Horsfall Stadium

Bradford Park Avenue vs Heaton Stannington

Fifteen days since the Stan’s narrow Trophy defeat, they returned to the Horsfall Stadium in league action but this time without the backdrop of a massive storm. They came away with a deserved point but could have taken all three in a competitive match against promotion chasing Bradford Park Avenue. The Stan are now unbeaten in six league games. There were two changes from Wednesday’s draw with Newton Aycliffe with Beattie & Robson replacing Stephenson & Walker. 

After a relatively quiet start, Gordon made a great save in the seventh minute with the rebound shot hitting the side netting. The Stan then broke forward but Hopper’s shot was easily collected by the keeper. A home player then broke forward & forced another save from Gordon. In fourteen minutes, a ball from a Stan corner was headed towards goal by Robson but was cleared off the Bradford goal line. After twenty minutes, a ball from a Bradford free kick went high and just wide. In twenty-six minutes, a cross into the Stan box saw a home player shoot but his effort was stopped by Gordon who got down to save. The Stan countered & Slaughter sent a great long ball to the advancing Errington who passed to the also advancing Payne who passed back to Errington, but his shot was blocked by the keeper for a corner. In thirty-four minutes, a Slaughter ball into the home box saw Capewell flattened by a home player as he was about to make contact with the ball but the referee waved play on. In forty-three minutes, a Slaughter free kick from the edge of the Bradford box hit the wall and was cleared. The Stan had slightly the better chances in the first half but it remained 0-0 at half time.

The 2nd half was a quieter affair but both defences still had to be on their guard although there were far fewer clear chances for either side compared to in the first half. In fifty-four minutes, a long ball from Slaughter into the Bradford box was caught by the home keeper. In sixty-four minutes, Gordon had to get down to save. Nine minutes later & a Stan attack was cleared. There was nothing much else to report until added time when Bradford stepped up a gear to an extent although Gordon easily caught the first home effort and the second shot went wide.

This important point, & a third clean sheet in a row, sees the Stan in tenth place & both six points above the relegation zone & six points from a play-off placing. Dan Capewell was voted man of the match although all five defenders put in a great shift. The Stan are next in action on Wednesday night when they host Bridlington Town. 

Stan Team: Gordon; Beattie; Robson; Capewell; Shepherd; Payne (Burn 57); Slaughter (Storey 68); Pearson; Hopper (Adamson 79); Errington (Lamb 73). Sub not used: Blakey. No cards.  Attendance 360. MoM: Dan Capewell.                           

Kevin Mochrie

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Bradford Park Avenue vs Heaton Stannington

After a great 2nd half comeback, it was not enough to stop the Stan being knocked out of the FA Trophy after reaching the 3rd Qualifying Round for the 1st time against ex-football league club Bradford Park Avenue. The Stan were not helped by Storm Amy & a time challenged home keeper. Although both teams had to bear the torrential swirling rain, they also both had to face a half each playing into the strong winds. Overall, the Stan dealt with the conditions better although Park Avenue had more luck with them. There were 5 changes from Saturday’s away draw against Pontefract with Flynn, Beattie, Capewell, Shepherd & Adamson replacing cup tied Gordon, Evans, Robson, Milburn & Errington.

There was a quiet start as both teams tried to adapt to the dreadful conditions although most of the play early on was in the Stan half as PA had the wind behind them. Even so, the Stan got 3 corners in a row starting in the 5th minute. From the 3rd corner, Adamson headed just wide. PA then got their 1st effort but shot well wide. Flynn then easily caught another home effort. In 10 minutes, a Stephenson free kick was just missed by Capewell. 2 minutes later & the Stan won the ball allowing Adamson to break but he was knocked off the ball as he got near the keeper. In 13 minutes, a PA free kick near halfway was caught by the wind & although Flynn got his hands to it he couldn’t hold on & it went into the net. Despite the unfortunate goal, the Stan kept battling & attacking & in 18 minutes, a Slaughter free kick went long to Hopper who advanced under pressure & his shot hit the post which sent the ball just left of the post but Adamson couldn’t get his foot to it to slot it into the net & the ball was cleared.. In 20 minutes, a PA wind assisted free kick went out for a corner from which the ball was scrambled clear. In 22 minutes, a curling home shot was deflected just over for a corner. From the corner, the ball went back out from the busy box & was sent back in high & wind assisted to be headed into the net just as Flynn was about to catch it. So, after 23 minutes it was now surprisingly 2-0 to PA & Amy. After a quieter period, PA shot over under pressure in 29 minutes. The Stan were trying to attack despite the wind barrier getting stronger. In 30 minutes Pearson was fouled in the home box but PA were awarded the foul. In 32 minutes, Slaughter blocked a home shot & Flynn had to make a great save in the 35th minute. PA then got a corner which saw the ball cleared up into the air by a Stan player only for it to hit the cross-bar wind assisted. The storm was at its peak now & in 38 minutes a home player shot wide. In 39 minutes, a sustained Stan attack included the ball being headed clear. In 44 minutes, Hopper advanced & crossed to Pearson who passed back to Stephenson but he shot high & wide. The Stan had played well in the 1st half & were unlucky to be behind at half time let alone by a 2-goal margin.

With the wind behind them now, the Stan restarted positively & sent the ball just over the bar from a corner in the 47th minute. In 50 minutes, a PA player shot well over followed by Hopper at the other end shooting only just over. It was mainly pressure from the Stan as the rain went off but the wind remained strong. In 59 minutes, Beattie intercepted the ball & sent it up but Hall, the home keeper, got to it just before Pearson. A Flynn wind assisted ball then went out for a bye before Hopper could get to it. In 65 minutes, Walker, who was having a good game, sent a long ball to sub Errington who broke forward but shot straight at Hall. It was mainly Stan possession now as the heavy rain returned. In 70 minutes, Slaughter started a great combined move which ended in Errington forcing Hall to make a great save. The ball was sent back into the home box & Beattie was brought down but no penalty was given. The Stan then had another shot which saw Hall get down to save. In 73 minutes, a Bradford attack was cleared. In 76 minutes, during a Stan attack, a poor clearance by Hall saw the ball go out to Hopper who from about 40 yards saw his shot fly into the net for 1-2. What a goal! 2 minutes later & a long ball from Stephenson to Pearson saw him put the ball wide. In 81 minutes, a home attack was headed clear by Shepherd. In 86 minutes, Errington broke forward & was blocked but the ball was sent back into the box by Payne who supplied Stephenson but his shot was blocked for a corner. Into 6 minutes of added & very windy time, & a common theme of this end period was Hall trying to disrupt & time waste which he is eventually was booked for. In 92 minutes, an advancing Hopper stopped the ball going out for a home bye kick but although he was held back he was booked & a foul awarded PA. In 95 minutes, Pearson forced a corner which saw Flynn come up for but it was cleared for a Stan throw in. There was a slight wobble when Walker did not clear allowing a home player to get the ball although Flynn came out & made himself big & blocked the ball. The ball went back to the home player but Stephenson managed to clear it. The Stan kept pressurising, when the ball wasn’t on the athletics track, but the match ended with defeat.

After giving great effort in poor conditions, the Stan did not deserve to lose & will feel aggrieved that the match did not at least end with a draw & a penalty shoot-out. The Stan are back on league duty on Tuesday when they travel to take on Blyth Spartans in the 1st ever league meeting between the 2 teams after numerous cup encounters.

Kevin Mochrie

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Bradford Park Avenue vs Heaton Stannington

Heaton Stannington gave themselves a mountain to climb at Bradford (Park Avenue) – and never quite recovered from a shocking start which saw them 2-0 down inside six minutes.

It was the Stan who got the game underway, playing the ball straight back to goalkeeper Lewis Brass who launched the ball upfield. The home side sent the ball back his way and put him under pressure immediately. He found Liam Doyle but the right-back’s first touch was heavy, putting the ball on a plate for the advancing Jack Normanton, who was able to scoop the ball over Brass into an empty net.

The second blow was dealt just five minutes later, as Bradford’s left winger was able to burst past Doyle out wide and then play a perfect through ball into the centre for Connor Shanks to slot away.

Many in the Horsfall Stadium would’ve expected this to become a procession, but the Stan stabilised. The damage that had been done in the early stages meant that the home side were much harder to break down, but had the game remained goalless after the opening exchanges, there’s every chance this could’ve been a positive result.

After a quarter of an hour, Dan Stephenson tried his luck from 25 yards to attempt to pull back into the game, but it wasn’t too much of a challenge for goalkeeper Ed Hall. Another 15 or so minutes later, Konner Lamb was able to burst into the area and shoot, but again, the keeper only had to move minimally to get himself on top of the ball.

While the result will have undoubtedly been a disappointment for manager Dean Nicholson and his staff, the biggest concern of the afternoon will have been the loss of Leighton Hopper, Louis Anderson and Liam Doyle to injury, with the latter looking the most serious. But the effort of the players can’t be faulted – mistakes happen but it’s how you recover and learn from them that matters, and although they came away from West Yorkshire empty-handed, they can be pleased with their work rate and determination when the game settled to keep the score down and to try to get something out of it.

Attention turns now to a Coast Road derby against Whitley Bay in the Northumberland Senior Cup, which could prove to be a good opportunity to make some changes and build some confidence ahead of a return to league action next Saturday when the Stan are at home to Brighouse Town.

Liam Milburn

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