There was a Wear-Tyne derby as the Stan’s 4th pre-season match saw them travel to Seaham to take on old rivals Red Star who are now in Northern League Division 2. In the end the Stan deservedly won although Red Star put up a good fight which resulted in the match resembling a competitive fixture rather than a pre-season friendly.
There were no new starts & only 3 subs although there were plenty of stripes as red and white took on black & white. Goal keeping coach Tom Flynn featured in goal for the 3rd time this pre-season & Kailem Beattie was up against his brother Kieran.
To begin with both teams were cancelling each other out. In 18 minutes, a Red Star player shot just wide under pressure. In 22 minutes, Beattie supplied Stephenson whose shot was deflected out to the right & a ball back in from Beattie was deflected out for a corner. In 27 minutes, Pearson supplied Errington, but he shot straight at the keeper under pressure.
The match was getting more competitive & physical although neither team could break the deadlock. A Stephenson corner was cleared in 30 minutes & 3 minutes later a Stan free kick resulted in a Capewell header being cleared.
In 34 minutes, the Stan were ahead when Beattie battled for the ball in the middle of the park & it deflected to the feet of Stephenson who slotted the ball past the home keeper under pressure. In 39 minutes a Capewell shot was deflected out for a corner & 2 minutes later a speculative long range Seaham effort hit the post. The Stan kept the pressure on for the remaining few minutes of the 1st half, but their lead remained a slender one goal at half time.
The start of the 2nd half saw lots of action but no end product. In 53 minutes, a Seaham free kick was deflected off the wall, but Flynn got down to save. A minute later & another Seaham shot was deflected wide for a corner. Red Star were more of a threat this half although it was the Stan who came close in 58 minutes when a Stephenson shot was deflected just wide.
In 60 minutes, Robson forced a corner. Stephenson took it in the 61st minute & the ball went across the Seaham goal to Robson who headed it downwards & it bounced up & into the net for 2-0 to the Stan. The Stan kept the pressure on & in 64 minutes a Stephenson free kick was punched clear by the home keeper. In 69 minutes, a Seaham ball into the Stan box was blocked by Capewell for a corner.
Seaham kept the pressure on & soon after they were awarded a free kick from which the ball hit off the underside of the bar before going out of play. In 77 minutes, there was a great save by Flynn & a minute later Red Star shot wide. In 82 minutes, the increasing Red Star pressure paid off when a counterattack ended with a player passing across goal to another unmarked player who slotted the ball into the net for 1-2.
In 86 minutes though the Stan restored their 2-goal lead when the ball hit Burn on the chest & landed by Robson who blasted it into the home net from the edge of the box. In 88 minutes, a Burn free kick just outside the home box saw the keeper get up to put the ball over the bar. The match ended with more Stan pressure as they ran out 3-1 winners.
So, it is 4 out of 4 pre-season wins for the Stan partly due to Joe Robson’s 1st 2 goals for the club. The final warm up before FA Cup action is next Saturday when the Stan host Workington at 2pm.
Heaton Stannington: Flynn, Evans (Beattie 78), Beattie (Payne 62), Marriott (Storey 46), Capewell (Robson 78), Shepherd (Marriott 62), Payne (Burn 46), Robson (Blakey 62), Pearson, Stephenson, Errington (Shepherd 78).
Goals: Stephenson 34, Robson 61, 86.
Venue: 271 Station Rd, Seaham SR7 0BH
Kevin Mochrie