Tag: Ashington

ashington

Consett extend their unbeaten start to season to six games with 2-0 away win at Ashington

Consett made it six points from two games over the Bank Holiday weekend after an excellent 2-0 win at newly-promoted Ashington today.

Manager Tony Fawcett was without the services of six of his squad for the trip to Woodhorn Lane, and had just one experienced sub on the bench.

But a goal early in each half and an excellent defensive display was enough to secure the points against the Colliers.

The Steelmen took the lead on nine minutes, when good pressure by Scott Fenwick forced the home defence into a mistake. The ball was picked up by Jack Gibbons, and his pass played Wil Shaw through on goal, and he made no mistake for his third goal in two games and fourth of the season, pictured top.

There was little to choose between the teams in the first half, with Consett content to let Ashington have plenty of the ball.

The visitors had a decent penalty appeal turned down on 37 minutes when Shaw went down under challenge from Nathan Buddle, but the referee was unimpressed and waved play on.

Ashington’s best chance of the half came two minutes before the break when Dan Maguire turned his marker on the edge of the area and fired a well-struck effort just over the bar.

The first few minutes of the second half saw a great block by Arjun Purewal deny Craig Spooner, while at the other end Gibbons fired into the side netting and Ben Ramsey brought a good save from home keeper Karl Dryden.

But on 56 minutes it was 2-0 to Consett when a long ball out from the back saw Scott Fenwick force an error from a defender and run through to slot home past Dryden.

ashington
Scott Fenwick fires home Consett’s second goal. Pic: Gary Welford. Top picture: Keith Marley.

Ashington almost pulled on back on 79 minutes when Consett twice cleared the ball off the line, but the visitors had a chance to wrap up the points four minutes later when Ryan McKinnon’s pass sent Shaw through and his shot flashed just wide of the far post.

On 87 minutes there was a let-off for Consett when Ashington sub Mason Hardy for once found a way through their defence, only for his shot to hit the outside of the post.

Despite five minutes of added time there was no time for the Colliers to give themselves a lifeline, and it was Consett who claimed the spoils after a classic away performance in front of a bumper crowd of 696.

ashington
Consett manager Tony Fawcett celebrates a good three points at Ashington. Pic: Gary Welford.
  • Full match report, picture gallery, goal highlights and manager interview to follow.
winterton

Consett kick off league campaign at Winterton Rangers before hosting Pontefract Collieries

Consett will start their 2023-24 Northern Premier League campaign for the second successive season with an away game, this time at newly-promoted Winterton Rangers.

Continue reading “Consett kick off league campaign at Winterton Rangers before hosting Pontefract Collieries” →
ashington

Consett suffer semi-final heartache at Ashington – and a double blow to their play-off hopes

A brave second-half comeback by 10-man Consett came to nothing tonight when they were beaten 4-3 at Ashington in the semi-final of the Division One Cup.

Trailing 3-1 at half-time, they got the score back to 3-3 despite having Calvin Smith sent off, and were within six minutes of taking the tie to a penalty shoot-out.

But they shot themselves in the foot by conceding a poor goal straight from the restart, and had Darren Holden sent off after the final whistle.

The red cards means Smith and Holden will both be suspended from the one-off promotion play-off on Saturday 30 April, leaving manager Andy Coyles with an almighty headache and a severely-depleted squad.

Ashington took the lead after just five minutes, when Kyle Hayes fumbled a corner and big centre-back Ben Harmison bundled the ball home from point-blank range.

Three minutes later the Steelmen were level, after David Dowson’s knockdown to Carl Lawson, who fired in off the post to make it 1-1.

Hayes saved well from Robert-Lee Taylor on 19 minutes, but there was nothing he could do two minutes later when Lawson lost his man and Jordan Summerly finished low past the keeper for 2-1.

Lawson almost grabbed a second equaliser a minute later, but saw his shot cleared off the line by a defender, and the visitors were made to pay on 24 minutes when Ashington scored again.

Smith gave the ball away as Consett passed their way out from the back, and the Colliers’ top scorer Dean Briggs drove at the makeshift defence to fire past Hayes and make it 3-1.

Colin Larkin went close to reducing the arrears five minutes before half-time when he chested the ball down 25 yards out and fired into the side netting, but it was a second-best Consett team who headed into the dressing rooms at the break.

Ashington were backed by a vociferous crowd who were appealing for every decision, real and otherwise, and they demanded a red card for a Jake Orrell foul on 55 minutes, but the referee decided yellow was sufficient.

Three minutes later they got their wish when Calvin Smith was shown a straight red card for a challenge which many onlookers thought had won the ball.

Consett now had a mountain to climb, but bringing on strikers Scott Heslop and Dale Pearson for David Dowson and Luke Carr injected fresh energy into their attacking play.

They were indebted to Hayes for keeping them in the game on 65 minutes with a superb double save, but on 73 minutes they were right back in it when Scott Heslop bulleted in a header from Orrell’s corner.

On 83 minutes Consett’s endeavours were rewarded when home right-back Liam Doyle wrestled Pearson to the ground, pictured top, and the referee awarded a penalty, which was despatched by Colin Larkin to make it 3-3.

Incredibly, within 60 seconds Consett’s fightback was in vain when, straight from the kick off, they failed to deal with a surging run from the halfway line, and when the ball fell to ex-Steelman Dean Briggs he fired home what turned out to be the winner.

If such late heartache wasn’t bad enough, Holden – Consett’s only fit defender – was red-carded after the final whistle for something he said to the referee, which rules him out of the promotion play-off.

With almost an entire XI currently unavailable, the Steelmen’s chances of playing in the Northern Premier League next season appear to be receding rapidly.

But before the one-off away game against as-yet unknown opponents there’s the small matter of completing our Northern League fixtures this Saturday, with a home game against Ashington, kick-off 3pm.

  • Full match report, stats and more pictures to follow.

west auckland

Consett come from behind twice to beat West Auckland and line up semi-final trip to Ashington

An injury-time goal from veteran striker Colin Larkin gave Consett’s season a much-needed lift tonight as they twice came from behind to secure a cup semi-final place by beating West Auckland Town 3-2.

Andy Coyles’ side put in their best performance for weeks against the same visitors who they had ground out a 1-0 win over in the league seven days earlier.

The result means Consett travel to Ashington for a Division One Cup semi-final on Tuesday 12 April – four days before they complete their league fixtures with a game against the same opponents at Belle View Stadium.

Consett were the better side in the first half, and it was against the run of play that West Auckland took the lead on 38 minutes, as Ross Wilkinson headed the ball into his own net under challenge from Gary Brown as they contested a free-kick.

A minute later Consett were level, from another set play. Jake Orrell played the ball in from the right, Wilkinson did well to keep it alive in a melee of bodies, and Alex Francis fired home from close range against one of his old clubs, pictured below.

west auckland
Alex Francis makes it 1-1 in a goalmouth scramble. Pic: Gary Welford.

However, parity lasted just three minutes, as Francis went from goalscoring hero to villain, tripping Jordan Blinco to gift West a penalty, which Arron Thompson converted.

It remained 2-1 at half-time, but Consett, whose football was much more fluid than in recent weeks, were back on the front foot right from the start of the second half, creating chance after chance.

Dan Marriott fired just wide, David Dowson had a shot cleared off the line after the keeper dropped a corner, and Orrell’s 20-yard free-kick hit the post as the Steelmen poured forward.

The pressure was rewarded on 65 minutes when Luke Carr’s excellent pass picked out Calvin Smith‘s run to the back post, and he tucked the ball under the keeper to make it 2-2, pictured below.

west auckland
Calvin Smith finishes under the keeper to make it 2-2. Pic: Gary Welford.

There was a let-off for Consett in the 69th minute as West’s top scorer Blinco failed to convert from close range, but just as the game looked like it was heading for penalties there was one final twist.

In the first of three minutes of added time, Orrell’s corner from the right caused chaos in the West box, and Colin Larkin pounced on the loose ball, turned and fired home his 16th goal of the season to take Consett through.

It was just reward for a fine team performance, where every player showed their battling qualities against tough opponents, as well as playing their best passing game for quite some time.

  • Full match report, stats and more pictures to follow.

Consett have to settle for a point from six-goal thriller at Ashington

League leaders Consett had to settle for a point on their travels, after a thrilling 3-3 draw at Ashington.

The Colliers dominated the first half, but had to dig deep to twice come from behind in front of a bumper 735 crowd – including a big Consett contingent – at the DWMedia Stadium.

Visiting keeper Kyle Hayes had already made two good saves and Ashington had also hit the bar before the hosts took the lead in the 28th minute.

Max Cowburn put in a great first-time cross from the right and Craig Spooner made it 1-0 with a close-range header.

Consett skipper Arjun Purewal almost equalised on 36 minutes when he hit the post with a header, and then saw keeper Adam McHugh make an unbelievable point-blank save, pictured top, as he tried to lash home the rebound.

The Steelmen were level a minute later when the resulting corner was half-cleared, and young centre-back James Metcalfe fired in off the post from just outside the box.

It remained 1-1 at half-time, but it took only two minutes of the second half for Consett to get their noses in frnt.

Luke Carr’s pass sent Jake Orrell scampering towards the byline, and his low cross across the six-yard box was turned into his own net by helpless defender Curtis Coppen.

Hayes made two more fine saves to keep Consett in front, but feel he could have done better when Ashington made it 2-2 on the hour.

He failed to deal with a cross from the right, and it was sent back across goal for Harmison, for Luke Salmon to score with a close-range volley.

Hayes made amends with a superb double save from Adam Johnson, and there were more chances at both ends, with both teams going for the win.

Consett thought they’d grabbed a winner in the 81st minute when Darren Holden’s excellent cross from the left put a 14th goal of the season on a plate for Dale Pearson, in his first game back from suspension.

But Ashington had other ideas, and made it 3-3 in the 86th minute, when Danny Anderson scored from close range.

With two minutes to go Consett had a big penalty shout turned down when a defender appeared to handle the ball on the ground, but a point apiece was probably the right result.

  • Full match report, stats and more pictures to follow.

Penrith and Ashington games are OFF as Northern League delays its restart – but our cup ties go ahead

Consett’s next two Northern League games, against Penrith and Ashington, have been postponed after the league management committee decided to delay the restart of fixtures.

However, this Saturday’s FA Vase 3rd Round tie v West Auckland Town is unaffected, and will go ahead as planned, with a 3pm kick-off at Belle View Stadium. The game is now sold out and no admission will be available on the day.

Our away Durham Challenge Cup tie at Birtley Town, which was postponed this week, has been rearranged for Wednesday, December 23, KO 7.30pm.

The decision to delay the restart of league fixtures follows a meeting of the league management committee (LMC) to discuss club responses to the Government’s changes to Tier 3 restrictions, which allow up to 150 spectators to attend fixtures, but means clubhouses must remain closed.

A number of clubs were prepared to resume fixtures from Saturday December 19, but some have been told by their local councils that they are not permitted to sell refreshments.

The majority had already indicated it isn’t financially viable to play games with attendances pegged at 150, and with no income from food and drink, they would still have significant levels of expenditure, with no grants available to cover any deficit.

Some clubs felt a change to Tier 2 restrictions allowing attendances to rise to 300 could allow a return, but the LMC decided to postpone this weekend’s fixtures even before today’s decision to leave the North East in Tier 3.

The situation will be reviewed again by the LMC on Monday, January 4, with a possible resumption date of Saturday, January 9.

A LMC spokesman said: “The committee fully understands and shares the frustration at the situation we find ourselves in, and we are grateful for the patience of officials, volunteers, players and spectators.

“In the meantime we will be writing to all the relevant local authorities to see if they are willing to address the issue of the sale of refreshments at grounds in their area, as this provides such crucial revenue for clubs.”

Our game at Penrith was due to take place on Monday, December 28, and the home game v Ashington on Saturday, January 2. New dates will be set by the league in due course.

At the moment our next scheduled league game is on Saturday, January 9, when we are due to entertain Seaham Red Star. However, at the moment both clubs are still involved in the FA Vase, and the next round is due to be played on that date.

On this day: 26 November 2008 – Emmo’s hot streak continues as Consett beat Ashington

Consett increased their lead at the top of the Northern League table to seven points on this day in 2008, with a comfortable win over Ashington in a midweek match at Belle Vue Park.

Continue reading “On this day: 26 November 2008 – Emmo’s hot streak continues as Consett beat Ashington” →

On this day: 14 November 2009 – 10-man Consett pull off a fine win at Ashington despite being missing half a team

A Consett side missing five regulars pulled off an excellent win at the home of the Northern League’s third-placed side, despite being reduced to 10 men, on this day in 2009.

As well as long-term absentees David Gordon and David Duke, manager Kenny Lindoe was unable to call on injured skipper Carl Piecha, or the unavailable Chris Scott or Jonjo Dickman for the Northern League 1st Division game at Woodhorn Lane.

He still fielded a strong starting XI, with three changes from the previous game, a 2-2 draw with Morpeth. Goalkeeper Danny Staples had served his suspension for being sent off against Bishop Auckland the previous month, David Scorer was restored at centre-half, and Andrew Burton returned at left-back, though the bench was a little thin.

With just a couple of minutes gone, some excellent interplay down the left by Mattie Moffat and David Pounder saw Prof’s delicious touch wrongfoot a defender and put Steven Johnson through. But Stevie delayed for just long enough for the Colliers to regroup and prevent him getting a shot away.

Consett’s David Pounder in action against Ashington. Pic: John Paul Hardy.

A quick throw-in by Steven Huggins to Pounder gave the Steelmen another opportunity when he found stand-in skipper Gary Ormston, whose ball to Moffat was cracked just over the bar.

After some tentative opening exchanges, it took 15 minutes for either side to seriously trouble the other’s goal, and when it came it was Ashington who came within a whisker of opening the scoring. They broke down the right, and a ball pinged to the back post saw Keith Douglas connect sweetly with the ball at full stretch, only to see his shot cannon off the crossbar, with the goalkeeper beaten.

Moffat tried his luck from 25 yards after winning the ball from the centre-half, but, to the jeers of the vociferous home fans, it flew high and wide.

A Steven Huggins corner caused some mild panic in the Ashington box after keeper Karl Dryden came for it, flapped and missed, but Johnson was unable to take advantage, and the danger was cleared.

Consett striker Steven Johnson had this chance after Ashington keeper Karl Dryden missed a cross. Pic: John Paul Hardy.

Scorer headed over from a corner and Johnson was unable to pick anyone out with a hard, low cross across the face of the goal after Moffat and Ormston combined well, as Consett began to take control.

They really should have scored when they were awarded a free-kick for a foul on Ormston as he surged towards the box. Burton took the kick quickly after spotting Moffat making a run to the back post, but the striker couldn’t keep his shot from six yards down.

On the stroke of half-time Moffat had an even better chance when Ashington only half-cleared a corner, and Pounder lobbed the ball back into the danger area. It was kept alive by Ormston, and Moffat found himself with a free header from six yards out, which he put straight at Dryden.

Half-time: Ashington 0 Consett 0

Within two minutes of the restart Moffat had another chance, latching onto a loose ball and trying to prod it home when power would surely have produced a goal. Moffat put in another good shift, and on another day, with a few more games under his belt, would have had a hat-trick.

Consett striker Mattie Moffat was a constant threat to Ashington. Pic: John Paul Hardy.

Andrew Cuthbertson then placed a shot agonisingly wide of the right-hand post after a flowing Consett move. But when the deadlock was broken on 51 minutes it was Ashington who scored, completely against the run of play.

Former Consett winger David Colvin advanced down the left and sent in a hard, low cross, which was met a few yards out by Andrew Burton. Unfortunately, the pace on the ball was such that he was unable to steer it away from goal, and only succeeded in putting through his own net.

Four minutes later things went from bad to worse for the Steelmen. Centre-back Paul Collins handled a through ball 25 yards out, and the referee decided he had prevented a goalscoring opportunity, and showed him a straight red card, which seemed a little harsh to say the least.

Most of the travelling supporters probably feared the worst, but after a reshuffle which saw Burton go to right-back, Michael Coulthard come into the middle and Pounder drop to left-back, Consett took the game by the scruff of the neck.

Unlucky Consett defender Andrew Burton scored an own goal to put Ashington ahead. Pic: John Paul Hardy.

On 58 minutes captain-for-the-day Gary Ormston capped an industrious display by heading home Huggins’ corner from six yards out, taking him to 10 goals for the season.

And on 67 minutes Steven Huggins put Consett in front with a superb free-kick curled over the wall from just outside the box after the referee had somewhat generously decided that Moffat was impeded.

With something to hold onto, Lindoe withdrew Johnson and brought Gavin Parkin on to shore up the midfield, but it was still the Steelmen who looked more likely to get the next goal.

Another foul on Moffat just outside the box gave Huggins a free-kick in a similar position to the one he scored from, but this time the keeper comfortably caught his effort round the wall, low to his left. And Parkin came close to opening his account for the club with a rising shot from 20 yards which just cleared the bar.

Skipper Gary Ormston just fails to connect with this cross. Pic: John Paul Hardy.

In the 86th minute, the referee could quite easily have made it 10-a-side when Colliers defender Iain Nickalls pulled back Moffat after the forward knocked the ball past him on the halfway line, but he chose to show a yellow card instead of red.

Tremendous last-ditch tackles by Nickalls and Paul Dunn then halted Moffat as through balls twice left him one-on-one with the last defender as Consett looked for a clincher.

Ashington rarely threatened in the second half, though one ball flashed across the face of goal by substitute Josh Race had Staples scrambling, and the keeper then had to be at his best to keep out a powerful injury-time drive from the same player.

Consett keeper Dan Staples comes to collect under pressure. Pic: John Paul Hardy.

The game ended controversially, when Burton needed lengthy treatment and had to be substituted after being knocked out by what appeared to be a flailing elbow, but again the referee only showed Scott Blandford a yellow card when the offence might have merited a different colour.

When the final whistle went it was a fully deserved three points against a side who were just starting to believe they had an outside chance of the championship, and would eventually go on to finish 6th – their best in 29 years.