2018/19 #14 - 22nd December 2018 - Ashington v. Sunderland RCA

Match Report - Consett 2 Ashington 0
Stadium
Belle View Stadium
Attendance 361
Referee
Date / Time
Derric Wade
Saturday 8th December 2018 - 3:00 PM
By Brian Bennett
Two second half goals inside five minutes
from Consett’s Matthew Slocombe and Michael
Sweet sent Ashington spiralling to
their eighth league defeat of the season at a
bitterly cold Belle View Stadium on Saturday.
The win kept the Steelmen joint top of the Ebac
Northern League first division table alongside
Dunston UTS whilst for the Colliers it was the
same old story. Steve Bowey’s side have faced four of the top six
over the past few weeks and won many accolades for their general
play – but sadly this latest setback was their 11th competitive game
without a victory. Striker Zak Atkinson, who had hit the woodwork in
the previous encounter against Dunston, again went close, striking
the post and crossbar in separate incidents in either half as Ashington
- brimful with determination - desperately tried to unlock the
door. But then with 20 minutes remaining, Bowey’s side switched off
at a free kick 22 yards out. Danny Craggs’s effort thudded against
the underside of the bar and as the Colliers stood still, Slocombe
headed the ball into an empty net. Substitute Sweet fired wide of
the far post before he sewed up the result in the 77th minute. Glenn
Caygill’s challenge on sub Richard Juul saw referee Derric Wade
point to the spot and Sweet send Conor Grant the wrong way with a
firmly struck penalty. Game over – only in the final minute of the 90,
home stopper and former Ashington ‘keeper Kyle Hayes, was
forced to dive full stretch to his left to deny Jack Butler following a
cross from sub Jake Cunningham. From the start it had been a low
key affair with the first opportunity arriving in the tenth minute as
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