FA Vase heartbreak as wind and waterlogged pitches help blow Atherstone Town off the road to Wembley

Atherstone Town CFC 1 Consett AFC 3 (1-1 after extra time)

Storms Ciara, Dennis and Jorge may well have played a big part in blowing ring-rusty Atherstone Town off course in their Holy Grail footballing quest to reach the hallowed portals of Wembley.

The Adders consistently punched above their weight in the 2019/20 FA Vase but in the end they couldn't find the extra propulsion needed to overcome three weeks of not kicking a ball in anger.

Saturday afternoon at Sheepy Road saw them come up short – sunk by a lack of match practice as a host of their games were called off from the effects of the twin peaks of violent winds and waterlogged grounds.

That backlog of fixtures meant that before yesterday's clash, Atherstone faced the daunting prospect of a maximum of 27 more games this season at a rate of three a week.

In the end that sharpness that comes with playing regularly was not there and with it went their chances in this Vase quarter-final against Consett AFC.

Ironically they had too much time in this quarter final tie as the game drifted into 30 extra minutes.

Adders did not build from their fairytale start – a deliciously-struck Ryan Quinn goal in 10 minutes in a purple patch that could have seen them go further ahead.

It took their Northern League Division One opponents an hour to get on level terms through Jermaine Metz after missing some first-half sitters. But once on a par in score terms, Consett never looked back and Calvin Smith nodded a brace of headers – and only the crossbar denied him a hat-trick – to see the North East side in the Vase semi-final against Bitton. Hebburn Town will play Corinthian in the other semi-final.

Consett threatened early with a Jake Orrell shot parried by Town keeper Carol O'Neill.

But after 10 minutes it looked as though it was going to be Atherstone's day when the visitors failed to clear a Sam Belcher corner and Quinn fired low into the bottom corner of the net – with the home side's first shot on goal.

Adders applied more pressure and Consett keeper Kyle Hayes came to the rescue when he punched away another in-swinging corner .

Luke Carr went close for the visitors before he squandered the first of a number of gilt-edged chances for Consett to equalise in the first half.

In the 20th minute Adders keeper O'Neill completely miskicked a clearance and Carr lobbed towards an open goal but his shot came back off the post and rolled tantalisingly along the line , spinning away from in the incoming Dale Pearson.

Four minutes later it could have 2-0 to the Adders when, from nowhere, left-back Sam Fitzgerald launched a low, right-foot drive which thudded against the junction of post and crossbar.

In the 28th minute O'Neill made amends for his earlier mistake and spread himself to thwart a Carr shot going just inside the left hand post and won a goal kick with a rebound off the same player.

In the 37th minute, Adders skipper Kyle Baxter diced with dismissal after leading with his head in a clash with Matthew Slocombe. Referee Thomas Parsons appeared to reach for the red card before switching to yellow.

Atherstone took the game to Consett again as half-time approached with Joe Obi putting Consett's Slocombe under pressure before Hayes punched away an Atherstone free kick that bounced awkwardly in front of him.

On the stroke of half-time Consett missed their best chance of going into the interval on level terms when the wasteful Pearson tried chesting an Orrell right-sided cross into an empty net – only to see his effort sail high and wide.

After the break, Adders seemed to loose momentum and Consett looked determined to get back in the game. They nearly equalised with a route one effort which saw a Pearson lob bounce agonisingly off the top of the bar – and then to safety to Atherstone's relief.

Adders' new signing Jordan Francis made his entrance in the 55th minute and came close to opening his account on the hour in a 60-second passage of play that proved critical to the result.

While Adders had not really threatened after the opening goal and with their opponents failing to convert some excellent chances – you had a feeling that Adders might ride their luck.

A quick break saw a Francis shot saved by the legs of Consett keeper Hayes and then the visitors went straight down the other end and Adders' defence allowed right back Jermaine Metz too much time and room to score through a crowded penalty area.

At 1-1, the footballing fulcrum switched in Consett's favour and oozed confidence of progressing to the semis at Adders' expense.

In the 70 th minute, Carr opened up the Adders and O'Neill again proved equal to the challenge and then with seven minutes to go of normal time Consett had a four-two player advantage in an attack which ended with a Carr shot striking tamely and the loose ball rebound being fired over by the misfiring Pearson.

The ever industrious Carr tried his luck again but O'Neill was still having none of it – pushing away the shot as he dived to his right.

Sam Belcher was replaced by Josh Ruff and two minutes left on the 90-minute clock Adders substituted their carded captain Baxter for substitute Kieron Brehon.

The crowd were informed of the decision to play extra time and Adders spent the mini-break at the end of normal time tending to the cramps probably brought on by their three-week hiatus from competitive action.

Consett made a double sub change and took command in the first period of extra time.

Up stepped Calvin Smith to take the tie away from the Adders.

First he had a header cleared off the line by Adders' Pez Cotton and then struck the vital blow in the 100th minute with a neat header following a Metz cross which O'Neill could do nothing about.

Four minutes later it was all over with a Carr corner being converted off the forehead of Smith.

And on the stroke of time, Smith nearly completed a hat-trick when a clearance from O'Neill was lobbed back over the keeper's head to almost perfection – bouncing off the bar.

The final whistle brought the usual celebrations for the victors in front of their travelling fans applause from the Adders fans as their deflated heroes trooped off.

In the end, it was a deserved win for the visitors but no shame for an Adders team who consistently punched above their weight in this competition.

Footnote: Consett AFC chairman Frank Bell had a second reason to celebrate yesterday . . . it was his birthday.