By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner – after watching his side reach top gear on the opening day of the campaign where they won 6-0 against Seaham Red Star at Woodhorn Lane – believes the first division of the Ebac Northern League will be ‘very competitive.’

Skinner said: “I think we’ll see a Northern League this season where lot of teams will beat each other – and I don’t think anyone will run away with it not by any stretch of the imagination. I think it will be a very competitive league. Before Saturday’s match against Seaham Red Star, I was quietly confident on several aspects – with the squad we have put together; the fact that we were at home on our patch and with a good crowd who always get behind us. I thought we could take the game to Seaham and give them a really good game and make it a tough afternoon for them which we did. Scoring early helps but I sensed the players were going to be bang on today – and everything turned out to be just fine.”