Tag: Billingham Town

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Cassidy stunner ends Billingham resistance to put Consett 11 points clear

A stunning strike from their No 2 was enough for Consett to beat dogged Billingham Town at a bitterly cold Belle View tonight in a fitting way to mark ‘all twos day’.

Right-back Nick Cassidy, re-signed from North Shields in early January, scored the only goal of a hard-fought victory over the relegation-threatened visitors in the 73rd minute.

He met a Darren Holden cross from the left on the volley with his right foot, pictured top, smashing the ball past former Consett keeper Jack Norton to secure a deserved win.

The victory means Consett are now 11 points clear at the top of Division One of the Northern League, with nine games left to play.

Consett drew 1-1 at Billingham earlier in the season, and the visitors again gave a good account of themselves, despite being second-bottom of the table.

Billingham had the strong wind behind them in the first half, but it was Consett who made the best chances.

Dale Pearson fired over from a superb first-time Holden cross on seven minutes, then was just beaten to the ball by the outstretched arm of Norton after a fine move involving Cassidy, Luke Carr and Jake Orrell on the half-hour.

A minute later Consett had the ball in the net, when Pearson’s shot was saved by Norton and centre-back Matthew Ridley pounced to convert the loose ball, but was ruled offside.

On 35 minutes Billingham had their best chance of the game with a shot from distance, but Kyle Hayes, who hadn’t had a lot to do, tipped the ball over the bar.

Consett should have gone ahead in the 36th minute when another superb cross from Holden picked out Carr six yards out, but he headed the ball up and over the bar.

The game remained goalless at half-time, and with the wind getting even stronger after the break, Billingham found it difficult to get out of their own half at times.

Carr’s low effort by saved by Norton at his near post on 52 minutes, and on 65 Pearson was sent clear with only the keeper to beat, but put his shot the wrong side of the post.

Pearson then teed up Carl Lawson, whose well-struck effort was cleared off the line by defender Andrew Wilson, and you began to wonder if it was going to be one of those nights.

But with the visitors finding it increasingly difficult to get out of their own half in the face of a strengthening wind, that superb Cassidy strike broke the deadlock.

Consett saw out the game comfortably, without being able to get a second goal to seal the win.

With no game this weekend, the next fixture is now at North Shields on Wednesday 2 March in the 1st Round of the new Division One Cup, KO 7.30pm.

  • Full match report, stats and more pictures to follow. Main picture: S Finch Imagery.

On this day: 21 November 2001 – Tiger’s return sparks a win at last for Consett, but Tomma grabs the headlines

Consett ended an awful run of 18 Albany Northern League games without a win on this day 19 years ago when they recorded an emphatic 5-2 midweek victory over Billingham Town to move them off the bottom of the table.

Included in the Consett line-up was former favourite Tony Halliday, who had returned to Belle Vue Park after a spell at Esh Winning, while inspirational skipper Jeff Sugden was also back in the side after missing several matches through injury.

The match marked the return to Consett of Tony ‘Tiger’ Halliday. Pic: John Paul Hardy.

The Steelmen produced their best form of the season in the first half as they blitzed the visitors with four goals.

They took the lead after seven minutes when Andrew Thompson’s shot was parried by Simpson, and Chris Hodgson was on hand to tap the ball into the empty net.

Consett doubled their lead four minutes later. Following a cross from the left by Johnny Brown, Colin McLeod’s header was only pushed out by Simpson and McLeod reacted first to force the ball home.

The Steelmen’s third goal came after 35 minutes when Thompson steered the ball into the bottom corner of the net.

With the visiting defence ragged Consett continued to push forward and they added the fourth on the stroke of half-time. Thompson played a fine through ball into the path of Rod Butler, who capped the move with a fine finish.

Half-time: Consett 4 Billingham Town 0

Consett continued in the same vein at the start of the second half, netting the fifth only three minutes after the interval. This time Thompson beat the offside trap and after his initial effort was saved he made sure at the second time of asking.

Andrew Thompson finished the season as Consett’s top scorer. Pic: John Paul Hardy.

It took the young midfielder’s tally to six goals in his last two matches, after he scored all four in a 4-3 FA Vase win at Peterlee Newtown in the previous game.

Just 18, he had signed from Wearside League neighbours earlier in the season, and would go on to be top scorer.

Billingham began a mini-revival after 54 minutes when Rowntree scored. Town’s prolific striker pulled another one back after 63 minutes from the penalty spot after Butler had fouled Gallagher.

But Consett saw the rest of the game through without conceding again to record a welcome win and pick up three vital points to lift themselves to third-bottom.

This game would mark the beginning of a nine-game unbeaten run in the league, but Colin Carr’s side’s relegation fears were not allayed until the very last game of the season, when they beat Durham City to ensure 1st Division survival.

Consett: 1 James Platten, 2 Gareth McKenna, 3 Ian Davison, 4 David Gray, 5 Jeff Sugden (sub Roy Gordon), 6 Johnny Brown, 7 Rod Butler, 8 Andrew Thompson, 9 Colin McLeod, 10 Chris Hodgson (sub Eddie Sharp), 11 Tony Halliday.

Consett AFC and Billingham Town remember the fallen with the help of a Highland piper before their last pre-lockdown match

Consett’s game against Billingham Town last night was their last before the Government-enforced Lockdown Mk II, which will last until at least 2 December.

That means it was the last opportunity for the club and its supporters to pay tribute to all those who gave their lives for their country in two world wars and all conflicts since then.

In a departure from the usual wreath-laying and two-minute silence, which traditionally takes place on the matchday nearest Remembrance Day, the Consett players were piped onto the field last night by a Highland piper.

Forces veteran Jamie Swainston, from County Durham, played a lament and the hymn Amazing Grace before both teams and the 150 paying spectators who are allowed under current Durham FA rules observed a minute’s silence.

At half-time, the piper did a lap of the pitch, and supporters made generous donations to help make up for income he has lost due to wedding and funeral bookings which have had to be cancelled due to pandemic restrictions.

He said on his Twitter account @GlenSpirit afterwards that it was “an absolute honour and privilege to lead the team out onto the pitch and piped for the fallen.”

The local branch of the Royal British Legion also had a representative present, selling poppies for this year’s Poppy Appeal.

  • Please note that Belle View Stadium will be closed from tonight until December 2, with no matches, training or pitch hire allowed to take place.

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.

Fixture changes mean new dates for Ryhope CW and Billingham Town games

The latest changes to our fixture list mean new dates for two of our Northern League Division One games, including a home game rearranged for next week.

We were meant to begin a run of four consecutive away games at Ryhope CW next Tuesday, 3 November. However, that game will now take place on Tuesday 1 December (KO 7.30pm).

Next Tuesday will instead see a home game against Billingham Town (KO 7.30pm), which was originally scheduled for Saturday 21 November.

At the moment we have no game on 21st, but there’s time for that to change.

Our scheduled game away at Guisborough on 28 November will also be rearranged (though the league haven’t confirmed this yet), as we enter the FA Vase that day, at the 2nd Round stage.

The 1st Round is being played this Saturday, with 12 Northern League clubs involved. We are exempt until the 2nd Round, along with Hebburn Town, Stockton Town and West Auckland. The draw will be made on Monday.

Consett go third as Dale Pearson’s 18th goal of the season secures all three points against Billingham Town

Consett made sure their promotion push stays on track when they leapfrogged visitors Billingham Town in the Northern League 1st Division table with a 2-1 win in a close game at a chilly Belle View.

Midfielder Jake Orrell gave the Steelmen the lead after 25 minutes with his sixth goal in 11 games, after Luke Carr’s excellent pass sent him running through on goal.

Consett had several other chances as they dominated possession in the first 45 minutes, but it took a fine save by Kyle Hayes from James Frazer’s header to ensure their 1-0 lead remained intact at half-time.

The Consett keeper made three more good saves to keep out the visitors early in the second half, but there was nothing he could do about their equaliser on 66 minutes, as Luke Hogan finished from close range to make it 1-1.

Consett had started the second half slowly, but the goal made them up their game, and Dale Pearson smashed in what turned out to be the winner, pictured, in the 69th minute when a corner was half-cleared to him just inside the box.

It was the big striker’s 18th goal in 18 starts since he joined the club, and although Billingham piled on the pressure as they looked for another equaliser, the Steelmen hung on to take all three points, and rise three places, to third in the table.