After a solid performance & an important away point at North Ferriby, it was a bad day at the office as the Stan lost 5-1 to Consett. Last season the Stan drew twice with the team from the former steel town, but they were not able to repeat the achievements or steal a win as they were thrown into the furnace with a 5-1 defeat. There was 1 change from the draw at North Ferriby 2 days earlier with Burn replacing Milburn.

The match was played in hot & sunny conditions on a bank holiday Monday unlike the last time the 2 teams met on New Years’ at Belle Vue in a blizzard. It started with a Stan corner being headed clear in the 4th minute. Consett counter attacked forcing Brass to block the 1st shot from a cross but the rebound effort from the 6-yard box was put into the net by Todd. 

Consett were blocked in the box 2 minutes later followed by a Stan free kick being headed on, but the ball was caught by the Consett keeper, Moss. Things got worse in the 8th minute when a Consett attack saw Ramsey force the ball into the net for 0-2. 

Groves blasted over the visitors’ goal 2 minutes later followed by Brass having to punch clear at the other end. In the 14th minute another Groves ball went wide but 4 minutes later the Stan got a goal back when a Beattie header hit the bar & Hopper headed the rebound into the net. 

There was some Consett pressure in the 19th minute which Robson & Slaughter dealt with & 3 minutes later Robson had to head clear from a Consett free kick. The Stan then had 3 efforts which were all blocked & a 4th went wide. In the 26th minute, a Beattie free kick hit the far post when it looked like it was going into the net. Consett counter attacked but Brass got down to block before the Stan advanced again ending with a ball from the resulting corner being headed clear. 

The Stan went 2 goals behind again in the 28th minute when, from a corner, the ball hit the far post & went into the net off a Stan defender. The Stan were still trying to attack but there was a quieter period until a Slaughter long ball saw Moss just get to it before Hopper. A ball from Errington in the 40th minute went right across the Consett goal, but no one could get to it. 

Moss in the Consett goal then made 2 easy catches followed by Brass also making an easy catch. In the 44th minute, the Stan nearly reduced the deficit when Hopper forced a corner. From Groves’s corner ball, Capewell’s header hit the post. Consett counter attacked but it came to nothing.

After a long period of injury, Lamb returned to action replacing Hopper at half time. He attacked right from the restart & was 1 on 1 with the Consett keeper but Moss caught the ball at the 2nd attempt after it had hit off himself & Lamb. 

In 50 minutes, a Slaughter free kick into the Consett box was stopped twice. The Stan were having most of the possession in the 2nd half but the next effort came for Consett in the 56th minute when they shot well over. 2 minutes later the Consett keeper had to catch from a Stan effort as both teams tried to attack. 

In 63 minutes, an Errington long range blasted shot was caught by Moss. In 69 minutes, sub Stephenson had to clear off the line from a corner. 3 minutes later, Lamb had a shot blocked & Stephenson’s follow up long range effort was caught by Moss. He then had to clear a ball from sub Adamson. In 76 minutes, Brass made a great close range save. From the resulting corner though the Stan went 3 goals down with time running out. Capewell headed clear the initial ball from the corner & Slaughter cleared again but it went out to Daniels outside the box & he blasted the ball through the assembled players & into the net. 

Moss then got down to stop a sub Storey effort as the Stan tried to get back into the game. A Capewell ball was deflected wide, Moss got down to clear a Lamb effort & an Errington ball into the box was cleared. In 85 minutes, an Adamson ball was deflected for a corner & the ball from the resulting Stephenson corner was punched clear. In the 89th minute, Consett counter attacked & sub Armstrong confidently slotted the ball past Brass to make the afternoon even worse for the Stan Army.

It was an unusually large defeat for the Stan as they lost a competitive match at home for the 1st time since 8 March. A disjointed Stan did not look threatening for much of the match compared to a more clinical display from the visitors. The Stan are back in FA Cup action on Saturday as they continue to head towards Wembley but this time via the short trip to Scotswood to take on Newcastle Blue Star. 

Heaton Stannington:Brass, Groves, Beattie (Stephenson 51), Evans (Adamson 57), Capewell, Shepherd, Burn (Storey 51), Slaughter (C) (Storey 65), Hopper (Lamb 46), Errington, Robson (Payne 54).

Goals: Hopper 18.

Supporters Man Of The Match: Jay Errington.

Referee:

Attendance: 421.

Match Photos: Flickr.

Kevin Mochrie