If the Stan are going to be promoted, there are going to be games where they don’t play particularly well but hang on to get all 3 points. After 3 recent draws where the Stan should have won, this match was one of these type of wins. On a chilly night, the Stan travelled to Willington for the 1st of 2 trips there in 5 days but for the 1st game there against Durham. There was 1 change as Holland replaced the injured Turnbull.

The Stan attacked early but it was Durham who had the 1st effort which saw a ball from a corner blasted high. For the 1st 17 minutes the Stan had most of the ball. In 10 minutes Holland shot just wide from a tight angle followed soon after by Robinson also shooting just wide. In 14 minutes, Petrache lost the ball which resulted in Smith having to make a great save.

A minute later Tait had the ball in the net from a good Robinson pass but he was offside. Almost immediately, Holland sent a great ball into Robinson in the box who controlled it well under pressure and confidently slotted the ball past the keeper. Durham then blasted over and in 22 minutes a Tait effort was caught by the keeper.

Durham then counter-attacked which saw Smith catch the ball. A Holland shot was then put out for a corner which then led to a Stan corner. The ball from the throw-in went to Robinson in the box who blasted it just over but as did he was brought down and a penalty was given. Robinson calmly blasted the ball to the keeper’s left to make it 2-0.

The home keeper then caught a Laidler shot which was followed by a speculative long shot by Imray which was just caught by the keeper .Durham were struggling under the Stan pressure but, against the run of play, they pulled a goal back when a cross from the right in 37 minutes went to the unmarked Steele advancing on the left and he shot past Smith.

In 34 minutes, Durham shot well wide and in 36 minutes Trodd past to Robinson but the keeper caught his effort. Petrache blocked for a corner in 40 minutes which then required Smith to catch. The Stan were now letting Durham back into the match but it was the Stan who finished the half with a shot when Dixon passed to Tait but it went wide.

Durham had the 1st attack of the 2nd half but there was then a brief period of Stan pressure. In 48 minutes, Durham had a freekick. The ball came back in and Smith punched it over the bar. The resulting Durham corner saw the ball skim the Stan bar. Smith then caught before the Durham keeper spilt the ball twice in quick succession. There was then a period of sustained Durham pressure which saw Smith make a great save in 50 minutes.

For fans of both teams, the match was spoiled by the continuous loud and improper interruptions of 1, and near the end 2, of the Durham staff. It was so bad that the ref had to talk to the main offender and remind him that his circus like performance wasn’t appropriate at a football match. After a long absence, the Stan finally had 2 attacks and 2 corners.

In 63 minutes, Durham shot just wide through a crowded box. It was back to Durham attacks and Deagle had to head a corner ball clear. In 70 minutes the Stan had another shot through Salim. The home defence then failed to clear and Salim managed to get the ball into the box. He was brought down but no penalty was given.

Things were getting more even now but the Stan defence were also working well. In 77 minutes Smith saved for a corner from which the ball was headed wide. The Stan then counter attacked through Holland whose cross was pushed away by the keeper and Robinson was blocked before he could get a rebound shot in. Robinson then blasted wide from the resulting corner and Salim soon had a great run which resulted in a corner. The ball from this was punched away by the keeper.

The Stan were now having a brief period of sustained attacking but things got tougher for them in 83 minutes. Sub Johnson was caught badly by a Durham defender who was booked for his action but Lee retaliated and was red carded while Deagle was booked for dissent.

Durham attacked but then so did the Stan with the keeper having to catch a Salim shot. The Stan were now defending deeply as the match went into injury time. The defence were working well, with Brown coming on for Robinson, and Durham’s best late chance came in 92 minutes when they shot over.

For much of the 2nd half Durham had been more in control but the Stan held on to achieve their 3rd win in a row and extended their unbeaten league run to 11 matches. They have also only been beaten once on the road in the league since 7 January.

A big thank you to the travelling Stan Army who made up around half the very small crowd.

Stan Team: Smith, Trodd, Deagle, Ray, Petrache, Imray, Holland, Dixon (Johnson (R) 73), Robinson (Brown 88), Tait (Salim 69), Laidler.

Subs unused: Mullen, Hoggins.

Goals: Robinson 16, *.

Yellow Cards: Trodd, Deagle, Dixon.

Red Cards: Johnson.

Attendance: 47.