Tag: matty slocombe

liversedge

Consett draw at Liversedge in their final pre-season friendly

Consett came from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw at Liversedge in a proverbial games of two halves in their final pre-season friendly.

The West Yorkshire side, who won the Northern Premier League Division One East last season, scoed twice in the first half.

But an improved second-half performance saw the Steelmen score twice in the last quarter of the game to claim a draw.

Liversedge took the lead in the 20th minute with the first real chance of the game. A corner came in from the left and big centre-back Jack Steers rose highest in the penalty area to head into the top corner.

Consett were finding it hard to create much against big, well-drilled opponents, and the home side doubled their lead in the 40th minute. Keeper Mark Foden made a good save from Wilson, but Jack Steers was first to the rebound to notch his second goal of the game.

Two minutes later it should have been three when the trialist No 17 turned his man superbly and teed up Wilson, but the No 11 somehow missed the target with the goal at his mercy.

Consett made two changes for the second half, bringing on Darren Holden and Ben Milburn for Kieren Aplin and Mark McLeod, and they grew into the game, though Foden made a good save with his feet from a Liversedge sub to keep them in it.

Consett got a goal back in the 68th minute when Declan Bisset hit a hopeful effort towards the back post which looked like a cross rather than a shot, but it dipped over the keeper and ended up in the far corner.

On 80 minutes Holden whipped in a great cross from the left and when it was only half cleared, Cyril Giraud was on hand to fire home from the edge of the box.

Four minutes from the end Consett had the chance to pull off an unlikely win whern another Holden cross picked out Matty Slocombe, whose volleyed effort went to Dan Marriott, who couldn’t turn it in.

Attention now turns to next Saturday, when Consett’s season kicks off in earnest when they travel to Goole in the Extra Preliminary Round of the FA Cup, kick off 3pm.

A limited number of places are available on the official club coach to the game, priced £20, on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact 01207 588886 or call in at the club to book – seats must be paid for in advance.

north shields

Consett’s top-two showdown at North Shields ends in a stalemate

Consett’s Division One game at North Shields, billed by many as a Northern League title decider, ended in a goalless stalemate tonight at the Daren Persson Stadium.

With the visitors 9 points clear of their hosts before kick-off, but the Robins having four games in hand, it was certainly a game which could have had a big bearing on the destination of the championship.

A Consett win would mean matters were back in their own hands, while a North Shields victory would have handed them a big advantage.

It was a game neither side wanted to lose, but nobody did enough to win it either, and the outcome was a 0-0 draw in front of a tense 569 crowd.

The first attempt on goal didn’t arrive until the 30th minute, when Shields centre-back Jack Walker’s header was gathered easily by Consett keeper Kyle Hayes.

At the other end, Calvin Smith had an effort easily saved, while Scott Heslop headed a half chance wide, as the two teams largely cancelled each other out.

The main talking point of the first half was the referee’s decision not to send off Shields midfielder Cam Cunningham for what appeared to be a stamp on Matty Slocombe, showing just a yellow card instead.

The game briefly burst into life around the hour mark, when Calvin Smith was well-placed to clear David Robinson’s header off the line, and Cunningham fired the loose ball just over the bar.

At the other end Darren Holden’s excellent cross from the left created Consett’s best chance of the game, but Heslop’s weak header was straight at the keeper.

Shields made a big penalty appeal as top scorer Dan Wilson went to ground, but the decision was a free-kick the other way.

On 75 minutes Consett brought on David Dowson, who has just re-signed after leaving West Auckland, and within a minute he had been booked for what Shields claimed was an elbow on Walker.

Even five minutes of added time at the end of the game wasn’t enough for either side to find a goal, but everyone in the bumper crowd seemed to agree that a draw was a fair result.

redcar

Consett show their mettle by bouncing back with a good cup win at Redcar

Consett showed what they’re made of after two back-to-back defeats by making Division One Cup progress with a fine 5-1 win at Redcar Athletic tonight.

The other Steelmen claimed the bragging rights 11 days ago when they won 2-1 at Belle View in the league in the clubs’ first-ever meeting.

But Consett took their revenge at Green Lane with their best performance in several weeks, to secure their progress to a home quarter-final against West Auckland.

The game was played in torrential conditions, and it rained goals from the start as Consett went about their business with real purpose.

The visitors took the lead on 10 minutes when Colin Larkin, pictured top, played a cross in from the right, Scott Heslop missed it, but Jake Orrell was on hand to score his 10th goal of the season from close range.

redcar
Jake Orrell makes it 1-0 to Consett from close range. Pic: Gary Welford.

On 22 minutes it was 2-0 when home keeper James Dawson was unable to hold a fierce 30-yarder from Darren Holden, and Lewis Green followed in to finish the rebound to claim his first goal for the club.

redcar
Lewis Green (No 5) reacts quickest to a rebound to make it 2-0 to Consett. Pic: Gary Welford.

Redcar pulled a goal back on the half-hour through Jordan Rivis, who powerfully headed home from a right-wing corner.

But three minutes later Consett’s two-goal lead was restored after a great run by Matty Slocombe, who fed the ball to Green, who set up Scott Heslop to make it 3-1. It was the striker’s fifth goal in eight games since joining from Dunston.

redcar
Scott Heslop make it 3-1 to put Consett in control. Pic: Gary Welford.

It remained 3-1 at half-time, and after a fairly even first 15 minutes of the second half, Consett started to take control.

Redcar were grateful to Dawson for good saves from Green and Orrell, while Consett’s Ross Coombe made a good save from home dangerman Isaac Walker to add to a flying stop he’d made in the first half.

Consett always looked in control, and it was no surprise when Colin Larkin made it 4-1 in the 83rd minute, finishing low past the keeper from Slocombe’s sliderule pass.

redcar
Colin Larkin makes it 4-1 to Consett. Pic: Gary Welford.

In the 89th minute Consett rounded off the night with a fifth goal, and it was Colin Larkin again, with his 14th of the season, this time from Carl Lawson’s pass.

redcar
Colin Larkin (partly hidden) completes the scoring to make it Redcar 1 Consett 5. Pic: Gary Welford.

Such a good win was an important boost to morale after two recent league defeats, and we return to league action on Saturday with a visit to Bishop Auckland, KO 3pm.

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!