The Stan had a two-hour journey to take on Penrith, who only needed a point from their last 2 games to avoid relegation. The match was played at the host’s picturesque Frenchfield ground which has a backdrop of the Pennines and the Lake District hills. It was not a picturesque evening for the Stan Army though as, in contrast to Saturday’s fantastic performance & win at Whitley Bay, they had to witness a poor show from their team for most of the match. 

Their experience was helped though by a great gesture from Heaton Stannington who paid them all in as a thank you for making the long mid-week journey. There were 2 changes with Walker & Burn replacing Stephenson & Slaughter.

The match started in sunny but cold conditions with both teams trying to get forward. There was not a clear attack by either side though until Penrith won a corner in the 10th minute. The ball from the corner was easily cleared & was followed by a speculative long range shot which went high & wide. The Stan finally had a shot, from Lamb, in 13 minutes but it went wide. 

Penrith shot just wide in 17 minutes but although both teams were trying to attack, they were mainly cancelling each other out. After 20 minutes most of the attacks were now from Penrith but they did not stretch Purvis or his defence. The Stan put on some pressure in 30 minutes & had 3 consecutive corners with Burn coming closest with a deflected shot in the 6 yard box from the 2nd corner. Penrith tried to counterattack but Turnbull made a good clearance. 

Shepherd had 2 efforts in 34 minutes, but one was cleared & the other went wide. The last 6 minutes, in contrast to much of the rest of the half, was more end to end, including a last 2 minute flourish from the Stan, but again neither defence was really tested. Overall, the Stan had a very quiet half & contributed greatly to the poor quality of the match with Penrith looking also as if they were happy with grinding out a goalless draw.

The 2nd half saw a more positive start by the Stan although the performance soon resorted to that of the 1st half. Bissett shot just over from a free kick in 47 minutes although soon after Purvis had to catch. In 49 minutes another 2 Stan free kicks were cleared followed by a Penrith counterattack which saw a shot deflected for a  corner. The ball from the corner was headed clear & the home side soon shot across the Stan box although the ball was missed by everyone. 

In 54 minutes, soon after being deemed off-side when he wasn’t by the son of the other linesman (work that one out), Lamb’s cross went over the home bar. Although neither team had really looked like scoring, the Stan went behind in 57 minutes when Purvis went out to the edge of his box to block an advancing player. The ball bobbled at both their feet allowing another Penrith player to slot the ball into the net. 

This was followed by a quiet 7 minutes although in the middle a free kick into the home box from sub Cassidy was cleared. In 68 minutes, there was a rare but good piece of joined up play by the Stan when Hopper won the ball & it was then passed via sub Proctor & Lamb to Cassidy whose shot was saved by the home keeper. Penrith then twice sent a ball across the Stan box that was missed by everyone. 

In 73 minutes, Penrith won a corner & from it the ball was initially cleared to the edge of the box but it was sent back in & blasted into the left corner of the Stan net for 2-0 to the home side. Although it was too little too late the Stan did try to attack for most of the remainder of the match, unlike the home team who were waiting for the final whistle as they now knew they had done enough to avoid relegation. 

In 79 minutes, Cassidy’s corner ball was headed clear & Bisset’s rebound shot was blocked. A Cassidy free kick was also headed clear before Hornsby stopped a home counterattack. A Bisset free kick in 84 minutes was put over the bar by the home keeper & another by Cassidy in 93 minutes was cleared. The match ended with a couple of Penrith attacks.

Despite the red sky at night, the match had not been a Shepherd’s delight or in fact a delight for anyone associated with the Stan. It was a happier occasion when the Stan last visited Penrith on 9 November 1957 when they won 2-1 in the 3rd qualifying round of the FA Amateur Cup. The team & fans can look forward to a party atmosphere on Saturday as the last game of the season has the Stan hosting Carlisle City.

Heaton Stannington: Purvis, Evans, Hornsby, M. Turnbull, Marriott (Proctor 61), Shepherd (Watson 71), Walker, Burn (Cassidy 61), Lamb (Lashley 77), Bisset ( 79), Hopper .

Unused Subs: Corkhill, Flynn.

Yellow Card: M. Turnbull, Proctor, Cassidy.

Supporters Man Of The Match:

Referee: David Mitchell.

Assistants: B. Whitfield, T. Whitfield.

Attendance: 118.

Venue: The Frenchfield Stadium, Carleton, Frenchfield, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 8UA.

Kevin Mochrie