By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Marc Ellison said he was really pleased after watching his side record their first league victory of the season on Tuesday night when they beat high flying Garforth Town 2-1 at Woodhorn Lane.

Ellison commented afterwards: “It feels like that first win has been a long time coming. We’ve been so close a few times without quite getting over the line, so I’m really pleased to finally get the three points. For the first half an hour or so, I thought we were brilliant. We really took the game to them, played some really good football and the goal was a fantastic move, finished off really well by Bry (Taylor). The stoppage with Rory (Powell) getting injured and having to make a change took the sting out of the game a little bit, but we managed the rest of the half well and got ourselves into the break in a good position.”

He continued: “At half-time we said they (Garforth) would have to change something. We expected them to come out and step on us a lot more, and to be fair to them, they did that and started to grow into the game. But we managed to get up the other end and win a penalty, which Scotty (Fenwick) finished really well. If I’m being picky, I think we could have kicked on again in the second half and continued where we left off in the first. We sat off them a little bit too early, invited pressure onto ourselves and eventually they pull one back and you’re thinking, here we go again. Thankfully, this time we’ve managed to see it through, get our first three points and finally get that monkey off our backs. I asked the lads to build on the positives from Saturday and they’ve done that, and then some more, so I’m really happy.”

He added: “The commitment to defending the lead and the workrate from everyone was tremendous. Harry Powell’s block late on is as good as, if not better than, scoring a goal. That sort of sums up the performance from the lads really – everyone was willing to put their body on the line for the team. They were all brilliant, but Oli Thompson in the middle had his best game for us. He was tremendous from start to finish. I’ve also got to mention my mate Dan Groves. A year out injured, thrown straight into the deep end, and he gave us absolutely everything we knew we’d get from him. It was great to see him back out there and contributing.”

He went on: “There’s still plenty we can be better at, as there always will be, but this is another really solid platform for us to build from. Most importantly, we’ve finally got the win. Hopefully that gives the lads a good bit of confidence and belief going into what is going to be a tough run of four or five away games on the bounce. We’ve earned the three points, now we need to make sure we use them properly and keep building.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Marc Ellison was understandably disappointed after seeing his side go out of the FA Trophy on Saturday following a penalty shootout against fellow NPL East Division outfit Guisborough at Woodhorn Lane.

The game finished 1-1 after 90 minutes with Guisborough skipper James Frazer’s header in the opening minutes of the second period cancelling out Noah Cunningham’s first half strike. The visitors then cliched their place in the next round after winning 4-3 on penalties.

Ellison said : “It wasn’t the most exciting game of football I think anyone will watch this season, but after last week’s disappointing performance, I’m really pleased with the attitude and application we showed today. In my opinion, we probably should have won the game inside the 90 minutes. I thought we grew into the game as the afternoon went on and, considering the conditions, I thought we handled them well in both halves.”

He continued: “I know Matty (Alexander) has made a brilliant save in the first half, but again I think we could still have gone into the break two or maybe even three goals to the good with the chances we had. Then the start-of-the-second-half hoodoo strikes again, which is something we need to look at – they get one back and start putting a bit of pressure on us early doors, but to be fair to the lads, they got themselves together, sorted it out and, like I’ve already mentioned, I thought we got better as the game went on — both with and without the ball.”

Ellison spoke highly of his squad: “We had a really young side out today. I’m pretty sure Rossy (Karl Ross) was the only one in his mid-twenties, with Jack (Gibson), Jude (Cogdon), Oli  (Thompson) and Noah (Cunningham) all teenagers, and the twins (Rory and Harry Powell) are only a year or two ahead of them as well. So I’m really pleased for all of them. They put a real shift in for each other and, at times, played some decent footy too. There was a lot more togetherness about us today, and that was important after last week. Obviously, penalties are a lottery and unfortunately this time we’ve come out on the wrong side of the shootout, which is disappointing.”

Josh Gilchrist stepped up to take Ashington’s fifth penalty knowing that he had to score – but whilst the striker put his foot through the ball and struck it with plenty of power, it went over the bar.

Later Gilchrist received some words of encouragement from his boss: “It’s not quite going for Josh at the moment and he’s beating himself up in there, but we have to remember how young he actually is,” said Ellison, “He’s been around for a while, so sometimes you forget that. We all know how good a player Josh is, and we’ll get around him as a group. Hopefully, the next chance he gets, he can get himself up and running for the season because there’s no doubt he has the ability to do it.”

Ellison concluded: “So, although we haven’t won the tie and we know there’s still plenty to improve on, I’d say I’m relatively pleased with the performance today. Most importantly, after last week, I wanted to see a reaction, and I got one. There’s plenty for us to work on, but today gives us something positive to build on.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Marc Ellison pulled no punches when he spoke in the wake of his sides’ 3-1 defeat against Bridlington Town at Woodhorn Lane on Saturday.

The boss talked about his players showing ‘a lack of courage’ and said that performances like in the second half which were witnessed by a crowd of over 400 ‘cannot be tolerated anymore.’

The Colliers frittered away chances in the first period before the visitors took the lead through Tom Allan. Although home skipper Karl Ross equalised shortly before half time with a fantastic strike, the coast side dominated after the break and deservedly took the points courtesy of goals from substitute Ifeanyi Nnenanya and Ben Tweed.

Speaking after the contest, Ellison said: “First half, I didn’t actually think we were that bad. We had the lion’s share of possession and, yes, we were sloppy at times, but in my opinion we could have been three up inside the first 15 or 20 minutes and it might’ve been a different story. Scotty (Scott Lowery) has had a free header and completely missed it. Macca (Tom McIntyre) has put one over the bar from inside the six-yard box and Gilly (Josh Gilchrist) has danced through a few challenges inside the box and still somehow missed. Then, before you know it, we’re 1-0 down from a free header scored by, ironically, probably the tallest bloke on the pitch (Tom Allan).”

“To our credit, we responded. We got them pegged back and Rossy (Karl Ross) has scored an absolute worldie to get us level going into half-time. At that point, you go into the dressing room in fairly high spirits. More of the same, and it’s a great opportunity to put three points on the board. So much so that they made a triple substitution – so we were definitely doing something right. But what happened after that, I’m pretty much lost for words. We’ve got a real problem in both boxes at the minute. We cannot keep giving goals away the way we do, missing the chances we miss, and then expect to get anything from a game of football. But the most disappointing thing for me is the lack of courage when something doesn’t quite go to plan. We might as well have asked the referee to blow the final whistle when they scored the second, because barring two or three of them, the rest just packed in, went hiding or just looked completely lost. And that is not acceptable.”

He added: “It’s not the first time already this season that we’ve been okay – or even better than okay – in the first half, only to completely fold in the second. So now I’m starting to look at myself. Am I missing something? Am I not motivating them enough to complete a full 90 minutes? But the majority of the players who are here now were also here at the start of last season, and we’re starting to show similar signs to what we saw when the previous manager was here – I think I’m maybes starting to share some of the same frustrations. It’s been a tough transition from being a player to becoming a manager. These are lads who have been your mates, and then suddenly you’re standing in front of them asking more from them. Maybe I’ve allowed those friendships to cloud my judgement a little too often. But that second-half performance is not a reflection of me as a person or as a player, and it definitely will not be a reflection of my football team.”

He went on: “So if things need to change, they need to change now – and they need to change quickly. Because what we saw in that second half cannot be tolerated anymore. I don’t expect us to be battering teams every week. We know who we are and where we are as a football club. But what I do expect is 110% commitment from lads who want to back each other up, play with a smile on their face, and have enough about them to give me, their teammates and this football club something to be proud of. At the moment, we’ve got too many who are nowhere near the standards expected when it comes to the non-negotiables of the game. And, if I’m honest, it’s getting a bit boring having to repeat the same things every week. If we can’t or aren’t prepared to the basic of basics correctly or with any real purpose or desire we’re in big bother. And that may sound harsh as we’re a month into the season – but our standards need to massively, massively improve.”

Ashington manager Marc Ellison admitted that his outfit ‘let themselves down’ after they conceded a late goal and went down 2-1 against Heaton Stannington at Willow Park on Bank Holiday Monday.

After ex Collier Cyril Giraud had given the home side the lead early in the second half, a right foot thunderbolt from Ryan Donaldson with a little over five minutes remaining looked like rescuing a point for Ellison’s side until substitute Sado Djalo popped up in the fourth and final minute of time added to net the winner.

Ellison said: “We weren’t at our best today, far from it. I spoke after Saturday about consistency, and in terms of our performance, I think we’ve let ourselves down this afternoon. Having said that, we knew it was going to be a tough place to come. Not many teams come here and pick up points, so to get ourselves back to 1-1 with, what, five minutes left, we’ve got to manage the game a lot better. We’ve got to recognise that it maybe hasn’t been our day, take the point and get out of here. That’s three league games in a row now that we’ve conceded with virtually the last kick of the game, and it’s just not good enough. That’s five points dropped in the last seconds of games. We could have found ourselves right at the top end of the table, but instead, this afternoon, we’re looking at the other end of it. It’s so, so frustrating because it’s difficult to plan or prepare for those moments. But at the same time, we have to start taking responsibility for them and managing those situations better.”

He continued: “Probably, if I’m being brutally honest, we didn’t really deserve anything out of the game today. But there’s that old cliché that taking points when you’re not playing well is the sign of a good team. We could have been sitting here having a completely different conversation, saying we’ve had a tough opening month and come through it unbeaten. But unfortunately, I can’t really defend the performance or some of the decision-making this afternoon. I thought we looked okay at times in the second half, and you can’t knock the boys for getting themselves back into the game. But once we get back to 1-1, we just need to have a bit more about us. A bit more maturity to see the game out and take what we can from it.”

He added: “The way it’s happened today probably magnifies the goals we’ve conceded in the last couple of league games as well. Teams across the league will be looking at us now and thinking, just stay in the game, they’ll give you one eventually. That can’t happen. We need to mature as a group, and we need to do it quickly, because that’s the difference between being where we want to be and constantly looking over our shoulder again.”

By Brian Bennett

Liam Henderson lit up Woodhorn Lane on Saturday when he scored a wonder goal in Ashington’s 3-1 win over West Auckland in their FA Trophy clash.

In the opening minute of the second half and with his side trailing 1-0, the striker took full advantage of a slip on the half way line by a visiting defender to chip the ball from 40 yards over advanced ‘keeper Steven Bessent and watch as it dropped into the net.

Afterwards the 36 year old said: “I noticed that the keeper was creeping off his line during most of the first half. Obviously I’ve done well to nick the ball off the kid on the halfway line, looked up and when I saw the ‘keeper off his line I thought ‘I’ll give it a go’ and luckily it was the right connection.”

Reflecting on the game, Gateshead-born Henderson said: “In the first half I thought we did okay. We were lacking in the final third but I thought we were playing some all right football and getting into good positions without really hurting them. It was just about being a bit more clinical which was obviously said to the two lads (Benji Shodeinde and Scott Fenwick) who came on because they got the two goals which won us the match. It’s a squad game and we’ve got another match on Monday – so lads are going to have to come together and get minutes and hopefully it’s a good omen for us.”

He continued: “I’ve just come back off holiday and wasn’t expecting to play as long as I did against Dunston on Tuesday. I’m not getting any younger but as long as I am doing a job for the team then I’m more than happy. We’re unbeaten and doing all right without doing great and hopefully we can get our first win on Monday which is the most important thing.”

By Brian Bennett

Striker Scott Fenwick came off the bench and netted his first goal for Ashington in Saturday’s 3-1 win over West Auckland in the FA Trophy at Woodhorn Lane.

The Gateshead-born striker, talking about his strike said afterwards: “Obviously I wanted to come on and get on the ball. Jamie (Holmes) has picked it up (the ball) and slid me in and it’s taken a bit of a ricochet. I had a quick look up and saw the ‘keeper come charging off his line. I knew I was faster than him so I made sure I took a bit touch around him and just slid the ball into goal to wrap the game up and send us through.”

Fenwick – who works in recruitment for Premier League outfit Everton FC – added: “As a whole I thought we were in control from the start. It was disappointing to concede a goal but I thought the lads had plenty of the ball and moved it probably a bit slower than what we needed to at times – there were a few little areas where we could have upped the tempo and hurt them – but I didn’t think we were in trouble. They (West Auckland) maybes had a little spell of five minutes when they went a bit longer but I thought the back four and Rossy (Karl Ross)  dealt with things really well. Obviously Ryan (Donaldson) got on the ball as much as he could and dictated the game and I thought our goals at the end were credit to us for wearing them down.”

Fenwick spoke about fellow striker Liam Henderson and his fantastic goal straight after half time: “Liam’s a good player and has still got all of his experience,” he said, “We grew up together so I’ve watched him from being a young boy at 11. We went to school together, and came up in the school team together. Liam had a good career when he was young then obviously he’s come back home. He uses his body well and he’s a big old fashioned number nine who holds the ball up, He has chipped the ‘keeper today and it’s the old cliche that if you don’t shoot you don’t score.”

The 36 year old, who is based in Low Fell, is looking forward to Monday’s clash against Heaton Stannington: “Obviously  it’s another North East battle between two good teams. Heaton Stannington are very well organised and I think they will be looking to cement a proper play off place this season. They made some good signings in the summer and have started the campaign off okay. It’s an early kick off (12 noon), so there should be a decent crowd and it’s a nice game to look forward to.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Marc Ellison said he was ‘really pleased’ after his side knocked West Auckland out of the FA Trophy following a 3-1 win at Woodhorn Lane on Saturday.

James Hughes fired the County Durham side ahead early in the contest but the Colliers hit back to book their place in the next round with second half goals from Liam Henderson, Benji Shodeinde and Scott Fenwick.

Ellison said: “Overall, I’m really pleased. Obviously, it’s good to get the win, and I’m really happy for the lads who maybe haven’t played as much as they’d have liked so far. I thought there were a lot of positives in terms of how we tried to play as well. It’s still early in the season and things are far from perfect, but some of the things we’ve been working on and the concepts we’re trying to get across definitely poked their heads out this afternoon, which is a real positive. I thought our desire to go and get the ball back as quickly as possible was really good again, and that gave us a better platform to enjoy some decent spells on the ball. So yeah, I think over the course of the game we deserved the win.”

He continued: “I still think we could be a bit more composed in the final third, especially in the first half, but there were some really good moves in the second half and it was good to see some of the things we’ve been working on coming together. On another day, we could probably have had a few more. I thought Jude Cogdon was brilliant as well in his first start for us – I thought he took his opportunity really well and we’ve got real healthy competition now across the pitch.”

Looking ahead to the league clash against Heaton Stannington on Bank Holiday Monday which has a noon kick-off, Ellison said: “The most important thing for us now is that we keep building and finding come consistency in our performances. We’ve got another really tough game on Monday afternoon at Heaton, so hopefully we can get as many of our fans there as possible to make the short trip and get behind the lads.”

Ashington AFC will offer FREE ENTRY to Blue Light Card holders for our home league fixture against Bridlington Town on Saturday 5 September.

The gesture follows the recent fire behind Woodhorn Lane, which came dangerously close to our floodlights and stands.

We were fortunate that serious damage was avoided, thanks in large part to the swift response of Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service, who quickly brought the fire under control.

At a time when our communities are facing growing challenges, our emergency services and frontline workers continue to be there when they are needed.

While the idea came from wanting to recognise and thank the firefighters who responded that evening, we wanted to extend the gesture to those working across our other emergency and frontline services who are there for people every day.

It’s a small way for Ashington AFC to show our appreciation and simply say thank you.

⚽ Ashington AFC v Bridlington Town
📅 Saturday 5 September
⏰ 3pm kick-off
📍 Woodhorn Lane
🎟️ FREE admission with a valid Blue Light Card

Simply show your valid Blue Light Card at the turnstile to receive free entry.

By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Marc Ellison said it was a kick in the teeth and his group of players as well as the management team were left bitterly disappointed after they conceded a late equaliser against Dunston on Tuesday night.

Second half substitute Liam Henderson poked the ball home to give the Colliers the lead just past the hour mark but Ben Ramsey struck in the last minute of time added on to secure a point for promotion chasing Dunston.

The boss said afterwards: “I’d have taken the draw at 5.30pm when I got to the ground, but when the equaliser comes that late, it’s a bit of a kick in the teeth, especially when the boys have worked so hard throughout the game. The main objective tonight was to show a reaction to Saturday’s second-half performance (against Thornaby), and we knew we’d have to suffer without the ball for spells. Dunston are a really, really good side with a brilliant management team. They’re going to be challenging for promotion again, if not even winning the league this year and I think they’ve improved all over the pitch in the summer.”

He continued: “For long periods tonight, yes, they had the ball, but I thought we defended really well and stood up to anything that came our way. My only gripe would be that, after we went in front, we started going long to Hendo (Liam Henderson) far too early. The gaps between the units ended up being too big, and the ball just kept coming back at us. The law of averages tells you that eventually one attack might sneak in, and unfortunately, that’s what’s happened (for their equaliser). Also as well as being a little bit braver in possession at times, just to relieve some pressure and impose our style is what we want to do with the football. But listen, we’re fighting different battles to Dunston this season. If we put a shift in like that, then we’ll earn the right to go and play our football against 90% of our opponents.”

He added: “Overall, of course, we’re bitterly disappointed that we couldn’t take all three points after conceding so late. But it’s a point at home against a top side, it’s another point closer to where we need to be, and it’s another league game unbeaten at home.”

Ashington now prepare for a double-header over the bank holiday weekend with a home game against West Auckland Town in the FA Trophy on Saturday followed by a local derby fixture in the league against Heaton Stannington on Monday and Ellison said: “We’ll have to assess a few of the players before the weekend, with a few niggles here and there. Saturday-Monday games are a big ask, so we’ll be looking to utilise the squad as much as we can.”

By Brian Benentt

Ashington manager Marc Ellison said he was left frustrated and disappointed after watching his outfit bow tamely out of the Emirates FA Cup following a 3-2 defeat against Thornaby on Saturday.

The Colliers led on two occasions in the preliminary round clash through Jamie Holmes and Craig Spooner but the Teessiders replied with a goal from the penalty spot by Spencer Walker and a bullet-header by Jacob Thompson before Walker scored what proved to be the winner.

Ellison said afterwards: “I’m frustrated and disappointed – that’s probably the best way to describe how I feel after this afternoon. I thought in the first half we looked really comfortable again. Then we get another horrendous refereeing decision to award them a penalty. I don’t even think anyone claimed for it – and he (the referee) must’ve been the only person in the ground who thought it was one. I said last week that we can’t control decisions like that, but that said, it’s not the reason we lost the game as we went back ahead, so it’s no excuse.”

He continued: “At half-time, the message was pretty much more of the same; relax in the final third, up the tempo a little bit, and I was confident we’d have a good second half. But the goals we gave away are so poor. A free header from a corner inside the first 30 seconds, and then, if I’m being brutally honest, we just went through the motions. Things didn’t go our way as we’d hoped, but we didn’t roll our sleeves up and put it right. I think it took us until the last five minutes of the game to actually look like we wanted to go and score a goal, get something from the game and play with any real urgency.”

He added: “I can’t quite put my finger on what it is at the moment, as the game has only just finished. Maybe it’s a lack of leaders, maybe it’s confidence, maybe it’s concentration -I’m not sure. But the difference between the first half and the second half is worlds apart.

And, to be fair, we weren’t exactly at our free-flowing best in the first half either. But we looked comfortable, we looked a threat going forward and we looked like we could cause them problems. Second half, I don’t really know what to say about it – probably the less said, the better.”

He went on: “Listen, we’re four games in, two of them being in the FA Cup, and there’s a long, long, long season ahead of us. We haven’t been at the races this past week, but there’s a really good group of lads in that dressing room who want to do well for this football club. They wouldn’t be here otherwise. So yes, we’re all very disappointed with the result today, but our main focus always has been, and always will be, our league position. We know we need to be much, much better if we’re going to be anywhere near where we want to be come the end of the season. There’s no hiding from that, but like I said we’re four games in – there’s no time for crisis. We’re up against Dunston – one of the league favourites – on Tuesday night, so there’s absolutely no pressure on us, we’ll have already been written off for that one as well so that’s something we need to use to our advantage.”