By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie
Andrew Johnson has had quite a mixed bag since he re-joined Ashington last week.
The midfielder who played for the Colliers as a teenager, left his hometown club nine years ago and went on to have highly successful four year spells with both Spennymoor Town and Morpeth Town – two clubs higher up the footballing pyramid – before coming back to Woodhorn Lane.
He came on as a substitute in the 1-0 home victory over Bradford Park Avenue before being named in the starting eleven to face Grimsby Borough at the Lane. He scored in the second half to put his side 2-0 ahead against “The Wilderness Boys” but the visitors staged a late comeback to claim a 2-2 draw and a share of the spoils.
It was a case of so far so good for Johnson – who celebrated his 37th birthday last month – until he limped off just before the half hour mark in Wednesday’s 4-1 win against North Shields in the first round of the Newcastle Flooring Northumberland Senior Cup.
With time to reflect, Johnson – an area development manager at the Newcastle United Foundation – spoke about his return to the club: “It’s good to be back and it was also good to get a win and be a part of it against Bradford. The game was open a little bit because they were pushing forward so it suited me and I thought we looked threatening going forward. I haven’t had any pre season but I got in a couple of times down the left and felt okay when I came on. I think I’ve started two games all season and probably played a combined total on 150 minutes overall so it’s not a lot of football.”
After his goal against Grimsby, he said: “I thought it was a good team performance bar the last five to ten minutes. They were a decent side but I thought we were really dangerous going forward and always looked like scoring. On a personal note, I felt good and sharp and I was delighted to get a goal because I’ve always tried to pride myself on goals and assists. Wilson Kneeshaw did brilliantly to dance past a couple of players and he’s put it on a plate for me. I thought that the defender was going to cut the ball out and my first shot was blocked but thankfully I put the rebound in.”
On the down side, Johnson was forced off against North Shields at the Daren Persson Stadium and says Ashington’s ten day break without a game is perfect timing: “To start two games in five days was probably a bit too much for me at this stage,” he said, “I picked up a leg injury when I had a shot – so the rest will do me the world of good.”
He concluded: “I’ve always wanted Ashington to be successful so I’m no different to anyone else – I just want to represent myself well, try my best and put on some performances.”