye kick. The Stan then advanced but Walker shot wide under pressure. 2 minutes later & Liversedge shot wide under pressure. Both teams were trying to attack &, after a quieter period, the visitors had to head clear twice in 17 minutes as Errington tried to pressurise their defence. In 21 minutes, the visiting keeper easily caught followed by Turnbull heading clear at the other end & although the ball went back into the Stan box Liversedge headed it wide under pressure. In 24 minutes, Lamb ran into the box & passed to the advancing Hopper, but the keeper blocked his shot for a corner.. From the corner, the keeper caught the ball on the line. The visiting keeper blocked a Lamb shot & in 31 minutes Brass got down to save from a corner. After a period of Stan pressure Liversedge had a free kick headed clear by Burn in 37 minutes. Both teams continued to try & attack & in 41 minutes an Errington shot from a tight angle was easily collected by the keeper. In a closely contested 1^st half, it was the Stan who took the lead just before half time in the 1^st minute of added time. Lamb advanced into the Liversedge box & although he was pushed to the ground as he was about to shoot, & the ball was cleared, only a corner was awarded. From the corner though, Capewell headed the ball towards the net & although his header was blocked on the line, the resulting scramble ended with Lamb forcing the ball into the net.

Liversedge started the 2^nd half by almost levelling the score when a shot on goal saw Brass dive & miss the ball, but Evans headed the ball clear when it looked like it was going into the net. In the 47^th minute though it was the Stan who extended their lead when Errington blasted the ball into the Liversedge net from outside the box. The visiting keeper had to make a save from a Lamb effort 2 minutes later. In 51 minutes Liversedge saw a long range effort swerve wide. In 59 minutes, an Errington shot was blocked & Walker’s rebound shot was blocked. 3 minutes later & Brass easily caught from a header. Liversedge then shot across the Stan goal, but the ball went just wide. Brass easily caught an effort in 66 minutes followed by Lamb shooting well over. Hopper was then brought down just outside the Liversedge box but Stephenson’s free kick was blocked. From the resulting throw in, Errington’s overhead kick was caught by the keeper. Robson, who had a great game, won the ball & suppled Lamb but the move came to nothing. In 72 minutes, Errington supplied Hopper who was brought down in the box but only a corner was given. From it, Lamb sliced his effort over the bar. In 75 minutes, Stephenson sliced his shot wide from a good position. Brass then had to make a good save from close range to deny a good Liversedge effort. After a sub Payne long range effort had been easily caught, a great move by Lamb saw him supply Grove but his ball into the box was blocked. There were weak efforts at either end before, in 84 minutes, Lamb supplied Payne who shot just wide. Liversedge shot wide in 87 minutes & they got a goal back 2 minutes later when, under pressure from Brass, Carr forced the ball into the Stan net. Into 3 minutes of added time & the Stan had an attack blocked followed by Brass easily catching at the other end.

It was a well-deserved hard-working win for a determined Stan who now know safety is in their own hands. Unfortunately, the Stan victory confirmed relegation for Liversedge. The Stan now visit Ashington on Easter Monday & a win there will mean that they are definitely safe and will be playing 4^th tier non-league football for a 2^nd season.

Kevin Mochrie

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