On a sunny but cold & windy afternoon at the seaside, the Stan started on the attack forcing a couple of early saves from De Jesus, In the 3rd minute, a Blyth attack was blocked allowing the Stan to counterattack but with no end product. In the 6th minute, Lamb advanced into the Blyth box, but his shot was blocked by De Jesus. 3 minutes later & a Blyth player broke forward but was stopped by a great Shepherd tackle. Soon after, Chrisp also made a great defensive tackle. Shepherd then blocked a Blyth attack again. 

In 12 minutes, a Blyth free kick into the Stan box was headed clear by Burn. Soon after, a ball from Chrisp on the left into the Blyth box hit the bar & went out. Chrisp then sent a high ball into the Blyth box which went well over. In 15 minutes, Pearson supplied Lamb whose shot was deflected for a corner. This led to another corner taken by Burn but the ball ended up on the roof of the Blyth net. Chrisp then had to clear the ball from a Blyth attack. 

In 19 minutes, an advancing Blyth player shot well over the Stan bar. In 21 minutes, a Blyth attack was cleared allowing Pearson to counter, but De Jesus blocked his effort. The ball went back to Burn but his shot went wide. In 24 minutes, there was good defending by Errington & this was followed by a deflected Blyth shot being stopped by Brass who got a hand to it to put the ball out for a corner. 

In 32 minutes, a Blyth free kick was cleared by Chrisp who supplied counter attacking Lamb, but his shot went high. The Stan were not getting much out of the game now & Brass had to punch the ball clear in 38 minutes. In 40 minutes, a Blyth attack was blocked 3 times & the resulting corner was cleared. In 44 minutes, another Blyth attack was blocked 3 times before a Blyth player shot high over the Stan bar. In 46 minutes, Pearson supplied Errington who advanced into the Blyth box, but De Jesus got down to smother the ball but it nearly went under him & into the net. 

Soon after, a high back pass to De Jesus saw him catch the ball which resulted in the Stan being awarded an indirect free kick on the penalty spot. Burn took the free kick & passed to Pearson, but his shot hit the wall which was positioned on the Blyth goal line & the referee then blew for half time.

The fans hoped that the 2nd half would be better than the 1st which had seen both teams failing to sparkle & basically cancelling each other out. The strong wind which had to an extent disrupted the flow of the 1st half, had died down for the 2nd half. The Stan started the half with Robson replacing Lamb. In 48 minutes, Blyth had a corner cleared. In 53 minutes, the Stan attacked but the Blyth defence guided the ball out. Errington then twisted & turned his way into the Blyth box, but he was blocked. 

In 56 minutes, a Blyth attack resulted in a corner from which the ball was headed clear. Another Blyth attack was cleared allowing Evans to send a long ball towards Pearson, but De Jesus got to it 1st. There was then some Stan pressure in the 58th & 61st minutes that came to nothing. Following a great Milburn tackle, Errington attacked but was blocked followed by another Stan attack. In 65 minutes, Walker broke forward & passed to Pearson, but his shot was easily caught by De Jesus. The Stan kept pressing although Evans had to clear a ball from a Blyth attack in 70 minutes. Blyth then had a free kick which went high & over. 

In 73 minutes, a ball from Pearson was cleared followed by Chrisp forcing a corner from which the ball was headed clear & Walker’s rebound shot was deflected for  a corner. From it, Capewell got up to head the ball, but his effort was blocked for another corner. From it, De Jesus punched the ball away but it was then cleared after being sent back into the Blyth box. 

In 76 minutes, a Blyth attack was blocked. A minute later & Blyth got a free kick just outside the Stan box. Brass got his fingers to the ball to put it out for a corner. From it, the ball went across the Stan goal, but Brass was fouled. Soon after, Blyth had a long free kick from which Brass caught the ball. Blyth then had a long throw in into the Stan box which, after some good defending, ended with a Blyth shot going high & over. In 85 minutes, Capewell headed clear & in 89 minutes Brass easily caught a Blyth effort. 

In the 90th minute, Chrisp caught a Blyth player who had advanced into the Stan box & he made the most of it & went clumsily down. The referee had not awarded anything & it was the linesman who had his flag up. After a period of discussion between the 2 officials, a penalty was awarded & converted to give Blyth the lead. 

In 9 minutes of added time, the Stan searched frantically for an equaliser. In 93 minutes, a shocking tackle on Evans saw Dean Nicholson react in the Stan dugout &, after the linesman had brought it to the referee’s attention, he was sent off.  The Stan kept attacking & in 95 minutes, De Jesus got down to the ball just before Pearson got to it. Pearson then attacked again but the ball was cleared. There wasn’t to be a goal for the Stan & the match ended with a 1-0 win for Blyth.

It was an unexpectedly sad ending for the Stan & the Stan Army as they did not deserve to get beat. It looked like neither team was going to score until the penalty was awarded. The Stan remain in 7th & 6 points off a play-off place. They can get back to winning ways next Saturday when they host North Ferriby.

Heaton Stannington: Brass, Milburn (Storey 64), Chrisp, Evans, Capewell, Shepherd, Lamb (Robson 46), Burn, Pearson, Walker (Hopper 82), Errington (Johnson 82). 

Sub Not Used: Deverdics.

Supporters Man Of The Match: Joe Shepherd.

Yellow Cards: Chrisp, Evans, Robson, Burn.

Red Card: Nicholson.

Attendance: 401.

Match Photos: Flickr.

Venue: Gateway Park, Sandringham Dr, Blyth, Northumberland NE24 3PS.

Kevin Mochrie