South Newsham Playing Fields

Blyth Town vs Heaton Stannington

After 4 wins in a row, the Stan lost narrowly & late to relegation threatened Blyth Town. It was a dull match that probably deserved to be a 0-0 draw but Blyth snatched a late win through the controversial awarding of a penalty in the 90th minute from which they undeservedly scored. There were 2 changes from last Saturday’s win over Matlock Town with Brass & Walker replacing Gordon & Hornsby. Ex Stan keeper De Jesus was in goal for Blyth Town.

On a sunny but cold & windy afternoon at the seaside, the Stan started on the attack forcing a couple of early saves from De Jesus, In the 3rd minute, a Blyth attack was blocked allowing the Stan to counterattack but with no end product. In the 6th minute, Lamb advanced into the Blyth box, but his shot was blocked by De Jesus. 3 minutes later & a Blyth player broke forward but was stopped by a great Shepherd tackle. Soon after, Chrisp also made a great defensive tackle. Shepherd then blocked a Blyth attack again. In 12 minutes, a Blyth free kick into the Stan box was headed clear by Burn. Soon after, a ball from Chrisp on the left into the Blyth box hit the bar & went out. Chrisp then sent a high ball into the Blyth box which went well over. In 15 minutes, Pearson supplied Lamb whose shot was deflected for a corner. This led to another corner taken by Burn but the ball ended up on the roof of the Blyth net. Chrisp then had to clear the ball from a Blyth attack. In 19 minutes, an advancing Blyth player shot well over the Stan bar. In 21 minutes, a Blyth attack was cleared allowing Pearson to counter, but De Jesus blocked his effort. The ball went back to Burn but his shot went wide. In 24 minutes, there was good defending by Errington & this was followed by a deflected Blyth shot being stopped by Brass who got a hand to it to put the ball out for a corner. In 32 minutes, a Blyth free kick was cleared by Chrisp who supplied counter attacking Lamb, but his shot went high. The Stan were not getting much out of the game now & Brass had to punch the ball clear in 38 minutes. In 40 minutes, a Blyth attack was blocked 3 times & the resulting corner was cleared. In 44 minutes, another Blyth attack was blocked 3 times before a Blyth player shot high over the Stan bar. In 46 minutes, Pearson supplied Errington who advanced into the Blyth box, but De Jesus got down to smother the ball but it nearly went under him & into the net. Soon after, a high back pass to De Jesus saw him catch the ball which resulted in the Stan being awarded an indirect free kick on the penalty spot. Burn took the free kick & passed to Pearson, but his shot hit the wall which was positioned on the Blyth goal line & the referee then blew for half time.

The fans hoped that the 2nd half would be better than the 1st which had seen both teams failing to sparkle & basically cancelling each other out. The strong wind which had to an extent disrupted the flow of the 1st half, had died down for the 2nd half. The Stan started the half with Robson replacing Lamb. In 48 minutes, Blyth had a corner cleared. In 53 minutes, the Stan attacked but the Blyth defence guided the ball out. Errington then twisted & turned his way into the Blyth box, but he was blocked. In 56 minutes, a Blyth attack resulted in a corner from which the ball was headed clear. Another Blyth attack was cleared allowing Evans to send a long ball towards Pearson, but De Jesus got to it 1st. There was then some Stan pressure in the 58th & 61st minutes that came to nothing. Following a great Milburn tackle, Errington attacked but was blocked followed by another Stan attack. In 65 minutes, Walker broke forward & passed to Pearson, but his shot was easily caught by De Jesus. The Stan kept pressing although Evans had to clear a ball from a Blyth attack in 70 minutes. Blyth then had a free kick which went high & over. In 73 minutes, a ball from Pearson was cleared followed by Chrisp forcing a corner from which the ball was headed clear & Walker’s rebound shot was deflected for  a corner. From it, Capewell got up to head the ball, but his effort was blocked for another corner. From it, De Jesus punched the ball away but it was then cleared after being sent back into the Blyth box. In 76 minutes, a Blyth attack was blocked. A minute later & Blyth got a free kick just outside the Stan box. Brass got his fingers to the ball to put it out for a corner. From it, the ball went across the Stan goal, but Brass was fouled. Soon after, Blyth had a long free kick from which Brass caught the ball. Blyth then had a long throw in into the Stan box which, after some good defending, ended with a Blyth shot going high & over. In 85 minutes, Capewell headed clear & in 89 minutes Brass easily caught a Blyth effort. In the 90th minute, Chrisp caught a Blyth player who had advanced into the Stan box & he made the most of it & went clumsily down. The referee had not awarded anything & it was the linesman who had his flag up. After a period of discussion between the 2 officials, a penalty was awarded & converted to give Blyth the lead. In 9 minutes of added time, the Stan searched frantically for an equaliser. In 93 minutes, a shocking tackle on Evans saw Dean Nicholson react in the Stan dugout &, after the linesman had brought it to the referee’s attention, he was sent off.  The Stan kept attacking & in 95 minutes, De Jesus got down to the ball just before Pearson got to it. Pearson then attacked again but the ball was cleared. There wasn’t to be a goal for the Stan & the match ended with a 1-0 win for Blyth.

It was an unexpectedly sad ending for the Stan & the Stan Army as they did not deserve to get beat. It looked like neither team was going to score until the penalty was awarded. The Stan remain in 7th & 6 points off a play-off place. They can get back to winning ways next Saturday when they host North Ferriby.

Stan Team: Brass; Milburn (Storey 64); Chrisp (Y); Evans (Y); Capewell; Shepherd; Lamb (Robson 46 (Y)); Burn (Y); Pearson; Walker (Hopper 82); Errington (Johnson 82). Sub not used: Deverdics. Attendance 401. Man of the Match: Joe Shepherd.                  

Kevin Mochrie

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Blyth Town v Heaton Stannington

The Stan had a deserved Senior Cup victory at Blyth Town of Northern League Division 1. They are now in the semi-finals & are only 1 match away from an appearance at St James’ Park in the final. There were no changes from Saturday’s home win over Ossett United with keeper Lewis Brass making his 50th start for the club.

On a cold moonlit night at the coast, the Stan started on the attack & forced a corner in the 1st minute although from it the ball went out & hit the top of the net. Both teams were trying to attack & in 4 minutes a Blyth attack was cleared followed by one for the Stan. Brass then had to get down to save followed by the Stan putting out a ball from a corner under pressure. In 10 minutes, Thompson won the ball & advanced but shot just wide under pressure when he had the opportunity to score. After 17 minutes, it was still end to end including through some counter attacks including one stopped by Stephenson. In 18 minutes, a Blyth free kick was cleared by Grove for a corner from which Shepherd had to head clear. In 20 minutes, Brass sent a free kick up into the Blyth box & it was put into the net by the confident foot of Thompson. 2 minutes later & the Stan were 2-0 up when Lamb passed 3 Blyth players & sloted the ball past their keeper. What a goal. Blyth looked rattled & under pressure & a Stephenson free kick into a busy Blyth box went wide. In 25 minutes, it could have been 3-0 when Lamb tried to chip the keeper but he caught the ball. In 28 minutes, Lamb won the ball & broke forward with only the keeper to beat but was pulled down just outside the box. As a result, Blyth’s Hayton was red carded & the home side were down to 10 men. Lamb put the resulting free kick over the bar. Soon after, Stephenson sent the ball up for the advancing Lamb but the keeper cleared as they both got to the ball about the same time with a Blyth counter attack coming to nothing. After a quieter period although with mainly Stan possession, Brass got down to easily save in 36 minutes. Blyth then had a couple of minutes of pressure including having a shot forced out for a corner in 40 minutes. In 42 minutes, after a Stan attack, Brass had to get down to collect the ball. In 44 minutes, a ball from a Blyth corner was scrambled clear although the half ended with mainly pressure from the Stan.

From the restart, Blyth showed that they had not given up when they sent a ball across the Stan goal, but it was missed by everyone. In 47 minutes, a ball from a Blyth corner was cleared twice. Blyth were having most of the ball now but in 51 minutes Thompson won the ball & crossed towards Lamb, but the ball was intercepted. The ball went back into the box but Lamb’s shot was easily collected by the keeper. In 54 minutes, Brass got down to save. Both teams were now trying to attack but it was Blyth who reduced the Stan lead to 1 goal when they scored in 57 minutes. A Blyth corner was cleared but sent back in & although initially blocked it was blasted into the net by Wotherspoon. The Stan now had a game on their hands & in 61 minutes Blyth hit the side netting. 3 minutes later a high ball into the Stan box was headed wide by a Blyth player. Blyth then had to clear a Stan attack twice before a home player broke but was offside. The Stan’s lead was more comfortable again in 69 minutes went 3-1 up. Stephenson sent a ball from a corner into the box & although the keeper got up & touched the ball he could not hold it allowing sub Richardson to head it into the Blyth net. The Stan were putting pressure back on Blyth although in 73 minutes a Blyth free kick saw Brass putting the ball over his own bar from a corner. 3 minutes later & the Stan had to clear a Blyth ball from in front of their goal. The Stan then attacked followed by a Blyth 2 counter attack which ended with them shooting over the bar. In 78 minutes, Lamb advanced towards the Blyth goal & crossed towards the advancing Anderson & although he had a good opportunity to score he shot wide. There was another great opportunity for a 4th Stan goal in 81 minutes when sub Walker won the ball & was 1 on 1 with the Blyth keeper but lost control when the ball bobbled when he was about to shoot. Both teams remained positive but there was a quieter period until Walker was brought down in the box in the 90th minute but nothing was given. In the 93rd minute Brass made a save & the match ended soon after.

So, it was overall a comfortable victory for the Stan but after being 2-0 up at half time & facing only 10 men they did have to work harder in the 2nd half as they faced a more determined Blyth side compared to in the 1st half. As the 3 other quarter finals have still to be played, the Stan are now back in league action on Saturday when they travel to face Bridlington Town.

Kevin Mochrie

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