Second top Bishop Auckland visited High Heaton in league action for the 1st time in 71 years. Although the Stan put up a good fight & had opportunities to both equalise and take the lead, the 3 points in the end went to the visitors. There were 2 changes from Wednesday’s Senior Cup win with Taylor and Proctor replacing Turnbull and Lashley. Josh Walker made his debut from the bench.
The match started in sunny & dry conditions with both teams working hard but with nothing to show for it. Bishop had a shot blocked in 4 minutes & in 10 minutes there was a great chance for the Stan when the ball was sent across the area to Proctor but he could not get his foot to it. 2 minutes later & Bishop shot wide.
In 19 minutes a Stan free kick was headed out for a corner from which Burn flicked the ball out wide of the goal. In 22 minutes a pass to the advancing Anderson saw him make contact with the ball but it was deflected for a corner. 2 minutes later & Anderson again ran in on goal but Bishop's keeper Liversedge got to it first. Both teams continued to try to attack with Bishop having a few minutes of concerted pressure from the 29th forcing Purvis to make 3 clearances.
After a quieter period, Bishop unexpectedly took the lead in 37 minutes. The Stan failed to fully clear a Bishop attack & the ball went to Gott who shot past a defender & Purvis. After this shock goal, Bishop were getting more of the ball but the Stan defence, including Hornsby & Taylor, were working well & the half ended with the Stan, although 0-1 down, still very much in contention.
The Stan started the 2nd half positively although the 1st clear effort on goal came from the visitors in 51 minutes when a speculative long shot was put wide by Purvis. 3 minutes later & he had to get out to clear a Bishop counter attack. The Stan were still looking positive but with no clear scoring opportunities being created & in 61 minutes Purvis had to catch from a free kick. 3 minutes later & a Bishop player shot just wide.
From the 66th minute, things started to click for the Stan as the pressure started to mount on the visitors. Hornsby started a great move which ended with Anderson not being able to make contact with an awkwardly deflected ball in the box. In 72 minutes Sub Lashley supplied Stephenson who spliced his shot well over the bar.
A great cross into the box from Hornsby was then put out for a corner. From it the ball was cleared to Anderson whose shot was blocked. Sub Ward then crossed into the box but Shepherd 1st hit the keeper then sent the ball just wide. After this great chance, Anderson advanced again but the ball went wide. Ward then won the ball & advanced 1 on 1 with the keeper but shot straight at him rather than trying to go round him.
The failure to take advantage of 2 great scoring opportunities saw the Stan punished in 74 minutes when Bishop attacked & Gott made it 0-2 against the run of play. Bishop had been holding on for a 0-1 win under pressure but now things were more difficult for the Stan. The last 20 minutes saw few scoring opportunities for the Stan with the visitors having slightly more.
Both sides had a good opportunity in 89 minutes when a ball into the Bishop box was deflected out by a visiting player. The corner was cleared & Bishop countered but a cross to an advancing player saw him put the ball wide when he should have scored. The match finished with 2 Bishop attacks & the Stan reflecting on missed opportunities, but they also should be proud of competing well against top of the league opposition.
After a busy 8 days, although there were opportunities to take something from the match, the Stan Knights were beaten by the more physical & clinical Bishops. Tuesday night sees a huge match for the Stan when they visit local rivals Benfield in the league for the 1st time in 22 years.
Heaton Stannington: Purvis, Proctor (Lashley 68), Hornsby, Watson, Shepherd, Taylor (Ward 68), Burn (Cassidy 83), Slaughter (C), Anderson (Bamborough 79), Stephenson, Cowburn (Walker 45).
Supporters Man Of The Match: Jay Hornsby.
Referee: M. Cain.
Assistants: G. Leadbitter, P. Lauder.
Attendance: 384.
Kevin Mochrie