Season: 2024-25
Heaton Stannington v Garforth Town
Having brought them back to Grounsell Park following a 1-1 draw in West Yorkshire, Heaton Stannington were eliminated from The FA Cup by nine-man Garforth Town in an entertaining replay.
The Stan came flying out of the traps and within less than a minute had opened the scoring. A Connor Walker tackle midway into the Garforth half presented Konner Lamb with the time and space to shoot from around 35 yards, with his effort flying into the top corner. A goal to remember, especially when we come to choose our favourite of the season when all is said and done.
Just seven minutes later, that lead would be doubled. The Stan drew a foul in a position which would ordinarily be a good place to cross from, but Dan Stephenson decided to throw his hat into the ring for Goal of the Season and hammered the ball, squeezing it between the near post and the goalkeeper at full stretch.
Midway through the half, Garforth began to fight back. Connor Walker slipped with the ball in the centre circle, and Jay Davis seized upon it quickly. Spotting the keeper slightly off his line, and using the swirling wind to his advantage, Davis took one touch to steal possession and a second to loft the ball over Corkhill from inside his own half.
From there, the away side had their tails up and piled on the pressure. The Stan’s narrow lead survived until half time, but was eliminated just three minutes down when a Garforth player was bundled over in the box and Max Tweddle converted the penalty.
The game took another twist on 55 minutes. Konner Lamb was put through on goal and managed to get a shot away, albeit not the sort of clean strike he would have hoped for had he not been pulled back by the last man in defence Joe Smith, who was shown a straight red card.
A basketball match ensued as both sides had big chances – Garforth even tried another goal from ridiculously long range – but no-one could prevent the game going longer.
Having battled against 10 men, but without making their man advantage count, the Stan’s task appeared to get easier with a few minutes of extra time remaining when Jamie Barkway was shown a second yellow card. But it was the nine men of Garforth who secured a place in the next round, as substitute Charlie Marshall was found on the edge of the box, and his first time finish was cushioned low into the net.
A night to forget for the Stan, one that manager Dean Nicholson called the worst in his tenure as manager in his post-match comments. Heaton will return to cup action with the club’s first ever FA Trophy tie at home to NPL East Division rivals North Ferriby on September 7th.
Callum Corkhill; Liam Doyle (Kailem Beattie 46), Mark Turnbull (Alfie Marriott 74), Joe Shepherd, Daniel Sayer (Jay Hornsby 102); Connor Walker, Richie Slaughter, Dan Stephenson; Konner Lamb (Matt Foster 88), Louis Anderson (Jordan Lashley 74), Leighton Hopper
Subs not used: Marc Ellison, Andy Burn
Liam Milburn
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Photo Gallery 2
2024-08-21 Garforth FACP-R 2
2 vs 3 
Garforth Town v Heaton Stannington
The Stan face the prospect of a home tie with former Football League giants Bury in the Emirates FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round – but an 88th minute Garforth equaliser in their Preliminary Round tie in West Yorkshire denied immediate progression.
After a bruising 3-0 defeat at Pontefract earlier that week, manager Dean Nicholson will have been hoping to see a response from his players. Both sides kept it tidy for the first ten minutes and signs were much more positive that this would be a more even contest.
The first big opportunity came for the Stan on 11 minutes, when Daniel Sayer – having played a beautiful one-two with Leighton Hopper on the left – was able to drive a mid-height cross into the area for Louis Anderson, who ran to the near post to meet the ball, but his flicked effort to the back post went agonisingly over the bar.
Moments later, the Stan were handed another chance to cause chaos in the Garforth box. This time, a floated Dan Stephenson free kick to the far side of the area was flicked into the six yard box by Joe Shepherd, but the home team’s defence got in front of Anderson to stop him having a shot.
Garforth’s first opening followed shortly after, as a searching ball from the halfway line wasn’t deal with by Kailem Beattie on the edge of the Stan’s penalty area, which allowed them a chance to shoot, but the effort was slightly too high, and would’ve been palmed away by goalkeeper Lewis Brass if it was lower.
The ball was in the net for the Stan midway through the first half. Hopper and Sayer combined again, this time Hopper pinging the ball from the right side to Sayer on the left, who used the momentum of the ball to loop it into the area for Konner Lamb who – much like Anderson for our first chance – flicked over his head to the back post, finding the net on this occasion, but denied by the assistant referee’s flag.
But a breakthrough came ten minutes later. Sayer was once again instrumental, played in behind down the left by Richie Slaughter, then had his shot pushed to the other side of the box by the Garforth keeper. Lamb leapt to strike the rebound towards goal, but was denied by another big save – except this time it was by defender Harry Viggars, who therefore conceded a penalty and could’ve had no complaints about the red card he was issued. No problem for Hopper who calmly tucked away his second penalty of the season and third goal overall.
With their man advantage, the Stan looked to make their lead more comfortable heading into the break, but Lamb’s right-sided effort from the edge of the area flashed wide of the far post. That attacking pressure continued in the second half as a panicked goalkeeper – under the duress of Lamb – played the ball straight to Anderson on the edge of the area with the goal gaping, but the Stan no.9’s decision to shift the ball between his feet took the sting out of the gift he’d been given and it went wide.
Garforth may have been a man down, but they never considered themselves down and out as they pushed for a route back into the game. A first time cross into the area on 70 minutes may not have found someone to poke it towards goal, but it was an indication of the kind of pressure the Stan defence would face in the closing stages.
Victory should’ve been secured for the Stan a couple of minutes later. A dominant spell on the ball in the final third – which started with the Garforth keeper giving possession away cheaply yet again – eventually found Dan Stephenson in acres of space on the edge of the area. A towering defensive header fell nicely onto his favoured left foot, but seconds later he fell to the floor in disbelief as he watched his low curling shot hit the base of the post.
With six minutes of normal time to go, Garforth would also crack the woodwork. A neat ball in behind from midfield to their left winger allowed him to run onto goal, carve between two Stan defenders, but his cushioned finish towards the near top corner smashed against the frame.
The home side had turned the tide and were determined to stay in the hat for Monday’s 1st Qualifying Round draw. No.8 and no.16 combined once again, and even with four Stan defenders in front of him, Muhammed Fadera found a gap to shoot low and snuck it under Brass to equalise.
Having rode their luck to stay in the game on numerous occasions, it was almost the ten men of Garforth who booked their place in the next round in the closing seconds. They moved the ball around well in a packed penalty area before finally getting a shot away. Brass had to keep his concentration to get down low and hold onto an effort that could’ve easily crept in.
The way the win fell away from the Stan at the end will have frustrated Dean and his players, but there was much to be encouraged about from the way they played. Although not a league game, this was the first game the Stan have faced this season against a side from the Northern Premier League East Division in which they avoided defeat.
If the Stan can be more clinical in Wednesday’s replay at Grounsell Park, they’ll face Bury – who were in League One until they were expelled in 2019 – on the weekend of August 31st.
Lewis Brass; Liam Doyle, Kailem Beattie, Alfie Marriott, Joe Shepherd, Daniel Sayer (Jay Hornsby 75); Richie Slaughter, Dan Stephenson; Konner Lamb (Marc Ellison 83), Louis Anderson (Jordan Lashley 74), Leighton Hopper
Subs not used: Callum Corkhill, Andy Burn, Matt Foster, James Harper
Liam Milburn
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1 vs 1 Pontefract Collieries vs Heaton Stannington
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
3 vs 0 Heaton Stannington vs Belper Town
It was a historic sunny Saturday afternoon for the Stan as they played their 1st league match at tier 4 of non-league & also took on Belper Town for the 1st 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 5th minute. The 1st Stan attack came in the 10th 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 15th 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 23rd 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 38th 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 1st half ended goalless.
Both teams started the 2nd 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 54th minute was put comfortably into the net by Hopper for 1-0 to the Stan & it was their 1st 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 1st home league defat since the 1st 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 1st 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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1 vs 2 
Heaton Stannington v Easington Colliery
The Stan’s 1st competitive match of the new season saw them start on the road to Wembley with a Friday night FA Cup tie in front of a crowd of 603. A 2-0 win saw the Stan get revenge against the visitors Easington Colliery who had beaten them 72 years ago when they last met each other in the FA Cup. There were competitive debuts for Connor Walker, who started the match. & for both Matt Foster & Marc Ellison from the bench while Jay Hornsby made his 100th start for the club.
There was a quiet start to the match until the Easington keeper caught the ball from a Stan corner after 6 minutes. 2 minutes later & an Easington effort went wide under pressure followed by Hopper shooting wide. In the 13th minute, Brass easily caught the ball from a long-range free kick. He then sent a long ball up for Lamb, but he could not get to it before it went out. Soon after the Stan sent the ball into the away box & Hopper got up to head but the ball came off the bar &, although the keeper & a defender nearly collided, Easington managed to clear the ball. After 16 minutes, a great run by an Easington forward was stopped by a Turnbull intervention. Sayer then supplied Lamb at the other end who shot wide across the goal. Both teams were trying to attack & in 24 minutes a Stan corner saw Shepherd head the ball at the back post, but it was cleared. In 27 minutes, another Stan corner ended with Evans blasting the ball towards the net but the keeper made a great save. It was now end to end as both teams tried to attack. In the 40th minute, Walker was brought down as he advanced & the resulting free kick saw the ball being sent wide by Slaughter. In 44 minutes, an Evans shot in the box was blocked. Hopper was then brought down just outside the box. Lamb took the resulting free kick & although it went past everyone in the box the keeper made a full length save to stop him scoring & keep the score 0-0 at half time.
The Stan started the 2nd half positively with the Easington keeper having to catch the ball in the 47th minute & 2 minutes later Lamb sliced an effort under pressure. After a quieter few minutes, the Stan were in the lead in the 56th minute when Sayer passed to Walker who was blocked but the ball went back to Hopper who blasted it under pressure past the keeper & into the back of the net. 2 minutes later & Sayer made a solo run into the box & a 1-2 with Hopper saw him then shoot wide. Hopper then supplied Sayer who was blocked followed by Foster & Evans also being blocked. The Stan had stepped up a gear & another Sayer effort was just stopped in time by the Easington keeper. In the 60th minute, an Easington long range effort forced a great save by Brass. Although the Stan were still putting pressure on it was the visitors who came close in 69 minutes when a long range effort that went just wide. Both teams were now trying to score but it was the Stan who got the craved for 2nd goal in 76 minutes when Hopper passed to Sayer who passed to Lamb who was able to shoot & blasted the ball into the net. It was all now mainly one way Stan traffic until the 83rd minute when an Easington attack was ended by a great block by Sayer. The last few minutes saw both teams trying to attack but the match ended with a 2-0 win for the Stan.
Although Easington put up a good fight, overall the Stan earned a comfortable win. The Stan now travel to Garforth Town in the Preliminary round of the FA Cup on Saturday 17 August but before that they have the not so small matter of their 1st ever PitchingIn Northern Premier League East match at home against Belper Town on Saturday 10 August.
Stan Team: Brass; Evans; Hornsby; Palmer (Ellison 86); Turnbull; Shepherd; Walker (Burn 74); Slaughter; Lamb (Y) (Foster 79); Hopper (Anderson (Y) 79); Sayer (Lashley 88). Attendance: 603. MoM: Connor Walker.
Kevin Mochrie
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Photo Gallery 2
2 vs 0 
Hebburn Town v Heaton Stannington
Heaton Stan showed that they have what it takes against Northern Premier League East Division opposition as they held last season’s champions Hebburn to a goalless draw on a balmy Friday night.
The Stan started strongest and swarmed the home side at every opportunity in the early stages. A goalmouth scramble in the fourth minute caused havoc in the Hebburn box, and while it didn’t culminate in an effort on goal, it showed that Nicholson’s men will continue to play on the front foot.
Midway through the first half, Hebburn started to turn the tide and will consider themselves unfortunate not to have hit the target. A wide player held the ball up, messing with Kane Evans by jerking left and right, before bursting inside and lining up a shot around 25 yards out. If the sun wasn’t in his eyes, that might have been a test for Lewis Brass in goal.
A few minutes later, Hebburn found themselves in a similar position, but this time they opted to cross. The ball was hung up perfectly for the striker who glances agonisingly wide from the edge of the six yard box.
Long spells of the game were largely for the football purists, with intriguing battles happening all over the pitch, without necessarily leading to chances. Both keepers had to show their command of their box from crossed corners, but for the most part, they weren’t called into too much danger.
Just as in the first half, the Stan packed the Hebburn box early in the second to try to force the ball in but without any luck. A corner rattled around the box before falling to David Palmer who tried to drill a low shot in but it was blocked. Eventually the ball settled at Konner Lamb’s feet, but he went down under a challenge and couldn’t get his shot away properly, but the referee wasn’t having the penalty shouts.
The save of the match occurred on 65 minutes, as a Hebburn player planted a header towards goal from a corner, but time appeared to stop as Brass sprung into action and palmed the ball out of the top corner.
Legs began to tire in the closing stages, unsurprising given the high-tempo and high-quality standard of the game. A floated free kick on 73 minutes allowed Palmer space to shoot from range, albeit the Hebburn defenders did close it down to force corner – but a defensive lapse a minute later gave the Stan their best opening of the night.
The keeper tried to play out from the back, but it’s unclear who the intended recipient was, so the fresh legs of Louis Anderson happily stole in and played the ball to Lamb on his right.
With footwork similar to that of his stunning play-off final goal against West Auckland, Lamb shifted the ball onto his left and delayed his shot, but perhaps for too long, as his effort was straight down the throat of the keeper.
Half-chances and teasing crosses for both sides followed, but no-one could break the deadlock. Both of these sides will be entering new territory next season, and based on this showing, Heaton and Hebburn supporters can expect plenty of character, determination and strong defensive work from their players.
Liam Milburn
0 vs 0 
