Grimsby made the long trip to Tyneside which turned out to be a short and wet visit. The Stan started the day in 7th place in the league and 1 point off a play-off place, but it ended in a wash out. 

The forecasted torrential rain was late in arriving but was well and truly under way by kick off and although there was early excitement with the Stan scoring and the visitors missing a penalty, the referee decided after 24 minutes that the pitch was waterlogged and unplayable. There were 3 changes from last Saturday’s win at Hallam, with Milburn, Stephenson and Errington replacing Robson, Chater and Lamb. New signing Daniel Johnson was on the bench.

The match started in torrential rain although both teams tried to attack and in the 2nd minute the Grimsby keeper had to save a Stephenson effort. 4 minutes later and a Grimsby effort was easily caught by Gordon. A Stan attack was then cleared as the rain continued to get heavier and the quickly darkening sky had resulted in the floodlights being put on early. Pearson had a weak shot in the 10th minute although 2 minutes later he broke forward and with only the visiting keeper to beat, he shot wide when he should have scored. Almost immediately after, the Stan won a corner and from it Shepherd headed into the net at the back post in the 13th minute to make it 1-0 to the Stan. 

The Stan kept the pressure on and Grimsby had to clear 2 attacks in the 15th minute. In the 20th minute, a Grimsby player advanced into the Stan box and was pushed. The resulting penalty in the 21st minute saw Grimsby’s Southwell beat Gordon but the ball hit the left post and the ball went back out to the edge of the 6-yard box and was cleared by a Stan player. Play did not resume as the referee invited the team managers onto the pitch to presumably discuss the state of the pitch.

The crowd seemed to anticipate the next decision as in the 24th minute the referee officially abandoned the match with the Stan winning. So dreadful conditions both underfoot and for the 261 brave fans in attendance led to the game being abandoned. Hopefully the rain stops and the flooding recedes by next Saturday when the Stan host Brighouse Town.

Heaton Stannington: Gordon, Milburn, Chrisp, Evans, Capewell, Shepherd, Hopper, Walker,Pearson, Stephenson, Errington.

Subs Not Used: Johnson, Lamb, Storey, Beattie, Chater.

Goals: Shepherd 13.

Attendance: 261.

Match Photos: Flickr.