Heritage Park

Bishop Auckland vs Heaton Stannington

The Stan were pawns to the Bishops as they were uncharacteristically outplayed & heavily beaten on their trip to the only league ground that they also visited last season in the Northern League. There were 4 changes from the defeat at Bridlington 2 weeks ago with De Jesus, Turnbull, Slaughter & Stephenson replacing Brass, Shepherd, Ellison & Anderson. Jay Errington made his debut from the bench after signing from Ashington.

The Stan were 1st to threaten & Lamb had a shot blocked on the edge of the box after 3 minutes. The home keeper then had to catch from a Stan free kick. Bishop then counter attacked with De Jesus getting down to grab the ball just before a home player got to it. Lamb then shot well wide under pressure. In 7 minutes, an advancing home player shot just wide although De Jesus was down ready. There was then more Bishop pressure with the Stan defence having to clear twice. In 14 minutes, after some more home pressure, Stephenson was brought down & he sent the resulting free kick into the box with it being initially cleared before the Bishop keeper saved the follow up effort. In 21 minutes, a Bishop player blasted the ball just over the bar. 3 minutes later, after the home keeper easily caught a Stan effort, a Bishop player sent the ball across the Stan goal but it was missed by everyone. Both teams were trying to attack but Bishop were having more of the ball. In 26 minutes, a ball from a Bishop corner was headed clear but was sent back in & went into the net off the post. After 32 minutes, Stephenson had a good opportunity but shot straight at the keeper. Bishop then had a shot cleared. In 34 minutes, Marriott replaced the injured Grove. In 39 minutes, the Stan defence blocked 2 shots before a Stephenson ball into the home box to Burn was cleared. In 42 minutes, things got worse for the Stan when Marriott lost the ball & a home player ran forward & shot past De Jesus to make it 2-0 to Bishop Auckland. The half ended with a Stan ball into the box being cleared followed by a home attack being off side.

The Stan started the 2nd half positively & had 2 balls cleared in 49 minutes although this was followed by Spence losing the ball & a home player then shooting just wide. Soon after, a home player broke again but De Jesus came out & got down to the ball. In 54 minutes, a Stephenson free kick into the Bishop box was missed by everyone & when eventually sent back into the box the resulting shot was caught by the home keeper. Slaughter then crossed to Lamb who put the ball just wide. In 59 minutes, De Jesus got down to save. Soon after, sub Errington had a shot deflected for a corner from which Spence’s header was caught by the home keeper. After 67 minutes, Lamb shot just wide. The Stan were looking better this half although after 70 minutes there was some solid Bishop pressure with De Jesus having to block the ball twice. The Stan then had to block again. In 74 minutes, a Stan free kick was caught by the Bishop keeper, a home player then broke forward & chipped De Jesus to make it 3-0 to Bishop Auckland. After a quieter period, Bishop shot just wide in 81 minutes. Soon after they blasted another shot high & wide. In 87 minutes, a ball was headed out for a Bishop corner from which the ball was forced into the net for a 4th home goal. Soon after, sub Ellison headed wide under pressure followed by a Bishop player shooting over the Stan bar. The match finished with a ball from a home free kick being blocked on the Stan goal line.

Despite trying, the Stan didn’t manage to get into the game against a good Bishop Auckland performance. They now hope to get back to winning ways next Saturday when they host Stocksbridge Park Steels.

Kevin Mochrie

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Bishop Auckland vs Heaton Stannington

Heaton faced off against league leading Bishop Auckland on a rainy Saturday afternoon at the Vest Construction Stadium in front of 398 spectators and, as expected, the hosts provided a strong test for the Stan. The Bishops started the day eight points clear at the top of the table and 22 points above Heaton, though Heaton have five games in hand.

Though the game was predicted to be a tight affair, both teams had great opportunities in the opening quarter of an hour. Louis Johnson demonstrated his pace for the hosts early though was unable to get a shot through on goal thanks to strong blocks by the Heaton defense. Hopper had Heaton’s first chance of the game after just six minutes, taking on and beating a couple of Bishops defenders and forcing a great reaction save from Catterick in the home goal.  Brass demonstrated his shot stopping ability on 13 minutes, getting down sharply to his left to deny the hosts a headed goal and bravely blocking the follow up attempt for a double save.

Johnson continued to trouble the Heaton back line, linking up with Thexton and Bartliff on a couple of occasions but all of Bishop’s shots missed the target. The Stan found it difficult to maintain possession or fashion any real chances. A 40th minute corner from Dan Stephenson was headed wide and after the hosts broke and again failed to trouble Brass the sides ultimately went into the halftime break level at 0-0.

Just like the first half, the second began with a flurry of activity. Scott stooped to head back to Brass from a Bishops cross, the home fans behind the goal briefly excited by the prospect of an own goal but Brass held on. Heaton looked to attack on the break and a promising move between Hopper and Stephenson broke down at the edge of the box. The hosts were quickly back on the attack themselves and managed to break the deadlock on 54 minutes. Johnson again using his pace to get to a ball knocked into space before crossing invitingly to Thexton. Brass got a hand to the powerful header but was unable to stop it from hitting the back of the net. Heaton responded immediately with a substitution and change of shape, Evans withdrawn for Lashley.

Johnson was played in again minutes later but a last-ditch tackle forced him to turn back and his shot was eventually blocked. There were appeals from the crowd for a penalty but credit to Johnson for staying on his feet and trying to finish the chance. Heaton had a chance to equalize on 61 minutes through Lashleybut his shot was tipped just wide of the post. Burn came on for Reid in midfield after 62 minutes played. Disaster struck for the Stan on 70 minutes as Brass misplayed the ball after receiving a back pass and Thexton pounced to smash the ball into the net for his second goal of the day. Heaton again responded, this time with a double substitution with Doyle replacing Turnbull and Sayer coming on for Anderson.

Bishops put the game beyond doubt on 82 minutes after Thexton controlled a great ball over the top on the run and slotted the ball neatly past Brass to earn his hat-trick. Heaton continued to push forward however and Sayer had a fantastic opportunity on 85 minutes. This time the Bishops keeper misplayed the ball and Sayer’s attempted lob just clipped the crossbar. Heaton finally found the back of the net on 89 minutes as Lashley picked up the ball and curled beautifully into the bottom corner. A final chance fell to Sayer but he was unable to direct the ball into the net and the match finished 3-1 to the hosts. The Stan will look to move on quickly when they face Whitley Bay at home midweek.

Sam Henderson

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Bishop Auckland vs Heaton Stannington

3:00 pm