After Friday’s fantastic performance & win over league leaders Newton Aycliffe, the Stan Army & team made a 3 hour Tuesday night coach journey across the North York moors to visit Pickering for the 1st time. Unfortunately, despite a lot of effort, it was a wasted long journey for the Stan as they returned with no points. There were no changes from Friday night’s team.

Pickering started off on the attack. The jet lag appeared to wear off after 5 minutes though & the Stan immediately got into the game with Cassidy crossing towards Hopper but the keeper punched the ball clear & Bisset’s rebound shot went over the bar. 

In 6 minutes, a ball from a free kick via Hopper saw Hornsby confidently shoot into the home net to put the Stan ahead. Lamb then advanced & had a shot but the keeper easily collected. A minute later & Lamb shot in a packed box but hit the side netting. It was all Stan until 12 minutes when Purvis had to catch from a home attack. 

It was back to mainly Stan pressure, as they searched for the crucial 2nd goal, & in 17 minutes there was a speculative long shot by Hopper which went high. In the 20th minute though, Hopper had to be replaced by Lashley due to a pulled hamstring. In 22 minutes, Pickering had their 1st clear effort of the match when a ball from a 30 yard free kick was deflected to the left of the wall allowing a player to get a shot in but it was blocked by a Stan defender. 

After a quieter period, Lamb advanced & shot high & wide in 32 minutes. 2 minutes later & a ball from a Pickering attack was blocked then headed clear by Stephenson & the rebound shot went just wide. Bisset then shot across the home goal.  A home free kick went high & wide in 38 minutes The last 5 minutes of the 1st half witnessed a late flourish by Pickering as they put pressure on the Stan defence, but the half finished with the Stan still leading.

The 2nd half started with Pickering on the attack. They equalised in 49 minutes when a cross from then right went into the box & although a few Stan players tried to get to it, Grist managed to get his foot to it & shoot into the net. 

Pickering attacked again & Purvis had to punch clear. In 53 minutes, Jake Turnbull was shown a second yellow card & sent off. There was another unexpected blow for the Stan in 58 minutes when Diccico scored making the score 2-1 to Pickering. The Stan didn’t give up & Lamb had a shot blocked on 61 minutes followed by Hornsby sending the ball back into the box forcing the keeper to dive to prevent an equaliser. 

In-between the Stan continuing to try to attack, Purvis had to catch in 67 minutes. A home counter-attack in 71 minutes was stopped by a great Purvis save. Soon after the home keeper made a save to prevent Stephenson & in 76 minutes, he caught a ball from sub Proctor. The Stan continued to battle hard & had most of the ball for the remainder of the match but just could not get the important equalising goal despite the pressure from them. 

The Stan attacks resulted in a number of free kicks & one in 83 minutes from Stephenson led to a scramble in the home box but no one could get a shot in. The ball was eventually cleared but was immediately sent back into the box with Shepherd then shooting just wide. As the match neared its end, Pickering were trying to counter attack when they could & one such attempt in 86 minutes saw Purvis get down to save. 

A minute later & Pickering attacked again & scored. Despite this the Stan continued to seek a goal & Stephenson skimmed the top of the net from a free kick in 90 minutes.

The Stan never gave up but unfortunately it was the home team who eventually came out top gaining an essential 3 points in their fight against relegation. The Stan were not helped by poor refereeing throughout the match but, even though the game took place in the middle of a very long trip, the referee was not called Ryan. The Stan now welcome Seaham Red Star on Friday night.

Heaton Stannington: Purvis, Cassidy (Burn 73), Hornsby, Turnbull M. , Marriott (Proctor 62), Shepherd (C), Turnbull J. , Stephenson, Hopper (Lashley 20), Bisset (Slaughter 59), Lamb.

Unused Subs: Watson.   

Goal: Hornsby 6.

Yellow Cards: Turnbull M. , Marriott.

Red Cards: Turnbull J.

Supporters Man Of The Match: 

Referee: Peter Hazelton.

Assistants: J. P. Gordon, N. Elliot.

Attendance: 109.

Venue: Mill Lane, Pickering YO18 7DB.

Kevin Mochrie