Tag: matty slocombe

seaham

Dream debut double from new boy Scott Heslop gives Consett a late win at Seaham

New striker Scott Heslop got his Consett career off to a dream start today, scoring a debut double to give them a 3-2 win at Seaham Red Star.

Heslop, 27, who was signed from Northern Premier League side Dunston on 29 December, had to settle for a place on the bench for his new club’s first game of 2022.

But he came on and immediately made his mark to inspire the league leaders to a vital win in a game where they twice had to come from behind.

The festive break’s other new signing, the returning Nick Cassidy, went straight into the starting XI, but the opening 45 minutes was nothing to write home about for either side.

Latest signing Nick Cassidy came straight into Consett’s starting XI. Pic: Gary Welford.

The closest we came to a goal was midway through the half, when Liam Heywood’s pass put Adam Lennox through, but Kyle Hayes stood up well to save his dinked effort.

Consett created very little, but thought they should have had a penalty on 35 minutes, when Colin Larkin was flattened from behind by Jordan Patterson, but the referee decided it was inches outside the box rather than inside.

The game burst into life five minutes into the second half when Seaham striker Jamie Clark, on loan from Blyth Spartans, curled a tremendous effort into the top corner to make it 1-0.

The lead lasted only a minute, as Consett equalised through the unlikely figure of Matty Slocombe, who buried a shot in the bottom corner from 25 yards for 1-1.

Consett’s Matty Slocombe fires home from 25 yards to make it 1-1. Pic: Gary Welford.

It was the popular midfielder’s first goal of the season, and his first in nearly two years, the last being in a 4-1 win over Ashington on 25 January 2020.

Five minutes later Consett had another big penalty shout when Dale Pearson powered into the box and went down under challenge from Max Nelson, but the referee decided the centre-back got the ball and gave a corner.

Slocombe thought he had a second goal on 65 minutes when his header from a setpiece struck the bar, bounced down and was cleared off the line by Joe Hailes. The Consett midfielder was adamant his effort had crossed the line, but the referee ruled otherwise.

Consett’s Matty Slocombe appeals, but the referee denies him a second goal. Pic: Gary Welford.

A minute later Seaham had an excellent chance when Clark was sent clear, but Hayes stood up well to save with his feet.

There was nothing the Consett keeper could do to prevent Seaham retaking the lead on 77 minutes, however, as Adam Lennox went past three defenders before finishing past Hayes to make it 2-1.

Two minutes later Consett were denied an equaliser when Pearson was ruled offside as he bundled Cassidy’s cross into the net with the help of a defender.

But on 80 minutes Consett got a goal that did count, when Scott Heslop, who’d come on for Carl Lawson, glanced a superb header into the bottom corner from Cassidy’s right-wing cross.

seaham
Consett’s Scott Heslop scores with a glancing header to make it 2-2. Pic: Gary Welford.

The game was anyone’s now, and Consett were grateful to James Martin for a 90th-minute goal-line clearance which kept the score at 2-2.

Seaham keeper Andrew Jennison saved well from Slocombe as Consett went in search of a winner, and Larkin slipped as he tried to convert the rebound

Just when it seemed like the game was heading for a draw, Scott Heslop stuck out a leg at fellow sub Lewis Green’s cross from the right to give Consett a 94th-minute winner.

seaham
Scott Heslop sticks out a leg to score an injury-time winner for Consett at Seaham Red Star. Pic: Gary Welford.

The victory means they went eight points clear of second-placed Thornaby at the top of the table, though many of the chasing pack saw their games called off.

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

kyle hayes

Keeper Kyle stars as Consett keep South Shields at bay

Goalkeeper Kyle Hayes was Consett’s star man as they suffered a 1-0 defeat at South Shields in their latest pre-season friendly tonight.

He led by example as the Steelmen fought a spirited rearguard action against a strong Mariners side, who play in the top flight of the Northern Premier League, two divisions above Consett

Hayes made a string of excellent saves to spare his team the same fate as recently promoted Stockton Town, who lost 6-1 at the 1st Cloud Arena at the weekend.

The only goal of the game, played in front of an impressive crowd of 1,012, came five minutes before half-time, when Consett cheaply conceded possession deep in their own half.

Callum Ross took the ball off Carl Lawson and played through the in-form Darius Osei, who slid the ball under Hayes for his third goal in two games.

It wasn’t quite one-way traffic, with Dale Pearson, Matty Slocombe and Jermaine Metz all having decent chances in the first half – the latter’s deflected shot hitting the top of the bar.

That one mistake aside, Consett defended well as they were forced to keep their discipline and shape for long spells of the game.

Shields began to lay siege to their visitors’ goal after Consett made a raft of substitutions from the hour mark onwards, but Hayes’ heroics and some determined defending by those in front of him meant the hosts had to settle for 1-0.

Consett’s final pre-season friendly is this Saturday, 24 July, when they entertain another Northern Premier League side, Workington, at Belle View Stadium.

Kick-off is 3pm, and admission costs for £5 for adults/£3 for concessions/£1 for under-16s.

sunderland

Consett suffer first pre-season defeat to slick Sunderland youngsters

Consett tasted defeat for the first time in pre-season tonight, going down 3-1 to an impressive Sunderland XI in a behind-closed-doors friendly at the Academy of Light.

Terry Mitchell’s team were on the ropes for most of the first half as they struggled to cope with the sharp, hungry Black Cats side, which was a mixture of U18s/U23s.

They fell behind after 12 minutes, when a through ball from midfield left a striker with just Consett keeper Kyle Hayes to beat, and he obliged.

Hayes made a string of saves as Sunderland’s passing and movement cut the Steelmen open, but there was nothing he could do about the second goal on the half-hour, as the No 11 cut in from the left and fired home.

Things got even worse on 33 minutes, when a shot by the Sunderland No 8 from 25 yards took a wicked deflection off a defender and crept inside the left-hand post.

Consett had created little and struggled to keep the ball at times, but after making seven half-time changes, the second 45 minutes was a different story.

Dale Pearson rattled the post with a 25-yarder on 51 minutes, while Nick Allen’s header from a corner clipped the top of the bar.

This was a much-improved Consett performance, and they got their reward in the 73rd minute when Calvin Smith’s wonderful long pass from inside his own half found Colin Larkin.

The striker, who has just followed former teammate Stephen Callen from Sunderland RCA, produced a classy finish, dinking the ball past the keeper to make it 3-1, pictured top.

Larkin fired another chance into the side netting, Matty Slocombe blazed over and Carl Lawson flicked an effort just over the bar as Consett took the game to their hosts.

In the 84th minute Sunderland’s keeper made the save of the game, clawing away a header from Consett’s trialist striker which was heading for the top corner.

It finished 3-1 to Sunderland, but manager Terry Mitchell was happy with his team’s second-half display after a first half which ranked alongside their most disappointing since he came to the club.

marriott

Consett kick off pre-season with a friendly win over Morpeth

After Saturday’s false start, Consett got their pre-season preparations underway with an entertaining 4-2 win over Morpeth Town at Belle View Stadium tonight.

It was the Highwaymen’s second friendly, after a 2-0 win at fellow Northern Premier League side Shildon on Saturday.

And although the visitors, who played two divisions above Consett, fielded a strong side, it was Terry Mitchell’s Steelmen who deserved the win after a well-fought game.

Consett took the lead on 22 minutes, when young Dan Marriott played a neat one-two witrh Carl Lawson before rounding the keeper to fire home, pictured top.

But it was 1-1 on 32 minutes when Andrew Johnson curled home a fine equaliser from the edge of the box into the bottom corner.

That’s the way it remained at half-time, and the second half saw Consett ring the changes, bringing on six substitutes, including four trialists.

The changes did nothing to disrupt their momentum, however, and on 52 minutes they regained the lead when two of the newcomers combined to make it 2-1.

Five minutes later it was 3-1 when Matty Slocombe’s pass found Darren Holden in the box, and he curled a right-footed effort into the far corner.

holden
Darren Holden makes it 3-1 to Consett. Pic: Gary Welford.

The NPL Premier Division side showed their class again with a fine second goal in the 72nd minute, when captain Liam Henderson scored with a falling volley from Carl Finnegan’s cross.

But three minutes later Consett’s two-goal lead was restored when the trialist who had made the second goal pounced on a bad pass by the Morpeth keeper, and fired into the empty net for 4-2.

Consett’s next game is on Saturday 10 July, when they host Wearside League side Richmond Town in a 3pm kick-off.

matty slocombe

Slocombe scorcher wins it for Consett as they beat English Universities XI

A rare goal from Matty Slocombe, pictured above, proved to be the difference as Consett beat an English Universities XI 1-0 in their last pre-Wembley friendly.

Blyth Spartans’ Croft Park ground was the venue for the behind-closed-doors game against coach Andy Coyles’ students, who had beaten National League North side Chorley 4-1 on Friday night.

Darren Holden rolled a shot inches wide at one end while Consett keeper Kyle Hayes stood up well to save in a one-on-one in the best two chances of a goalless first half.

What proved to be the winning goal came in the 54th minute, when Matty Slocombe smashed a rocket shot into the top corner, pictured below, as a half-cleared corner fell to him outside the box.

It was a well-contested game of very few clear-cut chances, though Consett were grateful to Hayes for a late save, which preserved their lead and meant they finished their FA Vase final preparations with a win.

Next stop … Wembley!

Consett’s hopes of a double date at Wembley go West as they suffer FA Vase KO

Consett’s hopes of making it to Wembley twice in one season were shattered today when they lost to West Auckland Town in the FA Vase 3rd Round.

The Steelmen, who are still waiting to play last season’s final, were beaten 2-1 at Belle View Stadium, despite dominating the opening period.

They could have already been three up by the time Dale Pearson put them ahead in the 15th minute with his 16th goal of the season, finishing from 12 yards after great work on the left by Darren Holden.

But West turned the game on its head with two goals in six minutes. They levelled in the 17th minute through Consett old boy David Dowson.

And in the 23rd minute their captain Jamie Harwood headed home from Michael Hoganson’s corner to make it 2-1 to West.

In the 35th minute things got worse for Consett when they lost influential playmaker Luke Carr with a dislocated shoulder after a heavy challenge by Gary Brown.

Just before half-time a great run and cut back by Jermaine Metz set up sub Matty Cornish, but West’s debutant keeper Decklan Greenwood made a good save.

Ten minutes into the second half the keeper – signed yesterday from Brandon United – made an even better save from Pearson’s well-struck shot.

Midway through the half Consett had Holden sin-binned for something he said to an official, and West almost took advantage of their extra man, with Kyle Hayes making a fine save to deny Jordan Blinco.

Matty Slocombe then cleared off the line from Dowson’s header from a corner as Consett found themselves on the ropes.

Even after Holden returned to the action, Consett found themselves unable to find an equaliser, and after six minutes of added time it was West who progressed to the last 32.

  • Full match report and more pictures to follow.

On this day: 25 November 2017 – Consett come from behind to win at bogey ground Washington

Consett came from behind to win at one of their bogey grounds as they beat Washington 4-1 at Nissan Sports Complex, on this day in 2017.

Continue reading “On this day: 25 November 2017 – Consett come from behind to win at bogey ground Washington” →

On This Day: 11 November 2014 – Cup drama at Ryhope as Consett old boy has a night to forget

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.

Aris Guerin-Lokonga equalises for Consett. Pic: Gary Welford.

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.

Ryhope keeper Barry Poskett was shown a red card for this handball . Pic: Gary Welford.

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.

Michael Mackay makes it 5-1 to Consett. Pic: Gary Welford.

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.

Chris Youldon runs at the Ryhope defence. Pic: Gary Welford.

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.

Matty Slocombe ended the game playing centre-back for Consett. Pic: Gary Welford.

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.

Michael Mackay was denied a hat-trick by the linesman’s flag. Pic: Gary Welford.

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

On This Day: 9 November 2013 – four quickfire goals give Consett victory at Hebburn Town

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.

Aris Guerin-Lokonga battles against the Hebburn defence. Pic: Gary Welford.

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.

Michael Mackay made it 1-0 to Consett with this strike. pic: Gary Welford.

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.

Luke Sullivan scored Consett’s second goal with a header. pic: Gary Welford.

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.

Andrew Cuthbertson curls home a superb third goal for Consett. Pic: Gary Welford.

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.

Michael Mackay gets his second goal to make it 4-0. Pic: Gary Welford.

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.

Consett defender Ryan Bell wins this header. Pic: Gary Welford.

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.