Report

Consett kept their first clean sheet of pre-season in their latest friendly outing, but were unable to find a goal to make it a winning visit to Birtley Town, drawing 0-0.

The hosts finished 4th in the Northern League 1st Division last season, losing to Heaton Stannington, who were eventually promoted, in the play-off semi-final.

And they showed they should be there or thereabouts this season too by giving the Steelmen a stern test at the Arrowmark Home Improvements Stadium.

Consett’s Kaleb Young was back on one of his old stomping grounds, and had a chance to give his side the lead on 11 minutes, but glanced a header wide from Ben Ramsey’s cross.

Birtley’s side contained two ex-Consett players in Jack Elliott and Scott Heslop, and they combined to almost put the hosts ahead in the 23rd minute. Elliott swung over a delightful cross from the left, Heslop volleyed goalwards, but was denied by a super save by James Anderson.

Good play by Isaac Walker teed up Ramsey six minutes before the break, but he blasted high and wide from a narrow angle, and the game remained goalless.

Half-time: Birtley Town 0 Consett 0

The first half had been fairly even, but Consett began to control the second half, and could have taken the lead on the hour when another Ramsey cross picked out Wil Shaw’s run to the back post, but left-back Sam Hedley denied him a tap-in at the expense of a corner.

The usual raft of pre-season substitutions saw the game lose some of its pattern as the second half progressed, but one of the replacements, Adam Lennox, fired just over after making space for a shot from another Ramsey cross.

With a minute to go Consett looked certain to secure their third pre-season win when three of their subs combined to set up a glorious chance. James McGeorge’s deep cross from the right was headed down by Stephen Hall at the back post, and Jake Jensen looked certain to score until goalkeeper Alfie Gordon thwarted him at point-blank range, pictured top.

There was one more chance for Consett to grab the win, as Ramsey hit the left-hand post with a 20-yard free-kick with literally the last kick of the game, but they were left to take the positives from not conceding, rather than celebrating a win.

MATCH REPORT: GARY WELFORD
PICTURES: KENNY TAYLOR & GARY WELFORD

BIRTLEY TOWN: 1 Alfie Gordon, 2 Ben Pentland, 3 Sam Hedley (captain), 4 Sam Dinsley, 5 Josh Strassheim (sub Owen Lancaster 62), 6 Callum Turnbull (sub Lewis Exley 62), 7 Matthew Ward (sub Dan Wilds 46 (sub Dan Maguire 67)), 8 James Proctor (sub Kyle Wharton 20), 9 Scott Heslop (sub Kelvin Thear 46), 10 Nick Marley (sub Matthew Ward 86), 11 Jack Elliott (sub Jay McLean 56).

CONSETT: 1 James Anderson (sub Cieran Ure 81), 2 Calvin Smith (sub Jordan Patterson 75), 3 Kieren Aplin (sub Dominic Curl 67), 4 Marc Costello , 5 Ryan McKinnon (sub Harvey Rudd 75), 6 Dan Capewell (captain) (sub Liam Colledge 67), 7 Wil Shaw (sub James McGeorge 75), 8 Shay Richardson (sub Jake Jensen 73), 9 Ben Ramsey, 10 Kaleb Young (sub Stephen Hall 75), 11 Isaac Walker (sub Adam Lennox 73).
ATTENDANCE: Unknown.