By Brian Bennett
Ashington joint head coach Andy Coyles said that a combination of missed chances and errors had proved pivotal as his side went out of the Emirates FA Cup after a 2-1 defeat against Crook Town on Saturday.
Paul Van-Zandvliet had given the Colliers the lead on the half hour mark but Crook levelled with quarter of an hour to go through Corey Nicholson before experienced striker Sonni Coleman headed a winner in stoppage time.
A clearly disappointed Coyles said afterwards: “Missing chances seems to be the common theme with us over the last two to three weeks. Today we were in front but squandered a couple of chances which have come back to haunt us. We had a game plan and take nothing away from Crook – they had a very dangerous set piece from a throw in – but I thought we defended and managed it really well for the majority of the game.”
He continued: “When they (Crook) equalised through an individual error they’ve then got the upper hand and where we are at the moment – having picked up two losses against Congleton Town and Dunston UTS last weekend – confidence is lacking a little bit. I thought we needed to manage the game better during the spells in which Crook had a bit of possession. We were a minute away from a replay and then unfortunately for us, we have made a second mistake deciding to play out in an area where it was tight and congested. Crook have got their tails up at this stage and are pressing with intent and purpose and at that point, we just needed to stick together and see the game out.”
He added: “Take nothing away from Crook – they were a difficult opponent for us today and made it hard for us at times, more so in the second half and in the end, they got their just rewards. I thought we controlled and managed the first half exceptionally well in terms of how we dominated the ball but second half we just couldn’t find our rhythm. We didn’t execute what we had done well in the first half and Crook, in the final stages of the game were better than us.”
He went on: “We really feel for the lads today – similar to when we were at Dunston, as we are having to select a few who are nursing minor injuries and a number of the lads on the bench are also suffering numerous injuries and niggles. It’s a tough one to take when we were in control for the majority of the game and so close to seeing the game out – I thought the lads played some really good football at times – but in the end we were beaten fair and square and hats off to Crook for progressing into the next round.”
He concluded: “A special thanks needs to go out to our supporters who have travelled down today and cheered on the lads right through until the end. As always they were loud and contributed to a good atmosphere.”