The Stan started off the new decade with a trip to Bedlington with the Stan Army easily out numbering the home support although the Terriers had prepared for the onslaught as they had a wired up security team of 4. There were 3 changes from the last match 2 weeks ago with Regan, Wright and Wilson replacing Ball, Burns and Imray.

The Stan had the 1st attack in the 3rd minute, and should have scored, when Wilson ran down the left into the box, passed to Wright who was blocked by the keeper but the ball went back to Paterson who shot over. The Stan continued to press with Deagle and Sayer trying to supply Wright and Wilson and in 10 minutes Mason had a high shot. In 12 minutes, Wright sent a long ball to Paterson but he was blocked for a corner which was put wide by Wright. Bedlington did not have an attack until the 15th minute and although they then kept the ball in the Stan half for a couple of minutes there was no real threat.

In 24 minutes, the ball was sent up to Wright who just kept on-side but his shot from a tight angle was saved for a corner from which Sayer put the ball over the bar. Wright glided through the home defence again but was blocked twice. The Stan continued to attack until the Terriers countered twice in 27 & 28 minutes but the Stan defence, as was the case throughout the match, dealt with the threat comfortably. The pace of the match was now increasing as the Stan again had a series of attacks including a Wright shot blocked. The last 10 minutes of the half was at a slower pace again although the ball was mainly controlled by the Stan and the home side failed to threaten and did not have a clear effort on goal throughout the half.

The 2nd half was played under more difficult circumstances for both teams as not all the floodlights were working which made parts of the pitch darker although the electronic scoreboard helped the illumination to an extent. The half started quietly with the 1st clear incident being Paterson wrongly flagged offside after 56 minutes then Regan easily caught a long ball. The Stan countered into the home box where Mason mis-kicked, tried again but was blocked then Paterson was blocked. In 58 minutes, Fielder replaced Paterson.

In 60 minutes there was a solo run down the left by Sayer who kept going, despite the linesman flag, into the box and rounded the keeper to put the Stan ahead. During Sayer’s run, the referee correctly determined that Wright was not interfering with play.

The home keeper had to almost immediately clear again before a Terriers attack was blocked. The Stan kept attacking although the next best chance came in 67 minutes when a home solo run was stopped by a great tackle by Stoddart. The home side had 2 more attacks including when Regan and a forward collided.

In 73 minutes a long ball by Bailey to Wright saw the home keeper block. Bedlington now had 4 players up front which created gaps in the midfield. In 77 minutes a long ball by Wright from a free kick saw Hall block although Regan had to catch in 80 minutes. The home keeper then made a poor clearance but Wilson sent the ball wide and was soon after blocked. The Stan kept the pressure on and in 88 minutes Wilson advanced and passed to Sayer on the left who entered the box but was blocked for a corner.

In 91 minutes, Regan was undeservedly booked for time wasting with the referee actually wasting more time doing it than the keeper had. The game was limping to an end when in the 95th minute Wilson was brought down in the box. Wright blasted the resulting penalty into the net with the last kick of the game to make it 2-0 to the Stan.

Not a great game overall for the fans but there was a well-deserved win for the Stan who host Esh Winning next Saturday.

Stan: Regan; Stoddart; Deagle; Ray; Hall; Bailey; R Paterson (Fielder 58); Mason; Wright; Wilson; Sayer.

Subs not used: M Paterson; Kerridge; Charmey; Imray.

Goals: Sayer 60, Wright 90+5 (Pen)

Yellow Cards: Regan.

Attendance 76.

Kevin Mochrie