By Brian Bennett
Gary Ormston will wave a fond farewell to his playing days on the football pitch when Ashington travel to face Bradford Park Avenue in their final league match of the season tomorrow.
The midfielder has announced that he will hang up his boots after the final whistle at the Horsfall Community Stadium and as he reflected on the last 25 years he said ‘It’s been some career and I’ve had some incredible experiences but I just thought now was the right time to retire from the game.”
Born in Newcastle, Gary who is 41 has achieved what all non-league players yearn for. He’s played at Wembley and got an FA Vase winners medal; as an avid Newcastle United supporter, he describes an unforgettable night when he won the Northumberland Senior Cup whilst also being part of a league championship side and having had success in other cup competitions.
“At 16 I got a scholarship YTS at York City,” he said, “It was pre-season and my mam and dad took me to Newcastle Central railway station – and I then realised I was on the way to adulthood. After two years at York, I joined Dunston then I dropped down to Heddon on the Wall where my old schoolteacher was the manager but I got demoralised with football. When I got my love back for the game, I signed for Consett where I played over 300 games for them back in the good old Belle Vue days then onto Whitley Bay where I won the Vase.”
“I returned to Dunston, and as you creep over the age of 30 you start to get written off so you spend your time proving people wrong a little bit,” he said with a wry smile, “I then moved to North Shields and had a good spell there. I was approaching near late 30’s and you keep saying to yourself “I’ll see what I’m like and have another year” – but I have never signed a contract and if I felt okay it was a case of ‘let’s go again.’
Ormston lists winning the Vase as one of three distinct highlights during his career. “I was 27 at the time and it was my biggest achievement,” he added, “It was the whole thing – because you’re riding along on the crest of a wave. Whitley Bay had already won the competition twice in as many years. My best mate David Pounder joined Whitley Bay as well but you don’t think that they’ll get to a third consecutive final at Wembley. Paul Chow scored near the end as we beat Coalville Town 3-2.”
He continued: “I would say the best achievement was winning the Northumberland Senior Cup at St James’ Park against a Blyth Spartans side who were brilliant at the time. It was an unbelievable night for me and my family. We got battered early on before I opened the scoring at the Gallowgate end from the edge of the box where I curled the ball into the bottom corner. It remains as being the best game of football I ever played in.”
He added: “The third highlight was when North Shields won the Northern League first division title. We had a really good side and we played Whitley Bay on a Bank holiday Monday. We had to win or draw to clinch the league title – and we came out on top with a 3-1 scoreline. I netted the third with a penalty right in front of our fans and the celebrations were incredible.”
He went on: “I have played with some phenomenal players and it’s been some career. I’ve been very fortunate because I haven’t had a bad injury in 25 seasons and never missed a pre- season. To retire from the game is not a decision which I have taken lightly because I’ve been thinking and talking about it with my friends and family. I fancy doing a bit of hiking and trail running and I’ve also signed up to do the Great North Run this year plus another couple of things. Football has opened up so many doors and we have been to so many wonderful places – like Market Harborough – and even the last few years with Ashington I’ve been to Belper and my family have come along.”
He concluded: “There have been some incredible experiences and things which I’ll never forget – but I think the time is right to give my wife Gemma, biggest fan Sommer as well as my family and friends a bit more of my time. It’s like passing football over to the youngsters and letting them crack on with it.”