Season: 2025-26
0 vs 4 
2 vs 0 8 vs 1 1 vs 1 
Newton Aycliffe vs Heaton Stannington
After the last 2 league visits to Newton Aycliffe ended in defeat, the Stan got revenge through a professional, comfortable & entertaining 3-0 victory. On a dark Friday night in deepest County Durham, there was only 1 team in it as the Stan got back to winning ways. There were 3 changes from the away defeat to Lincoln United 10 days ago with Evans, Walker & Johnson replacing Burn, Robson & Storey.
The Stan started on the attack & in the 2nd minute a Payne free kick into the Aycliffe box was cleared. The home side then had a shot deflected high for a corner which came to nothing. Both teams were trying to attack & in 6 minutes a ball from the advancing Errington was deflected & cleared. There was an early lead for the Stan in the 7th minute when Walker supplied Pearson who broke with the ball & entered the box before comfortably shooting past Seymour in the home goal to make it 1-0 for the Stan. It had been a confident display so far from the Stan including in defence. It was all Stan attacks now & Johnson hit the side netting in the 12th minute. A minute later, from a Stan corner, a Capewell header was put off the top of the bar & out for a corner by Seymour. In 16 minutes, a long ball to Errington saw him advance into the home box under pressure but Seymour collected the ball. Aycliffe made a rare move forward, but the flag was up. Soon after they had a speculative long-range effort that went just over the Stan bar. In 21 minutes, a home attack was cleared. In 23 minutes, the Stan advanced twice although soon after Evans had to make 2 good clearances. In 26 minutes, a Johnson diagonal long ball to Errington saw him on the left of the box with no support & under pressure he sent in a cross come shot that hit off the keeper & then off the far post & into the net for 2-0. The Stan kept attacking & in 28 minutes Johnson went down the right, but his shot was caught by Seymour. It was still mainly one sided & in 34 minutes a Pearson ball deflected off Seymour but was then cleared. It was still all Stan & in 37 minutes an Errington high ball into the home box saw Seymour put the ball over his own bar for a corner. In 39 minutes, a rare Aycliffe advance saw them shoot from just outside the Stan box, but Gordon easily caught. The 1st half ended with a ball from Payne going across the Aycliffe goal.
The Stan started the 2nd half on the attack with their 2nd shot going wide. In the 47th minute, Aycliffe got their 1st corner of the match which came to nothing. In the 49th minute, Johnson advanced on the left & sent a speculative shot, from outside the box past Seymour, who was expecting a cross, & into the net for 3-0. What a goal! In 53 minutes, a Stan free kick ended with a shot from Milburn hitting off Shepherd & going towards the net but Seymour caught at the 2nd attempt. In 55 minutes, an Aycliffe free kick into the box was easily collected by Gordon. 2 minutes later & Errington won the ball & sent the ball towards Pearson, but it hit the back of his foot before it was cleared. In 60 minutes, Johnson sent a ball into the home box but there was no one there. This was followed by a speculative long range home effort which went just wide. 2 minutes later & a deflected Aycliffe shot was easily caught by Gordon. In 64 minutes, from a Burn free kick, an Errington header was caught by Seymour. In 67 minutes, a Johnson break was blocked for a corner. After some rare home pressure, in 74 minutes Errington won the ball & was tackled in the home box before he could shoot. Aycliffe then shot just wide. In 78 minutes, there was a sustained period of home pressure which eventually resulted in a corner. From the corner, the ball went across the Stan goal & out. There was then more Stan pressure & in 84 minutes Capewell had the ball in the Aycliffe net, but the offside flag was up. In 86 minutes, a joined-up Stan attack came to nothing. It was still all Stan pressure & in 87 minutes sub Blaney sent a ball into the home box but the ball was intercepted. After 5 minutes of added time, where both teams tried to attack, the final whistle was finally blown & the triumphant Stan Army could celebrate.
It was a great evening for the Stan Army as their team put on a great show for them. All the team played well & looked hungry, but Sam Johnson edged it for man of the match not just because of his wonder goal but for his overall performance where he gave 100 % all night in attack. For the 1st time ever in league action, the Stan host Blyth Spartans on Wednesday night.
Stan Team: Gordon; Milburn; Evans; Deverdics (Storey 75); Capewell; Shepherd; Johnson; Payne (Y); Pearson (Blaney 84); Walker (Burn 62); Errington (Lamb 75). All subs used. Attendance 197. Man of the Match: Sam Johnson.
Kevin Mochrie
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0 vs 3 Lincoln United vs Heaton Stannington
The Stan undertook an 8 hour & 360 mile wintery evening round trip to take on Lincoln United at the inappropriately named Sun Hat Villas & Resorts Stadium. The Stan fought back from being a goal down at half time & gave a great performance in the 2nd half which saw them unlucky to lose to a late goal. There were 4 changes from the away defeat to Bishop Auckland 3 days ago with Robson, Deverdics, Storey & Errington replacing Evans, Johnson, Walker & Hopper. Nick Deverdics made his 1st start while Evan Blaney made his debut for the 1st team from the bench.
The 1st real action came in the 3rd minute when a Capewell tackle led to a Lincoln corner which Robson cleared for another corner. In the 7th minute, a Stan attack into the Lincoln box was cleared twice. In 10 minutes, Lincoln shot well wide. 3 minutes later & Lincoln came close to scoring when they shot just wide. Storey then advanced to the other end but Richardson in the Lincoln goal cleared the ball. Lincoln then had a 30-yard free kick go wide. In 18 minutes, a Stan attack came to nothing. Soon after a joined-up Stan attack ended with Pearson shooting just wide. A minute later & Lincoln headed well wide. Shepherd & Burn both cleared in the 22nd minute. 2 minutes later & an Errington shot was saved by Richardson. In 26 minutes, a Lincoln attack was initially cleared but the ball was sent back in high & Shepherd headed towards goal forcing Gordon to make a full stretch save. In the 27th minute, Lincoln attacked again & although Gordon made a great save, Lincoln’s Brown put the rebound effort away. Both teams were trying to attack but Lincoln were having slightly more of the ball. In 38 minutes, a Pearson throw in into the box was headed clear. Lincoln countered but it was cleared although the ball was sent back in & a deflected cross was caught by Gordon. In 42 minutes, a 30-yard Lincoln free kick went over the Stan wall but straight to Gordon. The Stan then attacked again but it was cleared for a corner. From it the ball went straight across the Lincoln goal.
The Stan started the 2nd half positively with Deverdics being fouled in the Lincoln box in the 47th minute but nothing was given. The ball was then sent up towards the Stan goal with Gordon having to get down to save. In 49 minutes, a Lincoln attack ended with them shooting well wide & a minute later another attack ended with them shooting wide again. Both teams continued to try to attack but it was the Stan who were having most of the ball so far at the start of the 2nd half. In 55 minutes, a Lincoln corner was cleared in front of the Stan goal line. In 57 minutes, there was a sustained period of Stan pressure which included Errington being blocked for a Burn corner. From it, Capewell couldn’t connect with the ball which was cleared. Another Burn corner was cleared & in 61 minutes there was a long ball to Pearson who supplied Johnson but he was blocked. Lincoln then had a corner from which the ball went high across the Stan goal. In 65 minutes, a Stan attack was cleared followed by Storey being blocked. Lincoln were getting increasingly flustered & in 66 minutes a ball from Johnson was deflected for a corner. The ball from the Burn corner was headed away for another corner which was cleared. Payne put the ball back up, but the ball was cleared again. In 69 minutes, an Errington cross to Pearson was headed by him towards goal but was stopped by a handball & a penalty was given. Pearson took the 70th minute penalty & confidently put the ball into the Lincoln net for 1-1. The Stan were now looking dangerous as they saw the chance to win the match. In 71 minutes, a Shepherd long ball to Evans saw him fouled at the side of the box. The resulting free kick was blocked. In 76 minutes, against the run of play, Lincoln had a long throw in near the corner flag which led to a scramble in the 6-yard box with the ball being forced into the Stan net by Brown. In 77 minutes, the Stan sent a long ball up but Richardson got out to clear before Pearson could get to it. Pearson then sent a long throw in into the Lincoln box which was eventually cleared. Lincoln countered & eventually shot well over the Stan bar. Both teams were trying to attack. In 81 minutes, the Stan had an attack cleared. A minute later & Errington crossed to Shepherd who supplied Johnson in the Lincoln box, but his shot hit the cross bar & went out. In 87 minutes, a Burn free kick into the Lincoln box was cleared back to Burn whose long-range shot went over the Lincon bar. In 89 minutes, a long-range Stan shot was cleared. The Stan then sent a throw in into the Lincoln box to sub Walker but his shot was caught by Richardson. Into 5 additional minutes. & a Burn ball into the Lincoln box was cleared but the Stan attacked again. The resulting Burn free kick saw Richardson catch the ball. The Stan kept attacking & in 93 minutes a Stan ball went out off a Lincoln player, but no corner was given. A minute later & the Stan got a corner which Burn took. It was cleared but went back to Burn but came to nothing. The Stan were frustrated by lots of Lincoln time wasting & the match unfortunately ended with Lincoln sneaking a win.
Despite the squad giving their all, the Stan were unlucky to leave empty handed but there were plenty of positives to take from the long trip down south. The Stan were due to host Bradford Park Avenue on Saturday but it was postponed due to the weather, so the Stan are next in action on Friday 20 February at Newton Aycliffe.
Stan Team: Gordon; Burn; Shepherd (Blaney 87); Robson; Capewell (Y); Milburn; Payne (Y); Deverdics (Y) (Johnson); Pearson; Storey (Walker 74); Errington. All subs used. Attendance 115. Man of the Match: Max Storey.
Kevin Mochrie
2 vs 1 Bishop Auckland vs Heaton Stannington
It was a disappointing afternoon for the Stan at Heritage Park as the current good run by Bishop Auckland under their new manager continued thanks to 2 first half goals. After Bishop had dominated the 1st half, the Stan attempted to fight back in the 2nd half but could not get any goals to avoid defeat. Alfie Gordon, especially in the 1st half pulled off a number of crucial saves to prevent any more Bishop goals & provide the Stan with the platform to attempt to make a comeback in the 2nd half. He was awarded man of the match as a result. There was 1 change from Tuesday’s Senior Cup win over Blyth Town with Walker replacing Errington. New signing Evan Blaney from South Shields was an unused sub.
The first 10 minutes of the match were relatively quiet before Bishop had one effort saved by Gordon followed by a low Stan shot being parried away by the Bishop keeper for a corner which came to nothing. In the 18th minute, Bishop had the 1st of 3 consecutive corners with the last one ending with a looping header landing on the roof of the Stan net. In 29 & 30 minutes, Bishop had two 1 on 1s with Gordon with the Stan keeper saving both efforts. Gordon then saved another shot. In 35 minutes, the Bishop pressure paid off when a high cross forward from the right was put into the net by Steels off his shoulder under pressure from Capewell. In 41 minutes, it was 2-0 to Bishop when a long ball forward was crossed into the box & although headed away by Milburn the rebound shop was blasted into the net by Jarvie.
The Stan had struggled to get into the match in the 1st half but showed a great deal of effort in trying to change things round in the 2nd half. Halftime saw the Stan replace Milburn with Storey. After 10 minutes, Bishop forced 2 more saves from Gordon. The Stan had more of the ball in the rest of the 2nd half but could not find the back of the Bishop net. In 82 minutes, Bishop shot just wide although in the 90th minute the Stan came close to scoring, but the work of 2 Bishop defenders prevented a goal. After 3 minutes of added time, the match ended with only Bishop’s 2 first half goals to show.
Despite a 2nd half comeback, the Stan left County Durham empty handed as they were unable to break down an organised home defence. The result takes Bishop Auckland out of the relegation zone while the Stan remain in 7th place. The Stan now travel on Tuesday to far away Lincoln United who are 5th bottom of the league.
Stan Team: Gordon; Milburn (Storey 46); Evans; Burn; Capewell; Shepherd; Johnson (Lamb 56); Payne; Pearson; Hopper (Errington 56); Walker (Deverdics 62). No cards. Sub unused: Blaney. Attendance 377. Man of the Match: Alfie Gordon.
Kevin Mochrie
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2 vs 0 Heaton Stannington A vs Hebburn Town Reserves
Following an unwelcome week off after our tremendous win at North Shields Athletic two weeks ago, we travelled to Bullocksteads Leisure Centre to navigate our way around this awful weather and get our home game against Hebburn Town Reserves played whilst we have some forward momentum. Having won 3-0 away at our opponents back in August, expectations were high, but so were the opposition’s desire for revenue. Setting up to contain in a defensive 5-4-1 formation, we initially struggled and our impatience in possession saw us give more half-chances on the break to our opponents than we created in the first half. After Ross Gilchrist saw an Olimpico cleared off the line, we began to ramp up the pressure as the first half went on and that culminated with a deep cross from Callum Doyle beyond the back post fizzed past across goal by Ross Gilchrist and when that proved too hot to handle for the keeper, James was the fastest to react and slot the ball home. That settled us, and from then on, we were on top until half time and for most of the second half after weathering an initial storm. As the space opened up, our strength in depth from the bench told, and after we took control of the midfield of the park, Charlie Digby’s perfectly executed whipped cross was expertly finished on the run by Harry Jones at the near post for only his second goal of the season. James Harper and Harry Poole both almost added another that would not have been undeserved in tricky windy and wet conditions, but a third win in the league in a row and another clean sheet sees us move to continue in the right direction and back up to fourth.
Russell Ward
2 vs 0 Heaton Stannington vs Blyth Town
After receiving a bye in the 1st round, the Stan started their defence of the Senior Cup on a mirky & miserable night & on a heavy pitch. It is 100 seasons since they 1st entered the trophy & this is their 53rd time but 1st as holders. The Stan won through to the semi-finals but did so the hard way as they should have tied up a comfortable win in a 1st half which contained a number of scoring opportunities. Instead, after picking up an early lead, they went into half time level & although Blyth stepped up a gear in the 2nd half, while the Stan stepped down one, they managed to hold on to comfortably win on penalties. There was 1 change from the home defeat to Pontefract with Johnson making his 1st start as he replaced Beattie. Ex Stan goalkeeper De Jesus was between the posts for Blyth Town.
The Stan started the match positively & in the 2nd minute Hopper forced a save from De Jesus. The Stan then had another attack cleared & in 4 minutes Pearson should have scored when he was 1 on 1 with De Jesus who saved. The Stan pressure paid off in the 6th minute when another Stan attack saw Payne supply Pearson who blasted the ball into the Blyth net for 1-0. In the 9th minute, a Blyth corner was cleared & resulted in a Stan counter which saw Payne supply Pearson who was again 1 on 1 with De Jesus but the keeper got down to put the ball out for a corner. From the corner, Johnson’s weak shot was cleared. Blyth then countered but Gordon managed to block the player & the ball deflected out for a corner which was then cleared. Both teams were trying to attack including through counter moves. In 14 minutes, a Johnson high ball into the Blyth box was cleared followed by a Hopper & Pearson joint attack which came to nothing. 2 minutes later a Blyth high ball into the Stan box was cleared. In 19 minutes, there was a good move when a high ball was sent in to Johnson on the edge of the Blyth box, but he lost it under pressure. Both teams had attacks cleared then in 21 minutes, a ball into the Blyth box saw De Jesus drop but then collect just before Errington could make contact with the ball. De Jesus then punched clear a Stan free kick into the box & Johnson’s rebound shot hit the post & was then cleared. In 24 minutes, the Stan attacked again but De Jesus got down to smother the ball. There was a quieter period until in 37 minutes a ball into the Stan box was blocked twice before being forced into the net as Gordon couldn’t get to the ball in the crowded 6-yard box. The Stan were straight back on the attack & continued to do so until half time. In 40 minutes, De Jesus had to catch the ball. Blyth then had to block or clear another 6 Stan efforts in just over a minute. In the 45th minute, Johnson supplied Pearson & they advanced together with the move finishing with Johnson passing to Pearson whose shot was blocked & although the ball eventually came back to him, he shot over the bar. The half finished with Blyth’s 1st attack since their equaliser being cleared.
The 2nd half started more quietly than the 1st with an Errington attack being cleared in the 52nd minute. The Stan were not having as much of the ball this half & in 59 minutes a Blyth attack saw a high ball go across the Stan goal & was eventually cleared. In 60 minutes, a long diagonal Johnson ball reached Errington, but his shot was put out by De Jesus for a corner. In 61 minutes, a Blyth corner was cleared followed by another 2 Blyth attacks. In 64 minutes, a Stan attack into the Blyth box was blocked & a Blyth counter was stopped by a Burn tackle. In 66 minutes, from a corner, the visitors sent a downward header towards the Stan goal but it was cleared. In 72 minutes, there was a great defensive tackle from Capewell. Blyth attacked again & forced a corner. From it, the ball was cleared then sent back in & Gordon easily collected it. After some Stan pressure, Blyth had 2 corners cleared in 78 minutes. In 82 minutes, a Blyth shot was blocked by Gordon, but it went across the Stan goal & out for a corner. The game was getting scrappy partly as the Stan couldn’t hold onto the ball. In 87 minutes, Gordon punched clear for a corner from which he caught the ball. Into 4 minutes of added time, sub Lamb advanced but the ball was cleared. A joined-up Stan attack was then cleared. In 93 minutes, a Blyth free kick was sent left of the Stan goal towards a player but Capewell made an important block for a corner. The corner was cleared & the final whistle blew signalling a penalty shoot-out.
The penalties were taken at the car park end. Gordon saved the 1st Blyth penalty followed by Hopper confidently scoring for the Stan. Blyth then blasted their 2nd penalty into the net, but Pearson also comfortably blasted into the net to keep the Stan 2-1 ahead. Blyth then blasted their 3rd penalty wide while sub Storey cooly blasted into the net to give the Stan a 3-1 lead. Blyth needed to score their 4th to remain in the tie & did while sub Deverdics, who would have won the tie for the Stan if he had scored, hit the post to make it 3-2 to the Stan. Blyth had to score their 5th penalty but shot wide so the Stan didn’t haver to take their 5th penalty & won 3-2.
The Stan are now only 1 match away from another St James’ Park final. The semi final will be against either Benfield, Newcastle University or the winners of Whitley Bay v North Shields. First up though is s trip to Bishop Auckland in the league this Saturday.
Stan Team: Gordon; Milburn; Evans (Storey 89); Burn; Capewell; Shepherd; Johnson (Lamb 79); Payne (Y) (Deverdics 69 (Y)); Pearson; Hopper; Errington (Walker 67). Sub unused: Flynn. Attendance 170. Man of the Match: Dan Capewell.
Kevin Mochrie
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1 vs 1 