Tag: Ross Wilkinson

west auckland

Consett come from behind twice to beat West Auckland and line up semi-final trip to Ashington

An injury-time goal from veteran striker Colin Larkin gave Consett’s season a much-needed lift tonight as they twice came from behind to secure a cup semi-final place by beating West Auckland Town 3-2.

Andy Coyles’ side put in their best performance for weeks against the same visitors who they had ground out a 1-0 win over in the league seven days earlier.

The result means Consett travel to Ashington for a Division One Cup semi-final on Tuesday 12 April – four days before they complete their league fixtures with a game against the same opponents at Belle View Stadium.

Consett were the better side in the first half, and it was against the run of play that West Auckland took the lead on 38 minutes, as Ross Wilkinson headed the ball into his own net under challenge from Gary Brown as they contested a free-kick.

A minute later Consett were level, from another set play. Jake Orrell played the ball in from the right, Wilkinson did well to keep it alive in a melee of bodies, and Alex Francis fired home from close range against one of his old clubs, pictured below.

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Alex Francis makes it 1-1 in a goalmouth scramble. Pic: Gary Welford.

However, parity lasted just three minutes, as Francis went from goalscoring hero to villain, tripping Jordan Blinco to gift West a penalty, which Arron Thompson converted.

It remained 2-1 at half-time, but Consett, whose football was much more fluid than in recent weeks, were back on the front foot right from the start of the second half, creating chance after chance.

Dan Marriott fired just wide, David Dowson had a shot cleared off the line after the keeper dropped a corner, and Orrell’s 20-yard free-kick hit the post as the Steelmen poured forward.

The pressure was rewarded on 65 minutes when Luke Carr’s excellent pass picked out Calvin Smith‘s run to the back post, and he tucked the ball under the keeper to make it 2-2, pictured below.

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Calvin Smith finishes under the keeper to make it 2-2. Pic: Gary Welford.

There was a let-off for Consett in the 69th minute as West’s top scorer Blinco failed to convert from close range, but just as the game looked like it was heading for penalties there was one final twist.

In the first of three minutes of added time, Orrell’s corner from the right caused chaos in the West box, and Colin Larkin pounced on the loose ball, turned and fired home his 16th goal of the season to take Consett through.

It was just reward for a fine team performance, where every player showed their battling qualities against tough opponents, as well as playing their best passing game for quite some time.

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

guisborough

Consett keep their title challenge on track with a good three points at Guisborough

Consett put three more valuable points on the board for their Northern League title challenge today with a hard-fought 2-0 win at Guisborough Town.

The Steelmen made three changes to the side which beat Ryhope last week, with James Metcalfe, Ross Wilkinson and Dale Pearson coming into the starting line-up, and a few players in unfamiliar positions.

They got off to the perfect start when Colin Larkin gave them the lead after just two minutes, half-volleying in from inside the six-yard box, pictured top, from Darren Holden’s deep cross.

It was an 11th goal in Consett colours for the veteran striker, who, even at 39, looks like one of the signings of the season.

Guisborough had a good chance to equalise on nine minutes when Jack Blackford, on loan from Marske United, went past two Consett defenders, only to see his shot deflected over the bar.

In the 13th minute a superb Larkin pass sent Pearson through, and as he went to shoot he seemed to be pulled back by James Risbrough on the edge of the area, pictured, but the referee waved play on.

James Risbrough grabs Dale Pearson right on the edge of the box. Pic: Gary Welford.

Recent signing Alex Francis tested the home keeper with a well-struck 30-yarder in the 27th minute, while at the other end Joe Bartliff blazed over at the far post when well placed to score.

Calvin Smith then went close with a headed effort from a Jake Orrell free-kick, but home keeper Robbie Deane made a comfortable save down low to his left.

It remained 1-0 at half-time, and Guisborough again dominated the ball after the break, without unduly troubling the resolute Consett defence.

The best chance of the half fell to Orrell on 76 minutes, but his well-struck effort from the edge of the box, pictured, brought the save of the game from Deane.

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This Jake Orrell shot brought the save of the game from Robbie Deane. Pic: Gary Welford.

Five minutes later Consett got a slightly fortunate second goal to clinch the win and three more valuable points. Luke Carr whipped in a free-kick from the right, Dan Capewell got the slightest of touches, and the ball rebounded off the post and in off the helpless Deane.

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Consett defender Dan Capewell claims the decisive second goal. Pic: Gary Welford.

Consett saw out the rest of the game superbly, and the win meant they stay eight points clear of second-placed Thornaby, who won 1-0 at Crook Town.

The match between third-placed Newton Aycliffe and fourth-placed North Shields was postponed, which leaves the Robins facing something of a fixture pile-up.

They still have 14 league games to play, as well as being in the FA Vase 6th Round and Northumberland Senior Cup semi-final – and that’s not taking into account the League Cup, which hasn’t started yet.

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

Consett leave it late but grind out a win against plucky Penrith

Consett left it late but finally managed to grind out a 2-1 win against a dogged Penrith side at Belle View Stadium today.

And they used up a slice of luck too, with Jake Orrell’s corner going straight in to give them an injury-time winner in the Northern League Division One game.

Consett dominated in terms of possession and chances, but the Cumbrians defended superbly until the very last kick, when their hosts got the bit of luck their display deserved.

The Steelmen took the lead in the 31st minute, when Dale Pearson was fouled near the corner of the box. Orrell floated in the free-kick, and Ross Wilkinson was there to guide home a header, pictured below.

The lead lasted just two minutes as Penrith responded well, scoring from their first clear-cut chance. Max Brown broke down the right, fired the ball across and Mikey Williamson poked it home at the second attempt.

It remained 1-1 at half-time, and the second half saw Consett up their game considerably, laying siege to the visitors’ goal.

On 54 minutes a fine cross from Carl Lawson on the right saw Penrith keeper Luke Miller tip Ali Alshabeeb’s close-range header onto the bar, and then save Pearson’s follow-up on the line.

Matty Cornish replaced Alshabeeb in the 58th minute, and Consett immediately looked more threatening, even when they lost Pearson for 10 minutes after he was sent to the sin bin for dissent.

Miller saved Cornish’s shot with his outstretched leg, then palmed over Darren Holden’s well-struck effort as Consett piled on the pressure.

Cornish had two more attempts saved by the young keeper, Pearson blazed over the bar from Orrell’s cross, and then Miller made a brave stop at Pearson’s feet as Penrith defended for their lives.

Just when it seemed like Consett were going to have to settle for a point, the fourth minute of added time saw Jake Orrell swing over a corner from the left, and it missed everyone in the middle before bouncing up off the wet pitch and ending up in the top corner.

Contrasting emotions as Consett celebrate their late, late winner against Penrith.
  • Full match report and more pictures to follow.

Consett suffer an FA Cup hangover as they slip to a home defeat against Whickham

Consett suffered their first league defeat of the season tonight when a lacklustre performance resulted in a 1-0 home loss to Whickham.

The Steelmen showed little of the attacking verve which was such a feature of their play in the opening month of the season, and slid to their second defeat in four days, following their weekend FA Cup exit.

Once again they were the authors of their own undoing, when a stray pass let in visiting striker Zak Atkinson to round exposed keeper Kyle Hayes and slot home in the 67th minute.

Whickham were well organised, worked hard and deserved their win, but Consett looked strangely tentative from the off, with their confidence appearing to have taken a knock from the mauling at Marske.

Luke Carr brought a good save from Whickham’s teenage keeper Regan Ward in the 11th minute, and Ross Wilkinson had a header saved four minutes later.

But those were their best chances in a first half which produced lots of huffing and puffing, but little in the way of clear-cut opportunities.

Whickham had chances of their own, with Atkinson volleying just wide, and Hayes having to save from Conor Newton after the ball was given away at the back.

Consett almost levelled within a minute of Whickham’s goal. Jermaine Metz’s cross found Dale Pearson, who laid it off to Jake Orrell, and the midfielder’s shot was sliced over his own crossbar by former Steelman Dale Burrell as he tried to clear.

The best chance of an equaliser came six minutes from time, when Orrell’s cross was turned goalwards by Pearson, but Ward made a good reaction save, pictured top. The ball was only cleared as far as sub Dan Marriott, but his follow-up clipped the outside of the post.

Whickham were reduced to 10 men in the 88th minute when Scott Robson picked up his second yellow card of the night – the visitors collected six in all – but even five added minutes couldn’t help Consett conjure up a goal.

They did come close, when Orrell’s excellent cross from the byline picked out Darren Holden. The full-back did well to control the ball with his first touch, but his second saw his volley fizz inches beyond the far post.

The celebrations from the visitors’ changing room showed how much the win meant to them against a side who put 14 goals past them in two meetings last season. Tonight Consett couldn’t manage one, and paid the price.

  • Full match report and pictures to follow.

Consett start their league campaign in style by hitting Seaham Red Star for six

Consett got their Northern League Division One campaign off to a great start tonight with a thumping 6-2 win at Seaham Red Star, with six different players on the scoresheet.

The Ferguson Motor Repairs Stadium hasn’t always been a happy hunting ground for the Steelmen, but they made light of that with a powerful display which blew their hosts away.

Indeed it’s fair to say Terry Mitchell’s rampant side could easily have doubled their tally, as they missed at least another half a dozen good chances.

They opened the scoring in the 7th minute, when Jake Orrell swing in a free-kick from the left and Simon Jakab met the ball at the front of the six-yard box to head home his first goal for the club.

Consett’s Darren Holden takes on former teammate Dan Hawkins. Pic: Gary Welford.

Dale Pearson almost made it two when he smashed a 25-yarder against the crossbar in the 11th minute, but the Steelmen only had to wait three more minutes for a second goal, as Ross Wilkinson fired home at the back post, pictured top, from another Orrell corner after the keeper dropped the ball.

A moment of sloppiness proved costly for Consett in the 22nd minute, when a backpass fell straight to veteran striker Andrew Johnson, and he rounded Kyle Hayes to halve the deficit.

It remained 2-1 at half-time, but Consett – wearing their entire all-blue third kit for the first time – wrapped up the points with three goals in a scintillating 11-minute spell at the start of the second half.

On 50 minutes it was 3-1 when theyb roke quickly from defending a corner, and the move ended with Carl Lawson laying the ball back to Calvin Smith, who buried it in the bottom corner from 20 yards.

Three minutes later it was 4-1, when, after good work by Ali Alshabeeb down the left, the outstanding Jake Orrell played a one-two with Lawson and finished high into the net.

Jake Orrell was outstanding for Consett, scoring and claiming two assists. Pic: Gary Welford.

And on 61 minutes it was 5-1, when a clever dummy by Pearson left Darren Holden to run clear through on goal, and he finished through the keeper’s legs.

Last season’s top scorer Pearson should have made it six in the 74th minute when he latched onto a long ball, but fired into the side netting.

Seaham got a goal back in the 79th minute when Hayes made a good save from a free-kick, but former Consett player Dan Hawkins reacted quickest to prod the ball home from close range.

But within a minute Consett’s had restored their four-goal advantage with a piece of clinical finishing from Matty Cornish, who slotted home the rebound after the keeper had saved fellow sub Thomas McAloon’s initial effort.

Michael Mackay’s shot brought a good save from Seaham’s keeper. Pic: Gary Welford.

Consett could have scored more, but Seaham keeper Andrew Jennison pulled off the save of the game from a curling Orrell effort, and also denied Michael Mackay as the visitors threatened to run riot.

  • Full match report and more pictures to follow.

Consett make FA Cup progress with dramatic penalty shootout win after coming from two goals down

Consett will be in Monday’s draw for the 1st Qualifying Round of the Emirates FA Cup after a dramatic afternoon of football at Belle View Stadium.

They came from two goals down against higher-ranked opponents Ossett United to draw 2-2, and then won a sudden death penalty shootout 5-4 to secure their place in the next round.

Despite kicking into a strong wind in the first half, the Northern Premier League side led 2-0 at half-time, even though their hosts had had better chances.

They went ahead on 15 minutes through an Arjun Purewal own goal as the Consett skipper tried to stop Luke Blackburn’s cross reaching the lurking Tom Greaves.

And on 39 minutes, very much against the run of play, it was 2-0 to Ossett when their captain Jack Stockdill volleyed home from a right-wing corner.

With the wind against them, Consett looked to be facing an uphill b attle in the second half, but they halved the deficit on 50 minutes when centre-back Ross Wilkinson glanced home a header, pictured below, from Jake Orrell’s cross.

And five minutes later it was 2-2 when Calvin Smith’s low, hard cross picked out Ali Alshabeeb, who levelled from a few yards out, pictured below.

There was a scare for Consett in the 77th minute when they went to sleep after conceding a free-kick, and Ossett’s Aaron Haswell, who had tested Kyle Hayes a couple of minutes earlier, rattled the crossbar.

Consett had chances too; Wilkinson might have had a second goal, but blazed over from six yards after a goalmouth scramble, and Ossett keeper Max Dearnley, who did well all afternoon, made a great save when full-back Blackburn almost turned Dale Pearson’s cross into his own net.

Pearson wanted a penalty with eight minutes to go, claiming he had been tripped, but the referee waved away his appeal, while Lewis Green brought another good save from Dearnley at his near post.

With no extra time in this season’s FA Cup it was straight to penalties, and the tide seemed to swing in Ossett’s favour when, after going first, they led 3-1 at one point when Simon Jakab’s kick was saved and they scored their first three.

But Consett held their nerve, and when keeper Kyle Hayes saved Ossett’s fourth kick, Pearson scored to level things up at 3-3.

Both sides scored their fifth penalty to make it 4-4, so it went to sudden death, and the pendulum swung Consett’s way when Ossett’s Seon Ripley hit the bar. That left Darren Holden to fire home the decisive kick and give Consett a 5-4 win on penalties.

Consett will find out who their next opponents are when the draw is made on Monday. The next round is on Tuesday 22 September, which means the scheduled league game against Shildon will be postponed.

  • Full match report and more pictures to follow.

Consett suffer penalty shootout heartache as they bow out of the Durham Challenge Cup at Seaham

Consett’s interest in this years’ Durham Challenge Cup came to an end at the quarter-final stage as they were beaten 4-2 in a penalty shootout at Seaham Red Star, after a 1-1 draw, bringing their magnificent 19-game unbeaten run to an end.

The Steelmen went into the game with a much-changed forward line, with Michael Mackay, Thomas McAloon and Max Russell starting in place of Dale Pearson, Luke Carr and Ali Alshabeeb who were all nursing knocks. 

The changes also meant that recent signing Dean Briggs and youngster Antonio Agostinho made their seasonal debuts on the substitutes bench.

The home side looked to be going through in normal time thanks to a first-half goal from striker Dan Wilson.

However, despite playing with 10 men for most of the second half as a result of a red card for Matty Slocombe, Consett levelled late on with a Ross Wilkinson header to send the tie to penalties. 

Home keeper Chris Bannon proved to be the hero for Seaham as he saved penalties from Calvin Smith and Darren Holden, while Kyle Hayes was only able to save one Red Star spot kick.

  • Full match report and pictures HERE.

Consett stretch their unbeaten run to 19 matches with a 5-0 win at Thornaby in a game full of landmarks

Consett made it 19 games unbeaten today with a 5-0 win in their first league visit to Thornaby in 15 years – and it was a game full of landmarks.

The first was a 30th goal of the season in the same number of games for big striker Dale Pearson. After a nip-and-tuck first half-hour at Teesdale Park he was fouled as he tried to go past centre-back Nathan Guru in the 31st minute, and picked himself up to score from the penalty spot.

Pearson almost doubled the lead early in the second half when he rounded the keeper, but left-back Scott Howes to make a brilliant clearance off the goal-line.

But the Steelmen did make it 2-0 in the 64th minute when Calvin Smith became a member of the select band to have scored 50 goals for the club. The midfielder picked the ball up 25 yards out and left fly with a decent right-footed effort, pictured above, which crept under Thornaby keeper James Dawson.

Scott Howes was then lucky to stay on the field when he was shown just a yellow card for a late challenge on Pearson, who had to be helped off the field.

Consett were well in control, but the final scoreline had a slightly flattering look as they again showed their ruthless side, scoring three goals in four minutes in the closing stages of the game.

First, centre-back Ross Wilkinson fired home from close range in the 81st minute as Jake Orrell’s right-wing corner ricocheted around the box.

A minute later substitute Thomas McAloon recorded his own personal landmark moment, scoring his first goal for the club by robbing the last defender of possession before slipping the ball past Dawson for 4-0.

And in the 84th minute Michael Mackay, who had replaced Pearson, got his first goal since returning from injury, deflecting a shot past the keeper to make it 5-0. It was the club legend’s 321st Consett goal.

It was almost six when Ali Alshabeeb set up Mackay with four minutes to go, but this time Dawson saved with his legs to deny the evergreen striker.

That’s 14 goals in four days for Consett, who remain fourth in the table, six points behind both second-placed Shildon (2nd), who they have a game in hand on, and are yet to play at home, and third-placed Hebburn Town, on whom they have two games in hand.

  • Full match report and more pictures to follow.

Consett stretch unbeaten run to 15 games but have to settle for a point against battling Benfield

Consett made it 15 games unbeaten as they saw out the year – and the decade – at Belle View, but had to settle for a point after a 1-1 draw against a battling Newcastle Benfield side.

The visitors took the lead on 12 minutes with a Paul Brayson free-kick from outside the box, which he bent inside Kyle Hayes’ left-hand post.

Consett – who were missing the influential Jermaine Metz and playmaker Luke Carr – equalised with a setpiece of their own, as Ross Wilkinson rose highest to head home Jake Orrell’s left-wing corner a minute before half-time.

The Steelmen were much the better side after the break, but couldn’t find a way past visiting keeper Andrew Grainger, who made good saves from Orrell, Andrei-Vasile Ardelean and Dale Pearson.

The second period also saw the welcome return of striker Michael Mackay, pictured, who came on as a sub for Ardelean after returning from injury.

He almost set up a winner for Ali Alshabeeb, but the lively wide man’s header from Mackay’s cross came back off the post, and into the arms of the grateful Grainger.

  • Full match report and pictures to follow.

Impressive Consett fire five past title challengers Guisborough Town

Consett came out 5-2 winners against a Guisborough Town side who at kick off sat one place above the Steelmen in third place. On a still but cool night at Belle View Stadium, the two sides served up a feast of football in a contest of extremely high quality.

The home side posted their intentions right from the off and were two up inside the first ten minutes. First Ross Wilkinson forced the ball home from close range with barely three minutes on the clock (pictured), then Calvin Smith netted five minutes later to keep up his fine goal-scoring record for the season, and make it 2-0.

Guisborough showed they were no mugs when Charlie Marshall shot home from the edge of the area. However, the Steelmen restored their two-goal advantage through Dale Pearson who latched onto Luke Carr’s superb through ball to finish coolly.

Consett led 3-1 at the break, and made it four just after the hour mark when Pearson‘s clever finish from six yards out wrong-footed the keeper for his second of the night.

Guisborough soon struck back though, with captain Mark Robinson converting from the penalty spot just four minutes later.

It was the home side who had the last word though, albeit in fortunate circumstances. Arjun Purewal made a mess of a chance from close range and ball fell to the apparent safety of Guisborough defender Matthew Lovatt. Facing his own goal, however, he inexplicably side-footed into the corner of his own net to make the final score 5-2.

The win momentarily moves Consett up to second in the table, but the Steelmen have played more games than anyone else in the top seven.

  • Full match report and more pictures to follow.