Consett AFC (H) - Saturday, 2nd November 2024

The Opposition - History
The club was established on 1 July 1899 as Consett Celtic. They joined the Northern Alliance in 1919, and were renamed Consett in 1922. They finished bottom of the league in 1922–23, but were runners-up in 1925–26. At the end of the season all the clubs in the league joined the North Eastern League as members of the new Division Two. They were the first Division Two champions in 1926–27, earning promotion to Division One. However, after finishing second-from-bottom of Division One in 1930–31, they were relegated back to Division Two.

In 1932–33 Consett were Division Two runners-up and were promoted to Division One. After finishing second-from-bottom of Division One in 1934–35, they left to return the Northern Alliance, which had been re-established. However, after two seasons in the Northern Alliance, they rejoined the North Easter League, which was now running with a single division. When the league was suspended in 1939 following the outbreak of World War II, a competition was run with ten clubs, which Consett won. In 1946–47 they finished seventh in the league and subsequently applied for election to the Football League. However, no vote took place and the four clubs up for re-election retained their places in the Football League. The club went on to win the League Cup in 1950–51 and 1953–54.

When the North Eastern League was disbanded in 1958, Consett spent the 1958–59 and 1959–60 seasons in the Midland League, also reaching the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in 1958–59, losing 5–0 at Doncaster Rovers. In 1960 they were founder members of the Northern Counties League; the club were champions in 1961–62, and the league was renamed the North Eastern League in 1962. They finished bottom of the league in 1963–64, with the league disbanded at the end of the season. The club subsequently joined the Wearside League, they were runners-up in 1968–69 and 1969–70, after which the club joined the Northern League. In 1976–77 they finished joint top of the table with Spennymoor United, but lost the championship play-off 3–0 in a match played at Willington. They were later relegated to Division Two after finishing bottom of Division One in 1987–88.

The 1988–89 season saw Consett win Division Two at the first attempt, earning an immediate return to Division One. They won the League Cup in 1994–95 with a 2–0 win over Whitby Town in the final, and in 1996–97 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for a second time, losing 4–0 at Mansfield Town. The early 2000s saw the club yo-yo between the divisions, as they were relegated in 2002–03, promoted in 2003–04, relegated again in 2004–05 and promoted again in 2005–06 after winning Division Two. They went on to finish as Division One runners-up in 2007–08, 2008–09 and again in 2010–11. In 2019–20 the club reached the final of the FA Vase, losing 3–2 to Hebburn Town in a match that was delayed until May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2021–22 season they were runners-up in Division One, qualifying for an inter-step play-off against Histon from the level above, which they won 2–1 to earn promotion to Division One East the Northern Premier League.
(Source - Wikipedia)

Manager Jason Miller took the reigns in September 2024.

A journey of around 160 miles awaits them today.

The Opposition - This Season
The Steelmen struggled at the start of the season, exiting the FA Cup in the Extra Preliminary Round to Bradley Fewster's hat trick for Redcar Athletic before failing to score in their first three NPL games and not winning a match until the 21st of September at Bridlington. This run also saw them exit the FA Trophy to Atherton Collieries on penalties.
The Bridlington victory was part of a four game unbeaten run in the league which kickstarted their season but was ended emphatically at Carlton Town in mid-October.
They then suffered back to back defeats against Bradford (Park Avenue) and Newton Aycliffe but come in to the match today having not conceded in their last two matches, a 0-0 draw with Liversedge and Tuesday night's win over Stocksbridge Park Steels where an injury time penalty from Brandon Holdsworth secured the three points.
They currently sit 19th in the table: P 14 W 3 D 5 L 6 F 16 A 27 Pts. 14.

The Nailers
It's been a roller coaster few weeks for Belper fans.
The Nailers started the season well, and their only away defeat in the league remains at Emley who top the table.
After defeat at home to Cleethorpes came a run of five successive wins, ended at the Raygar Stadium by Brighouse Town and then four days later Newton Aycliffe won at Belper by the same scoreline of 2-0.
However the Tuesday before last saw a return to winning ways, Harry Draper securing a brace as the Nailers won at Carlton Town.
On Saturday Belper exited the FA Trophy, losing on penalties at Chasetown after a 1-1 draw.
Draper is clear as leading scorer with twelve, while Nat Crofts has five and Curtis Burrows three, the same as Jacob Gratton before his move to Worksop. Keaton August and Luke Rawson have two each and a further six players sit on one apiece.
Belper sit 5th in the table and are the only side yet to draw a match this season: P 13 W 9 D 0 L 4 F 19 A 14 Pts. 27.

Head to Head
The two fixtures last season are the only previous meetings between the two sides.
On the last day of September, late goals from Kevin Bastos and James Cadman secured victory for the Nailers at the Raygar Stadium.
Back at Consett in February, Bastos was on the scoresheet again, his goal was the only one of the match.
So Belper come into this match with a 100% record against Consett, albeit from just two encounters.

Form Guide (all comps)
Belper Town: (8th Oct)WWLLWD(26th Oct)
Consett: (5th Oct)WLLLDW(29th Oct)

Team News
There are no major injury concerns or suspensions.

Permutations
Belper could move to third if they better the results of both Stocksbridge and Bradford PA.
Anything less than victory leaves the door open for North Ferriby to leapfrog the Nailers and push them out of the playoff places.
Consett sit in the relegation zone but it's very compact and a point could move them to 17th, while victory could elevate them as high as 13th if other results go their way.
With a five point advantage over Ashington, they cannot drop a place today.

Match details
Belper Town vs. Consett AFC
Northern Premier League Division One East
Saturday, 2nd November 2024 - 3:00pm kick off
Raygar Stadium
Bridge Street
Belper
Derbyshire
DE56 1BA

Admission prices: Adults £11, Concessions (under 16 and 60+) £7, Under 11 (with paying adult) £0

Follow the match
Live audio commentary is available with Chris on Radio Belper Town - https://radiobelpertown.mixlr.com
Full coverage on X and Facebook.
Match reports to follow on the website (all matches) and in the Non-League Paper (Saturday matches only).

NPL East fixtures
Ashington AFC vs. Bridlington Town
Belper Town vs. Consett AFC
Bradford (Park Avenue) vs. Bishop Auckland
Brighouse Town vs. North Ferriby
Cleethorpes Town vs. Garforth Town
Dunston UTS vs. Sherwood Colliery
Heaton Stannington vs. Emley AFC
Liversedge vs. Stocksbridge Park Steels
Newton Aycliffe vs. Carlton Town
Pontefract Collieries vs. Grimsby Borough
Sheffield FC vs. Ossett United