By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie
Ashington’s Marc Ellison was disappointed when news filtered through shortly after lunch time that the Colliers’ clash against local rivals Heaton Stannington scheduled for Friday night had been called off due to a frozen pitch at Willow Park.
The 35 year old midfield general said: “I was looking forward to it because the Stan are a former club of mine and I’ve still got a couple of mates there but it is what it is. As a group, we were disappointed when we heard that the game was off because after the loss against Blyth Spartans on Boxing Day, we could have bounced straight back. The weather doesn’t look as if it is going to get any better in the short term but on the flip side I suppose it’s a chance for us to regroup. It might also be what the older lads like Ryan Donaldson, Liam Henderson, Liam Noble and myself need – a little bit of a rest because we’ve had a lot of games recently.”
He continued: “Before the defeat against Spartans, we were on a good run. We had turned a little bit of a corner without playing the best because we’ve played better and lost but we were hard to beat. We were doing the ugly side of the game and were getting rewarded for it which was probably an ingredient of our game which was missing earlier on in the season.”
Hartlepool-born Ellison added: “The manager (Nick Gray) said in his last interview that the squad is stronger now than it was at the start of the season and we’re looking to press on. We’ve got a couple of home games coming up and hopefully we can get decent crowd to support us and take things from there.”
The clash against Spartans attracted a new record attendance at Woodhorn Lane (1488) but Ellison said: “To be honest playing in the derby didn’t seem any bigger a game than usual. I know the ground is spaced out but there didn’t look more in than normal apart from all the seats being taken. On the pitch you don’t really hear much – there are a couple of younger lads in the group and it might have affected them but I don’t see why.”
Killingworth-based Ellison – who is in his second season after signing just before Christmas in 2024 – is enjoying his time at the club: “The lads are great and I’ve known Nick Gray and his assistant Liam McIvor a long time and things are working out alright for me.”