Big defender Dan Capewell was the toast of Belle View Stadium tonight as his late, late goal gave Consett a 3-2 win over Cleethorpes Town.
He popped up in the visitors’ penalty area in the fourth minute of added time at the end of the game to steer the ball home and give the Steelmen a dramatic victory.
The result is a huge boost to their bid towards securing safety in the Northern Premier League Division One East, taking them seven points clear of the relegation play-off places.
Manager Tony Fawcett was able to name the same starting XI as he had for Saturday’s 3-0 home win over Sheffield – something he hasn’t been able to do too often since he took the hotseat.
And his side surprised their impressive visitors by taking the lead in the 37th minute, when right-back Josh Baggs fired home a rebound after Dylan Garvey’s header from Calvin Smith’s cross was saved by the keeper.
However, the lead lasted only six minutes, as Cleethorpes broke quickly from defending a Consett free-kick, and dangerman Curtis Bateson beat keeper Mark Foden to a long ball and lobbed it into the unguarded net.
Cleethorpes, who parted company with their manager last week, took the lead within three minutes of the restart when Consett failed to deal with a corner, and Edwin Essel finished from close range.
Consett equalised on 71 minutes when Danny Barlow collected the ball after the keeper made an unbelievable point-blank save from skipper Arjun Purewal, and curled it home for his first goal for the club, pictured above.
Just when it seemed like Consett were going to have to settle for a point, Jake Orrell floated a cross into the box and Dan Capewell was there to meet it from six yards to score the winner, pictured below, and send the majority of the 363 crowd home happy.
Back-to-back wins mean Consett are now 10th, with 43 points, with four games remaining, starting at Carlton Town on Saturday, followed by the Easter Monday visit of Stockton Town, KO 3pm.
- Pictures by Keith Marley, Kenny Taylor & Gary Welford.
- Full match report and more pictures to follow.
