Two goals in either half proved the difference as a clinical Consett hit four to knock Hallam out of the FA Trophy.

Isaac Walker’s superb strike put the hosts in front before a smattering of tight offside decisions saw Consett take a two-goal lead into the break.

There was nothing tight about the final result however as second half goals from Walker and Donny Holdsworth put the scoreline out of reach in what was only Hallam’s second ever FA Trophy fixture.

The Countrymen had chances to get on the scoresheet all throughout the game, but ultimately it all amounted to nothing in what was an afternoon of frustration in County Durham.

Hallam started the game brightly and felt they should have been ahead after just four minutes when Brodie Litchfield turned a Consett defender inside out before drilling a low effort just the wrong side of the post.

Consett came close when Holdsworth’s spectacular effort clipped the outside of the post from distance.

Litchfield then saw another big opportunity go begging when he dropped his shoulder on the left and drilled another attempt into the arms of goalkeeper Harry Moss.

The missed chances looked to be playing a big part in the story of Hallam’s afternoon, and they were made to pay shortly after when Consett’s Isaac Walker cut inside from the left and fired a great strike into the top corner to put the home side in front.

Hallam saw a chance to equalise shortly after the half hour mark when they looked to hit Consett on a quick break, but Staniland’s ball through to Litchfield was adjudged to have been offside.

And salt was rubbed into the wounds moments later when a long ball into the channel was deemed to have beaten the offside trap, allowing Holdsworth to break and roll the ball into the net to double the advantage.

The second half saw more of the same from a Hallam point of view, and soon followed the best chance of the game as Litchfield’s header came crashing off the underside of the crossbar, whilst Leon Howarth’s spectacular bicycle kick following up was saved.

But the home side were to provide yet another sucker punch just after the hour mark when another quick break from a Hallam corner allowed Walker and Holdsworth to combine nicely, with the latter providing a composed curling shot into the corner to extend the lead further.

Litchfield once again came close to carving out an immediate response as his curling effort from the edge of the area clipped the outside of the post.

Substitute Brandon Bradbury looked a livewire after coming on, and could have reduced the deficit himself when he went on a trademark marauding run before drilling wide of the mark.

And the result was put beyond any doubt just short of 75 minutes when Walker twisted and turned in the penalty area before firing into the net to give Consett a four-goal lead.

The Countrymen kept creating opportunities, with Danny South and substitute Calum Ward coming close to getting on the end of Bradbury’s low cross, but there was to be no reply in what was Hallam’s biggest margin of defeat since April 2024.

Match Report: Joe Burton

Photo Credits: John Wiseman