By Brian Bennett
Ashington manager Marc Ellison wore a broad smile after the final whistle on Saturday after watching his side deliver a knockout blow against Horden Community Welfare in the extra preliminary round of the Emirates FA Cup.
The Colliers will now entertain Thornaby on Saturday week (August 22) as goals from Tom McIntyre and Josh Gilchrist wrapped up a 2-0 win over their visitors from the Ebac Northern League’s first division.
Ellison said: “It’s always nice to start the season with a win, of course it is. It gives everyone a lift after the grind of pre-season, so to get through the first game 2-0 and into the next round of the FA Cup, we’re delighted. I thought we took control of the game fairly early in the first half and looked quite comfortable without really causing them too many problems across the half. We got the early goal and then the second one right on half-time which I thought was probably a little unfortunate for them because I think their lad has just fallen over the ball on a sticky pitch, but Gilly (Josh Gilchrist) has still had a lot to do and it was a really good finish.”
He continued: “I’m over the moon for Josh because he’s played out of position today to accommodate some other players and has put a real shift in defensively as well. He probably should’ve had another one (goal) in the second half too but it looked like he got caught in two minds and the ‘keeper (Robert Dean) read him well. Going in 2-0 up at half-time was great obviously but I still felt we had another gear or two in us and had more to offer if I’m being honest. I wanted us to be a bit more aggressive with the press in the second half, try and get them under some early pressure and ideally get another goal so we could enjoy the rest of the afternoon.”
He added: “It didn’t quite work out like that though. Horden went from back to front a lot quicker in the second half, which took away a lot of the opportunities for us to get pressure high up the pitch, and our passing became a bit loose at times. But, to be fair to the lads, we defended really well and never looked like we were in too much trouble. Then as the game went on, you could tell Horden have had three or four more games than us and it did look like if there was going to be another goal, they probably had a bit more in the tank than we did. But listen, it’s a 2-0 win in our first game of the season, we’re through to the next round of the cup, so there’s absolutely no complaints from us.”
He went on: “The fact that we know we’ve got more to offer is probably a good sign as well. Rossy (skipper Karl Ross) and young Jack (Jack Gibson) were brilliant for us in midfield again but Karl has come off with a knock. Hopefully that’s nothing too serious and he’ll be alright for Tuesday night’s local derby against Morpeth Town.”