The Stan made the long journey to Lincoln for their 1st away match of the season. Unbeaten in their 1st two league matches, the Stan were very unlucky to return North empty handed after putting in a good performance for most of the match. There was one change from Tuesday’s draw with Guisborough with Evans replacing Milburn. 

After a relatively quiet start from both teams, the Stan attacked in the 9th minute but it was blocked. 4 minutes later & a cross to Pearson who had advanced into the home box saw him brought down but nothing was given. In 27 minutes, a Lincoln attack was cleared out to the edge of the Stan box, but Moran advanced forward again unmarked & slotted the ball past Lister. In 34 minutes, the Stan were surprisingly 2-0 down when a Lincoln attack ended with Armond putting the ball in the Stan net. 2 minutes later & Lister had to save a Lincoln free kick. It was then back to Stan pressure & it paid off in the 40th minute. A Lincoln goal kick saw the ball go to the Stan & Djalo sent a great ball to the advancing Gascoigne out on the left who blasted the ball from 30 yards into the home net. It was a fantastic goal & his 3rd in 3 games. Both teams ended the half trying to attack but Lincoln were in front thanks to their 2 early unexpected goals.

The 2nd half started more quietly but with mainly Stan possession & pressure. In 60 minutes, Shepherd headed over the Lincoln bar from a free kick. In 74 minutes, a speculative Giraud long range effort went just over the home bar. 3 minutes later & sub Hopper came close when he put the ball over the Lincoln bar from a sub Boothroyd long throw in. The Stan pressure continued into added time, but they couldn’t find the all important equalising goal & Lincoln held on for a narrow victory.

Apart from a 7-minute spell in the 1st half when Lincoln scored both their goals, the Stan dominated much of the match & should have got at least a draw. Manager Dean Nicholson was upbeat though post-match when he stated that ‘We take it on the chin, but we bounce into Tuesday with all of the positives.’ The Stan are on the road again in 3 days when they travel on Tuesday night to Silsden in West Yorkshire.

Stan Team: Lister; Evans (Boothroyd 75); Chrisp (Y); Kanda; Fil; Shepherd; Gascoigne (Errington 75); Walker (Morris 86); Pearson (Hopper 74); Giraud; Djalo. Sub not used: Milburn. Attendance: 190. Man of the Match: Cyril Giraud.

Kevin Mochrie

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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