Report

Consett left it late but beat high-flying Stocksbridge Park Steels 1-0 at Belle View Stadium, thanks to an injury-time penalty.

Jason Miller’s Steelmen fully deserved the win over their Sheffield-based visitors, who were third in the table and hadn’t lost away from home all season.

While there was only one goal in it, the game had plenty of drama, with four penalty appeals, four yellow and one red card, and plenty of good football from both sides.

It was preceded by a minute’s silence in memory of long-time Consett supporter Richard Murray, who died on Sunday at the age of 59. He had been a familiar sight both home and away for over 40 years.

The first penalty appeal of the game came midway through the first half, when Will Constantin appeared to be tripped as he shaped to shoot in a crowded box. The referee waved play on, and Dom Curl’s shot was cleared off the line.

Isaac Walker had a good chance on 25 minutes when Jake Orrell played him through, but Steels keeper George Wilson, signed today on loan from Hull City Academy, made a good save.

The visitors’ best chance of the first half was on 35 minutes, when Jack Haslam met a cross at the far post, and Harry Moss did well to save at his near post.

Half-time: Consett 0 Stocksbridge Park Steels 0

Consett started the second half brightly, and Orrell was inches away with a curling effort from 20 yards, then a speculative effort from David Allason bounced off the top of the bar, with the keeper beaten.

The longer the game went on the more it looked like first goal wins, and Stocksbridge almost got it on 74 minutes when Moss again had to be alert to save from Elliot Owen at his near post.

Consett had two more penalty appeals, first when Donny Holdsworth’s legs seemed to be taken from behind, then when a ball into the box appeared to hit a defender’s outstretched arm. Both were waved away.

Walker fired into the side netting after dispossessing a defender, Kieren Aplin bent a free-kick just over from 20 yards, and Matty Slocombe saw a shot deflected just over as Consett pushed hard for a goal.

When Wilson made the save of the game from Orrell in the last minute of the 90, diving to his left to push away his well-struck shot, it seemed like the Steelmen might have to settle for a point.

But they got their reward in the first minute of added time, when Curl was fouled inside the box by Steels skipper Kurtis Turner, and Donny Holdsworth stepped up to smash in the resulting penalty.

There was more drama right in the seventh added minute when Belchior Rodrigues fell on the ball by the corner flag as Consett tried to see out time, and Steels left-back Jack Tinker was shown a straight red card for stamping on him.

When the final whistle went a minute later it sparked jubilant scenes among the home support, and the win lifted their side out of the NPL East Division’s bottom four.