Competition: Northern Premier League East
1 vs 1 
Heaton Stannington vs Brighouse Town
Although Brighouse is famous for its brass band, it was the Stan’s Lewis Brass & his outfield band of players who were top of the pops with a comfortable 2-0 win in front of a crowd of 422. There were 4 changes from Tuesday’s Senior Cup win over Whitley Bay with Brass, Shepherd, Slaughter & Stephenson replacing De Jesus, Marriott, Sayer & Burn.
In the High Heaton sunshine, both teams tried to attack from the start, but the 1st clear effort came from the Stan after 7 minutes when Evans cut into the box & supplied Lamb who put the ball over the bar. Lamb then advanced again but was blocked by 2 defenders. This was followed by Brighouse’s 1st venture near the Stan box but their cross was blocked although 2 minutes later they did get the ball into the Stan box but it was easily cleared. There was a sustained Stan attack in 17 minutes which ended with Evans putting the ball into the 6 yard box & although it was blocked, Lamb at the back post managed to send the ball back out to Beattie who blasted it into the net. 2 minutes later, Anderson supplied Lamb who was brought down just inside the Brighouse box. The resulting penalty in the 20th minute was comfortably put away by Anderson for 2-0. Brighouse did try to attack after this but their efforts were easily dealt with by the Stan. They did get a corner in 24 minutes which Turnbull cleared. Brass then had trouble with his knee but was able to continue. After a quieter period, a speculative long-range effort by Richardson went over the bar. Both teams were trying to attack but with no real end product. A Brighouse long range shot after 35 minutes went high & wide. The Stan were battling well & in 39 minutes Lamb got past the visiting keeper & was brought down but he was offside. Lamb & Stephenson then attacked again but a foul was given for Brighouse. The visitors then had an attack blocked then cleared. They then sent a free kick into the box which was blocked by Richardson then cleared. Brighouse’s late rally continued with a shot deflected for a corner which came to nothing. The Stan though ended the half comfortably leading by 2 goals.
The Stan started the 2nd half positively but little happened until Brighouse got a corner in 52 minutes. The ball from it was cleared & Brighouse then got a free kick just outside the box which was blocked. The Stan tried to attack but remained relatively quiet until, in 58 minutes, Anderson was brought down as he was about to advance. Brighouse’s Acquah was booked as a result &, because he had already been booked a minute earlier, he was then sent off. The resulting free kick from Lamb went round the Brighouse wall forcing a full length save from their keeper Cooper. A minute later & a Stephenson corner was initially cleared to Slaughter who sent the ball back in. Cooper got down to try & catch it but only managed to do so after competition from a scramble of foots involving 3 or 4 Stan players who were trying to direct the ball into the net. The Stan kept the pressure on their 10 man opponents. In 71 minutes, form a Lamb corner, Turnbull put the ball over the bar. It was mainly all Stan pressure now including sub Walker having an effort cleared in 81 minutes followed by Lamb shooting over the bar. Lamb had a shot caught by the keeper in 84 minutes before he was substituted. In 86 minutes, a Brighouse free kick into the Stan box was cleared followed by a rebound shot being caught by Brass. There was then a sustained Stan attack which ended with the ball going across the 6 yard box but missing everyone. After 4 minutes of added time the match ended with the Stan still in control & winning 2-0.
So, the Stan march up to mid-table (13th) after a solid & hard-working performance. A win always looked assured after the 1st goal went in on 17 minutes. On Wednesday night they have another home league match when they host Garforth Town.
Kevin Mochrie
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2 vs 0 
Bradford Park Avenue vs Heaton Stannington
Heaton Stannington gave themselves a mountain to climb at Bradford (Park Avenue) – and never quite recovered from a shocking start which saw them 2-0 down inside six minutes.
It was the Stan who got the game underway, playing the ball straight back to goalkeeper Lewis Brass who launched the ball upfield. The home side sent the ball back his way and put him under pressure immediately. He found Liam Doyle but the right-back’s first touch was heavy, putting the ball on a plate for the advancing Jack Normanton, who was able to scoop the ball over Brass into an empty net.
The second blow was dealt just five minutes later, as Bradford’s left winger was able to burst past Doyle out wide and then play a perfect through ball into the centre for Connor Shanks to slot away.
Many in the Horsfall Stadium would’ve expected this to become a procession, but the Stan stabilised. The damage that had been done in the early stages meant that the home side were much harder to break down, but had the game remained goalless after the opening exchanges, there’s every chance this could’ve been a positive result.
After a quarter of an hour, Dan Stephenson tried his luck from 25 yards to attempt to pull back into the game, but it wasn’t too much of a challenge for goalkeeper Ed Hall. Another 15 or so minutes later, Konner Lamb was able to burst into the area and shoot, but again, the keeper only had to move minimally to get himself on top of the ball.
While the result will have undoubtedly been a disappointment for manager Dean Nicholson and his staff, the biggest concern of the afternoon will have been the loss of Leighton Hopper, Louis Anderson and Liam Doyle to injury, with the latter looking the most serious. But the effort of the players can’t be faulted – mistakes happen but it’s how you recover and learn from them that matters, and although they came away from West Yorkshire empty-handed, they can be pleased with their work rate and determination when the game settled to keep the score down and to try to get something out of it.
Attention turns now to a Coast Road derby against Whitley Bay in the Northumberland Senior Cup, which could prove to be a good opportunity to make some changes and build some confidence ahead of a return to league action next Saturday when the Stan are at home to Brighouse Town.
Liam Milburn
2 vs 0 Heaton Stannington vs Newton Aycliffe
Heaton Stannington climbed into the top half of the Pitching In Northern Premier League East Division table after coming out on top in a six-goal thriller with North East neighbours Newton Aycliffe.
Lewis Brass returned in goal after missing the previous seven games through injury – and the away side tried to put him under pressure from the kick-off, shooting from the halfway line but without enough lift or power to really test him.
The Stan struggled in the opening stages of the game with Newton Aycliffe playing with dominance and determination. Their first big chance produced the game’s first goal, with some neat passing getting them from midfield to the front line with two quick touches. Cieran Jackson seized upon the ball, weaved between two defenders to get it into his right foot, before slotting into the bottom corner.
Aycliffe tried to double their lead just a few minutes later, but Dan Capewell got down to slide in front of an attempted low cross from captain Ethan Wood. The resulting corner was cleared behind for another one – and from that, Joe Ferguson saw an effort from the edge of the box crack the post, via at least one deflection.
Having improved as the half progressed, the Stan bagged an essential equaliser on 37 minutes. The Aycliffe defence got in front of Joseph Thompson to block the ball from finding him for what would’ve surely been a goal, and then the resulting corner was saved well by the goalkeeper Jim Pollard, but only into the path of Leighton Hopper to stab home his seventh of the season.
Whatever manager Dean Nicholson said at half time had clearly had an effect, because the home side turned the game in their favour from the restart, creating all of the chances in a frantic opening 15 minutes. They deservedly went ahead just after the hour mark when a good spell of passing play in the opposition third ended up at the feet of Connor Walker with enough time and space to steady himself, pick his spot and fire the Stan into the lead.
Just six minutes later, a bit of breathing room. Brass got the ball forward, Joseph Thompson gambled on the flick from a teammate, battled with his defender to retain possession, and then racing through to slot it into the far side of the goal. Louis Anderson had only been on the pitch for around 30 seconds when he made it 4-1, running onto a neat flick by Richie Slaughter before poking home with his left foot.
It could’ve been even more comfortable just a couple of minutes later but Aycliffe’s defence tightened up and gave themselves a platform to rescue something from a game that had totally fallen away from them. It looked as though they would have a fighting chance on 78 minutes when they were awarded a penalty, but Dean Thexton blazed his kick over the bar, much to the delight of Stan goalkeeper Brass who received a booking for his overzealous celebration.
Aycliffe did pull a goal back to make it 4-2 in injury time through Cole Kiernan, but the job had been done earlier in the match with the Stan showing the kind of dominance and clinical finishing that some games have missed this season. Another historic night as the club secured its first home league win in the Northern Premier League East Division – and attention now turns to a trip to Bradford (Park Avenue) on Saturday to see if they can make it back-to-back league victories for the first time.
Liam Milburn
4 vs 2 
Stocksbridge Park Steels vs Heaton Stannington
An injury time winner for Stocksbridge denied the Stan what would’ve been a hard-fought and well-earned point in South Yorkshire.
The first big chance went the way of the home side on nine minutes – as an eye-of-the-needle pass was slotted from midfield through to the striker Jack Haslam. He raced towards goal but goalkeeper Callum Corkhill made himself big and the shot was slotted wide.
The Stan did well to keep Stocksbridge at bay in a dominant spell of pressure which saw us penned into our own half for a good while. With the box packed, Haslam tried again on 12 minutes but this time his attempt was a sneaky bend into the near post from wide that needed more accuracy to work.
The strong defensive work paid off and the Stan capitalised on a calamity at the back to take the lead on 28 minutes. A Dan Capewell header to clear eventually found its way to Richie Slaughter who was able to fire one over everyone into space for Konner Lamb to run onto – just as Joe Shepherd did last Saturday against North Ferriby.
Stocksbridge keeper Ben Townsend may have won the race, but he failed to gather the ball from his feet and Lamb was able to nip it away from under him. With the goalkeeper beaten, Lamb just had to steady himself to avoid a calamity of his own, which he did and gave the Stan a leader just before the half hour mark.
The home side went back on the offensive and had opportunities to level. Daniel Hernandez headed against the post in first half injury time and an inviting cross looking for Joao Silva was an easy gather for Corkhill not long after the interval.
The men in yellow and blue found their equaliser just before the hour mark, but it began with a Stan attack. Lamb forced the keeper down to a save, but it was always going to be difficult, charging at goal from the right but only able to shoot with the same foot.
Up the other end, a high ball was played into the box by the Stocksbridge midfield. It was brilliantly controlled by Haslam to bring it down, and then another touch allowed him to flick it over Corkhill and into the net.
A draw would’ve been a fair result. The two sides exchanged blows but neither side looked as though they’d done enough to take all three points. A low effort from Kurtis Turner on 63 minutes was easy for Corkhill, and a Hopper volley a few minutes later was too central to get the better of Townsend in the home goal.
The introduction of debutant Joe Thompson made a big difference, injecting pace and trickery out wide. A dangerous cross on 70 minutes made the Stocksbridge keeper work, and when found in space deep into injury time, with the option to shoot towards the near post or send a low ball into the mixer, neither really happened and a good chance to nick it was wasted.
Unfortunately there was still one more chance in the game and it was gobbled up by Stocksbridge in the third minute of injury time. As they’d done so much in the game, the box was filled with yellow and blue shirts, and when Oliwier Grzelak saw an opening through the crowd to shoot, he took it and send a powerful effort past Corkhill to spark jubilant scenes in the home sections and dismay in the Far Corner.
A devastating way to lose, having never looked like losing. The Stan have 11 days until they return to league action with a home game against Newton Aycliffe, with the small matter of an FA Trophy match away to friends Clitheroe in the meantime.
Liam Milburn
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2 vs 1 
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