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League leaders Durham City all but wrapped up the Northern League title with this win at Belle Vue registering a comprehensive victory that put them 19 points clear of 2nd placed Whitley Bay.
Ken Lindoe gave a debut to goalkeeper Paul Gilmore, signed from Darlington RA on the eve of the game. Mattie Moffat returned to the attack and Jonjo Dickman to the midfield, both having missed the 7-0 win at Washington through injury.
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Mark Patterson surrounded
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The title-chasing visitors began like a whirlwind and simply blew Consett away with three goals in the opening quarter of the game. The Steelmen survived a big penalty appeal after just four minutes when Steven Richardson tumbled in the box. However just two minutes later, the rights and wrongs of that were rendered academic as Richardson opened the scoring. Latching on to a ball over a defence appealing in vain for offside, Richardson fired a first time volley into the corner of the net past the helpless Gilmore.
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JohnToft fires Durham's third past debutant Paul Gilmore
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Richardson was just unplayable in the opening exchanges and he scored his and Durham’s second after 18 minutes. Keith Graydon played the ball to him in a wide right position where there seemed little danger. However he pushed the ball past David Johnson, sprinted away from him and drilled it into the same corner as his first goal.
Five minutes later it was three when Tommy English sent over a deep cross from the left which John Toft got to ahead of David Colvin, and he fired it past Gilmore, who couldn’t have had a more torrid start to his Consett career.
Consett managed to shore things up after the third goal and stem the tide somewhat. However it was stoppage time at the end of the first half before they managed their first meaningful strike at goal, as Steven Brown sent a free kick over the bar from 25 yards.
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Half time: Consett 0-3 Durham
There was little respite for the Steelmen after the break, and they were pleased to see a possible fourth goal within seconds of the restart ruled out foroffside. On 53 minutes Consett were grateful to Gilmore when he made a brilliant one-handed stop from Graydon’s strike. Almost straight from the restart, both Richardson and Adam Johnston found themselves clean through with just Gilmore to beat, however Richardson opted to chip the keeper rather than pass and his effort was well over
The busy Gilmore could only parry a dipping volley from Graydon on 62 minutes that bounced awkwardly in front of him, and although Richardson was first to the loose ball he hooked it over. A minute later the impressive Graydon attempted an audacious 40 yard lob which Gilmore was able to get back to catch safely
A rare Consett attack saw Dickman win the ball and release David Pounder who let fly with a venomous strike from outside the area that Caffrey grabbed at the second attempt. Play was soon back at the other end though and Gilmore pulled off another excellent save, this time from Graydon’s piledriver of a free kick.
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Jonjo Dickman looks for a way out
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Twenty minutes from time Durham got a deserved fourth goal. Pounder was hit in the face with the ball and whilst the referee declined to sop play for the head injury, John Toft picked up the loose ball and fed Richardson who swept it home for his hat trick. His 28th league goal of the season took him level with Mattie Moffat at the head of the Northern League scoring charts.
David Colvin hooks in a cross
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Consett surprisingly struck back within a minute though to reduce the deficit back to three goals. Pounder found Dickman in the area and although his shot was saved, the ball was cleared only as far as Andrew Thompson whose 25 yard strike found the back of the net via a deflection from a Durham defender.
A comeback was never really on the cards though, and Moffat’s 85th minute volley from Steven Brown’s corner was as close as Consett came to making any further inroads into the deficit until injury time.
In the first minute of added time Moffat’s clever flick released Steven Johnson on the left flank and he rolled the ball across to Dickman who found the net via the post from six yards out
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Full time: Consett 2-4 Durham
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