The Stan were again in pre-season friendly action on the astro pitch at Coach Lane & this time the opponents were old friends Jarrow from Northern League Division 2. After being 2-0 down at half time, the Stan put on a good 2^nd half show for the fans by winning 5-2 which included some great goals. There was a 2^nd start & 3rd appearance for a trialist up front while 3 players who were subbed later came back on.

The Stan started positively with some pressure but with no end product. After 5 minutes, Marriott made a great tackle to stop a Jarrow attack. 3 minutes later & Brass easily caught from a Jarrow corner. Jarrow then shot wide. Both teams were trying to attack & in 17 minutes the Stan had their 1^st clear effort, & it was one of note as Doyle sent a cross into the Jarrow box but Hopper’s header went just wide. Jarrow then shot across the Stan goal but the ball went wide. Burn then sent a ball from a free kick just over the Jarrow bar. It was Jarrow though who took the lead in 21 minutes when a good turn allowed one of their players to beat the defence & slot the ball past Brass at the far post. In 24 minutes, Hopper sent a high ball into the box but the Jarrow keeper got up top catch it just before Anderson could make contact. 3 minutes later & Brass made 2 blocks before a Doyle free kick at the other end was headed just wide by Hopper. In 37 minutes, a poor Stan clearance allowed the ball to bounce to a Jarrow player who only had Brass to beat & his shot went into the Stan net for 2-0 to Jarrow. Lashley then had a shot blocked followed by Brass catching at the other end. In 41 minutes, Evans forced a corner that was taken by Lashley. From it, the ball was headed at the far post by Turnbull back along the goal line but Anderson couldn’t force it into the net & the ball was cleared. Both teams ended the half trying to attack but it remained 2-0 to Jarrow.

Although the 2^nd half started with a Jarrow corner, the Stan then had the 1^st clear effort of the half when a joined up attack ended with the sub trialist shooting just wide. A 30-yard Jarrow free kick the went just over the Stan bar. The Stan got a goal back in 52 minutes when a Slaughter free kick into the box was, via Lashley & the trialist, blasted into the net by Foster for his 1^st Stan goal. The Stan were level on 62 minutes when the ball from a Stan attack went back to Slaughter 30 yards out & he blasted the ball past a number of players & into the net. The Stan kept the pressure on & Slaughter shot again in 65 minutes but his effort this time went well wide. In 74 minutes, Slaughter passed to Foster who supplied the advancing Anderson & although the Jarrow keeper made himself big to block the shot, Foster scored from the rebound & put the Stan ahead. In 77 minutes, a speculative long-range effort from Jarrow went just over the Stan bar. In 79 minutes, a Hopper long ball into the box bounced once allowing Harper to then put it past the Jarrow keeper & into the net. In 86 minutes, a speculative long-range effort was caught by the Jarrow keeper. 3 minutes later & sub Corkhill had to catch from a Jarrow effort. The Stan ended the match in style in the 90th minute when a joined up attack, started by Harper, saw the ball eventually go back to the edge of the box allowing Evans to blast it into the net for 5-2.

Stan Team: Brass (Corkhill 53); Doyle (Evans 40); Hornsby (Sayer 46); Slaughter; Turnbull (Marriott 81); Marriott (Shepherd 46); Burn (Foster 46); Ellison (Burn 70); Anderson; (Trialist 46 (Anderson 68)); Lashley (Harper 58); Hopper.

Kevin Mochrie

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The Stan’s 1^st official pre-season friendly was played at Coach Lane. Thanks must go to opponents & last season’s rivals Whickham who stepped in at short notice to take the place of Darlington Town. There was a start for new signing Marc Ellison while Heaton Stannington A keeper Zamo Khalil went in goals at short notice for Whickham & played the whole match. The Stan 1^st half trialist was the same one who played in the 2^nd half of the Jimmy Rowe cup.

The Stan took an early lead when Slaughter scored through a great shot taken from the edge of the box after the Whickham defence had only partially cleared a Stan cross into the box. After a couple of attacks by Whickham, they had a shot in 21 minutes which Brass had to get down to save. 2 minutes later & Brass made a great full size save. After another 2 minutes, a ball from a Whickham corner went across the Stan goal but was missed by everyone. In 28 minutes, there was another great save from Brass from a corner. Whickham finally got a goal in 33 minutes but in relatively controversial circumstances. The scorer appeared off-side but, after some discussion, the referee awarded the goal. There was a quieter end to the 1^st half though a Stan free kick was cleared in 42 minutes.

The Stan made 4 half time substitutions & 3 more after 58 minutes. Whickham started the half positively & had most of the early possession. They took advantage of this in 52 minutes when a defensive mix-up allowed a Whickham player to tap the ball into the Stan net for 1-2. In 60 minutes, a long ball to Lamb saw him slip but he was still able under pressure to shoot just wide. Despite the torrential rain that had started, the Stan were exerting more pressure on the Whickham defence now as they sought an equaliser. This included through sub Hopper. In 74 minutes, it was a Whickham player though who shot just wide from just outside the Stan box. In 79 minutes, Hopper forced a diving save from Khalil in the Whickham goal. From the resulting header Hopper headed sideways & the ball was then cleared. In 87 minutes, a speculative long range effort by sub Hornsby was caught by Khalil. There was a quieter end to the match as the sun returned although the Stan continued to seek an equaliser.

Kevin Mochrie

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