By Brian Bennett
Striker Josh Gilchrist is hoping to take his goalscoring exploits from Ashington’s warm up matches into the season proper which starts on Saturday week (August 8).
The curtain goes up on the Colliers’ campaign when they take on Ebac Northern League first division side Horden Colliery Welfare in the extra preliminary round of the Emirates FA Cup at Woodhorn Lane – followed by a hectic opening programme in the East Division of the NPL.
Although the Wansbeck outfit only won two out of six friendlies, Gilchrist bagged five goals and says he cannot wait for the competitive action to get underway.
“This has probably been my best haul in pre season,” he said, “However, I think it’s important to get out of it what you need to both individually and as a collective. Looking to reach match fitness is obviously an important aspect but so to is building confidence and scoring goals – which I believe is more of a confidence thing and more of an instinct. If you can get off the mark nice and early which I’ve always strived to do, it relieves a bit of pressure and gives you a better opportunity going into the first game of the season. At the back of my mind, I’m thinking ‘I’ve already scored five – so let’s kick on and score the sixth, seventh and eighth and keep going.”
The 23 year-old – ready to embark on his third season with the club – continued: “I feel good, fresh and fit and I’m excited as we approach the start. We’ve got a young group and we’re learning different things. It’s a blend of older lads and younger lads coming together and looking to create something good – and I’m more than confident that we will be able to do that.”
Newcastle-born Gilchrist went on: “Pre season has gone really well – not just for myself – but for the team. Things are not going to click instantly which we’ve seen in snippets.
Some bits have been good – some not so good but we’re beavering away behind the scenes in training and in matches and the lads have got all the confidence in the world that it’s going to work. In my opinion with pre season games, you obviously want to win but if you get beat it doesn’t really mean anything as long as we are getting fitness plus working on things like in and out of possession – that’s the most important.”