With Ryton sitting near the top of the table, the Stan knew it would not be easy in their quest for their first away points of the season. There was plenty of action and goals but not the final result that the visitors wanted as Ryton grabbed a last minute winner.

There were changes again to the Stan starting line up (this time three) but more importantly the other common theme of recent matches, that of battling performances, continued and offers hope for the busy month of league and cup fixtures ahead.

A sun drenched Kingsley Park it was the Stan who dominated early on. This included an attempt by Kevin Carr, making his first appearance of the season, and two by Robertson. It was Ryton though who took the lead against the run of play on thirteen minutes when Robinson scored after an attempt to find striking partner Allington was blocked and the ball landed back at his feet allowing him to bury the ball in to the top corner of the net to make it 1-0 to Ryton.

The Stan immediately responded with a bombardment of the Ryton goal. Creswick shot narrowly over the bar straight from the kick off followed by a shot by Carr that brought out a super stop from the Ryton keeper with the rebound being blasted wide. The equaliser was beginning to look inevitable with a Johnson shot being blocked by the keeper, Blakey clipping the bar from distance and then Creswick forcing another good save from Gillespie in the Ryton goal.

In the middle of the Stan’s waves of attack there were a couple of chances for Ryton that were comfortably blocked by Rule. The Heaton pressure though was about to pay off. Several shots during one Stan attack were blocked but the move ended with Robertson getting a rebound that he struck cleanly from distance and into the goal to deservedly make it 1-1. The half ended more quietly although Ryton had two good opportunities in the last minute.

The first five minutes of the second half saw Albion getting more of the ball than in the first period although two shots by Ryhope luckily went wide. The Stan then responded with Blakey forcing a good save from the Ryton keeper and on the hour mark a Stan shot struck the post and bounced out to Telford whose strike brought out another good save from Gillespie.

Not to be confused with his Stan namesake, Ryton substitute David Backhouse made an impact minutes after coming on when, despite a hint of offside, he raced ahead of his marker to slot the ball past Rule and put Albion 2-1 up.

The Stan kept their heads up though and responded by camping in the Ryton half though with less menace than in the first half. After a Ryton counter attack on seventy five minutes, the Stan went straight up field and launched another sustained attack. A scramble in the goalmouth culminated in an equaliser with Ben Telford stabbing the ball home to get his third goal in two games.

It was the Stan who came closest to taking the lead when substitute Richard Hoggins won the ball but floated his shot just over the bar on eighty three minutes. Two minutes later and Robertson should have wrapped up the points for the Stan when he met a cross but with the goal gaping, he headed the ball straight at the Ryton keeper.

Although Hoggins, who was making a nuisance of himself in the Ryton box, came close with two minutes to go it was Ryton who were to land the killer blow in the final minute. The Stan tried to play the ball out of defence but a tackle from Ryton’s Backhouse led to a blocked shot by Robinson which was then struck home by Forsyth to earn three points for home side.

Even the Ryton secretary thought that the Stan would feel hard done by to have left empty handed although he did add that ‘if it had not been for poor finishing particularly in the first half the visitors could well have been out of sight by the interval’. This does not make defeat any easier but does give some hope for the trip next Saturday to Peterlee to play South Shields.

Stan Team: Rule; Telford; James; Wear; McGarrigal; Blakey (Hoggins); Creswick; Johnson, L; Roberston; Carr (Yates); Burns.

Unused Sub: Backhouse.

Goals: Robertson, Telford 77

Yellow Cards: Telford.

Attendance: 70

Stevie Carter (with additions by Kevin Mochrie)