THE lights went out on Consett midway through the first half, but they still had enough spark to come from behind for the second time in five days to restore their five-point lead at the top of the league. Kenny Lindoe made one change to the team which had beaten Penrith, with Danny Craggs returning to the starting XI for the first time in seven weeks in place of Anthony Lund. But it was South Shields who showed first, when Lee Paul Scroggins hit the bar from 30 yards after just two minutes.

Consett responded well, with Craig Robson hitting a rising effort over the bar and Gavin Barton having a shot blocked by a defender from Craggs' excellent right-wing cross. On eight minutes Jonjo Dickman played in Lewis Teasdale, whose powerful low drive was beaten out by Shields keeper Simon Parkin, and Jamie Poole just failed to get on the end of Craggs' low lashed cross from the rebound.

Dickman was again involved, driving forward and picking out Barton, who beat his man before shooting straight at the keeper.

A goal only looked a matter of time, but it was a huge shock when it came after 10 minutes at the other end. Former Shields player David Scorer played a straightforward backpass to his goalkeeper, but Barry Poskett inexplicably took his eye off the ball, and it rolled under his studs and over the line. It went down as a Scorer own goal, but the fault was all Poskett's, and he knew it, holding his head in his hands.

Shields took confidence from the gift, and some good work down the left by centre-forward Stephen Ramsey saw him set up Jonny Wightman for a shot which was curled just over the top.

At the other end, a short corner from Craig Robson on the right saw Craggs pick out Scott Martindale on the edge of the box, but he couldn't get his shot on target.

Then Teasdale won the ball in midfield and set away Craggs, whose 30-yarder bounced back off the keeper, only for former Shrewsbury centre-half Paul Stoneman to clear the danger from the marauding Barton.

Another short corner routine between Robson and Craggs saw the latter's cross fall invitingly for Barton inside the six-yard box, but somehow he blazed over with the goal at his mercy.

A leveller seemed imminent, but Consett's momentum was interrupted when Poskett complained he couldn't see the ball properly after the floodlight in the far-left corner of the ground failed. There followed a farcical 35-minute delay, in which an electrician tried and failed to get the pylon working again, before the referee re-started the game under exactly the same conditions as he had delayed it.

Consett took a while to get going again after the re-start, but got the equaliser their dominance deserved eight minutes before the belated interval, when skipper Carl Piecha headed home at the back post from yet another Robson corner.

There was a scare before half-time for Consett when Scorer was dispossessed in his own box, and Sean Sweeney hit a curling effort just over the bar, but the interval arrived with the score at 1-1.

Half time: Consett 1-1 Shields

Consett started the second-half how they had ended the first, and the outstanding Stoneman had to be alert to head Teasdale's dangerous right-wing cross over his own bar with two Steelmen lurking behind him. The game went through a scrappy spell, but on 66 minutes Consett got their noses in front, and from then on there was only one winner. Robson picked out Craggs, who found Poole surging into the box. The top scorer took the pass in his stride and finished confidently for his 12th goal of the season, despite a defender's attempt to keep the ball out.

Four minutes later it should have been three, when the same three players combined again. Craggs picked out Poole's run to the back post, but the wing-back ballooned his shot over.

Consett didn't have long to wait though, as they were completely in control now. After surviving a penalty shout when Sweeney went down under challenge from Scorer, they broke quickly, and Kieran Megran, on as a sub for the injured Martindale, latched on to the loose ball to lift it over the keeper after his cross for Teasdale came back off a defender.

The visitors lost all their discipline for a few minutes at this point, and one ugly incident involving Poole and Shields pair Tony Coe and Scroggins could have seen at least one of the Mariners dismissed, but the referee settled for a couple of yellow cards.

Mark Eccles, who had replaced Barton midway through the half, saw a teasing cross headed off the line, but he was not to be denied for long, and was instrumental in the home side's final goal four minutes from time. Teasdale swept a glorious pass to him from the right wing, and Eccles did well to keep the ball in and turn it into the path of man-of-the-match Craggs to finish from 10 yards. The result extended Consett's winning run to 10 games, though the next two matches - against Dunston and Whitley Bay - will prove a real test of their title credentials.

Full time: Consett 4-1 Shields

GARY WELFORD