By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington’s assistant manager Liam McIvor expressed his frustration after the Colliers were on the wrong end of a 4-1 defeat against Garforth Town at Woodhorn Lane on Saturday.

McIvor said afterwards: “There are fine margins in football. For 55 minutes. I thought we were the best team and were 1-0 up. It’s crucial points like we’ve went through two versus one down the side and it’s a poor ball put in which went straight into the ‘keeper’s hands. It’s frustrating because we practice those type of situations – then the Garforth ‘keeper has just launched the ball and the kid (Luke Aldrich) has pulled it out of the air and put one in the top corner.”

He continued: “Frustration was also the name of the game when we went 2-1 behind because it was from a set piece. The players knew all about them (set pieces) as to who man marks who and I don’t know who lost their runner. For the penalty, I thought from where I was standing that it looked more a free-kick to us – but the ball travelled a long way before the penalty incident occurred and the last goal we got caught. We knew this could happen but we needed to try and get another goal because if we had, it could have changed things.”

McIvor was reasonably happy with the way the first half panned out: “Garforth are doing well in the league – but I thought we were doing well and it’s the best I’ve seen us as a team. I wasn’t surprised when we took the lead because I thought we were a bit of a threat today and we created a lot of chances. The goal gave us something to hold onto – but it was a big moment for us just before they equalised. We were in a good area and it’s all about what we do in the opposition’s box – and we need to have a bit more quality.”
 
Ashington travel to face Lincoln United on Saturday (November 22) and McIvor added: “It’s a massive game for us. We made substitutions today to try and protect some of the players who were on yellow cards because we need everyone available.”