An impressive performance from Consett saw them make comfortable progress through the FA Vase 2nd Round by seeing off Northern Counties East League Premier Division side Garforth Town on this day 14 years ago.
Continue reading “On this day: 18 November 2006 – Former Feyenoord man helps Consett get past Garforth in the FA Vase”
Consett eased into the knockout stage of the League Cup as they beat Brandon United on a night of firsts – one of them unwanted.
It was the Steelmen’s first visit to the Welfare Ground in 15 years, and they won 5-0 to top Group D with a 100% record, with four wins from four games.
Michael Brown made his first start for the club, and scored his first goal, while Dan Hawkins got his first goal in more than two years after recovering from a career-threatening injury.
But Matty Slocombe also made history of the unwanted kind, becoming the first Consett player ever sent to the sin bin, for dissent to the referee late in the game.
The hosts made things hard for their visitors in the first half an hour, working hard and denying them space. Their best chance came in the 28th minute, when Calvin Smith hit a superb effort from 25 yards, which young keeper Callum Simms touched onto and over the bar.
But the midfielder, who is enjoying his best-ever season in front of goal, was not to be denied, and broke the deadlock a minute later, firing in from eight yards after Andrei-Vasile Ardelean had headed down Jake Stafford’s corner. It was Smith’s 11th goal of the season.
Three minutes later it was 2-0, as Dan Hawkins cut in from the left and fired past the keeper, with the aid of a deflection.
It was the midfielder’s first goal since August 2017, when he scored in a 4-3 win at Stockton Town, though he has spent much of the intervening time injured.
It remained 2-0 at half-time, but within nine minutes of the restart it was three, as Hawkins turned provider for Michael Brown to lash home his first senior goal for the club on his first competitive start.
It was Brown’s last part in the game, as he was replaced by Dale Pearson, and the big striker made it 4-0 in the 77th minute, firing in left-footed after a free-kick from fellow sub Jake Orrell. The goal was Pearson 11th in his last nine games, making him joint-top scorer.
Slocombe, who had come on for Smith at half-time, earned his dubious place in club history in the 84th minute, when he was sin-binned for dissent after contesting the award of a free-kick against him a little too vigorously with the referee.
But the 10 men of Consett made it 5-0 in the 87th minute when Orrell’s cross from the left saw Andrei-Vasile Ardelean volley in from six yards to complete the scoring.
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Consett | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 13 |
| 2 |  Thornaby | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 |  Newcastle Benfield | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 4 |  Bedlington Terriers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 3 |
| 5 |  Brandon United | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 15 | -13 | 0 |
Consett gave visitors Workington a lesson in the art of taking their chances as they made it five pre-season games unbeaten at a blustery Belle View today.
The Steelmen ran out 3-0 winners against their BetVictor Northern Premier League North West Division visitors, despite being second-best in terms of possession for long spells of the game.
After a largely uneventful first half, Dan Hawkins gave Consett the lead three minutes before the break, spotting Workington keeper Jim Atkinson off his line and beating him with a wind-assisted lob from 40 yards.
With the wind at their back, Workington pinned Consett back for much of the opening 20 minutes of the second half, without really troubling their hosts.
But on 67 minutes Darren Holden, playing in a more advanced position than usual, made it 2-0 with a surging run from the left wing into the heart of the penalty area, where he slipped the ball past the advancing keeper, pictured.
The scoring was completed in the 84th minute when Arjun Purewal headed powerfully goalwards from a left-wing corner, and sub Michael Brown got the finishing touch for his fourth pre-season goal.
After the game, Purewal received the Specsure Cup, which will hopefully be contested annually between the clubs, from one of the club’s major sponsors, Zag Sharif of Consett opticians Specsure.
Consett made it three pre-season wins out of three today as they came from behind to beat National League side Gateshead 4-1 at Belle View Stadium.
The young Heed side took the lead on 14 minutes after a slick move down the right which saw Connor Smith’s low cross met by Mason Fawns to finish from close range.
But on 25 minutes Consett were level when Ali Alshabeeb ran on to Jake Stafford’s long pass, and kept his cool to finish past the keeper from 12 yards.
Six minutes before half-time the Steelmen took the lead, when Luke Carr picked up a loose ball 30 yards out and fired a venomous left-footed strike in off the post.
It remained 2-1 to Consett at half-time, and they thought they had a third on 58 minutes when Carr’s free-kick was headed down at the back post and a trialist finished from point-blank range, but the ‘goal’ was ruled offside.
On 72 minutes Consett did make it 3-1 when substitute Michael Brown was felled by Dabizas, and Carr stepped up to score with an audacious chipped penalty which sent the keeper the wrong way.
Then two minutes later Carr turned provider for Brown, who slammed the ball home from a pullback.
Consett could have had more, as Carr, Brown and Andre-Vasile Ardelean all had efforts well saved, but Gateshead could also have added to their tally too, as home keeper Kyle Hayes made a trio of good saves.
