Steels 0-1 Consett

Stocksbridge Park Steels’ unbeaten run ended in an underwhelming way as they fell 1-0 to Consett.

The first half was not one that was going to thrill many as both sides struggled to create chances with the defences coming out on top. The first big chance fell to Consett as Stocksbridge were unable to clear their lines, leading to a dangerous ball coming back to Scott Fenwick, but he could only stab the ball wide. Fenwick had another chance later on from close range, but an outstretched Ben Townsend was able to save it well.

At the other end of the pitch, Stocksbridge were struggling to create many clear-cut opportunities. Their biggest chance came from a free kick with Tomas Poole standing other it. He tried to chip the ball to catch the goalkeeper out at the near post, but it went over.

The big incident in the first half was unfortunately an injury. Stocksbridge were on the break and Consett goalkeeper Ross Coombe was caught out of his box, with him coming together with Ify Ofoegbu. While the Steels were annoyed they couldn’t continue the game as they looked to make the most of it, it was a serious injury that saw Coombe replaced by Mark Foden.

In the second half, Consett started off as the better team but it was a break which helped them to take the lead. They quickly took control of the ball, sent it downfield and while the initial shot was well blocked by Charlie Oglesby, the ball fell to Calvin Smith who was able to fire it into the back of the net.

Stocksbridge tried to rally and extra energy was added to the team when Luke Rawson and Dylan Youmbi came on to try and rescue a point. It was Youmbi who caused the problems, who cut outside while in the box before firing the ball onto the near post. Ross Goodwin charged in to try and knock in the rebound but there seemed to be a force field around the Consett goal as it was stopped before going out for a goal kick.

There was some controversy at the end as despite a major stoppage due to a fracas between the players due to Lewis Macaskill going for a ball substitute goalkeeper Mark Foden already had, there were only four minutes of stoppage time which prevented Stocksbridge from launching more attacks than they would have anticipated. This meant Stocksbridge lost for the first time since they faced Worksop Town in November.