The Stan held a friendly to look at 2 potential signings from lower leagues and although it was not advertised it was well attended by the Stan Army. The opponents were from 2 leagues lower in Northern Alliance Division 1 and continued a long tradition of the Stan taking on Wallsend based teams.
A friend of Dan Robinson’s, Grant Bowman, stood in for Matt Smith in goals and there were trials for Sam Brown (Tyneside Amateur League) and Rumanian Lulia Petrache (Northern Alliance). It was also an opportunity for new signing Jake Turnbull, after scoring on his debut as a sub on Saturday, to get his first start.
The match started relatively quietly, with the only initial excitement being a floodlight bulb popping, until a Turnbull solo run in 14 minutes saw him eventually blocked. Wallsend then had a corner cleared before McKenna shot just wide from the edge of the box.
In 17 minutes Turnbull ran down the right and crossed into the box for Robinson to tap the ball into the net. A minute later and the ball was cleared on the visitor’s goal line before a McKenna shot was deflected over for a corner. The corner ball was cleared but came back into Robinson who blasted it into the net through a crowded box.
It was all Stan now as they searched for a third goal. In 23 minutes though Wallsend had a shot deflected for a corner before Robinson shot wide. 2 minutes later a Stan corner saw the keeper hit his own bar with the ball for the first of 2 corners. Apart from 3 more Wallsend shots it was mainly Stan with Turnbull and Robinson having 2 efforts cleared or blocked.
The Wallsend keeper then had to make a good save in 37 minutes. Almost immediately, a Wallsend defender had the ball under no danger but held onto it too long which saw Turnbull run and get the ball and advance into the box. He tried to go around the keeper with the ball going across the front of goal and it was put in the net by the advancing McKenna. Wallsend had 2 more shots to the Stan’s 1 as the half ended 3-1 to the Stan.
Overall the second half was quieter although 2 minutes into it and Robinson missed a sitter. 5 minutes later and another Stan attack was cleared.
In 54 minutes, Tait curled a free kick from just outside the box straight into the net to make it 4-0. 3 minutes later the Stan dealt with a Wallsend attack but 2 minutes further on, from a corner, the visitors had the ball into the net in a crowded Stan penalty box.
Turnbull, who never gave up, then attacked, recovered the ball twice but was then blocked in the box. In 65 minutes, McKenna’s shot was caught by the keeper. Robinson then had a solo run but blasted his effort into the side netting.
Wallsend then began to get more into the game and as a result it was becoming more end to end. Wallsend had 3 attacks before Turnbull had 2 runs. In 78 minutes Wallsend had a free kick cleared. They then had another attack which Bowman in the Stan goal parried on the ground and he then saved the 6-yard rebound shot.
The game quietened down again and the Stan comfortably won 4-1. Although there was a difference in league levels, and related differences in skill and fitness, Wallsend gave a good account of themselves and competed throughout the match.
Heaton Stannington: Bowman, McCarthy, Deagle, Petrache, Brown, Chapman, Turnbull, Dixon, Robinson, McKenna, Laidler.
Subs (All Used): Johnson (83), Imray (83), Tait (45), Salim (83), Wear (80).
Goals: Robinson 17, 19, McKenna 38, Tait 54.
Kevin Mochrie