By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC skipper Karl Ross picked up the Supporters Player of the season award at the presentation ceremony in the Woodhorn Lane clubhouse last Friday.

The long serving midfielder said afterwards: “Obviously I’m delighted to get the award. I think it’s special because it comes from the supporters who pay their money every week to watch you and for them to vote for me feels like a big achievement. I can’t thank them enough – they’ve been absolutely brilliant with me week in, week out in the 5-6 years I’ve been at the club. They are special because even when we don’t play well, we get applauded off which is undeserved but that’s what they want to do. I had no idea about the award – it came as a surprise – which makes it all the better.”

It was quite a week for 26-year-old Ross who was a member of the ‘Team Newcastle’ side who won the Emirates 5’s – a five-a-side tournament: “Someone from the Northumberland FA got in touch with me about playing for ‘Team Newcastle’ at St Georges’ Park, the England hub in Burton upon Trent,” he said, “They invited me down and for the experience it was a no brainer to accept. The teams represented four cities – Newcastle; Birmingham; Manchester and London – and all included one ex pro. Ours was Shola Ameobi. The facilities are second to none and it was an unbelievable experience – and to top it off we won the competition!”

So, what was it like being in the same line up as former Newcastle United striker Shola Ameobi? “Shola is 43 but he’s still got the quality,” said Ross, “I’m a Magpies fan so it was all a little bit surreal. It was great because Jermain Defoe, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Ben Foster – the other ex-pros who played – as well as Shola were humble and made time for everyone. It was a great experience and one which I’ll never forget.”