On a bitterly cold day but in front of a great crowd of 372, there was a lot of action & attacking play from both sides but unfortunately only 2 goals as the Stan had to settle for a point when a win looked likely as Crook stole a draw even though they were down to 10 men after 8 minutes. There was 1 change from Wednesday’s home draw against West Allotment with Evans replacing Doyle.

The Stan kicked off positively with the ball being passed to Slaughter who advanced & tried a speculative long range shot which had to be blocked by a defender. Then at the other end, Corkhill had to punch away from a corner. Both teams were trying to attack & in 7 minutes, a Stephenson free kick saw Anderson slide towards goal but his effort hit the post. Crook then shot wide. 

In the 8th minute, Crook were down to 10 men when Wearmouth was sent off after he had bundled into Scott, after he had released the ball, & elbowed him in the back of the head. 2 minutes later, & a Stephenson free kick into the box was blocked & cleared. Another Stan attack saw the Crook keeper collide with the advancing Burn & clear the ball. 

In 13 minutes, a joined-up Stan attack ended with a Hopper header being cleared. The Stan attacked again & eventually Hopper headed over at the end of a 4 man move. In 18 minutes, from a Stan corner, a Scott header was blocked. Although there was more Stan pressure, both teams were trying to attack. In 25 minutes, the advancing Stephenson crossed to Burn who couldn’t get his shot in & the ball was eventually cleared. 

Hornsby then sent the ball into the box & 1st Evans hit the post then Hopper has a shot cleared off the line. The Stan kept attacking although Crook won a corner in 36 minutes from which the ball was headed clear. In 39 minutes, Burn headed high towards the Crook far post, but the ball hit the crossbar. The move eventually resulted in a corner from which Stephenson shot across the Crook goal & the ball went out. In 42 minutes, Burn supplied Turnbull whose header went over the bar under pressure. Both teams were still trying to attack but the half ended 0-0.

Lashley replaced Scott at half time & 3 minutes into the 2nd half Burn shot just wide. The Stan had another 4 advances blocked before Corkhill & the Stan defence had to make their 1st clearance of the 2nd half. The Stan had another 5 attacks cleared before Crook had an attack of their own cleared in 62 minutes. 

In 63 minutes, there was a handball by a Crook player just outside their box. From the resulting free kick, in 64 minutes, Stephenson sent the ball over the wall & straight into the net for 1-0. What a goal! 

Crook did not give up though & in 70 minutes, from a free kick, Corkhill had to flick the ball out for a corner. From the corner, the ball was initially blocked in the 6-yard box then forced into the net through lots of legs for 1-1. The Stan put pressure back on Crook as they sought a winning goal, & a header from Anderson was blocked in 78 minutes. Corkhill then had to save as a Crook forward collided with him & he was awarded a foul. 

In 81 minutes, a long-range effort saw Corkhill block then catch the ball. 3 minutes later, & a long range effort at the other end by Stephenson was put over the bar by the stretching home keeper when the ball looked like going into the Crook net. It was a great shot followed by a great save. Hornsby then sent a ball into the Crook box which went high & over. The Stan kept attacking but were being blocked. Crook did manage to attack in 86 minutes, but they were halted by a great tackle by Turnbull. 

In 88 minutes, a long diagonal cross by Stephenson saw Lashley’s resulting effort under pressure go just over. The Stan kept pressurising & at the start of 5 minutes of added time, Doyle sent a ball into the box which saw Reid get up to head but the home keeper put the ball just over the bar. From the resulting Stephenson corner, Lashley headed just wide. The Stan kept attacking but could not get the crucial 2nd goal. The match ended in a similar fashion with Reid sliding into the 6-yard box but the ball was cleared for a corner from which Reid headed low but again the home keeper came to Crook’s rescue & cleared.

Thanks to some great saves & slow bye kicks, keeper Curran earned Crook a draw when the Stan should have taken all 3 points although they are still on target for a play off place. Next up for the Stan is a trip on Tuesday night to Whickham.

Heaton Stannington: Corkhill, Evans, Hornsby (Sayer 87), Turnbull, Scott (Lashley 45), Shepherd, Burn (Reid 76), Slaughter (C), Anderson (Doyle 80), Stephenson , Hopper.

Unused Subs: Marriott.

Goals: Stephenson 64.

Supporters Man Of The Match: Dan Stephenson.

Yellow Cards: Lashley.

Referee: Andrew Bailey.

Assistants: D. Hellyar, P. Clayton.

Attendance: 372.

Kevin Mochrie