The third of four consecutive away games saw the Stan hoping to halt a run of three defeats and achieve their first ever win over the Cestrians. Numbers play an important part in this match report and, although I do not like maths, it must be the football anorak coming out in me which was needed tonight given the cold first half and the wet second.

The Stan continue to struggle to field a consistent team despite the growing squad which has been added to again in the past week. There were four changes to Saturday’s starting line up, although Joe Wear just made it to the match in time to prevent it being five.

There were four players on the bench including Russell Ward, who has just signed again for the club after being part of the treble wining team, and sixteen year old Paul Blackett who was signed the day before after being released by Newcastle’s Academy. Both made their debuts during the second half and could it be a dream start for the youngster? Read on to find out.

The Stan started well and had their first corner after three minutes. The first ten minutes mainly involved attempted attacks by the away team with Chester’s first attack not coming until the ninth minute. The Stan continued to have most of the pressure and could have scored in the eighteenth minute when a Dodsworth free kick was palmed over by the Chester keeper. Carr, who had been making good runs down the left wing, shot wide from the resulting corner.

Chester had their first corners in the 24 and 26 minutes although the Stan still managed two attacks in between these. The second corner led to the ball being cleared off the line by a Stan defender. The Stan defence were doing well, especially Pearson and Stoddart, but the pressure continued to be mainly by Heaton. This included a Carr ball into Dodsworth which was deflected slightly wide, although the referee gave a goal kick, and a great run by Lowson who eventually ran into defenders.

The half ended 0-0 The Stan had the better of the first half but it was Chester who were better for much of the second half. They took advantage of shooting down the slope and tried to get long balls into the box whenever they could. They started the half with a long shot but this was followed by two Stan attacks. In the fifty third minute Wear hit the top of the net from a cross and three minutes later Chester also had a shot that was high.

A minute after that the first real threat by Chester resulted in a world class save by Backhouse. The ball had come into the box and was headed from a low height by a Chester forward but Shaun did a full stretch to put the ball wide. He made a similar save in the sixty fourth minute. In between the Stan did have a scoring opportunity when Lowson shot just wide from thirty yards out.

It was third time unlucky though when in the sixty ninth minute the ball went across the Stan goal and was headed in to make it 1-0 to Chester. Things got worse three minutes later when a Chester counter attack led to the ball being slotted past Backhouse to make it 2-0.

Just as the Stan Army were getting despondent, and with Chester having most of the chances so far in the half, the tactical substitutions by Dekka and Geoff began to work. Hoggins, just off a plane earlier in the day after two weeks in the sun, and Blackett, making his debut, added pace up front which the tiring Chester defence found difficult to handle.

Although sounding more like a firm of solicitors, it was Hoggins, Burns and Blackett who destroyed the Chester defence and won the case for the Stan in the last ten minutes.

In the eightieth minute, five minutes after coming on, the ball was passed from the middle to Hoggins racing in on the right who blasted the ball into the net to make it 2-1. There was a similar goal a minute later when the ball was put across to the right but this time to Burns who, running in, made it 2-2.

Four minutes later and Hoggins put the ball into the middle for Wear who failed to shoot and this was followed by a Chester shot. In the eighty seventh minute though, the Stan pace paid off when Hoggins passed to Burns who crossed the ball to the left for the advancing Blackett to confidently make it 3-2 to the Stan.

It was a nail biting end to the match as the referee’s watch seemed to have stopped as he added more and more additional time on. In this last period Chester were relentless in their search for an equaliser. There were two corners, with the second resulting in a save by Backhouse, and two more attacking moves. Eventually though the whistle went and the Stan, in great Roy of the Rovers style, had won the match. All the Stan squad deserve praise but what a debut for Blackett.

It has still to be confirmed if he is the youngest player to score in the Northern league but Mike Amos is on the case and it looks like he probably is in the record books. The management team were both delighted, especially with their tactical substitutions. Derek Thompson later compared himself to Chelsea’s Mourinho but although he did well, a comparison to a Chelsea pensioner is more accurate.

The Stan rockets now head for the Red Star on Saturday.

Stan Team: Backhouse; Stoddart; Pearson; Ray(Ward); McGarrigal; Wear; Burns; Dodsworth; Yates (Hoggins); Lowson (Blackett); Carr.

Sub unused: Bailey.

Goals: Hoggins 80, Burns 81, Blackett 87.

Yellow Cards: Carr.

Attendance: 76.

Kevin Mochrie