The Stan secured a deserved three points but only late on a sunny, windy but bitterly cold Saturday afternoon. This was partly due to a 70th minute goal but also because the start of the match was delayed to 4pm due to the Ossett team bus getting stuck on the A1 due to a major accident. Although the Stan had more chances, the match was still 0-0 at half time, but they put on a great performance in the 2nd half, in all areas of the pitch, & should have won by a few goals. In the end though, they had to settle for 1-0. There were 4 changes from Tuesday night’s defeat at Matlock with Parkinson, Gascoigne, Walker & Hopper replacing Hester, Gell, Djalo & Errington. There was a debut for new loan signing Mitch Parkinson from Redcar Athletic.

Although hindered by the strong wind, both teams started positively but were cancelling each other out until the 7th minute when Ossett keeper Petrovic easily caught a Stan effort. Ossett then counter attacked & won a free kick 30 yards from the Stan goal. Milburn headed the ball from the free kick clear, but the wind caught it & Hopper had to put it out for a corner. From it, an Ossett player shot just over the Stan bar. The Stan then broke through Giraud on the left although the ball went out for a goal kick when it looked like it should be a corner. Soon after, a high Stan free kick into the Ossett box was caught by Petrovic. There was a good Stan move in 11 minutes, when Hopper sent the ball up to Savage who broke forward & outpaced a defender to be 1 on 1 with Petrovic but he came out to block. After a Stan and an Ossett attack were cleared, Parkinson countered but was blocked. Ossett then attacked again & from the resulting corner Shepherd cleared. In 19 minutes, Giraud broke forward but his long-range effort saw Petrovic get down to collect. In 25 minutes, a ball from a Stan corner was cleared & the ball was sent back in, but Petrovic got up to catch. 3 minutes later & the Stan attacked again but Ossett cleared twice. In 29 minutes, the ball was sent up high due to the advancing Hopper in the 6 yard box but he couldn’t get his head to it. A minute later & Lister easily caught. Walker then supplied the advancing Hopper who began to round Petrovic, but he got down to block before Hopper could shoot. From the resulting corner, Petrovic blocked on his goal line. In 35 minutes, a Gascoigne free kick into the Ossett box saw a scramble which ended with Shepherd’s blasted shot being blocked. The ball went back in towards goal but was headed clear & was eventually put out for a Stan throw in. From it, after being partially cleared, Giraud sent the ball back in & although Petrovic punched it clear it went to Milburn on the edge of the box whose shot went across the Ossett goal & was deflected out for a throw in. In 44 minutes, Lister had to make a good save. In the 45th minute, a Gascogne free kick into the Ossett box was headed on by Shepherd but Petrovic easily collected it. The Stan defence then easily dealt with a counterattack, but the ball came back up & out for a corner which came to nothing.

After a very windy 1st half, the Stan had the wind behind them in the 2nd half. There was a quiet start until the 49th minute when a Stan long ball bounced & Petrovic caught it just before Hopper got to it. Giraud then advanced with the ball & sent it towards Walker, but a defender got to it 1st. Giraud was then brought down but the resulting Gascoigne free kick into the Ossett box was cleared for a corner. From it, Hopper headed over the Ossett bar. Both teams were trying to attack but the next clear chance to score came in the 60th minute when Giraud blasted a diagonal shot just wide. In 63 minutes, a Stan free kick into the Ossett box saw a visiting player send the ball towards his goal forcing full length save from Petrovic which then saw him collide with the advancing Hopper. In 66 minutes, Petrovic saved a Walker effort. It was all Stan pressure now as they kept attacking the Ossett box. In 69 minutes, a Stan corner was cleared & the ball went back out to Giraud whose shot was blocked. In the 70th minute, the Stan pressure paid off when Chrisp sent the ball up the left to Giraud who sent a high long ball into the Ossett box to Milburn on the right of the goal who headed it into the net for 1-0. What a goal. In 76 minutes, an Ossett throw in into the Stan box was cleared but the ball went back in high forcing Lister to get up to catch. Petrovic then caught a wind assisted effort as the wind started to get up again. In 81 minutes, a Walker long range effort went over the Ossett bar. Walker then entered the Ossett box & crossed to sub Djalo but Petrovic got down at his feet to stop him shooting. In 87 minutes, Shepherd cleared an Ossett attack. In the 90th minute, a joined up Djalo & Savage attack eventually saw Giraud’s shot blocked in front of  goal & deflected over the bar for a corner. Into 4 added minutes, & a long ball to sub Errington but his shot from relatively close range saw Petrovic get down to save it. 

Despite relatively physical opposition & strong wind, the Stan thoroughly justified their win which sees them remain in 7th & in a play-off place. After 5 matches in 14 days, the Stan players now have a well-deserved rest until next Saturday although they then face a 4th long away trip in 5 matches when they travel to North Ferriby.

Stan Team: Lister; Milburn; Fil; Chrisp (Y); Parkinson (Y); Shepherd; Gascoigne; Walker; Hopper (Djalo 64); Giroud (Errington 91); Savage. Subs not used: Hornsby; Hester; Capewell. Attendance: 459. Man of the Match: Ben Milburn.   

Kevin Mochrie

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On a warm Saturday afternoon at home, The Stan picked up three points in their seventh fixture of the month. A disappointing midweek loss was soon forgotten when the whistle was blown, and minutes later The Stan were in the lead. 

The first phase of play saw Grimsby take the ball down the right, which resulted in a shot that went over the bar. The momentum quickly changed when Savage advanced up the right-hand side before passing it back to Fil, whose cross was blocked by the first defender. 

In the sixth minute, Giraud advanced up the left and crossed to Savage, who was unmarked and steered the ball towards Djalo, who found the back of the net. This was shortly followed by a corner from Gascoigne, which was played back to him from the middle of the box, and his cross caught the attackers offside. 

A cross from Djalo then went across the front of the goal; however, there was no one in the middle to capitalise on the chance. The missed opportunity was quickly forgotten when Walker passed to Djalo, who got round the defender and found himself one-on-one with the keeper. He made no mistake, and The Stan were now two-nil up after fifteen minutes. 

After The Stan solidified their lead, Grimsby went on an attack and won a free kick following a foul by Gell. The chance came to nothing, with the Stan winning a free kick thirty-five yards out moments later. Chrisp’s cross was caught by the keeper. 

In the following passage of play, Djalo won a corner. Walker struck the ball on the volley, and it was just wide. In the thirty-sixth minute, Chrisp whipped it in from the left and it was headed by Gascoigne; it hit the top of the crossbar and went out for a goal kick. Shortly after, Giraud took it down the left and squared the ball, but it was blocked by a defender. He was then pulled back by Bradley, who was the first in the book. 

Heading towards half-time, Gascoigne took a short corner to Giraud, who immediately returned the ball, and Gascoigne’s shot was just wide. In stoppage time, Gascoigne took another short corner, this time to Savage; there was a foul in the box and the keeper won a free kick. 

The Stan got off to a quick start in the second half, advancing through the centre and winning a free kick, which was immediately followed by another free kick – Grimsby’s Fleet received a yellow card, with this foul proving one too many. 

In the following passage of play, Savage was too late to connect with a volley and the keeper caught the ball. However, he won a corner moments later. In the seventy-second minute, Savage went off to be replaced by Hopper. Hopper then forced a defensive error and got himself past the defender, who then fouled him while he was through on goal. Drummond received a yellow card.

As the game approached the eightieth minute, The Stan found themselves on the break; Djalo’s through ball was intercepted by the defender. Boothroyd and Hornsby then came on to replace Djalo and Chrisp. Boothroyd made an immediate impact, taking down the left-hand side before passing it to Giraud, who shot it over the bar. 

A further short corner by Gascoigne went to Gell, who shot it straight along the ground towards the keeper. Minutes later, Giraud was replaced by Morris. 

The referee’s whistle was greeted by cheers from The Stan fans who put the losses to Dunston, Trafford and West Auckland behind them, and are now looking forward to the short away trip to Blyth Spartans on Tuesday night. 

Heaton Stan Team: Lister, Fil, Chrisp (Hornsby 82’), Gell, Kanda, Shepherd, Gascoigne, Walker, Djalo ⚽︎ (6’) ⚽︎ (15’) (Boothroyd 82’), Giraud (Morris 88’), Savage (Hopper 71’) Subs not used: Errington 

Grimsby Borough Team: Richardson, Bradley 🟨 (39’), Drummond 🟨 (72’) (Williams 85’), Wood (Yellow 54’), Walker, Graham, Ayris, Flett 🟨 (53’) (Clarke 68’), Clements (Wright 59’), Cribb, Ceesay 

Subs not used: Sawyer, Rogers 

Man of the Match: Sado Djalo 

Attendance: 464 

William Kirvan

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