Stockton Town v Consett

Hosts: Stockton Town Football Club

Venue: Coverall Stadium, Bishopton Road West, Stockton-on-Tees TS19 0QD

LOCATION REPORT

SatNav: TS19 0QD
Parking: large onsite car park (shared with adjacent college), 230+ spaces

Public transport: bus #59 (Town Centre-Station-Hardwick/Hospital), Stockton station (1 mile away, 8 mins by #59 bus)

Entry: adults £6, concessions £3 under-16s £2
Programmes: £1

Refreshments: Stadium Cafe (eg £3 pie+peas, £1 hot drinks, £1.50 hotdog, 80p crisps)
Licensed: not available pitchside; Social Club bar in next-door building [ask stewards to exit/re-admit]
Toilets: ladies/gents pitchside
PA system: none

Covered seating:

(W) main stand = capacity is c90 seated over 4 tiers.
Visitors note: only the lowest two tiers are general availability, most seats are reserved for season-tickets or club officials (see the seat map posted outside the ground!) 

Covered standing:

(W) main terrace = covered shed, stepped with 6 tiers, c120 standing total
Open viewing:
(W) 1 x park bench = 3 seated
(all sides) asphalt hardstanding & lean-on fencing all-round

Floodlights: 6 (3 per flank)

MATCH REPORT

Kickoff: 3:00pm Saturday 28 September 2019
Competition: Ebac Northern League Division One
Weather: mild, dry, sunny, clear, light breeze

Final [h/t] score (team colours):
2 [1] Stockton Town (yellow shirts/socks, blue shorts)
2 [1] Consett (all red)

Sent Off: 0

Official crowd: 438

Official Northern League Report

Social media [Twitter]: @theofficialnl, @stockton_townfc, @ConsettAFC

NORVENMUNKI's COMMENTS

Out hosts today, Stockton Town, are on a bit of a roll currently, having won every match in the league so far, and thus they lie second in the table. The visitors, Consett, are third, boasting the same points tally albeit having played five more matches. So from a footballing perspective, it's all set for a proper contest with genuine bragging rights.

The Coverall Stadium shares a car park with the adjacent sixth-form college, and this afternoon there are lots of people milling around for various community activities. The parking itself is excellent and not too busy yet, around forty-five minutes before kickoff, but soon gets busier as the waves of cars approach. There are plenty of visitors down from Consett, all full of cheer.

At the gate, there are two turnstiles in use today, so another good crowd is anticipated. The league-match average attendance here so far is 419 (with today's attendance slightly above that at 438).

There's a helpful and jolly service from the girls at the stadium cafe, with the offerings including a wide choice of pies and some juicy hotdogs.

The astroturf playing surface looks in good nick. As it happens, Consett also play on a 4G pitch at home, so both sides should be acquainted with the peculiarities of the bounce etc, and neither will have an advantage today in that regard at least.

Around the compound, there are plenty of small goals on wheels, for use with college or public/community activities. Indeed, today there are lots of 'little leaguers' around the place, some having been playing mini-soccer nearby earlier.

The weather is kind today: the sunshine is strong enough to merit sunglasses, the clouds above us are mostly white, with their grey tinges implying that it might not stay dry throughout though.

There's a camera crew sited pitchside up on a scaffolding tower, an increasingly common phenomenon nowadays in the era of social media, and I'm a bit supporter of that. Hopefully, he'll have something working filming today.





The crowd grows rapidly just before kick-off; there are lots of generations of humans and a fair few cute dogs too. New waves flood in, some possibly from the bar at the social club next door.
There's lots of singing from both sets of fans, with the Consett banter incessant but less original (and peppered with a helping of juicy language!).

This is something that you pick up on as you do a Quest like mine. At the lower levels, unsurprisingly, the crowds are much lower and the atmosphere always struggles to get going through sheer lack of numbers. The banter and camaraderie is still there, of course, but the voices are fewer... and the typically lack of an enclosed stadium means poorer acoustics.
Here, we get to that tipping-point; where hundreds of people singing or laughing together creates a wall of sound. The litmus test is sometimes whether you can hear the instructions between the players above the hum of the watching crowd.

The two teams emerge. Handshakes. Game on....

After around 20 minutes, a local fan arrives late and takes a space beside us. He asks us if there's any score yet, to which we obviously reply no.
Then, literally seconds later, it's 0-1! A shot driven low beyond the Stockton keeper. At least the late-arriver didn't miss anything, I guess? 

The sunshine is burning my head. It's turning into a nice warm sunny day.

With around 37 minutes gone, we get an equaliser. A long-range strike from the Stockton forward flies in but the Consett keeper flaps in mid-air and can't touch it. All square: 1-1.

It's half-time.
We change our spec and go to sit down in the front row of the stand. There's no sunlight in our eyes now, as we're under the shade of the roof overhang.



The game restarts...

Local fans burst into a chorus of "Naah, naah, naah, na-na-nah naaaaaah, na-na-nah naaaaah....Stockton! to the tune of 'Hey Jude'. Not exactly original but catchy and infectious, and any nod to Paul McCartney is good in my books.



After 70 minutes or so, Consett retake the lead. A good passing move comes in from the right flank, and the shot is slotted in the corner from the edge of the area: 1-2.

Then, in the very dying moments, it's all-square again!
Some nifty footwork down the Stockton left leads to a spot of jiggling through the red defensive wall and chipping to the far post, where the big Stockton forward leaps highest and powers his header into the top corner.

Cue eruptions amongst the locals. The atmosphere is buzzing!

 

It's all Stockton now. The home side pile on the pressure in the final added time, the onslaught is relentless.
Consett are desperate to hoof the ball clear, their rearguard digging in tirelessly to protect their precious point.

The local fans are full of voice for sure: every touch is clapped and encouraged.

At the final whistle, it's 2-2. A fair result in a thrilling contest. This clash of two strong teams was indeed a great entertainment and as a neutral you can't ask for more than that. Well done, all.



Remarkably, the fans seem to swarm out within seconds. In fact, the crowd is almost empty before the two teams have actually left the pitch.

The sun breaks through strongly again. We hang back and applaud everyone. The car park will be bedlam for a little while yet, so we let the flood subside and follow-on shortly.