HORNETS SUPER SUB OLLY LEAVES BIG STING IN THE TAIL FOR STEELMEN
Martin’s late show clinches a classic
THERE were times when this final seemed destined not to be played – so it was only right Consett and Hebburn put on one hell of a show when it was.
The Northern League rivals finally got their chance to complete the competition and made sure to do it in style.
Substitute Olly Martin was the hero for Hebburn who fought back to become the long-awaited 2019-20 FA Vase champions in a classic at an empty Wembley.
Billed as the closest final to call in years, either northeast side could have snatched victory such were the small margins.
Consett will be kicking themselves having led twice in a breathless first-half and being pegged back immediately on both occasions amid the jubilation of scoring.
Straight from kick-off tricky Consett striker Ali Alshabeeb set the tone by driving deep into the Hebburn half with the ball. The Steelmen’s tidy passing style benefitted from the pristine Wembley surface and they settled in nicely.
The Hornets had been on the back foot until classy midfielder Michael McKeown saw his drive from the edge of the Consett box saved by the legs of keeper Kyle Hayes and when the ball was recycled, Michael Richardson’s curler came back off the crossbar.
And within 60 seconds Consett had gone down the other end to take the lead as Matthew Cornish found room in midfield and slipped in Alshabeeb, who rounded goalkeeper Mark Foden and did brilliantly to turn the ball in from a tight angle via the underside of the woodwork.
But Hebburn responded instantly as McKeown played a superb pass to set Amar Purewall through on goal and he finished past Hayes with his twin brother Arjun unable to arrive in time to make the block.
The pair had become the first British South Asians to face each other at Wembley, aiming to inspire the Asian and Sikh community to follow suit. At full-time, Amar ignored the Hebburn celebrations and instead rushed straight to console his heartbroken sibling.
The pace of the game was only quelled when Consett playmaker Jake Orrell was stretchered off after 29 minutes following a sickening clash of heads. Manager Terry Mitchell later confirmed his midfielder was fine after being knocked unconscious for a few seconds. It was a cruel blow for Orrell and meant Mitchell had to reshuffle his backline.
Consett’s Calvin Smith went close with an effort from outside the area before his side went in front once more.
Right-back Jermaine Metz had run out of room by the corner flag but he managed to pull back a great cross for Dale Pearson to calmly control and stroke the ball in.
This time their lead lasted longer – two minutes – before Hebburn centre-back Louis Storey roamed forward, had a shot saved by Hayles but crossed back into the area for
Richardson to sweep home.
“Football teams are always most vulnerable when they’ve just scored,” said a gutted Mitchell. “Was it the naivety of our lads? Who knows. I said to the lads maybe sometimes we overplay and we should knock it out.”
Consett had the chance to lead for a third time during eight minutes of injury time when Smith volleyed over from inside the area.
The relentless action subsided in the second half as the vast Wembley pitch began to sap the energy from both sides and things tightened up.
Hebburn’s power and experience started to come through with the game turning into more a grind. Storey and McKeown have been key during the club’s rise under Kevin Bolam, appointed in only the summer of 2019, and they didn’t let him down on the biggest stage.
Armstrong should have put them ahead for the first time, ten minutes into the second half, but horribly dragged an effort wide from six yards after Arjun Purewal had turned Tom Potter’s cross back for him.
Consett were then denied by captain Storey to deflect Smith’s close-range strike behind before the Steelmen had two good chances with ten minutes left as Smith and substitute Luke Carr shot off-target from good positions.
Extra time looked likely until Martin, just six minutes after his introduction, kept a cool head to strike the winner in off a post following good work from star man Richardson to tee him up.
Was it worth the wait? Absolutely.