By Brian Bennett

On a day when Ashington FC paid tribute to the memory of Sir Bobby Charlton, defender Si Jakab firmly believed that he and his team mates did the town proud following their 2-1 win over Pontefract Collieries.

The 23 year old – who linked up with the Colliers from North Shields – revealed that the players were given a special message. He said: “Before the match, the management team told us that the best thing we could do for the memory of Sir Bobby Charlton was to win the game and to make not just the team but also the town of Ashington proud – and I thought we did that.”

He continued: “The game against Winterton where we won 4-0 was quite helpful and it was a shame that our clash at Sheffield FC was called off. When I woke up this morning (Saturday) there were already a lot of games off in the region and although our surface was really heavy I felt our game only went ahead because we’ve got a lovely ground and people who look after the pitch.”

Jakab – who was born in Budapest in Hungary – began to play senior men’s football with Consett where he spent two years and was on the substitute’s bench for the Steelmen in the final of the 2019-20 FA Vase at Wembley when they finished runners up to Hebburn Town. He then signed for Sunderland RCA before moving along to North Shields: “Whilst I was with Shields last season I picked up an injury – ironically against Pontefract – and was ruled out for the remainder of the campaign before I came to Ashington,” he added.

Sunderland-based Jakab is enjoying his football at Woodhorn Lane: “I love the team and everyone is quite welcoming to me which is always nice,” he said, “I was playing on the right when I got into the side but now I’ve moved a little bit more towards the centre. Because of the unfortunate injury to Nathan Buddle today I had to switch into the middle – but that’s a positive for myself knowing that the management team trust me in whatever position they ask me to play.”

Saturday’s win propelled Ashington into a mid table position and Jakab added: “It’s always tough when you go up a league and we need to get used to it. We’ve got loads of new players including myself in the squad but I feel we have built team morale and have got some momentum going. Basically on our day I believe we are capable of beating anyone – we just need to be ‘at it’ from the start.”

He concluded: “We’ve got some tough games and long travels coming up – but I’m looking forward to them.”