After two promotions in three seasons, nobody was under any illusions that this would be a tough season for Heaton Stannington, in the Northern premier League East, the highest league they have ever been in in the history stretching back over 100 years. So, it turned out to be. There were a number of occasions when ‘the Stan’ flirted with relegation back to Northern League Division One, but they managed to end the league season on a high, which not only secured safety, but also augured well for next season.
Point coverage
The league season began last August, with only two points gained from their first four games, before a streak of 13 points from seven games during September and early October, seemed to suggest that Heaton Stannington had settled well and found their level in this higher league. In that run, Stan were able to beat Newton Aycliffe, Brighouse and Sherwood Colliery at home, while also beating Liversedge away and gaining a very creditable point at Cleethorpes, who were to go on and dominate the league, winning it by a convincing margin of 12 points by the end of the season.
However, a narrow 3-2 defeat at an impressive, high-flying Dunston, was to usher in a very difficult run of games up until the new year, with Heaton Stannington only gaining 5 points from their next `12 games, to leave them firmly in the bottom four come the turn of the year. Things had to improve, or Stan’s recent progress up the leagues would be put into reverse by relegation back to Northern League One.
The turning point came at a cold and snowy Consett on New Year’s Day 2025. 1-0 down and under the cosh soon after half-term Stan showed their fighting spirit to conjure up an equaliser through centre-half Joe Shepherd. Heaton still went on to lose more games through January, but they had shown that they could grind out points when needed.
Another, perhaps more significant turning point came on the first Friday evening in February, when Heaton matched a very good Dunston side for 89 minutes, before Jay Errington broke away to score a last minute winner for Stan to send a large crowd delirious. This result seemed to give them confidence and they were able to build on it throughout the rest of February, winning two more home games convincingly, before gaining a very creditable point at top three team Emley.
Just as it seemed like safety might be a formality another dip in form saw Stan struggling again by the end of March, with three defeats in four games, culminating in a particularly demoralising defeat at home to Bridlington on 22nd March.
Even then the situation was not irretrievable, as a strange situation had developed in the bottom half of the league by that point. The bottom three clubs looked pretty much doomed, but above them were no less than eight teams, all of which could be relegated, but from which eventually only one team would actually face the drop. While Heaton Stannington were very much in the mix, a good run would surely see them safe.
Final Results
It was at this point that the Stan were able to put together their best run of the season, winning five of their last games, to finish second in the form table at the end of the season, but more importantly a very creditable 12th out of 22 teams, in their first season in the Northern Premier League East, with 51 points, seven clear of fourth bottom Brighouse Town. As somebody pointed out after the last league game of the season, a 2-1 home win over North Ferriby, Stan had finished top of the bottom half!
Other news from the Northern league and Northern Premier League
In other news, Redcar Athletic gained automatic promotion from Northern League One as champions, with Blyth Town beating Newcastle Blue Star, in front of a really impressive crowd of 2151 at Blue Star in the play-off final, to also gain promotion to the Northern Premier League East. Meanwhile Horden CW won automatic promotion from Division 2 of the Northern League in the play-off final to snatch the second promotion place.
Going the other way, Seaham Red Star and Tow Law Town were relegated from Northern league Division One, while further up, Blyth Spartans were relegated from the Northern Premier League, down to the Northern Premier League East.
Finally, commiserations must go to Dunston, losing out on promotion to the Northern League in the play-offs again after losing 5-3 on penalties to Stocksbridge Steels, in the play off final after the match finished 0-0. This came after Dunston had finished second to champions Cleethorpes Town in the Northern Premier League East.
The Last Word
So it is on to the 2025-6 season in August for Heaton Stannington and the rest of our non-league clubs and whatever happens then, local non-League football will continue to be great value for money for less than a tenner, with good, honest football and clubs run to provide football and support for their communities and no other reasons.
If you love football and have a non-League club near you, why not get along to watch them? You could do a lot worse.
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