With 15 minutes remaining and the sides locked at 1-1, it seemed as if there would only be one winner. Having fallen behind to an early Michael Coghlan excocet, Heaton Stannington had then been frustrated by a wonderful performance by home keeper Neil Atkinson, only to finally haul themselves level on 55 minutes when Jonathan Wright ended his two game scoring drought to tap in an astute pass by Brian Dodsworth who had evaded the organised home offside trap. With parity restored, it seemed as if The Stan would end this stuttering performance with a maximum haul of points, especially as it seemed as if Washington’s brave resistance had ended as their players seemed heavy-legged and uninspired.

In the end though, The Stan were to leave the Nissan Sports Complex empty handed as a resilient home side found a second wind and grabbed the victory with late goals from substitutes Anthony Ross and Paul Kane, leaving The Stan in second place still, but with North Shields easing to a 4 point lead at the top, while West Allotment Celtic and Seaham Red Star closed the gap below The Stan, giving even greater magnitude to Friday’s crunch local derby away to West Allotment at Blue Flames. Not only will local bragging rights be at stake, but three crucial points in the race for promotion.

On a reasonable afternoon that marked the last day of the penultimate month of 2013, Heaton Stannington could have had an early lead when Brian Dodsworth’s shot was brilliantly blocked by the home keeper Atkinson, the first of his many superb saves on the day. Having taken the lead with Coghlan’s sublime strike from the edge of the box, Washington were regularly indebted to Atkinson, who seemed on a one man mission to deny the visitors, especially the centre half pairing. Joe Wear’s delicious first time volley from a corner was superbly blocked by Atkinson. Even better was Atkinson’s magnificent tip over from Gary McGarrigal’s firm header. Soon after captain Wear saw another header from a Dodsworth free kick smartly turned away. The first half was mainly a story of Atkinson repelling The Stan, with play punctuated by regular fouls in their defending third by the home side and an incessant series of offside decisions in favour of Washington. Indeed there were more fluttering flags than at a Loyalist protest on the Upper Ormeau Road.

The second half began with a rare Washington attack, occasionally Shaun Backhouse to make a blinding reaction stop from James Fairley. From this, The Stan broke and Phil Smith was decidedly unlucky when denied an equaliser as his sumptuous chip hit the face of the bar and rebounded to safety. After Wright had equalised, smith was inches away from giving The Stan the lead as his instinctive snapshot from a poor defensive clearance rolled agonisingly wide. As The Stan increased the pressure, both William James and Dodsworth were denied and then, out of nowhere, a suspiciously offside looking Anthony Ross collected a through ball and finished in style. Still in shock, The Stan conceded a third to a glorious Paul Kane chip and the game was up for the visitors.

Stan Team:

Subs:

Yellow Cards: Carr.

Attendance: 38

Goals: Wright 55

Kevin Mochrie