Heaton Stannington ended their first season back in The Northern League with the biggest win of the campaign, to end on a highly impressive 81 points. Not only that, but the crowd of 113, which was strangely exactly the same as the previous Tuesday’s 4-2 success over Alnwick Town, were treated to Jonathan Wright’s second successive hat trick, giving him a season ending total of 43 goals for The Stan. Frankly, he could have had many more goals in this game, as The Stan produced a simply superb performance that was in no way unfairly represented by the final score line.

To be fair to Washington, they were fielding a much changed XI in advance of the FA Sunday Cup final at Ewood Park, as many of their squad feature for Humbledon Plains Farm, who were contesting this prestigious competition against Oyster from Liverpool. The only first choice regular to feature was veteran David Southern, who was employed as right back, while James Fairley, once of Whitley Bay, was on the bench.

The Stan began like an express train and Paul Blakey almost opened the scoring after 4 minutes with a superb long range effort that just drifted wide. Twice in the opening 10 minutes, once with a header and once from a free kick, Brian Dodsworth was just inches away from opening the scoring, as was the excellent Kieron Weekes, who flashed a volley inches away.

The scoring was opened, as is so often the case, by Jonathan Wright; after 17 minutes he accepted a pass from Dodsworth and buried his shot under the dive of keeper Martin Jackson. Three minutes later Wright was inches away from the goal of the season, when his audacious chip drifted just wide of the far post with Jackson utterly bamboozled by the effort.

Twice more Wright was denied, once by Jackson and once when his shot was deflected wide, before he turned provider to double The Stan’s lead on 35 minutes. His cross from the wing was nodded in by the diving Richie Hoggins, for his first goal of the campaign. Seconds later, madness in the Washington area saw Blakey desperately unlucky not to score when his effort struck the inside of the post. The rebound fell to Anthony Johnson who sliced an effort wide of goal, but the ball stayed in for Wright to retrieve and hammer in an effort that was blocked on the line, meaning the half time score was 2-0.

Very early in the second period, a stooping Brian Dodsworth nodded in a Kieron Weekes from almost on the line, to make the score 3-0. Washington finally began to assert themselves and Lewis Henderson was very unlucky on 53 minutes to see his speculative lob land on the top of the bar, with Shaun Backhouse well beaten. Just after the hour, Wright scored his second; accepting a pass from Anthony Johnson, he stormed into the area and unleashed a shot that beat Jackson all ends up.

With 10 minutes to go, Wright broke through a static Washington defence and fired home, despite a desperate attempt by Henderson to clear the ball from the line. There was a brief moment of joy for the visitors when Paul Kane took an angled cross field ball in his stride and powered a low drive in off the post past Backhouse’s despairing dive.

However, Backhouse was to help complete the scoring by launching an enormous clearance that bounced on the edge of the Washington area, allowing Dodsworth to nod the ball over Jackson and into the unguarded net to end the season on a high note. Well done to everyone involved with Heaton Stannington for such a superb season.

Stan Team: Backhouse, Telford, Hoggins, Blakey, Wear (C), Deagle, Weekes, Johnson L., Wright, Dodsworth, Johnson A.

Subs: Smith, James, Carr, McGarrigal, Dixon. (Unsure who was used)

Goals: Wright 17, 61,80, Hoggins 35, Dosworth 47, 87.

Attendance: 114.

Kevin Mochrie