Both teams remembered Newcastle fans John Alder and Liam Sweeney and showed their respects by holding a minutes silence before the match. The Stan fielded a strong team and their dominant performance over first division opposition offered great encouragement for the season ahead.

The match started with end to end action. Rather than cause controversy by waiting for one of the Celtic games, the first Saturday home friendly saw the Stan try out their new orange away strips. Thankfully there was no orange walk as they raced into the lead in the eighteenth minute. Jonathan Wright crossed the ball to the left for Andrew Robertson to score. For the next twenty minutes Newton had more of the game and chances but this all changed in the thirty eighth minute when Wright was brought down in the box. Jon Jon took the resulting penalty well to make it 2-0 to Heaton Stannington. There were two further attempts on goal by Newton Aycliffe and a good effort by Jon Jon although it remained 2-0 at half time.

Torrential rain for much of the game did not put the team off. Lee Johnson’s more attacking role was working well and this helped the Stan increase their domination of the match. Six minutes into the second half Wright to Johnson crossed to the new signing from Australia, Mike Creswick, and it was 3-0. It took Newton Aycliffe fifteen minutes of the half to start an attack on the Stan goal and there were few chances for them there after. In the seventy second minute Jonathan Wright scored a great individual goal from the edge of the box to make it 4-0. Newton scored a consolation goal in the eighty first minute to make the final score 4-1.

Stan Team:

Subs:

Goals: Robertson 18, Wright 38, 72, Creswick 51.

Yellow Cards:

Attendance: