The Stan’s 1st pre-season match for 2023-24 saw them travel to local rivals Benfield to defend the Jimmy Rowe Memorial Trophy and they did so in style. 3 of the 5 new signings were on show with Danny Sayer, Craig Scott & Sean Reid all in the starting 11.
The Stan dominated possession from the beginning & Lamb shot over after 5 minutes. The Stan were 1-0 up in 7 minutes when a number of Stan players advanced together into the home box & new signing Reid shot passed the keeper. 3 minutes later & it was 2-0 when Reid passed to Lamb who supplied Jake Turnbull who then passed to Hopper on the edge of the box & he slotted the ball past everyone & into the net.
The 1st 15 minutes saw only 1 Benfield effort as the Stan dominated although Shepherd had to clear in 16 minutes followed by Sayer shooting over at the other end. Not long after, Sayer had to be replaced after being caught by a very high foot. There was some rare Benfield pressure when they hit the post in 28 minutes & Purvis had to make a great save after 32 minutes.
In 34 minutes, a home player headed straight at Purvis when he could have scored. Jake Turnbull then broke & a home defender nearly put the ball into his own net but it went out for a corner. In 40 minutes, a long diagonal ball from Hornsby saw the advancing Lamb make it 3-0. There was more pressure from Lamb just before half time as the Stan went into the break very comfortably.
The 2nd half seemed to an extent slightly quieter, despite more goals, & this might have been because of the large number of substitutions. In 48 minutes, Scott made a good block followed by Lamb counter attacking but being deemed off-side. 2 minutes later & Lamb shot over.
In 52 minutes, a Stephenson short corner saw Lamb return the ball to him & he crossed into the box for Shepherd to head into the net. There was then a quieter period with the Stan still having most of the ball although Benfield did hit the side netting.
In 68 minutes, Lamb blasted a speculative shot from the edge of the box with the keeper having no chance. 2 minutes later & Lamb got his 3rd & the Stan’s 6th when he took the ball off a defender on the left & chipped it over the keeper & into the net.
Benfield then got a corner but from it Lashley ran up the pitch but was tackled in the home box. The Stan kept the pressure on although Benfield got a consolation goal in 81 minutes when a player broke & sneaked the ball into the far corner of the goal past Corkhill. There were more Stan attacks, but the match ended 6-1 with the Stan comfortably retaining the trophy.
The Stan played very well & looked especially strong at the back & up front. A trophy after the 1st match will hopefully be a good omen for the rest of the season.
Heaton Stannington: Purvis (Corkhill), M. Turnbull (Evans), Sayer (Hornsby), Stephenson (Walker), Shepherd, Scott (Cassidy), J. Turnbull (Bisset), Slaughter, Lamb, Reid, Hopper (Lashley).
Unused Subs: None.
Goals: Reid 7, Hopper 10, Lamb 40, 68, 70, Shepherd 52.
Referee: Elliot Cowens.
Attendance: Unknown.
Match Photos: Flickr.
Kevin Mochrie