After securing league safety with a game to spare, the Stan entered their last game of the season in both a celebratory & confident mood & secured a win that saw them finish the league in 12th place out of 22 and 8 points above the relegation zone. Their opponents North Ferriby ended the season in 8th place.
There were 3 changes from the win on Monday at Ashington with Cassap, Turnbull & Burn replacing Corkhill, Capewell & Lamb. It was Mark Turnbull’s last league match as he is retiring after the Senior Cup final. Ryan Bailey made his 1st appearance of the season from the bench.
The match also saw the 1st appearance of the Stan’s new 100 capacity covered enclosure, the 3rd 50 seat stand & a new turnstile unit.
North Ferriby were 1st to threaten in the 2nd minute when they entered the Stan box, but the attack came to nothing. 2 minutes later & the Stan had an attack cleared. After a continued quiet start, Errington supplied Hopper in the 9th minute, but his effort was cleared. There was another quiet period until the visiting keeper easily caught in the 15th minute.
In the 16th minute, a back pass by a Ferriby defender took a deflection & the keeper had to punch the ball over his bar for a corner. From it the ball went across the Ferriby box & was cleared. In the 20th minute an Errington shot from outside the box was punched clear by the keeper. It was both a good effort & a good save. 2 minutes later it was North Ferriby who unexpectantly took the lead when a ball into the Stan 6-yard box was headed across to Johnson who put the ball into the Stan net for 0-1.
Although quieter, the next 10 minutes involved mainly pressure from the Stan. In 25 minutes, a Walker ball into the box was easily collected by the visiting keeper. 4 minutes later & Errington ran into the box under pressure & shot as the keeper advanced, but his effort went wide. In the 30th minute, a North Ferriby counterattack saw Stephenson lose the ball & a visiting player tried to lob the ball into the net but his effort went just wide. Errington was then pulled down at the other end. From the resulting free kick Burn shot just wide.
In 33 minutes, the Stan attacked again but the keeper collected under pressure followed by a Ferriby attack. Errington then advanced but the loose ball was collected by the advancing Ferriby keeper. In 38 minutes, the Ferriby keeper got down to block from the advancing Hopper then cleared again. In 42 minutes, Walker hit the side netting & soon after Ferriby shot wide from the edge of the box.
In the 45th minute, the Stan were back level when the advancing Errington was supplied with the ball & shot into the net to the keeper’s left from just inside the box. Just before the half time whistle, Errington was brought down just outside the North Ferriby box but nothing was given.
There was a relatively quiet start to the 2nd half. In the 57th minute, Hopper ran into the visitors box with the ball but his weak shot was easily collected by the keeper. Hopper then got into the box again but was blocked for a corner. A minute later, & Hopper was into the box again & he passed to Errington, but the keeper got down to stop his shot from close range. Ferriby then attacked but the ball was cleared.
In the 62nd minute, a North Ferriby effort from just outside the box was blasted wide. After a quieter period, Burn shot just over in 73 minutes. 2 minutes later & a Walker shot from outside the box was put over the bar by the North Ferriby keeper when it looked like it was going into the net. In 78 minutes, Cassap caught under pressure before another North Ferriby attack was cleared. The visitors then won a corner from which Capewell headed clear. The ball came back in & was headed over the bar by a visiting player.
In 82 minutes Capewell had to clear. 3 minutes later & the Stan were in the lead when a Burn 30-yard free kick went through everyone in the box & into the net. North Ferriby didn’t give up & a minute later Cassap had to get down to save but he didn’t hold the ball & it went out for a corner. From it, a North Ferriby header at the back post was caught by Cassap.
In 87 minutes, sub Bailey broke through but put the ball over the North Ferriby bar. In 89 minutes, a Ferriby attack was cleared & the ball was sent up to Errington who won the ball from a defender & passed to Hopper but he collided with the Ferriby keeper & the ball bounced to Groves but the keeper managed to dive at his feet & catch it. After 3 added minutes, the match ended with a deserved Stan victory.
So the Stan ended the league season on a high & can look forward to tier 4 football again next season. Before that there is the Northumberland Senior Cup Final against Morpeth Town on 14 May at Saint James’ Park.
Heaton Stannington: Cassap, Evans (Marriott 72), Stephenson (Groves 72), Robson (Payne 63), Turnbull (Capewell 70), Shepherd, Burn, Slaughter (Bailey 81), Errington, Walker, Hopper.
Goals: Errington 45, Burn 85.
Supporters Man Of The Match: Andy Burn.
Yellow Cards: Turnbull.
Referee: Jack Whitfield.
Attendance: 362.
Match Photos: Flickr Gallery 1 and Gallery 2.
Kevin Mochrie