With Christmas nearly upon us, there was slight change to the nativity story with one Wright man bearing gifts (2 fantastic goals) instead of 3 wise men and Matt Smith our saver instead of Jesus Christ our Saviour. There were 4 changes since the last match at Bishop Auckland including a return for Matt Smith and Jon Jon Wright as well as Abu Salim. The pitch was in good condition given the recent weather and was helped by the very mild and sunny but blustery setting for the game.

The Stan tested Simpson in the Thornaby immediately and in the 3^rd minute it was 1-0 when a ball from Salim saw Wright advance and have a go from about 30 yards and his volley which went straight into the back of the net. Both teams had an attacking attitude, although Thonarby didn’t have a shot until the 13^th minute, and Salim shot wide in 7 minutes with Holland making a good block 2 minutes later.

Wright then counter attacked but as he was under pressure the keeper managed to catch his shot. After another Stan attack, Thornaby should have scored in 13 minutes when a player broke through but shot wide. It was getting windier as the Stan continued to pressurise especially through the combined efforts of Wright, Turnbull and Salim.

It was the visitors though who shot wide in 18 minutes and 2 minutes later a Thornaby player was in a good position in the Stan box but miss-kicked. After another 2 minutes Thornaby’s No3 tried a long shot which went over.

In 25 minutes Salim flicked the ball into the box and Deagle managed to head it just before Simpson got to it but his effort went just wide. In 28 minutes a deflected 30-yard free kick by Wright was just caught by the keeper. A Stan corner was then cleared and Salim’s follow up effort was caught by Simpson. Thornaby had 2 attacks, with 2^nd resulting in a shot wide, but they did not really threaten when they went forward unlike Wright who did.

In 34 minutes, a minute after being blocked by Simpson, Wright was brought down just outside the box. It was a clear foul so let’s hope that the Thornaby bench get a specsavers voucher from Santa as they were even more moany than usual and seemed to miss the incident. Wright’s resulting free kick went straight over the wall and past the keeper. So, he scored not just 1 but 2 fantastic goals.

The goal made Thornaby more determined and they finished the half strongly. 2 attacks were snubbed out by the Stan defence before Smith had to catch then clear. A Thornaby free kick into the box then went across the goal line but missed everyone and went out just wide.

In 41 minutes, the visitors got a free kick just outside the box which was sent just over the bar. Smith then easily caught before Thornaby shot over. Smith then had to make a backwards stretching save to put the ball over the bar and from the corner he punched the ball away. The Stan defence then snuffed out another attack. The Stan’s 1^st attack after Wright’s 2^nd goal didn’t come to the 3^rd minute of injury time.

The 2^nd half saw Thornaby have the majority of the ball but they were lacking up front which, along with good work by Smith and his defence, meant that the Stan goal was rarely threatened.

The half did start quieter though with the 1^stclear effort not coming until the 56^th minute when a Thornaby free kick went well over. 3 minutes later and Smith had to catch, then put the ball over the bar. 3 minutes further on he parried a shot away before Thornaby shot wide. In 64 minutes, a Salim free kick into the box was missed kicked by Wright.

There was then some controversy as Smith ran out of his box and collided with a Thornaby player. Smith got up immediately but the Thornaby player made the most of it. After a long delay Smith was booked and the resulting free kick was sent wide.

As the wind eventually dropped, and the match got dirtier, most of the pressure was still coming from Thornaby and Smith had to catch in 70 minutes. Dekka freshened the attack from a depleted bench, with McKenna and Hoggins replacing Wright and Robertson, and it seemed to get the Stan attacking again.

Salim sent a defender the wrong way and tried an effort from a tight angle when he should have passed. In 80 minute’s Thornaby’s No7 was booked when he made no attempt to go for the ball and brought Salim down. This followed an earlier bad tackle on Robertson. The free kick saw Hoggins turn in the box but his attempt to shoot was blocked for a corner. The corner was initially cleared but Salim got he ball back in but McKenna was judged offside.

After a Thornaby free kick went wide, Holland ran almost the whole pitch to start a Stan attack which was eventually cleared. 2 minutes to go and Salim then made a solo run twisting and turning into the box but his shot was blocked and the ball got back to Imray on the edge of the box who shot wide.

In the last minute, Smith made a fantastic stretching save to deny the visitors. He then punched clear from the resulting corner and a 2^nd one was headed out before Thornaby shot over. Turnbull then attacked but he was brought down and Salim then won a corner but the match ended 2-0 and the Stan were back up to 3^rd.

Wright’s goals and Smith’s late save were the difference between these 2 teams who overall were evenly matched. Who needs Santa to make your Xmas bright when you have Smith and Wright!

Stan: Smith; Holland; Deagle; Ray; Middleton; Imray; Turnbull; Bailey; Wright (McKenna 70); Robertson (Hoggins 73); Salim.

Subs Not Used: Jones

Goals: Wright 3, 34.

Yellow Cards: Smith, Ray, Turnbull

Attendance: 120

Kevin Mochrie