WHY WE LOVE FOOTBALL

Emirates FA Cup Extra Preliminary Qualifying Round replay

Put simply, it was a privilege to be at this absolutely wonderful game of football.  Next year’s final won’t be as good as this.

It had the lot.  Quality play, bags of goals – and a couple of gems among them – guts, determination, passion and controversy right at the death.

I’m not sure I’m going to do it justice, but here goes.  It was a roller coaster ride.

The big picture was that Heaton Stannington played some excellent football that was pleasing on the eye but for parts of the game they just kept falling short:  their crosses just evaded their strikers and they lacked a bit of guile to find the last touch or pass to open up the Red Star defence.

As you’d expect, Red Star battled and scrapped.  Poise by their No. 10 Lee Hetherington gave them a valuable early lead when he was given too much space by the Stan defence.  He was put under no pressure and he slotted it past Heaton keeper Dan Regan.

For a couple of minutes the home defence wobbled a bit but the team re-grouped and Matty Parker fired in a great shot.  Red Star defender Daryll Donnelly threw his body in the way.  They had the next chance too.  A long kick out by Regan from his 20-yard line caught Red Star keeper Andrew Hunter off his line and he had to pedal backwards sharpish to tip the ball over the bar.  Heaton Stan kept the pressure on and Red Star were happy to keep booting the ball clear.

At the other end Seaham were almost gifted a goal when a loose header back by Josh Miller fell short, with Regan just managing to beat Paul Gardiner to the ball.

We had to wait until the second half before the goals really started to flow.  Warren Byrne got the next with an untidy kick/mis-kick that left Regan stranded to make it 0-2 in the 49^th minute.  The football was cranked up several gears for the rest of the game.

Stan’s Ryan Bailey with a shot just wide, Gardiner trying to slip the ball past Regan who got just enough on it to snuff the chance out.  Then Heaton Stannington got the goal they deserved and it was a great strike by Joe Kerridge who picked his spot from 20-odd yards out to beat a batch of defenders and Hunter to score.

They were rocked by a third Red Star four minutes later when David Palmer jinked past a couple of defenders and all of a sudden the goal opened up before him and he struck it over Regan.   Heaton Stannington heads dropped and it looked as though the stuffing had been knocked out of them.  It gave Red Star a boost and they started to play their best football of the game and Donnelly could have made it four when he got his head to a corner but he couldn’t find the target.  Vinnie Gash and Hetherington then combined with a quick break, with Regan sprinting out of his box to block Gash as he was about to shoot.  Stan left back Dan Sayer then booted a Red Star cross clear as the ball spun across the six yard box.

For the last 15 minutes of normal time it was just about all Heaton Stannington.  An Andrew Robertson free kick rattled off the bar.  Substitute Jon Wright then produced a brilliant strike and then tried his luck to turn the game around for the hosts.

His first made it 2-3.  He got the ball more than 25 yards out and absolutely thumped it into the net, leaving Hunter rooted to the spot.  The Stan’s first goal had been good, this one was even better.  All of a sudden it was game on.  Adrenalaine rushed through the team.  They took the game by the scruff of the neck and pressed and pressed for an equaliser.  Red Star were hanging on.  They kept asking the officials how long was left in the game – hoping the final whistle was coming sooner rather than later.  Manager Mark Collingwood urged his players to slow the game down and get some possession but they couldn’t wrest control of the game back.

With four minutes to go Heaton Stannington came within a whisker of getting an equaliser when Wright unleashed another blinder with Hunter pulling off a top save to tip it over the bar.  The equaliser came in dramatic style in the 90^th minute when Wright had another go with a last-gasp, desperate shot that should have been a relatively easy take for the Red Star keeper.  Instead it slipped through his hands and in.  In the closing seconds of the 90, Robertson was within inches of connecting with a Lewis Burns cross and we went into extra time.

The Stan had finished normal time on a high.  They couldn’t quite match that for the opening couple of minutes of extra time.  Red Star re-grouped and got their noses in front again when Gash ran onto a through ball and managed to squeeze it past Regan.  It seemed to take an age before reaching the net.  Gardiner followed that up with a great turn and snap shot forcing a good save out of Regan.

Could the Stan dig deep and find an equaliser?  You bet, and all thanks to Robertson who headed home, getting on the end of a deep cross.  They’d shown bags of character to mount the comeback.

Gardiner had the ball in the net at the other end but was judged to be offside.

And then a massive decision

With five seconds of extra time to play, Heaton Stannington looked to have won a nailed on penalty when Richie Hoggins was bundled over in the box.  The appeals by the Stan bench and players were waved away and it was down to who could hold their nerve for penalties.

From being the villain of the piece for the Stan’s fourth goal, Hunter was the hero of the shoot-out, twice diving to his right to deny the Heaton Stan penalty takers.  The saves proved decisive and Red Star didn’t need to take the last of their five spot kicks.

Players and spectators alike were exhausted.  It had been a hell of a ride and it was a game that re-affirmed why we love football.  Thanks to all the players involved.

Heaton Stannington 4 Seaham Red Star 4 (aet).  Red Star win 4-2 on penalties.

Two post scripts:  Unsurprisingly, this is probably the longest blog I’ve written.

And secondly Red Star manager Mark Collingwood came up with quote of the week during the game when he was less than pleased that a free kick was given against one of his players for a foul.

“I’ve seen more contact on Love Island” was his terse assessment of the ref’s decision.

Mike Snowdon