Consett AFC (A) – Match Preview

For the first time since the 8th of October, our spot at the top of the league is under threat.

With Matlock playing tonight, our last opponents have now got a chance to put us to the sword, as a win for them would put them above us and force us into getting a vital 3 points tomorrow night.

Consett will not be an easy team to face either, with the Steelmen…

Wait what? Oh, we are both nicknamed ‘the Steelmen’.

Neat.

Anyway, where was I?

Ah, yes; Consett’s recent form has been borderline impeccable, suffering just 2 defeats in their last 11 games, with those 2 coming against Matlock and Bradford PA.

In the process of that run, Consett have also scored 29 goals, including 4 against both Hallam and Ashington, 5 in a thrashing of Heaton Stannington and 6 in a thumping of Blyth Town.

They have also only played 11 league games so far, meaning that by the time they catch up with the rest of the league, they could potentially find themselves top of the table.

If Saturday was a test of known strength, then tomorrow will be a test of unknowns, with only Dunston having played fewer league games this campaign.

Both us and Consett are the current holders of biggest wins so far this season too, with us having the largest home win with the 10-1 vs Silsden, and Consett having the largest away win with their 6-1 vs Blyth Town. (There’s also our 5-0 vs Garforth too).

Normally I would say this means Wednesday will be a goalfest, but after the Matlock match, I don’t know what to think.

Our unbeaten run is over, and the aim for tomorrow will be to get back to winning ways and comfortably get 3 points.

In terms of goal scoring, we are now level with Elburton Villa, which means we are now the highest scoring team in the country (I think. It is really difficult to fact-check this).

Whilst bagging goals has not been an explicit problem for us, the goalscorers are quite a varied list, with Fletcher, Johnson, Round, Fewster and Boyes being our last 5, with only Oscar Fletcher and Louis Johnson being on the scoresheet in our last 3 games, despite scoring 7 goals.

Adam Boyes is still the top scorer of Step 4, with two players in 2nd place being 3 goals away from him, but the striker will be hoping he can add to his tally, and what better place to do it than under Consett floodlights.

Alongside Boyes on the top scorer leaderboard are Fewster in 7th, Fletcher in 12th and Johnson in 41st

So we really aren’t lacking that goal scoring threat.

At the other end, Mazfari’s recent performances have been incredible, with the defeat to Matlock also providing some of his best stops as he kept our opponents at bay. There was not a lot he could have done about the 2 goals he did concede, and without him, Matlock could’ve ended the game with a much larger margin

Our defence as a whole has been solid, with the defeat to Bishop Auckland still being the last time we conceded more than 2 goals.

All in all, all that needs to be held is a positive mindset. There are still many months to go before the end of the season, and our squad looks to be one of the best available.

Consett tomorrow, if you are going to be there then I hope you travel safely, but if not, then there will be live match updates on our X (Twitter) page.

Up the Steelmen!

Cover image by Darren Murphy