Three first-half strikes were enough to sink Stockton to defeat against Emley.
Callum Young’s first senior goal was a silver lining for the Anchors on what proved to be a tough afternoon on Teesside.
Two big chances took place within the opening two minutes of the game, Nathan Harker making himself big to stop a one-on-one, and down the other end Paul Rooney finding a way through on goal but a heavy touch under pressure forcing him into the goalkeeper.
Rooney had a couple of half-chances in the coming moments, but nothing to trouble Ben Bottomley in the Emley goal.
After 18 minutes, the visitors were in front when Aaron Haswell’s left-footed strike sneaked into the corner from the edge of the box.
Just five minutes later, the lead was doubled when a long throw-in caused problems inside the Stockton box, eventually being controlled by Joe Stacey and powered into the net.
Lewis Gould nearly added a third before the break, when his effort from close range hit the woodwork, but not long later it was 3-0 when Rinor Ejupi found the far corner from a long way out after being allowed the space to shoot, giving Stockton a mountain to climb in the second-half.
Half-time: Stockton Town 0-3 Emley
Nathan Harker was called into action in the early stages of the second half to keep the score somewhat manageable.
Substitute Callum Young had the ball in the net after a long ball forward, but the linesman’s flag was raised.
After 78 minutes Callum Young did find his first senior goal after a great ball found Josh Scott, who placed a header towards goal which Young pounced on and forced home to give the Anchors fans something to celebrate.
But any hope of a late comeback was quickly eradicated when Josh Scott was dismissed for a second yellow card, adding more hurt to the scoreline.
Callum nearly added a second with a late header, but he was left frustrated with the angle of approach, and Stockton fell to defeat.
Full-time: Stockton Town 1-3 Emley
Stockton now have a two-week break from league action, but do play host to Gateshead on Tuesday in the Durham Challenge Cup.
