The Stan’s three month wait for a win came to an end at home to promotion-chasers Dunston in the second of three back-to-back games at Grounsell Park, following a disappointing defeat to Pontefract Collieries just three nights prior.

Having been a substitute for the last three games, Leighton Hopper was recalled to the starting eleven and showed why he deserved his spot in the side, being an integral part of the attack from the off. Just as they did on Tuesday, the Stan started on the front foot. On 3 minutes, Hopper cut in from the left, fired an effort which was destined for the goal, but blocked en route by his teammate Jay Errington.

Unlike the Pontefract game, the Stan didn’t then concede and instead continued piling on the pressure, not giving Dunston a moment to breathe. Hopper was a huge part of every good opportunity in the early stages, forcing two saves from goalkeeper Dan Lowson and almost turning provider at the end of one of his trademark mazy runs but his pass was intercepted before it could result in a chance.

Andy Burn also had opportunities to score in the first half, with one wide, one over the bar and one straight at the goalkeeper. He was a key part of a midfield and forward line who pressed the opposition at every opportunity and dictated the high tempo of the game.

Dunston failed to register a meaningful effort on goal in the first half, but came out stronger in the second half and did lightly test Stan goalkeeper Lewis Brass in the early stages as JJ O’Donnell flicked towards goal from a corner. The North East non-league stalwart would have another effort midway through the half from a header, managing to generate a decent amount of power despite being around 15 yards from goal.

Manager Dean Nicholson bemoaned the failure to put away big chances on Tuesday night, just as he has on many occasions this season, and it looked like history would be repeating itself with some of the big opportunities not taken against Dunston. On 58 minutes, Dan Groves flicked on a throw into the path of Jay Errington, who confidently controlled the ball and dashed towards the box. With three defenders tight on him, he opted to shift wider to his left, unleashing a shot across goal which was unlucky to miss the far bottom corner.

As the minutes ticked away, it was looking more and more likely that the game was going to end goalless, but not for a lack of effort, and mostly because just as against Pontefract, the ball just seemed unable to cross the goal line. On 76 minutes, a low ball was sent into the box but cleared by a Dunston defender. The ball came out to Errington on the edge of the six yard box who steadied himself and then fired at goal, saved by Lowson. The ball bounced perfectly towards the head of substitute Bailey Adamson, but his nod at the near post went for a corner.

Three minutes later, another chance inexplicably went begging. Connor Walker made a run to the wide area and breezed past two marking defenders with some beautiful footwork, finding space to charge into the box where he shrugged past another man. Walker fired low from 12 yards out, Lowson saved and again the ball sat up perfectly on the rebound, this time it was Errington who was unable to convert from a close range header.

The game’s decisive moment arrived on 89 minutes. Dunston will agonise over the fact that they missed their best chance of the game just 30 seconds before our goal arrived. Tom Devitt nodded against the post from a well-delivered free-kick and the Stan were able to get the ball away. From that corner, Brass punched it away, the defence cleared their lines and set the Stan away on a rapid counter-attack. A brilliant pass from Alex Payne found Errington in space just in front of the centre circle, he carried the ball into the box with two big touches, used his physicality to hold off the defenders crowding him, took his time before flicking a shot under the goalkeeper. Cue pandemonium in the stands, on the touchline and on the pitch as all eleven players, including goalkeeper Brass, piled on top of each other by the corner flag.

“We are staying up” was the cry from the Stan supporters on the terrace – and moments later the whistle would blow, confirming an enormous three points which keeps alive hopes that the club will survive in its first season at Step 4. Attention quickly turns to another midweek home game on Wednesday, where Bradford (Park Avenue) are the visitors at Grounsell Park.

Liam Milburn

There was no icing on the Pontefract cake for the Stan due to an early & a relatively late goal for the West Yorkshire visitors. This relegation 6 pointer therefore ended pointless for the Stan even though they created lots of chances to score. There was one change from Saturday’s draw at Garforth with Burn replacing the injured Stephenson. Joe Shepherd made his 101 appearance for the club.

It was a great start for the Stan as they won the ball from the Pontefract kick off & started immediately on the attack through Errington who saw his effort blocked on the Pontefract goal line with Burn’s rebound effort hitting the side netting. The Stan attacked again & Burn had his shot saved. The visitors immediately attacked for the 1^st time & although their initial effort was blocked, Dunn chipped the ball from the edge of the box & into the net to give Pontefract a shock lead. Pontefract had an effort headed clear 2 minutes later. Errington then broke with his 1^st effort blocked followed by his 2^nd effort from the edge of the box being cleared on the line. A Stan free kick was then head clear & the resulting Pontefract counterattack was off side. After an injured Pontefract player was treated, it was back on the attack for the Stan. After a quieter few minutes, 2 Pontefract attacks were cleared in the 13^th minute followed by a home attack being cleared. Pontefract had a long throw into the Stan box which was cleared & the long range rebound shot went well wide. The visitors shot wide again in 19 minutes. The Stan then had a ball from a corner blocked followed by a shot going over the bar. In 23 minutes, a Pontefract attack was cleared & again 2 minutes later. A Groves corner was then punched clear by the Pontefract keeper. Groves then sent a ball into the Pontefract box which was headed out for a corner from which Adamson’s shot was blocked. The Stan pressure continued but Pontefract continued to defend well & in 32 minutes Marriott shot wide. From the 34^th minute, there were 3 minutes of end to end action but with both defences clearing well. In 37 minutes, Brass caught a Pontefract effort then sent a long ball to Errington but the keeper easily caught his shot. In the 39^th minute, the Stan had a sustained attack which included 2 Stan efforts being blocked followed by an effort being cleared on the goal line by a Pontefract defender when the Stan thought they had scored. It was end to end again as the 1^st half came to a close,

Both teams continued trying to attack after the start of the 2^nd half & each had initial efforts cleared. The Stan added to their attacking threat by introducing Hopper in 52 minutes & Walker & Lamb 13 minutes later. In 56 minutes, a Stan free kick into the Pontefract box saw an unmarked Shepherd break forward & collect the ball but his effort was saved by the keeper. Soon after Brass made a great save at the other end. It was end to end again but again both defences dealt well with the attacks. In 69 minutes, Walker shot well over & for the remaining 20 minutes there was mainly joined up pressure from Heaton Stannington. In 70 minutes, Pontefract had to clear 7 times as part of the sustained Stan pressure. In 76 minutes though, against the run of play, Pontefract broke & although their initial shot was blocked by Brass, the 4-yard rebound effort was tapped into the net by Elliot Walker. It was then back to Stan pressure & Pontefract defending including through 2 headed clearances. In 84 minutes, A Groves free kick was initially cleared followed by a ball from Lamb going across the Pontefract goal line before being cleared then back to Payne whose effort, from just outside the box, bobbled just wide. In 89 minutes, Walker shot just wide. Capewell then had to make a good clearance from a rare Pontefract attack. The 6 added minutes again saw 1 way traffic as the Stan continued to try & get the ball into the visitors’ net, but Pontefract managed under pressure to deny them.

There were highs & lows during the match. The highs included the Stan continually trying to attack when they had the ball & creating lots of chances as well as defending well when required. The lows were not converting any of the many chances created & conceding 2 goals which were both when scored against the run of play. The Stan are in action again in 3 days when they host Dunston in a Friday night local derby.

Kevin Mochrie

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On Burn’s Night, there are usually lots of toasts including to the lassies & the haggis. The Stan Army were also looking forward to toasting their team who looked likely to achieve at least a draw against high flying Cleethorpes but they undeservedly lost due to conceding a late goal. After a 24-day gap, there were 7 changes form the New Year’s Day draw at Consett with Evans, Groves, Capewell, Anderson, Errington & new loan signings Ben Milburn & Alex Payne, from Blyth Spartans & Darlington respectively, replacing Marriott, Stephenson, Turnbull, Slaughter, Walker, Spence, who had been recalled by Hebburn, & Thompson who has left the club.

The match kicked off in calm but cold post storm weather & although they were not really threatened, the 1^st 8 minutes were mainly played in the Stan half. Cassap easily cleared after 6 minutes followed by a Cleethorpes corner being cleared. A minute later & Evans cleared a ball crossed into the Stan box. The ball was sent back in & bounced off Shepherd for a corner. From the corner, in 9 minutes the visitors were ahead when Capewell cleared in front of goal but the ball went back to Bateson on the edge of the 6 yard box who kicked it through a number of players & into the net. In the 12^th minute the visiting keeper had to clear a Stan ball & 2 minutes later 2 more Stan attacks were cleared. With their 1^st clear effort of the match, the Stan were back level in 18 minutes. Burn sent a ball forward to Errington who broke past defenders & shot & although his effort hit the right post, the ball went back across the goal line & into the net to give him his 1^st goal for the Stan. Both teams continued to try to attack & in 22 minutes Cleethorpes had 2 shots blocked in a busy Stan box. 2 minutes later, Hopper advanced & shot just wide. After some Stan pressure, it was Cassap who had to get down to save in 29 minutes. 5 minutes later & Hopper was brought down in the box but nothing was given. Cleethorpes then had a few minutes of pressure but they were stopped by 4 Stan clearances. The Stan though deserved to go into half time on equal terms.

After a quiet start to the 2^nd half, Milburn cleared from a corner in the 50^th minute although the ball came back into the Stan box forcing Cassap to get down to save although the flag was up for a foul. Soon after, the Stan had to clear again as the visitors tried to pressurise. Both teams had corners cleared before, in 57 minutes, Capewell headed clear from another corner. Cleethorpes then had a long-range effort which Cassap saved. Groves then broke free & the ball was deflected for a Stan corner from which 2 Stan headers were both cleared. The Stan were getting back into the match & in 66 minutes Groves advanced crossing towards sub Hornsby in the box but the visiting keeper got up to save. Soon after Cassap had to punch clear. Both teams were still trying to win the match & the Stan introduced fresh legs to their efforts when Lamb replaced Errington. The Stan were also doing well dealing with Cleethorpes pressure. In 76 minutes, Cleethorpes head wide from a corner with the follow up effort going both high & wide. In 78 minutes, Lamb broke & beat the offside trap but a defender got a foot in to send the ball out for a corner. Cleethorpes soon after shot wide. In 81 minutes, after a Hopper advance was stopped, Cleethorpes counter attacked & Bateson slotted the ball past Cassap for his 2^nd goal. It was a bad moment for the Stan when they were doing so well. They didn’t give up & sought an equaliser although time was running out. A Burn free kick in 88 minutes was headed twice by Hopper towards goal & cleared but a 3^rd attempt was prevented because the referee surprisingly awarded a foul to Cleethorpes for an alleged hand ball. As the Stan continued to press, a Cleethorpes back pass saw no action from the referee. As a final Stan attack was cleared in 96 minutes, the final whistle went.

The narrow defeat for the Stan allowed the visitors to return to 1^st place in the league although on the day both teams were evenly matched except for the late goal. The Stan, who remain 2^nd bottom, are back in action on Wednesday when they travel to 3^rd bottom Brighouse Town for a crucial 6 pointer clash.

Kevin Mochrie

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