Carlisle were looking for a bright end to a dismal season when they started a sequence of three League games.
Relegated without a victory so far, the city side could at least believe they had a chance of winning all three against opposition in the bottom four.
But it didn’t pan out as they were hoping for at home against Consett, losing 32-24 after taking the lead inside seven minutes.
They had started brightly pinning Consett in their own half and eventually fly half Jake Whittaker found some space inside the visitors 22 metres to go through and over the line for the first Carlisle try.
Carlisle continued to have possession for long periods but couldn’t convert it into points. Then some ill-discipline was punished as multiple penalties gave Consett enough territory advantage to make a five-metre line-out catch and drive an opportunity for their first try on 23 minutes.
The hosts continued to pressure the visitors inside their own half, until a scrum within their 22 was driven on, allowing scrum half Vince Lung the chance to break away from the back and dive over, restoring Carlisle’s lead with 34 minutes gone.
Unfortunately they couldn’t hang on to that advantage until the break. Just before the change round some slack defending allowed the visitors to go over to level the scores.
It was Consett who seemed switched on at the start of the second half, taking the lead just two minutes in, as their winger sprinted down the blindside from a ruck to score their third try.
It gave the visitors a lot of encouragement and Carlisle were having to defend their line for long periods after this.
It would be Carlisle, however, who would get the next score from a break out, as it ended with second row Alfie Batty making a dash for it from about 30 yards out. He just managed to crash over despite the attentions of the last defenders, to level the scores again.
Unfortunately all that good work was immediately undone as a poor restart, gifted Consett possession and space which they exploited by racing away down the right for their bonus point try.
Another penalty gifted the visitors another three points and a fifth try with three minutes to go made it almost impossible for Carlisle to get anything out of the game.
To their credit they kept at the visitors and a penalty try with a minute to go, gave them some hope and at least a bonus point.
However the visitors closed out the last minute of play and walked away with the full five points, leaving Carlisle to ponder what could have been.
