Heaton Stannington vs Lincoln United

The 1st league game of the season saw the Stan welcome newly promoted Lincoln United to Willow Park for the 1st time. It was a competitive game although it looked like being a 0-0 draw until Pearson scored in the 90th minute to give the Stan all 3 points. So, it was déjà vu from last week’s FA Cup win with the Stan getting another hard fought 1-0 win, keeping a clean sheet & having the goal in both games scored by new signing Dale Pearson. There were 4 changes from the Whitley Bay cup match with Brass, Milburn, making his 2nd debut, Slaughter & Adamson replacing Flynn, Robson, Walker & Burn.

On a sunny summer afternoon, both teams started looking for a goal, but it was Brass who was in action 1st when in the 2nd minute he had to catch the ball from a free kick. Hopper then got into the Lincoln box, but their keeper caught his effort. A Stan ball was cleared on the edge of the Lincoln box in the 7th minute & 2 minutes later a shot from Stephenson, who had looked dangerous from kick off, was blocked. In the 11th minute Pearson beat the off-side trap but his shot from the edge of the box was saved. Both teams then had a corner & on 17 minutes a Lincoln player beat the Stan defence, but Brass came out to tackle him & clear the ball. The referee awarded a free kick, which was blocked, & booked Brass as he was not the last man. Both teams continued to try & attack & there was some good defending by the Stan. In 29 minutes, Lincoln shot just wide across the Stan goal. A minute later & Pearson got forward to meet a ball from Stephenson, but the Lincoln keeper got to it 1st. In 33 minutes, Brass had to punch clear & 3 minutes later the Lincoln keeper had to catch from a Stan effort. In the 40th minute, Hopper was flattened just outside the Lincoln box & from the resulting free kick Stephenson sent the ball over the wall & just offer the bar. It was a good effort but meant that the half ended 0-0.

There was a slower start to the 2nd half, but the Stan had some sustained pressure in the 48th minute. In 56 minutes, Stephenson had the ball in the Lincoln net, but the flag was up for offside. After Errington replaced Adamson in the 57th minute, the Stan started to wake up & in the 60th minute a Stephenson corner was cleared & the rebound effort from the edge of the box was blasted wide by Slaughter. There was a period of Stan pressure but Lincoln were trying to attack when they could. In 70 minutes, after a Stan counterattack that came to nothing, a Lincoln attack was put out under pressure. From the resulting corner Brass caught a headed effort from Lincoln. In 79 minutes, a Stan attack was headed clear followed by Lincoln having to clear again in the 6-yard box. In 81 minutes, Errington advanced with the ball into the Lincoln box & although his shot looked like it was going into the net the keeper managed to save it. Brass then made an easy save at the other end followed by a Lincoln player heading another effort wide. A Lincoln ball in the 85th minute across the Stan box was missed by everyone. Soon after, a Lincoln counterattack was stopped by a good tackle by man of the match Ben Milburn. In 88 minutes, sub Storey’s ball into the Lincoln box although not held by the keeper was cleared by a defender. The Stan had to clear 2 Lincoln attacks. From the 2nd in the 90th minute, Brass sent a long counterattacking ball to Pearson who, 1 on 1 with the advancing Lincoln keeper, confidently slotted the ball past him & it rolled into the net for 1-0 to the Stan. Into added time, & a Lincoln attack was cleared followed by their keeper just getting to the ball before a Stan player. Lincoln then had another advance cleared before a Milburn shot was blocked for a corner although the match finished soon after in the 7th minute of added time.

So, the hard work paid off for the Stan & they have started their league campaign with a win for the 1st time since 11 August 2012 in their last season in the Northern Alliance Premier Division. Next up is a visit on Wednesday to another promoted club in the form of Redcar Athletic. Next Saturday the Stan then host Marske United in the FA Cup.

Kevin Mochrie

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1 vs 0

Heaton Stannington A vs Ponteland United

4 vs 3

Heaton Stannington v Workington

The Stan’s last pre-season match saw them host non-league 3rd tier opposition in the form of ex-league club Workington from the Northern Premier league. It was a competitive match that ended with the visitor’s sneaking a late winning goal when a draw would have been more deserving.

The 1st meeting between the 2 teams saw Workington 1st to threaten when Brass had to get down in the 2nd minute to save a shot taken in a busy Stan box. A minute later & the visitors shot well over the Stan bar. After 6 minutes, Capewell headed clear from a Workington corner. The Stan then got their 1st opportunity to score when Robson shot just wide from the edge of the busy Workington box. The visitors were ahead in the 14th minute when a speculative shot from the edge of the box by a trialist beat Brass & went into the net. After a quieter 5 minutes, there was more Workington pressure in the 19th minute & 2 minutes later Shepherd had to clear. The ball was cleared again for a Workington corner which also saw the ball cleared. Workington had most of the early possession but from 25 minutes the Stan started to get back into the game when Slaughter blasted the ball well over the bar. In 27 minutes, the Stan were back on level terms when, from a free kick, Hopper blasted the ball into the Workington net for 1-1. Brass had to catch the ball 2 minutes later, but the Stan continued to get back into the match. In 37 minutes, a swerving ball from Hopper on the right went just left of the Workington post. In 43 minutes, the Stan had to make 2 clearances but the half ended 1-1.

Both teams started the 2nd half positively but were cancelling each other out. A joined-up attack by the Stan in the 51st minute saw the Workington keeper just get to the last ball of the move 1st. In the 60th minute, Pearson advanced into the visitor’s box, beat a player but the ball was then blocked. A Workington counterattack was then stopped by Beattie. A Stephenson shot then went across the goal & out of play. In 64 minutes, Pearson battled to win the ball & advanced with it but the keeper got to it before he could shoot. It was end to end now & soon after Milburn supplied Storey who crossed to the advancing Hopper, but he sliced his effort over the bar when he had the opportunity to score. Workington had a shot go over in the 68th minute & did the same 2 minutes later with a ball from a corner. Both teams were still trying to attack & in 73 minutes Workington shot high & wide. In 79 minutes, a sub Carr corner was cleared & although the ball went back in it was headed clear followed by a Workington counterattack which was cleared. Both teams were working hard although it was the visitors who took the lead in 87 minutes when a ball into the box to Galloway saw his shot deflected off a Stan player & into the net for 1-2. There were 2 minutes of added time but not enough for the Stan to wipe out the late Workington goal.

So, after 4 out of 4 wins the Stan’s last pre-season match saw them lose narrowly to higher league opposition. The real action starts next Saturday when the Stan travel to the coast to take on old rivals Whitley Bay in the FA Cup extra preliminary round & hopefully take a 1st step towards a trip to Wembley.

Stan Team: Brass; Groves (Burns 46); Shepherd (Marriott 66); Robson; Capewell; Milburn (Beattie 46); Hopper; Slaughter (Payne 66); Pearson (Carr 74); Stephenson (Livermore 66); Storey (Errington 74). No cards. Attendance 255.

Kevin Mochrie

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1 vs 2

Heaton Stannington v Newcastle Benfield

The Stan’s 1st pre-season match for 2025-26 was a very competitive one as they took on local rivals Newcastle Benfield from Northern League Division 1 in the annual Jimmy Rowe Memorial Trophy. A last-minute winning goal meant that the Stan successfully defended the trophy and have won cups in their last 2 games having also won the Northumberland Senior Cup on their last outing in May. There were 2 new signings in the starting 11 in the form of Luke Carr & Dale Pearson & 2 other new signings, James Blakey, who has stepped up from the A team, & Alfie Livermore started form the bench. Goalkeeping coach Tom Flynn stepped in for keeper Lewis Brass who was getting married.

In front of a bumper crowd of 407, both sides started positively but it was Benfield who had the 1st clear effort in the 4th minute when they headed wide. 4 minutes later & a Stan free kick into the Benfield box was cleared. In 12 minutes, the visitors saw a speculative long-range effort easily caught by Flynn. A minute later, from a free kick & in a busy box, Shepherd tapped the ball into the Benfield net but the flag was up for offside. 2 minutes later & Hopper ran into the box, but his final ball went wide. There was more Stan pressure when in 17 minutes an attack was blocked but a minute later Flynn had to get down to save a long-range effort. In 20 minutes, Hopper advanced into the Benfield box & his shot was blocked then deflected for a corner. From the corner, Hopper’s header towards the net was cleared for another corner from which efforts by Hopper & Milburn were blocked. In 23 minutes, a Benfield corner was cleared followed by a quieter 10-minute period. In 33 minutes, Benfield shot over the Stan bar & soon after they shot just wide. Both teams continued to try & attack, but the next clear effort was not until the 41st minute when a Stan effort was punched over the bar by the Benfield keeper. The half ended 0-0 with everything still to play for.

The Stan made 3 half time substitutions although there was a relatively uneventful start to the 2nd half. In 50 minutes, a Benfield corner went straight out at the far post. The same thing happened 2 minutes later from a Stan corner. Benfield then had the closest effort so far when, from a free kick into the Stan box, the ball was cleared but the rebound shot went just over the Stan bar. A minute later in the 54th, a poor Stan clearance allowed a Benfield trialist to get the ball & shoot past Flynn for 0-1. The Stan were level in the 57th minute, when a Slaughter free kick into the box hit the post & Pearson, on his debut, put his rebound effort into the net from close range. 5 minutes later, Benfield had 3 corners in a row but there was then a quieter period until they shot wide in the 68th minute. In 75 minutes, Benfield shot wide again & a minute later they came closer when they shot just wide under pressure. 2 minutes later, sub Livermore crossed to Hopper but he couldn’t get his shot in. This was followed by some more pressure from the Stan which did not come to anything. In 82 minutes, a Benfield long shot wa deflected for a corner. In 85 minutes, a Stan attack was blocked & the ball from the resulting corner went wide. A long-range effort from the Stan then went over. A minute later there was a poor clearance by Grove but it was followed by an even worse move when the resulting Benfield effort went wide. At the other end, a ball by Groves was cleared followed soon after by a Pearson shot that went just wide under pressure. In the 90th minute though, Pearson got his 2nd goal & the Stan winner after the ball had been deflected out for a corner. From the corner, 2 Stan efforts in the crowded Benfield 6 yard box were cleared but Pearson made sure the 3rd effort went into the net for 2-1.

Although Benfield put up a good fight, the Stan deservedly won although only due to a late 2nd goal from new signing Pearson who had a great debut even without his goals. So, its 5 out of 5 wins for the Stan in the Jimmy Rowe Memorial Trophy. Next up on Thursday the Stan cross the water to play their 1st pre-season friendly against Boldon Community Association.

Kevin Mochrie

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