RAINING GOALS IN CONSETT

CONSETT AFC 4 HEBBURN TOWN 4
NORTHERN LEAGUE 1 @ BELLE VIEW
26 OCTOBER 2019 --- 3PM

CONSETT AFC V HEBBURN TOWN TOP OF THE TABLE ENCOUNTER

League leaders Hebburn Town had to settle for a point despite leading three times they were finally pegged back by Wouter Verstraarten who fired home an equaliser in the first minute of stoppage time to give Consett a deserved draw.  With large swathes of the country suffering torrential downpours, that had just this morning moved away from the north east, here in Consett on a bright but chilly afternoon it rained down goals.
Having planned a debut Northern League game, something that had been on the cards for ages, it all looked very dubious as the forecast weather occurred to schedule on Friday morning and upon leaving peak country on Saturday morning the wet stuff was still unloading itself.  As plans drifted around a final decision was made to do a 3g game and Consett with a top of the table clash became the obvious choice.  When clubs from the north east travel in the FA competitions its always worth taking their games in there is normally good banter and a good standard of football too so with anticipation along with Mr R from the Platform 1 parish we set off around 10am.

BELLE VIEW HOME OF AFC CONSETT

This time Cross Country would be north and of course heavy loadings guaranteed we had made the conscious decision to upgrade to first class on board.  With a shortage of seats in this carriage too we paid a superb £5 each to York and although two seats did become available then for the ongoing trip to Durham we declined the extra £15 each for 40 minutes of travel which seemed steep.  By the time we had discussed it and collected our belongings we were just short of Darlington so only stood up for about twenty minutes.
Durham would greet us in a dry condition and with a short while to wait for the 1pm Go North East X15 to Consett from the nearby bus station it was all very civil.  The route is a fast more or less town to town service barring a call in through the steady looking village of Lanchester.

X15 READY FOR DEPARTURE BACK TO DURHAM

Circling in to Consett much like a plane attempting to land at Consett international airport led to the first reminder of my younger days as we passed Medomsley Road previous home of Phileas Fogg Crisps.  So original and before their time were they that when flavours were either ready salted or ready salted owner Roger McKechnie set the company up in 1982 making all sorts of exotic flavoured crisps whish are now a norm on the market.  The company supplemented their go getting image with some fantastic TV adverts, check out You Tube, which ended with the tag line 'pay attention Phileas Fogg authentic snacks Medomsley Road Consett', with one of the adverts featuring people arriving at the imaginary Consett International Airport.  The company of course employed a large amount of people and was a blessing after the closure of the steel works in 1980 with the loss of 3,000 jobs plus all the extra in support industries.  Sadly they were sold to KP crisps and although the brand remains in a different format the workforce are long gone from Medomsley Road.
The steel works were probably the most recognisable thing about the town if you mentioned Consett and with Blackpool Tower formed of steel from the plant they have a noticeable reminder that lives on.  Upon closure the towns unemployment rate rocketed to over 30% and the population of the town declined fast, of course the replacement jobs that have appeared have not been at the same pay rates as the town enjoyed in its hey days.

OPENING GOAL FOR HEBBURN FROM DIBB FULLER IN A RELAXED POSITION

The town centre was arrived at in just over half an hour with its own bus station the overview now is of a town that was warm and comfy with itself hitting the hard times much like any post industrial area.  The shops in Middle Street, like all shopping areas it would seem, were showing the last signs of life with the former Woolworths now a charity shop but recognisable by its corporate tiled exterior floor.  The changing nature of our High Streets was no more visible than Go As You Please Funeral Directors on the main thoroughfare with three coffins displayed in the window one in corporate livery for Irn Bru, I did want to go in and ask if it was made from girders.
The disappointing part about the town centre was, as far as I could see, a lack of any memorial to the steel works there were some with old equipment etc.  But you had to go the new housing estates to the west side of town that sit on the former plant and at the end of todays game we opted to try to get back home as the travel network fell into weather induced chaos.
On arrival at Consett a check on the status of travel had revealed with heavy rain around peak county lines were blocked at Rotherham, Doncaster and worryingly Wakefield Westgate as the rain continued to poor down we searched out Sally's B and B as a back up plan.

CORPORATE DUG OUTS AGAINST THAT COLD NORTH EASTERN SKYLINE

Short walk out to the Consett AFC ground which they have occupied since 2013 following a move from their old Belle Vue ground, the new one would encompass a spelling change to the Vue/View, we would cross the new A692 and with station names appearing we did some research.  We had just crossed the western edge of the station which closed surprisingly in the 50's, although the buildings were not demolished until 1970 and its line remains intact for the steel works until the early 80's.  As in so many areas the former rail lines now support a new road network and here in Consett it was no different and today there is no sign of a return to train travel and the town remain one of the largest without a station.
With the gateway to the North Pennines just beyond us Consett sits high up and often has a temperature a degree or two lower than Durham and Newcastle, today was no exception as we arrived at the ground it was certainly nithering in the wind.
Belle View is a new build with 3g surface from its inception and after paying in and purchasing a nice little programme we did the circuit.  To the right an Atcost stand of the larger variety the walkway around the ground is backed off onto a grass area, netting directly behind both goals to catch the ball makes it a bit of an obstruction to watch the game from this position, the far side has a half way line Atcost type of enclosure again and we are soon back to the clubhouse and changing rooms, the outer part of the ground is surrounded by large fencing.  The whole set up is highly functional but currently does not have a lot of character, the clubhouse was utilised for a drink but there were no tables available with two TV's on the wall many were having a pre match football fix.  Again all smart and highly usable but it really missed some old Consett shirts, programme and team pictures on the walls to sing the praised of the towns sporting heroes.
There was a small amount of memorabilia behind a locked case which was a shame because with a super attendance of 610 had this been out on a table and accessible I'm sure they would have sold many items.  While this was a big crowd today with many other local fans attending due to the high level of postponements the only other slightly off putting factor was the toilets were very small in the clubhouse and they could do with a block built outside to cater more easily for the need to go.

CONSETT KEEPER KYLE HAYES CLAIMS

To the game then and we knew as early as the fourth minute it was not going to be goal less when Hebburn took the lead Consett keeper Kyle Hayes pushed away from Michael Richardson but Ben Dibb Fuller stretched to force the ball over the line despite the despairing dive of Hayes.  Just three minutes later The Steelmen were level Luke Carr skipped past two on the edge of the box and fired low into the bottom corner of the visitors goal.
Both sides number 9's Greame Atkinson and Dale Pearson forced their opposite number keepers into good saves and it would be the latter who gave Consett a half time lead after 40 minutes when he fired in.
A strange first half with lots of elaborate and sometimes over passing of the ball in the 3g surface came to light with three goals in the early minutes of the second half.  First The Hornets levelled when Richardson flashed the ball home into the roof of the net and within three minutes they took the lead a left hand side corner saw a gathering of players at the far post all rise and it was Armstrong who forced the ball home.  Consett were not to be outdone though and levelled the scores on 53 minutes a short corner off the right was picked up by Jermaine Metz who fired at the keepers near post and Andrew Jennison lost his grip on it only for the ball to fall through his legs and over the line.
Twenty minutes of sanity returned before the goal of the game gave the league leaders the advantage  a lovely ball out to Jack Robson who turned on the right angle of the penalty box and volleyed home into the top left hand corner of the Consett goal, a  strike good enough to win a game normally, well not here and not today.

JERMAINE METZ RECEIVES THE CONGRATULATIONS FOR LEVELLING AT 3-3

The game spun around again on 77 minutes when Consett saw the hard working Carr impeded on the half way line and referee Samuel Parker, who had an excellent game produced a second yellow for the Hebburn captain.
Consett saw this as their moment and Jennison redeemed himself with an excellent save from a short tapped free kick that Jake Orrell thought was goal bound but for the number one's acrobatics.  The pressure wasn't coming to any fruition that was until the first minute over the ninety when the ball fell to Verstraaten who sent a 14 yard effort towards the goal it hit a Hebburn player took some pace of the shot but deflected it far enough wide of Jennison's dive and Consett had secured a fair point.

GOOD PERFORMANCE FROM SAMUEL PARKER TOO

With about trip on the X15 at 5.20pm decided on we opted for a trip to The Water House in Durham to see if any of the flooding on the way back would subside and as we entered the 'spoons it was queuing three deep at the bar.  The dread of ordering was relieved when Mr R got straight onto the 'app' and booked drinks and meals that arrived with such efficiency it even allowed for fifty minutes to tour around Durham and a night time viewing of the Cathedral and castle.
As we approached 8pm we bade goodbye, for now, to the north east and set off back to spire town to arrive around two hours later from an enjoyable day out and a debut in the much respected Northern League.