The Stan travelled to Division 1 North Shields where they had been invited to play a friendly as both teams had a free mid-week. The report was kindly provided by Shields programme editor Ed Painter who felt the Robins failed to impress. They had a team made up of squad players alongside one or two first teamers and struggled to deal with the pace of the Stan.

Despite making numerous substitutes as the game went on, Shields struggled to create many chances leaving the home support frustrated and the unusually small Stan Army delighted. Only Miller, Hall and Brook had been in the Stan starting 11 on Saturday and there were debuts for Dan Bennett and John Fox.

The young Robins started the game very brightly and after only two minutes, Cam Cunningham cut inside the penalty area before having his shot parried to safety by Joe Brook in the Heaton goal. Only one minute later, Jack Cooper tried his luck from long range, however his effort flew narrowly over the bar. The fans were made to wait until the 15^th minute for the next opportunity which fell the Robins way, with Cunningham testing the reflexes of Brook.

Once again the Stan shot-stopper was a match to his effort. At this point, the only side that looked like scoring were the hosts and in the 16^th minute they came close to breaking the deadlock. Craig Spooner managed to work himself into space before snatching at the ball with the resulting effort dribbling millimetres wide of the post.

The Stan, having survived the early onslaught, began to grow in confidence and in the 21^st minute they punished the hosts for not converting one of their chances. Having been released through on goal, John Fox managed to get to the ball before young keeper Lister to prod the ball home underneath him.

As the game entered the 33^rd minute, Cunningham was once again the focal point of the Robins attack and if not for an excellent save from Brook, his long-range effort would have dipped underneath the crossbar and into the net.

The Robins were piling on the pressure now and from a corner in the 40^th minute, experienced midfielder Gary Ormston rose above his marker to make a connection with the ball only to see it sail harmlessly over the crossbar. However, following a nice flowing move through midfield, Dean Imray was on hand in the centre of the box to smash the ball into the back of the net giving the Stan a two-goal lead at the break.

As with most friendlies, the flow of the game wasn’t helped by the numerous substitutions from both sides. It took until the 67^th minute before either goalkeeper was tested in the second half. Unfortunately for the Robins, Lister was being kept very busy indeed. Looking to put the game to bed, Joe Fulcher tried his luck from range, only to see the ball deflect behind for a corner off a defender’s leg.

With only seven minutes remaining on the clock, Stan substitute Abu Salim went on a long weaving run however his effort on goal was poorly taken as the ball was sent several yards over. In the 87^th minute, the Robin’s David Hall tried to force a cross into the box from the touchline however, under pressure from the Stan defence, he could only scoop the ball into the side netting.

With time quickly running out, the home side were unable to get on the score sheet as referee Lucy Oliver blew the whistle to bring the game to its end. With a well needed win, the Stan are now back on the road to Wembley this Saturday with a trip to Dunston in the Vase.

Heaton Stannington: Joe Brook, Dan Bennett, Daniel Sayer, Josh Miller, Lee Middleton, Michael Hall, Bilal Nakhli, Joe Fulcher, Richard Hoggins, Dean Imray, John Fox.

Subs: Jonathan Wright, Joe Kerridge, Josh Holland, Shane Jones, Abu Salim.

North Shields: Dan Lister, Kieran Storey, Jack Donnison, Gary Ormston, Richard Pell, Liam McNamara, Cam Cunningham, Craig Spooner, Connor Campbell, Jack Cooper, Drew Eastlake.

Subs: Lewis Suddick, Noah Summers, Kevin Hughes, Gary Day, David Hall, Paul Robinson.

Goals: Fox 21, Imray 42.

Attendance: 70.

E.Painter