Report

Consett stumbled to a third successive defeat as their depleted side was beaten at Lincoln United’s Ashby Avenue on their longest away trip of the season.

Manager Jason Miller was without the services of key attackers Isaac Walker and Ben Ramsey, and was only able to name two subs for the visit to opponents who started the day in the bottom four.

The Steelmen got off to the worst possible start, conceding after just two minutes when they didn’t clear Max Baker’s cross, and the ball fell to home No 9 Connor Brown, whose shot was deflected past Harry Moss.

They had a chance to level within two minutes when Calvin Smith’s cross from the left picked out Lewis Leech, but he headed over, and it was to prove a rare opportunity in the opening exchanges as Lincoln used Baker’s long throw as often as possible.

Consett’s defence coped well with the aerial bombardment, though centre-back Liam Colledge needed extensive treatment and a fetching bandage after a clash of heads.

Consett weren’t at their fluent best on a soft pitch, but were growing into the game, and had a good chance in the 19th minute when excellent play by Donny Holdsworth teed up Matty Todd for a shot, but keeper Heath Richardson got down well to keep the hosts in front.

Marc Costello wasn’t too far away with a firm header from a Smith corner in the 28th minute, but it just cleared the bar. But Costello was at the centre of an incident four minutes later which was to turn the game even further the hosts’ way.

He jumped to block a cross, his arm in the air, and the ball hit him in the side and went out for a throw. No one in the ground could believe it when referee Aimee Keir awarded a penalty for handball, which Eliot Dye duly converted.

Consett responded well, and were awarded a penalty of their own when skipper Charlie Exley was bundled over as he contested a Brendon Daniels free-kick. Calvin Smith converted his first goal of the season from the spot to make it 2-1.

Lincoln’s two-goal lead was restored in the first of six minutes added time caused by Colledge’s injury, as Charlie Carlisle found the top corner from fully 30 yards, with Consett’s complaints that Smith was fouled in the build-up falling on deaf ears.

Things got even worse for the Steelmen when Daniels was forced off with a hamstring injury, and they went into the break trailing 3-1.

Half-time: Lincoln United 3 Consett 1

To the Steelmen’s credit, they came out fighting in the second half, and had the lion’s share of chances. Smith came with a fierce 25-yarder which just cleared the bar, and sub Eddie Thomas was left with only the keeper to beat after neat play by Todd, only for Richardson to make a vital save with his feet.

Consett were pressing hard for a lifeline back into the game, but on 76 minutes their momentum was halted when they conceded a fourth goal. A mix-up between Moss and a defender on the edge of the box left Connor Brown with an empty net and he accepted the gift to make it 4-1.

The Steelmen didn’t give up, and a third fine save of the game by Richardson denied Costello in the 82nd minute as he met a cross from Lewis Leech just six yards out. A minute later Matty Todd gave Consett the faintest glimmer of hope when he latched on to a Leech pass and superbly chipped the keeper to make it 4-2.

Sadly, instead of a famous comeback, the game ended on a sour note when Costello and Lincoln’s Henry Moore were dismissed for violent conduct in the 89th minute after an incident in the centre of the pitch, with Cossy’s offence being hauled down in a headlock by the centre-back.

It was an unsavoury end to a day where just about everything which could have gone wrong did just that.

The win was Lincoln’s first in seven games, and lifted them out of the bottom four, but the result saw battered and bruised Consett slip into the bottom half of the table for the first time since August.
MATCH REPORT & PICTURES: GARY WELFORD