CONSETT'S title hopes suffered a huge blow after their second 2-0 defeat in five days at the hands of lowly opposition. And to add insult to injury they finished the game with 10 men after Gary Ormston was sent off for violent conduct.

Bishops proved feisty opponents earlier in the season when they came back from three goals down to force a replay in the FA Cup Preliminary Round, but they came to Belle Vue bottom of the table and still looking for their first win of the season. Unfortunately they left with three well-deserved points after a disjointed Consett performance.

Manager Kenny Lindoe made one change from the side beaten at Northallerton on Saturday, John Ewart coming in for David Scorer, who was on holiday.

The opening exchanges were extremely scrappy, and the first real opportunity fell to Mattie Moffat, who worked hard but had a night he will want to forget in front of goal. Adam Emson forced a left-wing corner in the 12th minute, and Steven Brown's deep kick was headed back into the six-yard box by Carl Piecha. His No 9 got there first, but incredibly headed over with the goal at his mercy.

Moffat had another chance three minutes later when he did well to latch onto a mistake by centre-half Arjun Purewal, but his shot was easily saved by Bishops keeper Peter Jeffries.

Jonjo Dickman went close with a 25-yard free kick as Consett began to take control, and Brown came closer still in a 50-50 challenge with the keeper after good work by Andrew Cuthbertson and Moffat. Jeffries saved bravely, and both required treatment.

On the half-hour it took some last-ditch defending to keep out Cuthbertson's shot, and the visitors' keeper had to claw away an effort from Emson and then David Pounder's corner from under his crossbar.

Consett's defence never looked happy against the pace of the visitors' front two, but they hadn't carved out any clear-cut chances until their No 11 Liam O'Mahoney – probably their man of the match – forced a good save from Josh Moody after 35 minutes.

Emson headed over from Dickman's free kick and a good effort from Ormston flew narrowly high and wide as the half ended goalless.

Half Time: Consett 0-0 Bishop

The second period saw John Clark on for Brown, who never recovered from the knee injury sustained in the 50-50 with the keeper, and he went wide left, with Emson pushing up front and Pounder dropping behind the front two.

It almost paid immediate dividends as some good work on the left by Clark put in Emson, who shot into the side netting from eight yards. Emson was then put in by Pounder, but the onrushing keeper saved well. The resulting corner saw Ormston put the ball back across the crowded six-yard box, but Moffat couldn't react quickly enough.

Bishops then made a couple of half-chances of their own, before a five-minute spell around the hour-mark changed the course of the game. Moody had to save smartly from Amar Purewal after a mistake by Mark Gaffney, then midfielder Dale Dunn fed the striker again, and this time he made no mistake, putting the visitors 1-0 ahead.

Things got worse for Consett when Ormston reacted badly to a foul, and kicked out at his opponent, even though the referee had given him a free-kick. He had plenty of time to contemplate the consequences of his actions on the long walk from the far side of the field which followed the straight red card.

With frustration mounting, Emson went into the referee's notebook after fouling his man while trying to win back possession, and Bishops were showing increasing confidence on the break as Consett pushed forward in search of an equaliser.

With 20 minutes left Karl Baston came on for Emson, and slotted in at the back, with Piecha pushing forward. But it was Bishops who looked more likely to score, and a spell of pressure where they forced three successive corners had Consett's already-frail nerves jangling.

On 83 minutes Bishops sub Scott Richards hit the post with Moody beaten as they looked for a killer second, and then Gavin Barton, who had come on for goalscorer Purewal, shot wide from 10 yards when it looked easier to score. Four minutes later he made no mistake, however, making it 2-0 after exploiting a gaping hole on Consett's left.

Barton hit the post in injury time as Bishops threatened to rub salt into the wound, and Pounder was booked right at the death on a night Consett will want to quickly put behind them.

The Two Blues' first league win of the season was fully deserved, and the scoreline could have been a lot worse as Consett ended up in a truly ragged state.

Full Time: Consett 0-2 Bishop

Gary Welford