Tag: ali alshabeeb

FA Vase final: Consett do the town proud despite suffering late Wembley heartache

Consett suffered late heartbreak at Wembley in today’s FA Vase final, conceding an 84th-minute goal to lose 3-2 to Northern League rivals Hebburn Town.

Terry Mitchell’s side took the game to their opponents from the start, and led twice in the first half, but were immediately pegged back both times.

Ali Alshabeeb gave the Steelmen the lead in the 18th minute when he went round Hebburn keeper Mark Foden and fired home from an acute angle.

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Ali Alshabeeb opens the scoring for Consett in the FA Vase final. Pic: Gary Welford.

However, the lead lasted less than a minute, as Hebburn went straight up the other end to equalise through Amar Purewal.

Consett suffered a big setback midway through the half when Jake Orrell was knocked out in an aerial challenge and had to be stretchered off.

In the 42nd minute Consett regained the lead when good work by Jermaine Metz down the right set up Dale Pearson, who beat his man and fired into the corner to make it 2-1.

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Dale Pearson fires home to make the score 2-1 to Consett. Pic: John Paul Hardy.

Two minutes later the scores were level again, when Consett keeper Kyle Hayes made a good save from Louis Storey, but Michael Richardson reacted quickest to the loose ball to make it 2-2.

The second half couldn’t live up to the frantic pace of the first, though Graeme Armstrong had a good chace to put Hebburn ahead in the 56th minute.

Consett had a couple of decent chances of their own, but Calvin Smith and Luke Carr couldn’t find the target.

The goal which broke Consett hearts came in the 84th minute, when Richardson set up Hebburn sub Olly Martin to finish from close range at the far post.

Consett had more than played their part in a pulsating final, but although they did the town proud, it was promotion-bound Hebburn who became the eighth different Northern League club to lift the FA Vase.

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The Consett players and staff huddle together after the game. Pic: Gary Welford.
  • Full match report and more pictures to follow.

north shields

Consett continue FA Vase final preparations with friendly win at North Shields

Consett continued their preparations for the FA Vase final with Hebburn Town with a 4-1 friendly win at North Shields today.

The game at the Daren Persson Stadium had to take place behind closed doors, but Terry Mitchell’s side were full value for their win.

Consett took the lead on 20 minutes when Carl Lawson’s corner from the left was headed into the six-yard box by Simon Jakab, and skipper Arjun Purewal was on hand to score with a glancing header.

Ali Alshabeeb was close to making it two when he beat two men in a run down the right, but saw his low shot bounce off the foot of the far post, with no one following in.

But the Steelmen did double their lead in the 38th minute when Matty Cornish was pushed over from behind as he surged into the box, and picked himself up to tuck away the resulting penalty.

On 54 minutes it was 3-0 when a Lawson cross from a short free-kick routine evaded Ross Wilkinson and Jakab, hit the post, and went in off Jakab’s head as his momentum carried him over the goal-line.

North Shields got one back on 62 minutes when Jamie Norvell supplied a close-range finish from a rebound after Kyle Hayes had made a good save against his old side.

But the three-goal advantage was restored in the last minute when good work by Nick Allen and Alshabeeb set up Aksel Juul to fire into the bottom corner from 20 yards.

An impromptu penalty shootout after the game also saw Consett run out victors, 4-3, with goalkeeper Kyle Hayes saving two North Shields kicks and scoring one himself!

Dan’s the man as Consett beat Crook in a friendly arranged to prepare for the Northern League’s restart

Dan Marriott’s first goal for the club gave Consett a 3-2 win over Crook Town today as the clubs met in a friendly intended to help get players match-fit before the Northern League restart.

And with supporters allowed back into Belle View Stadium, a good crowd was able to see the young midfielder’s superbly-executed 40-yarder, pictured top, which was the difference between the two sides.

Consett manager Terry Mitchell used the game to give his full squad some minutes, with the exception of in-form striker Dale Pearson, who was rested ahead of next week’s FA Vase tie v West Auckland.

The Steelmen took the lead on 13 minutes when Darren Holden played the ball inside to Ali Alshabeeb, who found the far corner from the edge of the box with the help of a deflection.

Crook equalised on the half-hour when Corey Nicholson, who had a spell at Consett a few seasons ago, cut in from the right and his shot beat Kyle Hayes with the help of a huge deflection off Holden.

The visitors almost took the lead four minutes before half-time when Jamie Tumilty hit the post.

But it was Consett who went in 2-1 ahead at the break when Luke Carr’s left-wing corner in added time produced a bit of a scramble, and Calvin Smith fired home.

Consett rang the changes for the second half, making six substitutions, and it was one of the newcomers, Dan Marriott, who scored what turned out t be the winning goal in the 54th minute.

Crook goalkeeper Ronan Makepeace rushed out of his area to beat Jermaine Metz to a through ball, but his headed clearance only went as far as Marriott.

The young midfielder, who has impressed enormously in his performances this season, showed tremendous vision, confidence and technique to lob the ball into the empty net from about 40 yards – the sort of goal Calvin Smith has scored a few of over the years.

To Crook’s credit they responded well, and on 74 minutes they got a goal back when Joey Smith scored with a back-post header from a left-wing cross.

Consett had further chances in the closing stages through Nick Allen, Luke Carr and Matty Cornish, but couldn’t add to the scoreline, and an entertaining, well-contested game finished 3-2.

  • Full match report and more pictures HERE.

Four-goal Dale is the Main man as Consett put on five-star show v Maltby to make FA Vase progress

Dale Pearson grabbed the headlines today as Consett beat Maltby Main 5-0 in a behind-closed-doors FA Vase 2nd Round game at Belle View Stadium.

He scored the first four goals in his best game for the club, and Jermaine Metz added a superb fifth right at the death to ease the Steelmen past their North Counties East League opponents.

The South Yorkshire side were well organised and defended well, and it took the Steelmen until the 33rd minute to open the scoring.

Matty Cornish played a ball into the left-hand channel, and Pearson lashed a powerful shot in off the near post from just inside the penalty area.

It remained 1-0 at half-time, but Pearson almost doubled his tally within a couple of minutes of the restart, only to be denied by goalkeeper James Pollard, while Calvin Smith’s header crashed back off the bar.

Just before the hour, Consett were grateful to Kyle Hayes for two good saves in a minute, first from Connor Cutts and then Bradley Beatson, and their importance was shown when Consett took complete control of the game with two goals in as many minutes.

They doubled their lead on 59 minutes when they broke quickly from their own half, Darren Holden feeding the ball to Jake Orrell, whose pass found Pearson, and the No. 9 chipped the advancing keeper.

A minute later Pearson had his hat-trick after Jermaine Metz beat the keeper to Orrell’s searching pass and lobbed it over him, for the big striker to finish from a couple of yards out.

In the 86th minute Pearson made it 4-0, taking a pass from skipper Arjun Purewal and turning his man before calmly finishing past the keeper.

And Pearson had a hand in probably the best goal of the game, supplying the pass which Metz smashed home with his left foot from 25 yards with literally the last kick of the game.

The final scoreline of 5-0 was perhaps a little harsh on the visitors, who were very much in the game for an hour, but they were unlucky to find Consett at their most clinical when it mattered.

The draw for the 3rd Round is being held on Monday, and Consett will be hoping to avoid fellow Northern League clubs Stockton and West Auckland, who also progressed today, along with the winners of the Hebburn v North Shields tie, which was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

Two more Northern League clubs, Ryhope CW and Jarrow FC, will also be in the hat after their home ties also fell victim to the weather. They will play them on December 12.

Consett beat Billingham Town at a baltic Belle View to head into lockdown in a top-three place

Consett made it four wins in a row tonight to head into Lockdown Mk II in the top three of the Northern League’s 1st Division.

The Steelmen beat bottom side Billingham Town 4-1 at an icy Belle View – and could have won by a hatful if it hadn’t been for an impressive display by the visitors’ goalkeeper.

Manager Terry Mitchell made four changes to the team which had started the last three games, and it took them a while to find their rhythm. But once they did there was only going to be one winner.

They almost took the lead with a fluke goal in the 9th minute, when Ali Alshabeeb’s cross hit the bar but the first real chance came 10 minutes later.

A superb crossfield ball by skipper-for-the-night Calvin Smith picked out Darren Holden, whose curling right-footed shot brought a fine save from Billingham keeper Matty Wilkinson.

On 21 minutes Lewis Green won the ball on the edge of Billingham’s box, and played in Dale Pearson, but the big striker fired into the side netting.

On 24 minutes Consett were awarded a penalty when Carl Lawson was tripped in the box, and Dale Pearson stepped up to despatch the spot-kick into the bottom corner to make it 1-0, with his 10th goal of the season.

Dale Pearson scores from the penalty spot to make it 1-0 to Consett. Pic by Gary Welford.

On 27 minutes it was almost two when Jake Orrell’s free-kick from the right found Nick Allen, and his header was tipped over the crossbar by Wilkinson.

Four minutes later Wilkinson made another fine save, this time denying Lawson after good work by Orrell and Pearson.

But there was nothing the keeper could do about Consett’s second goal, which came in the 33rd minute. Dale Pearson latched onto Holden’s long pass, touched it past the keeper, and then finished into the empty net for 2-0.

Dale Pearson guides the ball past Billingham’s keeper for 2-0. Pic by Gary Welford.

Consett had spent 15 minutes laying siege to the visitors’ goal, but received a warning that they still posed a threat when Kyle Hayes had to save from Lewis Murphy after he burst clean through.

A mistake at the back almost proved costly for Billingham in the 39th minute, however, and Wilkinson they again had Wilkinson to thank for keeping them in the game after he saved from Ali Alshabeeb.

The resulting corner produced yet anothe chance, this time for Allen, and the keeper produced an instinctive reaction save to keep out his snapshot.

A third goal looked inevitable, and Consett almost had it two minutes before the break when a wonderful flowing five-man move gave Pearson the chance to complete a first-half hat-trick, but he fired into the side netting.

They would get the goal their dominance deserved, in the minute of added time, when Orrell’s diagonal ball picked out Darren Holden‘s run, and he finished past Wilkinson into the far corner to make it 3-0.

Darren Holden beats Wilkinson to make it 3-0. Pic by Gary Welford.

After controlling the first half so completely, Consett seemed to take their foot off the pedal a bit in the second, and it was Billingham who had the first chance of the half on 73 minutes, when Danny Boyle crashed a shot against the frame of the goal from distance, with Hayes beaten.

The let-off stung Consett into action, and in the 79th minute they made it 4-0 when Holden’s cross from the left was half-cleared as far as Ali Alshabeeb, who buried the ball in the net from 10 yards.

Ali Alshabeeb seizes on a half-clearance to make it 4-0. Pic by Gary Welford.

To their credit, Billingham kept plugging away, and got a goal back in the 83rd minute when substitute Guilherme Baltazar finished from close range.

Consett were the width of the woodwork away from restoring their four-goal advantage in the 87th minute when good pressure from Alshabeeb forced the keeper to miskick, and the ball fell to Dan Marriott, 30 yards out. His lob looked like it was heading in, but Wilkinson atoned for his error by tipping the ball onto the bar, and Matty Cornish blazed the rebound over.

In the end it was a comfortable enough win, which lifted Consett to third place, but it could have been many more if the keeper hadn’t made half a dozen top-notch saves.

Consett edge seven-goal thriller with 95th-minute winner at Newton Aycliffe

Consett showed tremendous fighting spirit to come from behind three times tonight and then snatch a last-gasp winner to give them a 4-3 victory at high-flying Newton Aycliffe.

They went behind inside the first minute to their third-placed hosts, levelled three times and missed a penalty before securing the points with a stunning Dale Pearson strike in the 95th minute at the Beaumont Landscapes Stadium.

Even by Consett standards, this was a rollercoaster of a game. the fell behind with not even a minute on the clock when they lost possession in their own half, and Ben Reay played in Adam Burnicle, who gave the home side the perfect start.

On six minutes the scores were level when Nick Allen slid a pass through to Dale Pearson, who kept his composure to fire home from 12 yards for his third goal in two games.

Aycliffe regained the lead on 25 minutes when Allen tripped Aaron Brown in the area, and Jake Petitjean made it 2-1 from the resulting penalty.

Four minutes later it was all-square again when Calvin Smith’s pass was flicked on by Matty Cornish, and Luke Carr took advantage of indecision in the home defence to prod the ball home.

Luke Carr scores Consett’s second equaliser at Newton Aycliffe.

Aycliffe took the lead again on 57 minutes when Petitjean won the ball in the middle of the pitch and fed it to Reay, whose pass between two defenders gave Adam Burnicle the chance to finish through Kyle Hayes’s legs for 3-2.

On 65 minutes Consett had a golden opportunity to level for the third time when Pearson was sandwiched between two defenders as he homed in on goal and the referee awarded a penalty. Luke Carr tried a ‘Panenka’ chip from the penalty spot, but to his horror the ball sailed a foot over the bar.

The pendulum swung in the Steelmen’s favour in the 74th minute when Aycliffe keeper Adam Pickford, who’d made a couple of excellent saves, had to be substituted.

With no spare keeper on the bench, Aycliffe were forced to put outfield player Marc Costello in goal, and in the 85th minute it was 3-3, as Consett sub Ali Alshabeeb, who’d only been on the pitch two minutes, got on the end of Matty Cornish’s flick-on to stab home the equaliser with his first touch.

The final drama was yet to come, and when the referee signalled six minutes of added time, Consett smelled blood. They got the win their overall display deserved in the 95th minute, when Alshabeeb’s pass picked out Dale Pearson, who smashed home the winner from an acute angle.

Dale Pearson, right, turns away after firing Consett’s late winner at Newton Aycliffe.

It was a stunning goal to win any game, let alone one as good as this, which was a superb advert for Northern League football.

  • Full match report and more pictures to follow.

Consett bring home three points after winging it at Ashington

A much-improved performance saw Consett return to winning ways today when they headed home from Ashington with three points after a convincing 3-0 victory.

Matty Slocombe’s return to the starting line-up for the first time in 12 games gave the Steelmen a much more solid look, and they took the game to their hosts with an attacking 3-5-2 line-up, with Jermaine Metz and Darren Holden as wing-backs, and midfielder Calvin Smith as part of a back three!

Ashington almost took the lead on seven minutes when Lee Scott hit the post, but Consett got the breakthrough on 22 minutes when Luke Carr’s through ball sent Dale Pearson clear, and he fired home from just inside the box, pictured top.

Two minutes later the lead was doubled when Darren Holden hit a speculative effort from the angle of the penalty area, and it ended up in the far corner. Cross or shot? Consett didn’t care, it was 2-0.

On 32 minutes it was almost three when Jake Orrell’s cross picked up Slocombe, whose diving header brought a good save from Ashington keeper Adam McHugh.

Consett enjoyed a stroke of luck on 35 minutes when Ashington hit the post for a second time, this time through Jack Butler, but the game swayed heavily in their direction when the Colliers were reduced to 10 men.

Pearson ran onto a similar pass to the one which had brought his goal, and went down under a challenge from Thomas Bramley. Ashington thought he got the ball, the referee judged otherwise, and showed the centre-back a straight red card.

To add insult to injury Consett almost scored from the resulting free-kick, but McHugh made a good save from Matty Cornish.

Ashington made a double substitution for the second half in a bid to salvage something from the game, but Consett went straight at their opponents from the off, and could have extended their lead just a minute in when Carr’s shot was saved and Pearson put the rebound wide with the goal gaping.

He made no such mistake in the 49th minute when excellent work by Cornish and Holden down the left saw the latter pick out Dale Pearson 10 yards out, and he fired home left-footed for 3-0.

On 56 minutes Pearson could have had a hat-trick after McHugh made a fantastic reaction save to prevent Luke Salmon putting through his own goal, but the No 9 put his follow-up header wide.

McHugh made good saves from Carr and Holden as Consett sought a fourth, while Kyle Hayes maintained his clean sheet by preventing a corner from Ashington’s new signing Paul Robinson from going straight in.

Ali Alshabeeb and Carl Lawson both had chances to add to the scoreline as Consett finished the game on top, but they were more than satisfied with three goals and a clean sheet.

  • Full match report and more pictures to follow.

Consett leave it late but grind out a win against plucky Penrith

Consett left it late but finally managed to grind out a 2-1 win against a dogged Penrith side at Belle View Stadium today.

And they used up a slice of luck too, with Jake Orrell’s corner going straight in to give them an injury-time winner in the Northern League Division One game.

Consett dominated in terms of possession and chances, but the Cumbrians defended superbly until the very last kick, when their hosts got the bit of luck their display deserved.

The Steelmen took the lead in the 31st minute, when Dale Pearson was fouled near the corner of the box. Orrell floated in the free-kick, and Ross Wilkinson was there to guide home a header, pictured below.

The lead lasted just two minutes as Penrith responded well, scoring from their first clear-cut chance. Max Brown broke down the right, fired the ball across and Mikey Williamson poked it home at the second attempt.

It remained 1-1 at half-time, and the second half saw Consett up their game considerably, laying siege to the visitors’ goal.

On 54 minutes a fine cross from Carl Lawson on the right saw Penrith keeper Luke Miller tip Ali Alshabeeb’s close-range header onto the bar, and then save Pearson’s follow-up on the line.

Matty Cornish replaced Alshabeeb in the 58th minute, and Consett immediately looked more threatening, even when they lost Pearson for 10 minutes after he was sent to the sin bin for dissent.

Miller saved Cornish’s shot with his outstretched leg, then palmed over Darren Holden’s well-struck effort as Consett piled on the pressure.

Cornish had two more attempts saved by the young keeper, Pearson blazed over the bar from Orrell’s cross, and then Miller made a brave stop at Pearson’s feet as Penrith defended for their lives.

Just when it seemed like Consett were going to have to settle for a point, the fourth minute of added time saw Jake Orrell swing over a corner from the left, and it missed everyone in the middle before bouncing up off the wet pitch and ending up in the top corner.

Contrasting emotions as Consett celebrate their late, late winner against Penrith.
  • Full match report and more pictures to follow.

Cornish double helps Consett put five past Bishops as normal service is resumed at soggy Belle View

Consett put their recent wobble to bed in style tonight when they hammered Bishop Auckland 5-1 in monsoon-like conditions at Belle View Stadium.

A home game against Division One’s bottom side was just what Terry Mitchell’s side needed after three defeats in successive matches, and they sent their visitors away empty-handed with a dominant display.

Dale Pearson put Consett in front after 10 minutes when great work by Jermaine Metz put the ball on a plate for him six yards out. He couldn’t miss, and didn’t, and from that point the result never looked in doubt.

Dale Pearson finishes Jermaine Metz’s pass to make it 1-0. Pic by Gary Welford.

Jake Orrell fired just wide across the face of goal, before Ali Alshabeeb was inches away from converting Pearson’s low, hard cross from the left.

Pearson then brought a fine save from Bishops keeper Nick Liversedge, who has so often been a thorn in Consett’s side in recent seasons.

But even Liversedge couldn’t prevent Consett’s second goal on 35 minutes. He saved Lewis Green’s initial shot, but was helpless to stop Jake Orrell finishing the follow-up from close range.

Consett were well on top, but gave their visitors a lifeline on 39 minutes when failure to clear their lines saw Kyle Hayes’s attempted clearance charged down by Jack Cooper, and Bruno Pilatos fired home the loose ball.

It remained 2-1 to Consett at half-time, but the second half saw them lay siege to the visitors’ goal.

Jake Orrell scored Consett’s second goal and made the third. Pic by Gary Welford.

On 58 minutes it was 3-1 when Orrell whipped in a corner and the ball went in for an own goal off a Bishops defender – probably right-back Cameron Martin.

It was one-way traffic now, and Calvin Smith, Darren Holden and Alshabeeb all went close for Consett as the rain lashed down.

On 73 minutes Matty Cornish came on as a sub for the outstanding Orrell, and within a minute he had made it 4-1, turning home the loose ball after great work down the flank by Alshabeeb. It was the midfielder’s second goal since returning to the club in the summer.

Ten minutes later Cornish had another, when, after good approach play by Pearson and Lawson, he picked his spot in the bottom corner and stroked the ball past Liversedge to make it 5-1.

Bishops almost grabbed a consolation goal right at the death when Cooper rounded Hayes, but Simon Jakab got back to clear off the line.

  • Full match report and more pictures to follow.

Missed chances prove costly for Consett as they lose at Stockton

Failure to take their chances when they were on top proved costly for Consett today when lost 4-1 at Stockton Town.

The Steelmen went behind early in the Northern League Division One game at the MAP Group UK Stadium, but could have gone in four goals in front at half-time after causing their hosts no end of problems.

Kevin Hayes went close for Stockton and Darren Holden hit the bar for Consett with a cross before the home side took the lead on 13 minutes. They broke quickly from a corner, with Lewis King charging down the right and providing a pinpoint cross for Shane Henry to head home at the back post.

Consett responded well to going behind, and equalised on 20 minutes when Luke Carr’s cross from the left fell nicely for Nick Allen to fire into the corner with a half-volley for his first goal of the season.

A minute later Consett should have gone ahead when a poor defensive pass let in Ali Alshabeeb, but he slightly scuffed his effort and centre-back Tom Coulthard got back to clear off the line.

On 24 minutes another golden chance went begging as a deft touch played in Alshabeeb again, but he couldn’t decide whether to shoot or pass to Carr, and in the end did neither, trundling the ball tamely out of play.

Consett were well on top at this point, and Jake Orrell’s pass sent Calvin Smith clear, but keeper Callum Roberts stood up well to save his shot from an acute angle.

On the half hour the Steelmen had yet another chance when a long ball saw Pearson break free of his marker, but he didn’t get hold of his shot properly and the keeper again saved.

On 36 minutes Consett had another chance, after some great work by Jermaine Metz down the right saw him pick out Pearson’s run, and although his first touch took him past a defender and the keeper, pictured top, the angle was too tight to get a shot away.

Kevin Hayes looked Stockton’s main threat, and he tested namesake Kyle with a free-kick before flashing a shot across the face of goal, but when the half-time whistle went the home side could consider themselves to be fortunate to be on level terms.

The second half was a different story, however, and after an unremarkable opening period, Stockton retook the lead on 63 minutes.

King was again the provider, with Jonathan Franks meeting his cross at the near post to make it 2-1.

Consett seemed to have lost their attacking momentum, and on 76 minutes they went 3-1 down when they failed to deal with Hayes’ cross from a short corner, and skipper Adam Nicholson volleyed in from close range.

Consett rarely threatened, and on 86 minutes the scoring was complete when Jamie Owens played in fellow sub Nathan Mulligan, who rounded Hayes to make it 4-1.

The final scoreline was perhaps a harsh one on the Steelmen, whose defeat was their third in a row, but emphasised the importance of taking your chances when you’re on top.

  • Full match report and more pictures to follow.