The predicted storm for the first Saturday of the 2014-15 Northern League season did not arrive. On a sunny and football friendly afternoon, the football forecast was also wrong. There were high expectations for the meeting of last season’s fifth and fourth place teams but instead the crowd witnessed a relatively lack lustre affair that got even less breezy as the match went on. The Stan were still missing a few players who were on holiday although there was a larger and stronger squad than that available last week. Jonathan Wright has now climbed up onto the books of Jarrow Roofing and the lack of alternative fire power today demonstrates that the new look squad still needs time to adjust to each other.

The first half was a relatively end to end affair although the first chances for both teams came from set pieces. Both teams continued to fail to put away chances until the twenty eighth minute when a Seaham free kick by Tom English was headed in by David Palmer to make it 0-1. Almost immediately, Gary Dixon had a chance to equalise but shot wide. There were very few further chances at either end although just before half time both teams failed to put away two good opportunities.

There was less action in the second half with both teams lacking puff in the final third of the pitch. As a result, both goalkeepers were rarely tested and the three second half substitutions made little difference. The last fifteen minutes were livelier with Seaham shooting just wide on two occasions and good Stan defending preventing a second Seaham goal in the eighty ninth minute. With seven minutes to go, poor finishing prevented Heaton Stannington from equalising and the game predictably finished 1-0.

Manager Derek Wright was disappointed with the poor standard of the team’s performance, the match overall and with the ‘soft goal’ that the team gave away although the words he used were slightly different! After a disappointing start, the Stan have Monday’s away derby at Team Northumbria to look forward to followed by four out of five home games. So, using the last weather metaphor of the season, lets hope that as the weather deteriorates the Stan’s performance on the park does the opposite and improves.

Stan Team: Backhouse; Stoddart; Deagle; Dixon, I,; Pearson; Blakey (Telford); Wear; Dixon,G. (Chambers); Johnson, L.; Robertson; McKenna (Stevens).

Unused subs: Yates; Hoggins.

Attendance: 126

Kevin Mochrie