Consett played their first competitive fixture at their new Belle View Stadium on this day in 2013, and marked the occasion with an excellent 2-1 win against Northern League front-runners Spennymoor Town.
Continue reading “On this day: 29 November 2013 – Consett get off to a winning start at their new home by beating Spennymoor”
Seven years ago tonight we enjoyed a never-to-be-forgotten evening in the history of Consett AFC when – after a decade of deals, disappointments and delays – we finally saw a game of football at our new Belle View Stadium.
The people of Consett responded magnificently to the call to come and make it a night to remember, with almost 3,000 flocking to the game against a Newcastle United XI, despite it being a freezing cold night.
A late handover by Durham County Council meant that many long hours of hard work had gone into making sure everything was ready, and on the night kick-off had to be delayed by 25 minutes to get all the supporters in.
Consett-born FIFA referee Mark Clattenburg was the man in the middle for the special occasion, offering his services free of charge, and it was nearly 11pm when he left to drive down to London to handle the Arsenal v Southampton game in the Premier League the next day.
It was also a never-to-be-forgotten night for his assistants Gavin Scott and Andrew Kitchen, two local lads more used to refereeing in the Consett Sunday League and running lines in Northern League Division Two.
Peter Beardsley, who had brought a Newcastle United XI to the old Belle Vue Park ground for our last game there, brought a strong squad, including several players with first-team experience such as Adam Campbell, Gael Bigiramana and James Tavernier.
He pulled on his boots himself, as did his fellow Academy coaches Dave Watson and Kevin Richardson – both former England internationals. Beardsley said the new state-of-the-art 3G pitch was the best he had ever played on.
Prolific NUFC reserve striker Adam Campbell had the honour of scoring the first goal on the new ground, netting on the half hour with a low effort on the run from the edge of the area.
Consett equalised after 56 minutes when substitute Luke Sullivan checked back and beat United ‘keeper Brendan Pearson with a neat finish after a low centre from the right wasn’t dealt with.
The Magpies regained their lead in the 80th minute when Joe Kerridge’s corner was headed home at the near post by fellow substitute Jamie Cobain.
United came close to sealing the victory with a third goal, when Adam Laidler hit the crossbar with seven minutes remaining.
But the result didn’t matter, as the night was all about celebrating that Consett had a wonderful new football ground, which would be a hub for community activity for years to come.
Consett: 1 Jack Norton, 2 Michael Pearson, 3 Ian Davidson, 4 Calvin Smith, 5 Carl Piecha, 6 Scott Martindale, 7 Chris Bell, 8 Gilberto Chapim, 9 Aris Guerin-Lokonga, 10 Michael Mackay, 11 Scott Canham. Subs: Luke Sullivan, Andrew Cuthbertson, David Coulson, Craig Robson, Kieran Martin, Matty Slocombe, Mark Eccles, David Brown, Daniel Hall.
Newcastle United: 1 Pearson, 2 Mbabu, 3 Tavernier, 4 Bigirimana, 5 Satka, 6 Good, 7 Hall, 8 Miele, 9 Campbell, 10 Beardsley, 11 Laidler. Subs: Morgan, Atkinson, Richardson, Watson, Williams, Kemen, Kerridge, Coffield, Cobain, Laidler.
An excellent second-half performance saw Consett come from behind to beat bottom side Guisborough Town 4-1 at Belle View Stadium on this day four years ago.
The match was preceded by two minutes’ silence for the following day’s Remembrance Sunday, and the Steelmen started like they had a point to prove after a disappointing 1-1 midweek draw with Jarrow Roofing.
Top scorer Luke Sullivan had the first chance after just two minutes, but was thwarted by old boy Jamie Poole after his initial shot was saved.
Michael Sweet headed just over from Nick Cassidy’s cross after eight minutes, and Lewis Teasdale did the same from Sweet’s flick-on after quarter of an hour.
A nip-and-tuck period followed, in which neither side created a clear-cut opening, until great work by Sullivan saw Jordan Nellis almost score on 41 minutes with a cheeky backheel, but keeper James Dawson saved with his legs.
Consett keeper Sam Guthrie had to be alert a minute later when Thibault Charmey’s cross picked out David Onions, but the young keeper pulled off an excellent save, tipping the ball over the bar.
There was nothing he could do on 44 minutes, however, when Guisborough took an unexpected lead. Another ex-Steelman, Chris Youldon, opened up the Consett defence with a great pass, and Charmey did the rest, finishing coolly past Guthrie, despite the attentions of Cassidy.
Sweet had a chance to level before half-time after he was played in by skipper Danny Craggs, but keeper Dawson made another good save, deflecting his shot over the bar.
Half-time: Consett 0 Guisborough Town 1
Whatever manager Mark Eccles said in the dressing room during the break obviously had the desired effect, as Consett came out for the second half fired up, and levelled within three minutes of the restart.
Teasdale won the ball with a great tackle out on the right as Guisborough tried to play the ball out, and delivered a perfect cross to the front past for Luke Sullivan to net his 20th goal of the season with a diving header.
Teasdale almost got on the scoresheet himself four minutes later, when his shot was blocked after he was set up from a corner.
The impetus was now firmly with Consett, and they took the lead on the hour with a well-worked goal. Nellis did the spadework, Sullivan helped the ball back into the danger area, and Michael Sweet was on hand to make it 2-1, despite Guisborough’s appeals for offside.
Three minutes later it was 3-1, and Michael Sweet had his 14th goal in 14 starts, applying the finishing touch to an excellent flowing move which started when Craggs won the ball in midfield, surged forward and fed Nellis, who unselfishly squared for the No.9 to tap home.
On 72 minutes it was 4-1, and Danny Craggs got his reward for his man-of-the-match performance with his 11th goal of the season. Sullivan started the move out on the left and passed to Josh Gray, who set up the skipper to find the bottom corner from inside the D on the edge of the penalty area. His celebration is pictured, top.
It now seemed like a matter of how many Consett would score, but the only black mark of a fine second 45 minutes happened with 15 minutes to go, when the referee decided that a tackle by Teasdale right in front of the dugouts deserved a straight red card.
It was the second that local hero Lewy had had this season, and cost him a four-game ban – a real shame, as he had been playing extremely well in a new midfield role.
Although they were down to 10 men, it was Consett who had the better chances to add further goals, with Craggs, Sullivan and Gray all forcing saves from the keeper, while Guthrie made a couple of smart stops at the other end.
With some of their rivals on FA Vase duty, the win lifted Consett to 5th – their highest league position of the season.
Consett: 1 Sam Guthrie, 2 Nick Cassidy, 3 Clark Kay, 4 Ryan McKinnon, 5 Jake Stafford, 6 Dan Hawkins, 7 Lewis Teasdale, 8 Danny Craggs, 9 Michael Sweet (sub Nathan Lawrence 77), 10 Luke Sullivan (sub Adam Knowles 83), 11 Jordan Nellis (sub Josh Gray 70). Subs not used: Matty Slocombe, Scott Canham.
Guisborough Town: 1 James Dawson, 2 Harrison Scott, 3 Joe Ferguson, 4 Paul Roddam, 5 Jamie Poole, 6 Liam McPhillips (sub Paul Blake 32), 7 Stewart Bath, 8 Chris Youldon, 9 David Onions (sub Connor Smith 71), 10 Thibault Charmey (sub Josh Holden 77), 11 Matty Pennal. Subs not used: Ben Escritt (GK), Henri Morland.
Consett eased through the 1st Round of the Durham Challenge Cup on this day in 2014, winning 5-2 at Ryhope CW – with the game effectively decided in six dramatic first-half minutes.
Manager Kenny Lindoe made just one change to the side which had drawn with Newcastle Benfield for the Tuesday night game, with Mark Eccles coming in at left-back, and Josh Gray pushing into midfield in place of the injured Jonny Wright.
With Adam Nicholls, Scott Martindale and David Brown also injured and Luke Sullivan and Josie Longstaff unavailable, goalkeeping coach Ben Cole was named among the subs.
Ryhope included two popular ex-Consett players in their starting XI, goalkeeper Barry Poskett and midfielder David Pounder, pictured top, and both were to play prominent roles in an incident-packed first half.
Pounder got the home side off to the perfect start, collecting a cross from the left and smashing a left-footed effort into the top corner from 25 yards after just two minutes.
Within a minute Poskett had spread himself well to save an effort from Aris Guerin-Lokonga, with Michael Mackay’s follow-up effort blocked by a defender.
Calvin Smith then hit a 25-yard free-kick well over the top, before supplying the incisive pass for Aris Guerin-Lokonga to level on 12 minutes, drawing the keeper and firing home.
Ryhope had a couple of half-chances before the incident on 23 minutes which probably changed the entire course of the game.
Guerin-Lokonga latched onto a through ball and his lob looked certain to put Consett ahead until Poskett instinctively threw up his hands as he raced out of his area to meet The keeper handled the ball on the edge of the D, and after consulting his linesman, the referee showed him a straight red card.
Player-manager Gary Pearson went in goal, but his first task was to pick the ball out of the net three minutes later as Josh Gray‘s cross from the left squirmed under his body at the near post.
Within a minute it was 3-1 as Consett regained possession from the kick-off and Gray’s cross gave Michael Mackay an easy finish from seven yards.
Then on 29 minutes Smith touched a free-kick shot to Josh Gray, who rifled a shot into the top corner to make it 4-1.
The home side were reeling, and eight minutes before half-time a wonderful Smith pass sent Michael Mackay clear, and the striker finished with aplomb past the stand-in keeper for his 21st goal of the season.
Matty Slocombe had a shot blocked, Gray sent another just wide of the far post and, right on half-time, Guerin-Lokonga was denied what looked a clear penalty when he muscled his way past by two defenders and was pulled back, only for the referee to bottle the decision and blow his whistle for half-time.
Half-time: Ryhope CW 1 Consett 5
At 5-1 up, Consett had effectively booked their passage into the 2nd Round and a game at Gateshead, so it was no surprise that they took their foot off the pedal a little.
Chris Youldon was brought on for the second half in place of Ryan Bell, while Ryhope made two changes, bringing on teenage goalkeeper Anthony Rooke for Pearson and midfielder Nathan O’Neill for right-back James Cook.
Within 10 minutes of the restart they’d made it clear that despite being a man shot, they were going to give it a go, as first left-back Martin Metcalfe and then midfielder Matthew Weirs tested Chris Elliott. The Consett keeper then had to get down smartly at his near post to a free-kick from Weirs.
At the other end, Smith hit the bar with a looping header from an Eccles cross, and then wasn’t too far away with a well-struck effort from 25 yards which flew just over the bar. Ryhope had a good chance to reduce the arrears when Weirs’ left-wing corner was headed down by O’Neill, and Craig Hughes volleyed into the ground and over the bar.
Consett made a couple more changes, bringing on Danny Craggs for Carl Piecha (with Slocombe moving to centre-back) and Chris Moore for Gray, and it seemed to perk up their somewhat flat second-half display.
Moore’s pass gave Mackay a chance to complete his hat-trick, though Rooke did well to save at his feet and then benefited from a fortuitous ricochet.
Then Guerin-Lokonga looked odds-on to score after the keeper spilled a left-wing cross, until his shot took a deflection off a defender, hit the post, and was scrambled clear. Rooke did well again to keep out a 25-yard free-kick from Eccles, diving full-length to his right to push it around the post.
To their credit, Ryhope kept taking the game to their higher-ranked opponents, and got their reward with an 89th-minute consolation goal from Metcalfe, who drilled a low shot past Elliott.
The final minute saw Mackay net from a rebound after Rooke couldn’t hold onto Moore’s shot, but the striker was denied by the linesman’s flag, and Consett had to settle for a 5-2 passage into the next round.
Ryhope CW: 1 Barry Poskett, 2 James Cook (sub Nathan O’Neill 46), 3 Martin Metcalfe, 4 Paul Braithwaite, 5 Gary Pearson (sub Anthony Rooke 46), 6 Max Stoker, 7 Matthew Weirs, 8 Craig Hughes, 9 Jack Pounder, 10 David Pounder, 11 Alex Marshall.
Subs not used: Chris Trewick, Philip Hall
Consett: 1 Chris Elliott, 2 Ryan Bell (sub Chris Youldon 46), 3 Mark Eccles, 4 Gilberto Chapim, 5 Carl Piecha (sub Danny Craggs 64), 6 Dan Madden, 7 Matty Slocombe, 8 Calvin Smith, 9 Aris Guerin-Lokonga, 10 Michael Mackay, 11 Josh Gray (sub Chris Moore 70). Subs not used: Adam Nicholls, Ben Cole
Four goals in an amazing 15-minute spell either side of half-time gave Consett the points against bottom club Hebburn Town on this day back in 2013.
But manager Kenny Lindoe was just as pleased with the clean sheet his side kept in the Ebac Northern League Division One game at Hebburn Sports Club – it was just their second of the season.
This was their 16th consecutive away game of a lop-sided season as they waited for their new ground Belle View Stadium to be finished.
In a typically attack-minded move, Lindoe made just one change to the starting line-up from the previous game, a 5-3 midweek win at Morpeth, which you can read about here, with Aris Guerin-Lokonga coming in for the injured David Brown.
He lined up in a three-man attack with Michael Mackay and Luke Sullivan, with Anthony Lund dropping in to left-back. Hebburn, who were still looking for their first league win of the season, included one ex-Steelman, midfielder Daniel Reeves, who’d made three appearances in 2011-12.
Consett started the game as they’d left off against Morpeth four days earlier, and Sullivan had a chance after just two minutes, but volleyed wide of the left-hand post from Mackay’s cross.
But both sides struggled to find any sort of rhythm for the next 20 minutes, and the first-half had reached its midway point by the time the next serious chance arrived.
Sullivan tried his luck with a free-kick from 25 yards, and although Consett claimed a defender in the wall had handled, the referee was unmoved.
Mackay had the next notable chance on 25 minutes, but fired over from 20 yards – so far over, in fact, that the ball cleared the wall behind the goal and ended up on the main road outside.
However, Michael Mackay showed he had his shooting boots on 10 minutes later when he received the ball on the edge of the box, worked an opportunity for himself, and cracked home a great shot to make it 1-0.
Seven minutes later it was 2-0, and this time it was top scorer Luke Sullivan on target. Consett were awarded a free-kick on the right, and Calvin Smith’s dead ball was met by the head of the No 9, who powered it home from eight yards.
Right on half-time Consett scored again, and it was the best goal of the game. Chris Bell’s corner from the right was cleared only as far as Andrew Cuthbertson on the left edge of the box, and he took a couple of steps forward before curling an exquisite chip just under the bar, beyond the grasp of Hebburn keeper Andy Hunter. Cuppa didn’t score many, but when he did they were top-quality.
Consett went in at the break 3-0 up, and within five minutes of the restart they had extended their advantage. Michael Pearson’s pass in from the right found Michael Mackay, who prodded the ball home from inside the six-yard box.
It seemed to be a question of how many Consett would now score, but to Hebburn’s credit they kept plugging away, and began to create chances themselves.
Giant striker Channon North had one shot saved by keeper Jack Norton, then blazed the rebound over, and steered another wide with the goal at his mercy.
Consett also had chances to add to their total. Smith struck a 30-yarder just over the bar, and Mackay drilled a shot wide from Chris Bell’s pass. The ex-Hartlepool striker had a great chance to complete his hat-trick when he was set up by Guerin-Lokonga on 72 minutes, but again fired over from 20 yards.
The last chance of the game fell to Hebburn No 9 Kris Goss, with just a couple of minutes remaining, but he hit the bar with a free header after a sloppy piece of marking by the Consett defence.
HEBBURN TOWN: 1 Andy Hunter (captain), 2 Matthew Hornsby (sub 15 Scott Wallace 46 mins), 3 Peter Henderson, 4 Daniel Reeves, 5 Alexander Downey, 6 Kris Summers, 7 Marc Costello, 8 Michael Watson (sub 13 Callum Smith 46 mins), 9 Kris Goss, 10 Channon North, 11 Lewis Lynch (sub 16 Paul Gordon 70 mins). Subs not used: 12 Chris Smith, 14 Kevin Morton.
CONSETT: 1 Jack Norton, 2 Michael Pearson, 3 Anthony Lund, 4 Calvin Smith, 5 Carl Piecha (captain) (sub 15 Scott Martindale 79 mins), 6 Ryan Bell, 7 Chris Bell, 8 Andrew Cuthbertson (sub 17 Matty Slocombe 65 mins), 9 Luke Sullivan (sub 12 Ian Davidson 61 mins), 10 Michael Mackay, 11 Aris Guerin-Lokonga. Subs not used: 14 Kieran Martin, 16 Craig Robson.
Consett took their fans on a roller-coaster ride in an entertaining Wednesday night game at Morpeth Town on this day seven years ago.
The Northern League Division One game at Craik Park saw them rack up their 50th goal of the season, but concede their 48th – in just their 19th game!
Manager Kenny Lindoe made two changes to the side which had beated Jarrow Roofing eight days earlier, with fit-again defenders Carl Piecha and Ryan Bell coming in for Matty Slocombe and Mark Eccles, with the latter a late withdrawal after pulling up in the warm-up.
The Steelmen pushed forward from the start, and should have gone in front within two minutes, when a good move down the right gave Chris Bell a chance, but he badly miscued his shot across the face of goal.
But on four minutes Consett were ahead, with Bell making amends by sending Michael Mackay clear with a measured pass which beat the offside trap, and left the former Hartlepool man the simple task of slotting home past advancing keeper Steven Mundy.
After their early setback, the home side regrouped to enjoy their best spell of the game, with Sean Taylor and Jordan Fry both going close, before a right-wing cross brought the equaliser on 19 minutes. A ball in from the wing fell to the back post, where Taylor fired home. However, the referee had already blown the whistle for a push on Michael Chilton by Michael Pearson, and awarded a penalty. Chilton stepped up and thumped his spot-kick into the top-left corner.
Consett thought they had re-taken the lead on the half-hour mark. David Brown took a quick free-kick to Anthony Lund on the left, and his cross found Mackay, who hooked the ball home. But the away bench had returned a stray ball onto the pitch, and even though it was not interfering with play, the referee ruled out the ‘goal’.
The incident seemed to make Consett lose their focus for a while, and on 40 minutes they went behind, after a flowing Morpeth move down the right. Defender Daniel Patterson started it with a pass out to Fry on the right, and he reached the by-line before crossing into the six-yard box, where Chilton netted with a cheeky backheel.
With the final kick of the half, Consett made it 2-2. Piecha set Lund away down the left with a long ball out from the back, and when Morpeth keeper Mundy came racing out of his area into no-man’s land, the wide-man rolled it past him from 30 yards.
Half time: Morpeth Town 2-2 Consett
Consett made a change at half-time, bringing on Aris Guerin-Lokonga for Brown, with Lund dropping to left-back. And it paid dividends when they retook the lead on the hour. Mackay fed the ball out to Chris Bell on the right, and he drove the ball into the middle, where Sullivan finished from a few yards out, for his 20th goal of the season.
Pearson almost joined him on the scoresheet a couple of minutes later when his speculative effort from the right was pawed from under the crossbar by Mundy, and then Mackay put a header straight at the keeper from another Chris Bell cross.
But in what was fast becoming the story of the season, the Steelmen were made to pay for not taking their chances, as Morpeth equalised on 72 minutes. Right-back Shaun Henderson crossed towards Chilton, and the striker looked to have been pushed in the back by Piecha, who headed the ball up in the air. As the rest of the defence stood watching, Taylor reacted first to rifle the dropping ball into the top-right corner.
As the game entered its last quarter of an hour it looked like ‘next goal wins’, and Consett had what they thought was a good penalty appeal turned down when Guerin-Lokonga was sent sprawling by centre-back Chris Jewels as they chased a ball into the box.
The referee awarded only a corner, but the decision worked in Consett’s favour, as from the setpiece they went 4-3 ahead. Bell’s corner was half-cleared, and Calvin Smith lashed home the goal of the game from 25 yards with a superb strike which went in off the bar.
Consett brought on Craig Robson for Andrew Cuthbertson in a bid to shore things up, but they needn’t have worried, as, with five minutes to go, they scored again to wrap the game up. Pearson’s pass sent Guerin-Lokonga clear, and he made the keeper commit himself before unselfishly squaring the ball for Sullivan to roll his second goal of the night and 21st of the season into the unguarded net.
Full time: Morpeth 3-5 Consett
The teams lined up:
Morpeth Town : Steven Mundy, Shaun Henderson Michael Robinson, Andrew Keenan (Scott Swanston 75), David Hiftle, Chris Jewels (capt), Stephen Forster (Shaun Bell 75), Jordan Fry, Daniel Patterson (Steven Anderson 68), Michael Chilton, Sean Taylor. Subs not used: Michael Hall, Marc Walmsley
Consett: Jack Norton, Michael Pearson, David Brown (Aris Guerin-Lokonga 46), Calvin Smith, Carl Piecha (capt), Ryan Bell, Chris Bell, Andrew Cuthbertson (Craig Robson 80), Luke Sullivan, Michael Mackay, Anthony Lund. Subs not used: Matty Slocombe, Daniel Hall
This was the season Consett played their first 18 league games away from home, while they waited for their new Belle View Stadium to be completed. This was the 15th of those games. Such an unbalanced schedule obviously took its toll on the Steelmen, and they finished the season 11th.
Morpeth, who had only been promoted from the 2nd Division the season before, finished 17th in their first season back in the top flight. But their fortunes over the next few seasons would show how quickly things can change in football.
They were 8th the next season, then 4th – in the same season where they lifted the FA Vase – before two runners-up finishes prepared the way for promotion.
