Heaton Stan showed that they have what it takes against Northern Premier League East Division opposition as they held last season’s champions Hebburn to a goalless draw on a balmy Friday night.
The Stan started strongest and swarmed the home side at every opportunity in the early stages. A goalmouth scramble in the fourth minute caused havoc in the Hebburn box, and while it didn’t culminate in an effort on goal, it showed that Nicholson’s men will continue to play on the front foot.
Midway through the first half, Hebburn started to turn the tide and will consider themselves unfortunate not to have hit the target. A wide player held the ball up, messing with Kane Evans by jerking left and right, before bursting inside and lining up a shot around 25 yards out. If the sun wasn’t in his eyes, that might have been a test for Lewis Brass in goal.
A few minutes later, Hebburn found themselves in a similar position, but this time they opted to cross. The ball was hung up perfectly for the striker who glances agonisingly wide from the edge of the six yard box.
Long spells of the game were largely for the football purists, with intriguing battles happening all over the pitch, without necessarily leading to chances. Both keepers had to show their command of their box from crossed corners, but for the most part, they weren’t called into too much danger.
Just as in the first half, the Stan packed the Hebburn box early in the second to try to force the ball in but without any luck. A corner rattled around the box before falling to David Palmer who tried to drill a low shot in but it was blocked. Eventually the ball settled at Konner Lamb’s feet, but he went down under a challenge and couldn’t get his shot away properly, but the referee wasn’t having the penalty shouts.
The save of the match occurred on 65 minutes, as a Hebburn player planted a header towards goal from a corner, but time appeared to stop as Brass sprung into action and palmed the ball out of the top corner.
Legs began to tire in the closing stages, unsurprising given the high-tempo and high-quality standard of the game. A floated free kick on 73 minutes allowed Palmer space to shoot from range, albeit the Hebburn defenders did close it down to force corner – but a defensive lapse a minute later gave the Stan their best opening of the night.
The keeper tried to play out from the back, but it’s unclear who the intended recipient was, so the fresh legs of Louis Anderson happily stole in and played the ball to Lamb on his right.
With footwork similar to that of his stunning play-off final goal against West Auckland, Lamb shifted the ball onto his left and delayed his shot, but perhaps for too long, as his effort was straight down the throat of the keeper.
Half-chances and teasing crosses for both sides followed, but no-one could break the deadlock. Both of these sides will be entering new territory next season, and based on this showing, Heaton and Hebburn supporters can expect plenty of character, determination and strong defensive work from their players.
Liam Milburn
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