Atherstone Town 1-3 Consett [AET] (FA Vase, Sixth Round)
The Mark Webster Community Stadium
I'm going to start my latest blog off with some advice that is aimed particularly at fans who support teams in the higher reaches of the football pyramid. If ever you find yourself falling out of love with the game, which could be a result of the extortionate prices in the Football League, the annoyance of VAR in the Premier League, or even the depressing financial situation if you support a team from the north west (like me!) then the best thing you can do is look out for an FA Vase latter round match and get yourself down to see it. For those of you who don't know about it, it is basically like the FA Cup or FA Trophy but it is aimed at the lower tier non-league sides, starting with local ties within the regions in the early rounds and then becoming nationwide in the latter. By the sixth round, which is the final eight, you can have sides travelling the length and breadth of the country for a chance to make it to Wembley and this is what makes the competition so magical as yesterday I would see Atherstone Town of Warwickshire facing Consett AFC in front of a jam-packed stadium of excited fans. This is what being a football fan is about and this is why they call it the beautiful game.
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| A great day for both clubs |
Consett, of the Northern Football League, had made the near 200-mile trip down to the Midlands with the aim of keeping up the north of the country's brilliant reputation in this competition which has seen a northern team in the final for eleven of the last twelve years. So far Hebburn Town, also of the same division as Consett, have joined Kent's Corinthian side and Bitton of the Western League in the semis, meaning that there was one place left to settle as the masses began to rock up at The Mark Webster Community Stadium. So far this season I'd made it to one FA Vase game, a second round clash between Thornbury Town and Cribbs, and with that one going to extra-time over in South Gloucestershire I was very much looking forward to seeing how this game would pan out. Little did I know at the time that I'd be writing up a match of the same result that Cribbs gained back in November- I'd predicted a 2-2 draw.
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| There were slightly less fans at Mundy Playing Fields, though |
Back to yesterday's game and I had made a last-minute decision to get the train to Atherstone as it was cheaper and quicker than driving from Stafford, so when I pulled into the station I had a quick mooch around the town centre as I headed for the ground- noting a decent amount of fans in pubs finishing off their final pre-match pints before heading up Sheepy Road for the game. As we all queued up to get in the security staff frisked us and at around 3:05pm I made it through the turnstile and into the heart of the action just in time to see Ryan Quinn bag an early opener. The hosts had apparently started well and when a corner was swung in, it caused Consett's keeper some issues, before it was eventually partially cleared, popped back into the mix and then finally lashed home by Quinn to give the Adders the lead. Atherstone 1-0 Consett. The Durham boys were clearly rattled by the start their Midland League opponents had made and they sat back to invite more pressure in front of their capacity crowd. Just before the half-hour mark a long-range strike from the Atherstone midfield smacked the angle of the woodwork, giving the crowd another excuse to applaud their boys who were so far dominating the play. I dare say that were it not for the efforts of man-mountain Ross Wilkinson and captain Arjun Purewal, a player I've seen many a time with the Panjab national football team, we'd have seen at least another goal for the Adders during this excellent half of football, played with passion, high-tempo and aggression from all involved.
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| All smiles for the home side as they walk in to half-time with a slender lead |
My last outing a fortnight ago to Redditch's legendary Trico Stadium will undoubtedly go down as a season highlight during 2019/20 and although Atherstone's ground isn't quite as memorable, the occasion was certainly up there with the last game I saw with the atmosphere spurring on some decent football on the pitch. The main stand near the bar, which is half fenced off for some sort of health and safety reason, was bouncing at times and the corner which housed the Consett fans also had a buzz about it. I'd placed myself under the quieter of the stands near the dugout, primarily because I had a pint in each hand and didn't want to spill them, but from where I stood there was a great overview of the whole thing unfolding. I also noticed a Northwich 1874 fan stood nearby, which made me feel less odd for mooching around in a Bridlington Town scarf. Not that feeling odd would ever stop me.
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| And speaking of odd, here's a man with a giant ball... |
The clubhouse, known as "The Adders Sports Bar", is exactly what it says on the tin and it follows suit with the rusty and well-worn look of the rest of the ground, with the addition of hundreds more fans than normal causing their bar team to have a busy old shift which would eventually see them run out of larger. Thankfully, I'd made an early trip to the bar when I first arrived and so was stocked up with two pints and that would be enough to see me through ninety minutes, of which the latter forty-five were just about to get started.
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| Roll on the second-half |
I relocated to the seating area for the second-half as I wanted a good view from the halfway line and as a neutral it was an ideal place to be to see as both sets of fans, segregated from each other, cheering on their respective sides as they look to make it into the semis to face Bitton. One thing that was amusing me was the mix of professional security guards and volunteer stewards both doing their bit to keep things running smoothly. For every old kipper in a hi-viz leaning against the burger van, there was a bald meaty man in a tight tee-shirt trotting around and making sure everything was okay. Back on the pitch, the game had restarted and in the opening minute the visitors missed a big chance, but this was to be a signal of the rest of the match's development as the Steelmen grew in confidence.
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| The tension was building |
Further into proceedings Consett knocked on the door again, with a chance this time coming off the bar, but just after an hour had passed we'd eventually see the deserved goal as the visiting right-back, Jermaine Metz, smash home a shot from outside the box that flew past Carl O'Neill. Atherstone 1-1 Consett. With the visiting fans getting a bit overexcited, a few of them were ejected by the security, but that didn't stop them raising the bar on the volume front as they cheered on their lads to try and nick the match in normal time. Despite their best efforts, the game could not be settled and as referee Thomas Parsons blew his whistle that would mean we had thirty more minutes to follow.
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| Bring it on, EXTRA TIME |
It seemed as though the wind had been taken out of the sails of the hosts and their first-half dominance seemed years away from what was now the Consett show. Calvin Smith made the most of a Metz throw-in and he tucked home a smart finish to give the Steelmen the lead for the first time in the game, one-hundred minutes into the game. Atherstone 1-2 Consett. It's hard to put in to context how deflating this goal must have been for Atherstone, who by that point had surely been holding out for penalties. The lads looked knackered and were powerless to resist as Smith doubled his tally and as a result sent the away fans into oblivion. Atherstone 1-3 Consett. In truth, the scoreline could have been worse for the hosts and although it was a valiant effort from the Adders, Consett would be the deserved victor and will go into a two-legged semi in just a couple of weeks time. I'll be interested to see whether the Steelmen can overcome their Western League opponents and potentially setup a final against their league rivals Hebburn, if they can get past Corinthian.
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| Next up for Town, a local cup outing to Black Country Rangers |
