Consett AFC rounded off a successful 2021-22 season last night by staging their first presentation evening in three years at the Belle View Stadium clubhouse.
Continue reading “Consett AFC celebrate a season of success at their 2021-22 presentation night”
Consett re-ignited their Northern League title hopes by coming from behind to win 2-1 at a sunny Bishop Auckland.
The main team news for Consett before the game was skipper Arjun Purewal’s welcome return to the side after a two-month absence through injury.
With one side going for promotion and the other trying to fight off relegation, there was a lot at stake, and the game soon became a war of attrition.
Consett enjoyed their best spell of the opening period in the five minutes before half-time, when Colin Larkin, Calvin Smith and James Martin all had chances, but the interval was reached with the game goalless.
Bishop Auckland took the lead on 47 minutes through one-time Consett striker Adam Burnicle, a recent signing from Thornaby. He was first to react to a cross not being dealt with and prodded the ball past the advancing Kyle Hayes from 10 yards out.
The goal was wildly celebrated by the home support, but their joy was short-lived as Consett equalised on 52 minutes.
Jake Orrell floated a free-kick to the far post, where centre-back Dan Capewell ghosted in to volley the ball high into the net from a few yards out.
On 85 minutes, with a draw looking inevitable, a piece of quality from substitute Nick Cassidy with his first touch of the ball proved to be crucial.
He put a lovely free-kick into the penalty area, where veteran striker Colin Larkin beat his marker to send a looping header into the net and send the Consett fans behind the goal into raptures.
The result was made all the sweeter for the travelling support by news that title rivals North Shields had been held to a 2-2 draw at home by Whickham.
Dan Marriott proved to be Consett’s matchwinner as a much-changed side came from behind to win a hard-fought Division One Cup tie 3-2 at North Shields tonight.
But it was another Dan – goalkeeper Daniel Staples, making his first appearance for the club in 11 years – who ensured the Steelmen progressed to the 2nd Round.
With first-choice keeper Kyle Hayes taken ill and his deputy Ross Coombe unavailable due to work, the 31-year-old answered the club’s SOS to don a first-team jersey for the first time since August 2011.
His big moment came in the 86th minute, when North Shields, pushing hard for an equaliser, were awarded a penalty.
The Robins’ top scorer Dan Wilson stepped up to take the kick, but Staples pulled off a brilliant save, diving low to his right, and the follow-up was blazed over the bar.
It was a dramatic end to a game which saw both sides make full use of their squads, resting several players for more important fixtures in the weeks ahead.
Shields took the lead after just two minutes when David Robinson cut in from the right and hit a low shot which took a deflection off a defender, giving Staples no chance.
Consett levelled on 14 minutes through Calvin Smith, who picked up possession 30 yards out after good work by Darren Holden, and fired an unstoppable shot into the top corner.
On 27 minutes Consett took the lead, Darren Holden scoring direct from a corner, with Shields keeper Greg Purvis seeming to misjudge the flight of the ball, which dipped over him into the far corner.
And five minutes before half-time the Steelmen looked firmly in control when Nick Cassidy whipped in a disputed free-kick from the right, and Dan Marriott flashed home a header from eight yards.
The second half saw the home side step up their game, and they made it 3-2 in the 54th minute when David Robinson scored his second of the night, reacting quickly after a cross-shot by JJ Chrisp fell to him.
Shields spurned a great chance to level when Regan Paterson broke through but fired wide on 68 minutes, and 10 minutes later Cameron Cunningham had another golden opportunity, but lobbed over the bar.
Then came the late penalty drama, with Staples emerging as Consett’s hero. After five added-on minutes of backs-to-the-wall defending, it was the Steelmen who progressed to meet Redcar Athletic in the next round.
A stunning strike from their No 2 was enough for Consett to beat dogged Billingham Town at a bitterly cold Belle View tonight in a fitting way to mark ‘all twos day’.
Right-back Nick Cassidy, re-signed from North Shields in early January, scored the only goal of a hard-fought victory over the relegation-threatened visitors in the 73rd minute.
He met a Darren Holden cross from the left on the volley with his right foot, pictured top, smashing the ball past former Consett keeper Jack Norton to secure a deserved win.
The victory means Consett are now 11 points clear at the top of Division One of the Northern League, with nine games left to play.
Consett drew 1-1 at Billingham earlier in the season, and the visitors again gave a good account of themselves, despite being second-bottom of the table.
Billingham had the strong wind behind them in the first half, but it was Consett who made the best chances.
Dale Pearson fired over from a superb first-time Holden cross on seven minutes, then was just beaten to the ball by the outstretched arm of Norton after a fine move involving Cassidy, Luke Carr and Jake Orrell on the half-hour.
A minute later Consett had the ball in the net, when Pearson’s shot was saved by Norton and centre-back Matthew Ridley pounced to convert the loose ball, but was ruled offside.
On 35 minutes Billingham had their best chance of the game with a shot from distance, but Kyle Hayes, who hadn’t had a lot to do, tipped the ball over the bar.
Consett should have gone ahead in the 36th minute when another superb cross from Holden picked out Carr six yards out, but he headed the ball up and over the bar.
The game remained goalless at half-time, and with the wind getting even stronger after the break, Billingham found it difficult to get out of their own half at times.
Carr’s low effort by saved by Norton at his near post on 52 minutes, and on 65 Pearson was sent clear with only the keeper to beat, but put his shot the wrong side of the post.
Pearson then teed up Carl Lawson, whose well-struck effort was cleared off the line by defender Andrew Wilson, and you began to wonder if it was going to be one of those nights.
But with the visitors finding it increasingly difficult to get out of their own half in the face of a strengthening wind, that superb Cassidy strike broke the deadlock.
Consett saw out the game comfortably, without being able to get a second goal to seal the win.
With no game this weekend, the next fixture is now at North Shields on Wednesday 2 March in the 1st Round of the new Division One Cup, KO 7.30pm.
League leaders Consett saw their Northern League title charge blown slightly off course today as they were beaten 3-2 at Thornaby.
It was third time lucky for the Teessiders, who drew 2-2 at Belle View back in August and were knocked out of the FA Vase on penalties after a 1-1 stalemate in November.
The home side, who started the day third in the table, went ahead after just five minutes at a blustery Teesdale Park, as Daniel Flounders finished low past Kyle Hayes.
Consett, kicking into a strong wind, had the ball in the net two minutes later through Scott Heslop, but the referee had already blown for a foul on the keeper, pictured below.
Thornaby almost doubled their lead on 23 minutes, but Nick Cassidy made an excellent clearance off the goal-line, and Consett managed to get to half-time with the score still 1-0.
With the wind behind them in the second half, the Steelmen fancied their chances of turning the game around, but instead fell further behind on 52 minutes as Craig Hutchinson doubled Thornaby’s lead.
The visitors almost reduced the arrears on 55 minutes when Heslop’s pass found Darren Holden, who brought a good save from keeper Josh Mazfari.
They received a lifeline on 62 minutes when the referee decided Heslop had been brought down by Nathan Guru, pictured above, and skipper Luke Carr converted the resulting penalty, pictured top, to make it 2-1. It was the little playmaker’s 10th goal of the season.
Thornaby were temporarily reduced to 10 men on 65 minutes when Hutchinson was sin-binned for dissent, and Consett brought on midfielder Alex Francis, pictured below, for his debut in a bid to capitalise.
Heslop brought a save from Mazfari with a smart turn and shot from the edge of the box, but it was Thornaby who got the next goal in the 83rd minute.
With Consett appealing for a foul on Jake Orrell in midfield, the home side broke quickly on them, and the ball was fed out to Cyril Giraud on the left, who fired past Hayes for 3-1.
Two minutes later Jake Orrell set up a grandstand finish as he smacked the ball into the bottom corner from 25 yards, pictured below, for his ninth goal of the campaign.
Consett almost grabbed an equaliser in the fourth of five added minutes when Carr got on the end of a cross from the left, but Mazfari made a great save down low to his right.
The final whistle signalled a third defeat in four games for Consett, who took some consolation from the fact that North Shields, who started the day in second place, seven points adrift with two games in hand, had lost 1-0 at Seaham Red Star.
Three points for Thornaby saw them leapfrog North Shields into second spot, five points behind Consett, with the same number of games played. It seems the title is not quite the two-horse race that many people were predicting just yet.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Nick Cassidy has today rejoined Consett from Northern League Division One rivals North Shields.
The 24-year-old, who can play at right-back or in midfield, goes straight into the squad for tomorrow’s first game of 2022 at Seaham Red Star.
Nick made 68 appearances, scoring two goals, in his first spell at the club, and was a member of our 2018 Durham Challenge Cup winning side.
He initially joined on loan from Gateshead in October 2016, but his spell was cut short by an injury which needed an operation that kept him out for the rest of the season.
When he was released in the summer of 2017 by the Tynesiders he joined Consett permanently, and spent the next two years at Belle View before departing for North Shields.
Consett sent out a message to their rivals at the top of the Northern League 1st Division with a thrilling 6-3 win over North Shields on this day two years ago.
Continue reading “On this day: 24 November 2018 – Consett beat North Shields in a nine-goal Belle View thriller”
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.
