FOR the third season in a row, Steeton were knocked out of the FA Vase on penalties against Northern League opposition, this time after a six-goal thriller at Horden Community Welfare.

Luke Baldwin, Toby Jeffrey, and Ben Wignall found the back of the net for the Chevrons on Saturday afternoon, with the 3-3 scoreline a fair reflection of what had been an entertaining and openly-contested match in County Durham.

But the lottery of penalties went against Roy Mason’s men yet again, Horden’s Craig Foster producing three saves in the shootout to see his side to an eighth consecutive win and a place in the first round.

Mason made just one change to the Steeton line-up, with Alistair Morgan coming into the defence in place of Omar Anjum.

And the visitors started the better of the two sides on a sunny afternoon on the North Sea coast, carving out the first chance of the match from a corner inside two minutes, but the hosts were quick to clear.

Both sides struggled to maintain possession as the wind began to pick up, but it was Horden who struck first in the 18th minute.

A teasing cross from the right wing was missed by everybody in green and white, allowing striker Jack Maskell to tap home at the far post to open the scoring.

The Chevrons switched off from the restart and were lucky not to find themselves two goals behind when Maskell broke through the visiting defence, but he fired narrowly wide.

However, that near miss kicked Steeton into action, and they found themselves on level terms just seven minutes later.

Jeffrey’s inswinging corner caused pinball in the box, with Baldwin forcing Craig Foster into a reaction save before his header from the rebound deflected off the post and into the back of the net.

Horden survived what appeared to be a clear handball in the box shortly after as Steeton began to dominate, deservedly taking the lead for the first time 10 minutes before the interval.

A mix-up between two defenders allowed Jeffrey to win the ball back inside the box before he rounded Foster and powered the ball into an empty net.

Andy Briggs came close to meeting a long ball forward from goalkeeper James Catlow as the visitors looked to extend their lead, but the sides instead went into the interval on level terms.

A Steeton corner was cleared to halfway, allowing Horden to counter quickly, with Catlow unable to prevent David Doughty from meeting a cross from the right to tap in the equaliser at the far post.

The Chevrons started the second half in the same vein they had the first, with a header from a corner coming back off the post, before Briggs met a Jake Townsend cross, but could only fire into the side-netting.

A fantastic last-ditch clearance denied Briggs before substitute Josh McKiernon fired over the bar as the visitors continued to see the better of the play.

But a defensive horror show saw Horden retake the lead with seven minutes remaining.

Doughty timed his run well to meet a long ball over the top, with a mix-up in the Steeton defence allowing him to loop a header over Catlow and into the net.

The Chevrons had the last word in normal time though, after a marauding run from new signing Zack Sangster down the left flank.

His teasing cross made its way through a sea of players before finding Wignall, who reacted quickest at the back post to power the ball home.

But it was not meant to be for Mason’s side, with Morgan, McKiernon and Wignall seeing their penalties saved by Foster in a low-scoring shootout, which ended 3-2 to the hosts.

Steeton return to North West Counties Football League First Division North action on Saturday, when they will make their first ever trip to newcomers FC St Helens (3pm kick-off).