Neither the early kick off, nor did the drearily damp conditions affect the mood at Grounsell Park, where an excellent crowd of over 150 watched a pulsating match that ended in Heaton Stannington’s first victory since our return to the Northern League after a brief interregnum of 61 years. The win was assured by a superb hat trick by Jonathan Wright, but while the plaudits will obviously be with the goalscorer, it should not be overlooked that the entire team put in a superb performance to battle for the points against a well-organised and skilled opposition who will surely be in the shake up for the promotion spots at the end of the season. However, this evening was all about The Stan.

The team showed four changes from Saturday, with the injured Ben Telford, Johnny Mann and Gary Dixon all missing out and Joe Fulcher moving down to the bench, with William James, Paul Blakey and club captain Joe Wear all starting, as well as Richie Hoggins taking his place in the starting XI. 

The Stan’s first real chance came on 11 minutes, when Brian Dodsworth burst in to the opposition area and was ready to pull the trigger, when denied by a superb last ditch tackle, while West Allotment almost took the lead a minute later, when Shaun Backhouse’s block saw the ball run free to David Dormand, who could only slice his shot wide of the far post with the goal gaping. It was to prove an expensive miss. Having scored our first goal of the season to win us a point down at Norton on Saturday, Wright grabbed the first of his treble on 16 minutes, firing a powerful shot in to the roof of the net, despite the best efforts of Allotment custodian Chris Bannon.

The Stan could have had further goals when Anthony Johnson was twice denied tap-ins from excellent crosses from the left by Wright and the right by Dodsworth, both of which were scrambled away in the 6 yard box by Allotment defenders. Instead, it was the visitors who found themselves on the scoresheet, with club captain Ian Dunn firing them level on 29 minutes with a fierce effort into the roof of the net, meaning the two sides went in level at the interval.

Barely 30 seconds of the second period had elapsed when Wright restored The Stan’s lead, bursting forward and hammering home an effort from a tight angle. The home team were in wonderland when Wright completed his hat trick on 47 minutes, turning at the edge of the area and curling in a fine effort just inside the far post. 

However, West Allotment Celtic were not prepared to lie down and accept defeat; rather then spent the overwhelming majority of the second period camped in the Heaton Stannington half, but a combination of excellent defending, notably from returning captain Wear and safe handling from Backhouse, not to mention several slices of luck and some errant finishing, meant The Stan were able to run the clock down. Substitutes Paul Chapman for Paul Blakey and Fulcher for Andrew Weeks also entered the fray to shore up the home side’s defences.

It could have been 4-1 on 78 minutes when Wright’s blistering pace down the left saw him fire in a tantalising cross that just eluded Lee Johnson, though it was allotment who completed the scoring when, in gathering gloom, John Pendlebury fired in a long range effort that was deflected past the wrongfooted Backhouse. 

The visitors almost grabbed a draw with the last kick of the game, but a goalmouth melee saw the ball happily drift past the far post, enabling The Stan to record a famous victory against our local rivals, sending the majority of the crowd home delighted with what they had witnessed.

Stan Team: Backhouse, Hoggins, James, Wear, Weeks (Fulcher), Blakey (Chapman), Dodsworth, L. Johnson, Wright, A. Johnson. (incomplete line up)

Subs Not Used:

Attendance: 142.

Goals: Wright 16, 46, 47.

Kevin Mochrie