TWO late strikes gave Consett a welcome three points on a night when they toiled plenty at Central Avenue but looked like heading home empty-handed until right at the death.

Manager Kenny Lindoe rang the changes after the FA Vase exit at the hands of Bedlington Terriers four days earlier, with Gavin Parkin, Andrew Burton and Carl Piecha coming into the side in place of David Gordon, Scott Martindale and the unavailable Chris Scott.

Also absent through injury were Jonjo Dickman, and both David and Steven Johnson, though the later doesn't look too far away after undergoing a rigorous pre-match warm-up with his old strike partner Mattie Moffat, who was surprisingly declared fit enough to be a sub less than two weeks after having the cast removed from his broken ankle.

Gary Ormston wheels away after scoring the last minute winner

There was an early scare for Consett when Collins had to hack a ball from the right away from his own goal-line after just 13 seconds, and then Danny Earl, whose pace troubled the Steelmen all night, tested Daniel Staples with a low shot, which was a comfortable enough save.

After just six minutes, midfielder Michael Jameson's ball down the left channel carved open the visitors' defence, and put Earl in again. He raced in on goal, but angled his effort wide of Staples' left-hand post. It was a big let-off for Consett.

Play switched quickly to the other end, and Parkin's pull-back for Pounder was just too close to Daniel Dixon, allowing the goalkeeper to scramble the ball clear.

Pounder was at the centre of most of Consett's best football, and midway through the half he broke down the left and waited in vain for support, so went it along, hitting a shot which skimmed past the far post.

In truth, it had been a scrappy first half, but both managers resisted the temptation to make changes at the break, and it was the same 22 players who began the second half.

Nine minutes in, a precise Pounder pass put Ormston through on goal, but he delayed his shot too long, and Mark Casey managed to get a toe in to put the ball out for a corner. From the flag-kick, the ball eventually dropped at the feet of Scorer, whose point-blank effort was well saved by Dixon.

Ten minutes later, Dixon conceded a free-kick for the second time in the game for handling outside his area as tried to smother the ball to stop Parkin running on to a long pass.

Leniently, the referee's card stayed in his pocket, and when Huggins curled the free kick just inches over the top it was beginning to look like a 0-0.

But with just seven minutes left there was an incident which set them on their way to victory. Pounder hooked the ball goalwards, and it hit a defender's arm, and the referee at first seemed to signal that the offence had been outside the box.

Then he awarded a penalty, before going across to the far side to consult his linesmen, and eventually confirm the award. Huggins stepped up to slot away the spot-kick, and it was all to play for.

Moffat had a decent chance to make his second debut a memorable one, twisting one way and then the other before flashing a shot across the face of goal. The feeling was that a fully match-fit Mattie would have buried it without hesitation.

Right at the death, after three minutes' added time had been announced, and with Consett going all-out for the win, Ormston popped up at the back post to head home Piecha's cross, and give the Steelmen the points.