TIME TO TURN UP THE HEAT

SOMETHING is stirring in black and white up on Tyneside – but there isn’t a hint of a Saudi Arabian investment fund in sight!

- Mark Carruthers

Just three miles from the bright lights and hallowed turf of Newcastle United’s St James Park lies the wholesome setting of Grounsell Park, home of Northern League Division One club Heaton Stannington.

A place where an award-winning selection of real ales, longstanding and wholeheartedly committed volunteers and, perhaps more surprisingly, tales of an unexpected friendly with a Gabon Olympic side containing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are commonplace.

Although their Premier League neighbours are embarking on a somewhat unexpected push for a Champions League place, the Stan are making waves of their own.

On a drizzly Wednesday night in this suburb of Newcastle, long queues snaked their way around Newton Road as a Northumberland Senior Cup semi-final clash with National League North club Blyth Spartans is only minutes away from getting underway.