After last Saturday’s fantastic FA Cup win and due to Tuesday night’s match at Willington against Durham being postponed due to a water-logged pitch, this was the Stan’s first league match of 17-18. And for the Stan Army it was a contrast to the ecstasy of the cup win as the Stan gave their worst performance for a long time and were lucky to get a point. The match was also spoiled by the failure of the young referee Pringle to control the match as his woolly decisions began to stack up.

There were 2 changes from the cup team with Mathew McCarthy making his competitive debut. The match was played in miserable conditions with the rain getting more torrential in the second half. As a result, the sheep in the neighbouring field outnumbered the fans.

The Stan had the first attack but then Esh had 2 off side attacks followed by another which led to a Stan counter with Wright’s shot blocked followed by an advancing McKenna deemed offside. This saw the start of a period of Stan pressure and in 11 minutes, after a Stan corner was cleared, Chapman was brought down just outside the box but the free kick was blocked. In 19 minutes, an Esh long shot went over followed by another Esh attack being blocked. Wright then tried to chip the keeper who caught the ball. It was a scrappy game and the Stan’s 3 at the back wasn’t working. Esh started to put pressure on the Stan defence from the 21st minute.

A stramash in the Stan box saw an Esh player somehow shoot wide from 3 yards. Smith then cleared followed by him having to come out to catch but the ball deflected off him for a corner when it looked like it was going into the net. 2 Esh players then ran in on Smith who caught the ball just in time. In 24 minutes Esh shot just wide in the crowded box from a corner. They then beat the Stan defence on the bye line and the ball was crossed into the box but Smith got down to save. Wright continued to get forward whenever he could but the home defence dealt well with him. 

Esh were whingeing more as the half went on. Esh shot just over form the edge of the box in 31 minutes and then blocked attacks by both McKenna and Wright. In 34 minutes, Robinson replaced the injured Jones. Esh then got a free kick when, from a corner, their keeper was brought down by a team-mate. Ray showed his anger at this decision to the ref and was lucky to see no action taken against him. 

Stoddart made a good clearance in 38 minutes before Esh headed wide. Wright’s shot was then blocked by the keeper and Robinson was flagged offside before he could put the rebound shot into the net. The Stan though were wasting chances and missing out on many 50-50 balls. Both sides attacked again in injury time but the Stan were lucky not to be behind at half time.

Wear replaced McCarthy at the restart. The first clear chance came in 50 minutes when Esh’s Kent broke free but hesitated and appeared to be pushed by Deagle in the box. 2 minutes later, Robinson was bundled off the ball just outside the Esh box. The resultant free kick, in 53 minutes, was put over the wall and into the net by Jonathan Wright. It was his first goal since being sponsored by local personalities Harry the dog and Connor Hunt. 

There was then a sustained Stan attack which ended with the ball being headed off the line in 56 minutes. Wright then battled his way into the box but shot just over. The Stan were looking better as Robinson and Wright attacked and a corner in 59 minutes saw Esh head clear in front of their goal but the follow up Robinson shot was blocked. Esh then had 5 minutes of pressure which saw 2 Smith clearances before a Stan counter saw the Esh keeper get down to save. 

The Esh pressure paid off in 66 minutes when their counter attack saw Smith save and Chapman block but the ball then went out to Stoker who shot and scored form just outside the crowded box. Esh pressed for another goal and Deagle cleared before he tried to clear again but sent the ball the wrong way allowing an Esh player to shoot but Smith saved, Deagle half cleared and then Smith finally cleared the ball.

Esh continued attacking until a period of drama started in 72 minutes. Max Stoker fell over but implied that McKenna had shoved him. There was then some handbags (twice) in front of the ref and the situation was only partially diffused when Johnson replaced McKenna. Mad Max, as a home fan said he was known as, kept ranting before Deagle took over. Dean was annoyed at the keeper not returning the ball for play to resume and told the linesman who called the ref over. He reacted to both the officials and a Stan coach as if he had received an unwanted proposition at a nightclub and was booked. 

Luckily the torrential rain then dampened things down although Robinson had a good chance to score in 78 minutes when the Esh keeper got down for the ball but failed to hold it and Dan went on to shoot but his effort was blocked in front of goal by a defender. 2 Esh attacks were cleared before a third saw Smith come out and make a great block.

In 81 minutes Deagle made a poor back-pass which Smith cleared. Wright then made a great flick to the advancing Laidler who was blocked. Wright made a a great move which ended with him scraping the post. Smith then caught a ball from a free kick and in 88 minutes Ray had to tackle to stop an Esh player shooting from 6 yards followed by an Esh free kick being headed clear.

The rain was torrential as 5 minutes of injury time started. Both teams had chances with the game ending with Johnson shooting wide. So the Stan left with an undeserved point, mainly due to Smith in goals, but with their first home game and the FA cup to look forward to in the next week..

Heaton Stannington: Smith, Stoddart, Deagle, Ray, Imray, Chapman, McCarthy (Wear 46), McKenna (Johnson 74), Wright, Jones (Robinson 34), Laidler. 

Subs Not Used: Hoggins, James. 

Goals: Wright 53.

Yellow Card: Deagle.

Referee: J. Pringle.

Assistants: C. Stores, C. Kitson.

Attendance: 70

Kevin Mochrie