By common consent the most improved ground in the Northern League is Thornaby’s superbly appointed and undeniably scenic Teesdale Park. However, even the bucolic majesty of the surroundings were forced to take a back seat to the incredible events that unfolded there as The Stan went top of Northern League Division 2 after besting the home side in an incredible 9 goal thriller that will take some beating when the game of the season is decided upon. With Joe Wear and Andrew Weeks unavailable, Joseph Fulcher and Johnny Mann came in to the starting eleven, which saw Brian Dodsworth deployed in an unfamiliar defensive role.

Despite Thornaby starting off in a determined fashion, seeing an early corner instinctively blocked by Shaun Backhouse’s legs, The Stan took the lead in the 4th minute when Jonathan Wright collected a pass from Anthony Johnson and fired home a trademark left foot shot from the edge of the area. Scarcely had the away support’s cheers died down when Lee Johnson double the away side’s advantage with a simple header from a corner. The Stan were in dreamland on 19 minutes when Brian Dodsworth curled in an exquisite free kick that left Thornaby keeper Michael Duff rooted to the spot.

Even though The Stan were 3-0 up in 20 minutes, Thornaby had been matching them elsewhere on the pitch, with Marc Dolan denied by Backhouse, James Brodie-Myers firing a free kick on to the roof of the net and Fulcher deflecting a goal-bound shot over the bar for a corner. That said, Dodsworth ought to have made it 4-0 on 22 minutes, when he put a simple header over the bar after Duff had dropped a Wright corner. Moments later, Dolan punished this let off by breaking through and confidently slipping the ball past Backhouse.

Things got worse on 39 minutes for The Stan; straight after Lee Johnson had been robbed by Duff when attempting to walk the ball in to the net when one-on-one with the keeper, Thornaby broke and Jamie Blyth tapped in. There were protests from The Stan that there had been a foul in the build-up, but the goal stood and the teams went in at 2-3 for half time, though it could have been level, as Adam Murphy headed a good chance over for the hosts. Despite such early dominance, there was a distinct feeling of unease over the chances that had not been taken by The Stan, with the obvious worry that they may come back to haunt us later in the game. Thankfully, this was not the case.

The second half began like the first, with Wright collecting a loose ball and firing a stunning left-foot drive in to the net to make it 4-2. As the dusk was illuminated by a stunning gibbous moon, Lee Johnson appeared to have made the game safe when tapping in after 60 minutes, when Duff parried Wright’s cross shot in to his path. However Thornaby, much to their credit, did not allow their heads to drop and piled relentless pressure on The Stan.

As a result, Philip Horsman scored from a goalmouth melee after 80 minutes and deep in stoppage time, Curtis Edwards made it 4-5, but despite all their efforts, the home side came up short and The Stan won their first away game since returning to the Northern League and consequently registered their third straight victory to climb to the top of the table.

Stan Team:

Subs:

Yellow Cards: Chapman.

Attendance: 62

Goals: Wright 2, 48, Lee Johnson 6,59, Dodsworth 19

Kevin Mochrie