Another beautiful evening at Grounsell Park unfortunately did not also see a beautiful performance by Heaton Stannington. After two good wins over first division opposition the third attempt saw the Stan crashing back to earth. The line up was a mixture of the previous two matches and included Daniel Rule in goals again. The team definitely missed the contribution of Jonathan Wright who did not feature in the squad although new Australian signing Brandon Wong was back from injury and on the bench.

Morpeth Town took the lead after five minutes from a free header. There were chances at either end but Morpeth continued to look the more dangerous for much of the first half and the Stan were weaker in terms of finishing. The home side had a couple of chances just before half time, including a corner that should have been put away, but at half time it remained 0-1. Morpeth were the better organised team, including in defence, and this began to pay off more in the second half. A one on one with the Stan keeper in the fifty second minute resulted in a two goal lead for Morpeth. There were chance for both teams, including the Stan hitting the post, but it was Morpeth who went 3-0 up in the seventieth minute from an eighteen yard shot. Nine minutes later and the Stan defence stood still as Morpeth’s number seven ran diagonally past three players to get his second goal and Morpeth’s fourth. Morpeth remained the superior team and made it 0-5 in the eighty third minute. Andy Robertson got a consolation goal in the last few minutes but it was too little too late and the game ended 1-5.

Stan Team:

Subs:

Goals: Robertson 86

Attendance: