The FA Vase is back! Roundup from around the grounds
But no repeat of Shields’ 2015 Wembley triumph...
THE 2015 FA Vase winners have fallen at the first hurdle as North Shields were edged out by Consett in the first qualifying round.
Paul Robinson had a goal disallowed for the hosts on eight minutes before Michael Sweet tapped home from close range to break the deadlock.
Craig Spooner equalised for the Robins after half-time, his effort deflected past former Shields keeper Kyle Hayes.
Arjun Purewal powered an effort off the crossbar three minutes later, but Consett’s captain found the back of the net just past the hour, striking home Luke Carr’s corner.
The Steelmen will travel to Bridlington Town in the next round and manager Chris Moore was pleased with the fight his side showed.
“I said to the lads, if you get a good cup run, it’s often not going to be a pretty every game,” said Moore. “You need to dig in, in some games, and we had to dig in at the end.
“We’ve had some really good chances and because we haven’t got that third goal, they’re going for it and they’re leaving men up.
“I don’t think Shields had a really clear chance at the end, but you are just always unsure at 2-1.”
He continued: “In the first-half, we dominated possession for long spells, whether or not they let us.
“We created some good chances. In the second-half, into the last 20 minutes, we had to dig in a bit more.
“We changed our shape, we kept them in front and then our chances would come from counter-attacks.”
It was a fast-paced start to the game at the Daren Persson Stadium and the hosts thought they had taken the lead after just eight minutes.
Robinson quickly took a freekick and curled home, but referee Matthew East brought play back and the midfielder’s follow-up attempt was drilled wide.
Consett’s first sight of goal followed shortly after as Carr found the advancing Michael Mackay, who was denied by the legs of Greg Purvis.
The Steelmen started to turn the screw and broke the deadlock on 16 minutes after some great build-up play. Richard Juul found Carr, to the left side of the box.
The former FA Vase winner played the ball across the face of goal for Sweet to tap home from close range.
After not having much sight of goal in the opening half-hour, the Robins started to find their feet and the balance of play started to shift.
Spooner’s effort, from distance, whistled past the post, but Consett should’ve doubled their lead before half-time.
An unmarked Sweet headed wide of the post in the centre of the Shields penalty area.
The Robins had the bit between their teeth after the break and, after testing Hayes in the Consett goal, they equalised as Spooner’s effort deflected into the net.
However, the Steelmen reacted well and just four minutes after Purewal struck the bar, the defender swept home Carr’s corner.
The visitors sat deeper in the final 20 minutes of the game and held out for the victory, Shields manager Marc Nash left “really disappointed” by the defeat.
He said: “It’s a big competition for the club, having won it a few years ago, and the fans turn up expecting to, maybe, have those sort of runs every year.
“I’ll admit the first round isn’t really good enough, albeit it was a very tough draw for us. I didn’t think we deserved to lose today.
“We were good in spells, caused them problems and worked the goalkeeper. Maybe we just lacked that killer instinct to put our chances away.”