Report

Consett became the latest higher-ranked side to be knocked out of the Durham Challenge Cup when they lost to Easington Colliery from the Northern League 1st Division.

Gateshead, Spennymoor Town, Stockton Town, Dunston and Bishop Auckland all lost to sides from divisions below them in this round, and Consett were added to the list of KOs at Welfare Park.

Facing three games in six days, manager Jason Miller made six changes to the side which started at Belper at the weekend for the 2nd Round tie.

James Anderson, Liam Colledge, Bel Rodrigues, Wil Shaw, Keiren Aplin and new signing Charlie Exley all came in, but a disjointed first-half performance was to prove costly for the Steelmen.

Easington took the lead in the 13th minute when Andrew Nelson played a ball over the top to James Fairley, who took it down well and finished past Anderson.

Four minutes later, Anderson was booked for handling outside his penalty area, and he needed his defence to block a couple of efforts from the resulting free-kick.

Consett’s only chance of the half came on 19 minutes, when Matty Slocombe headed just wide from Aplin’s corner. At the other end Luke Pearn broke through in the 37th minute, but was denied by a great save by Anderson.

A minute before half-time it was 2-0 when a lovely passing move by the Colliers dissected the visiting defence, and Luke Pearn finished into the bottom corner, with Consett appealing in vain for offside.

Half-time: Easington Colliery 2 Consett 0

Whatever their manager said in the dressing room at half-time had the desired effect on the Steelmen, as they came out fired up at the start of the second half.

Consett were denied a clear penalty when Donny Holdsworth was flattened, with the referee instead awarding a free-kick for an earlier infringement outside the box where he had played an advantage.

The decision incensed Consett’s players, with Matty Slocombe earning a booking for his protests, but on 53 minutes they gave themselves a lifeline when Wil Shaw fired in from the edge of the box.

However, feelings were still running high after the penalty claim, and Consett’s task became much harder when Aplin was booked and then sent off in the 56th minute for something he said to referee Ryan Moore.

Brad Hird had a chance to seal the win for Easington on the hour as he ran clear from inside his own half when a Consett attack broke down, but Anderson made a crucial save to keep his side in the game.

Consett rang the changes, bringing on Marc Costello, Calvin Smith and Isaac Walker, to maintain the trio’s record of featuring in every game this season, and their 10 men began to take the game to Easington’s 11.

Things were levelled up in the 83rd minute when home centre-back Ryan Taylor was sent off after picking up a second yellow card for tripping Shaw – a foul which the Consett player insisted was in the box, but saw rewarded with a free-kick outside.

Home keeper Keaton Marrs saved a Smith free-kick, Costello saw an effort deflected just over, Walker fired into the side netting after beating his man and cutting inside, and Slocombe thundered a header just wide from another setpiece as Consett pressed hard for an equaliser.

A minute from the end they were a whisker away from taking the game to a penalty shootout when a superb Smith free-kick was somehow kept out by a combination of keeper and crossbar.

When that didn’t go in you just knew it wouldn’t be Consett’s night, and Easington managed to run down the clock through six minutes of added time to progress to the last eight with a reversal of the scoreline by which they lost at Belle View Stadium at the same stage last season.
MATCH REPORT: GARY WELFORD
PICTURES: KENNY TAYLOR & KEITH MARLEY