By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Liam Henderson has scored twice in Ashington’s last three matches after coming off the bench – but the striker insisted that it’s all about the team!

The tall forward scored the second goal at Ossett United in a 2-1 win and then netted the equaliser against Silsden on Saturday when Nick Gray’s side came from behind to claim a late victory with a stoppage time strike from Craig Spooner.

“It was a tough start to the season in terms of the team as well as for me personally,” said Gateshead-born Henderson, “Obviously I’m delighted with two goals in three games. It’s alright on a personal level but more importantly as a team and we have picked up some points so things look a little bit rosier. However, it’s about being consistent. Consistency in this league will get you far.”

The 35 year old added: “I’m being kept out of the team by Josh Gilchrist who has been absolutely fantastic. For a little lad he is causing issues and problems for the opposition. He’s scoring goals and getting his rewards and as long as the team are winning that’s what it’s all about. I’m at an age now where it’s not about me from a personal level – it’s about the team. If I can come on and affect games – which I hope I have done today – or gee the lads up, or just be there to give advice then I’m happy to do that.”

Henderson described his goal: “The way I have been playing, nine times out of ten I would have probably missed!” he joked, “However, it was a great ball in by Liam Noble. Scott Lowery was in front of me so I gave him a shout – he listened – and I scored and long may it continue.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington’s Craig Spooner has scored some cracking goals over the past few weeks – and the midfielder admitted at the weekend that he believes he has found a bit of form.

The 26 year-old has netted three times in the last four games, his last effort being the winner in Saturday’s match against Silsden and he said: “It’s been a good couple of weeks for me. If I’m honest, the goal last Tuesday against Hallam was a bit of a shank but the one today and the other against Matlock Town were good goals. I just think we are starting to click a bit as a team and get good wins on the table.”

He continued: “Playing up top with Josh Gilchrist has been good for me. I’ve got a bit of a role where I can drop in and run in behind which I think benefits me and the team. I also believe that I’ve just started to find a bit of form and confidence and now I want to kick on.”

Spooner – who is based in Cramlington – was delighted to grab the winner in the 91^st minute on Saturday: “Ethan Bewley headed the ball on then Liam Henderson has knocked it down to me on the edge of the box. I was confident to have a go – whereas a few weeks ago I wouldn’t have done that and instead would have tried to take the ball down and play. However, because of the way things are going at the minute I thought to myself ‘just hit it’ – and it came off! To be fair, I thought the ‘keeper was going to save it because I didn’t get the best connection on it but when you’re luck is going your way, it works.”

Ashington-born Spooner says he thinks there is more cohesion in the team: “After going 1-0 down today, thankfully we went on to get the three points,” he added, “We’ve done well with three wins in a week and the team are starting to gel together. We are on a bit of a run which is brilliant and hopefully we can keep that going.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington manager Nick Gray wore a broad smile on Saturday tea time after his side had won their third consecutive game in the space of eight days.

Silsden were the latest outfit to taste defeat against a rejuvenated Colliers side following in the footsteps of Ossett United and Hallam – all three results by 2-1 margins – and Gray said afterwards: “It’s been a great week for us. Did we deserve nine points after winning all three games? Well I think we earned our luck a bit. Today first half I thought we looked a bit flat and lethargic but there was nothing much in the game. Second half we started slightly better to be fair and it was a killer punch when they (Silsden) scored. There was a lot of time left and you just think about freshening things up a bit which we did and also changing the shape and I always thought there was going to be a goal in it for us if I’m being honest.”

He continued: “We kept on plugging away and took risks to get back into the game and after we got the equaliser, I thought there was only going to be one team who were going to try and win it. It was an excellent ball in by Liam Noble for Liam Henderson who showed great technique for his goal which levelled things up and what a superb finish by Craig Spooner for the winner, after important flick ons by Ethan Bewley and Henderson. Listen do I feel for them (Silsden) a bit? Possibly – and when I say that it’s because they were ahead for a long time but there have been times when we’ve deserved more out of games and no-one feels sorry for us! There are still things to work on and which we can improve on, however nine points in a week is a fantastic return.”

Ashington moved into tenth spot after Saturday’s win but Gray added cautiously: “When every team has played ten games that’s when I judge. We are ahead of some teams on matches and we’ve got to do better in the next three quarters of the season. However we are going in the right direction and that’s all we can ask from the lads. It’s a long season and for me there’s not a lot of difference in the teams. Silsden have come to us today and they are a decent side – as were Hallam and Ossett United – and we know how tough the games will be in the reverse fixtures.”

Ashington make the journey to face Bradford Park Avenue on Tuesday and Gray added: “We’ve got a difficult period coming up where we play five out of the next six games away from home including the Northumberland Senior Cup match against Newcastle University. However, you’ve got to enjoy the moment and still be hungry to improve and move onto the next game and we’ll go in with confidence on Tuesday against the league leaders (Bradford Park Avenue). It has taken us a little while but the season starts now and we’ve got to keep improving, learn from things which we can do better but enjoy it. As I’ve mentioned before, a week is a long time in football.”

By Brian Bennett

Liam Noble said that a phone call conversation with Ashington manager Nick Gray, was all that was needed before he put pen to paper for the Woodhorn Lane based outfit.

The 34 year old – who made his debut after coming came on as a substitute in the Colliers 2-1 win over Ossett United on Saturday – said: “Obviously I know a little bit about the club with Nick (Gray). I also know a lot of the lads including Craig Spooner, Ryan Donaldson and Liam Henderson whilst Ryan Wombwell is one of my good friends so once I had a phone call (from Nick Gray), there was nowhere else I wanted to play my football – and get back enjoying it – especially with Nick (Gray) and his assistant Liam (McIvor) who I know well.”

Newcastle-born Noble added: “I enjoyed being back out there on Saturday and it was a cracking win for the lads. Conditions were tough but I thought we dominated the game from the first minute. Ossett scored near the end and put us under a little bit of pressure but we saw the game out really well. We knew before the start that we were bottom of the league – but that three points was massive as we go into two home games against Hallam and Silsden. Hopefully we can back this win up starting on Tuesday night and if we can get another three points, our league position will look completely different.”

Manager Gray said: “Liam is a very intelligent footballer who loves the game and needs to be on a football pitch. He’s a great lad and a great player. I’ve known him for a long time when I was manager at Morpeth Town and when you get Liam Noble playing, he’s the best in the league. I even thought his presence helped us today at Ossett. Did he come on as substitute and do a lot? He’s at his best when he is on the pitch and I know how to manage him. He’s a top, top player and Liam McIvor and myself are delighted to have him on board.”

McIvor added: “If he plays to his capability, Liam Noble is one of the best players Ashington fans will see. That’s the reality – he’s that good.”

By Brian Bennett

Josh Gilchrist ended his barren goalscoring streak last week when he netted in Ashington’s 3-2 home defeat against Matlock Town at Woodhorn Lane.

The 22 year old – who was the Colliers top marksman last term – then scored the crucial opener on Saturday when the Wansbeck outfit picked up their first win of the season with a 2-1 victory over Ossett United.

Gilchrist then turned provider when he set up a chance which substitute Liam Henderson tucked away before a late strike by Jack Crook led to a nervous finish which included five minutes of additional time.

However, the Wallsend-born striker was delighted to finally open his account and said afterwards: “From a personal level, it’s been a little bit frustrating because I haven’t got off to the kind of start which I’d have liked as compared to last term. However, you’ve just got to keep working away and trying to get that first goal. Once I got it (against Matlock) I knew more would follow so I was delighted to score again on Saturday. I’ve now netted with two headers – which is not like me at all!”

Gilchrist got on the end of a cross by Craig Spooner – and was quick to acknowledge the quality of balls played into the box: “Today I was stretching for it,” he added, “but we’ve got some players in our team who have got good deliveries including Jay Hornsby on the left, Ryan Wombwell on the right and Craig Spooner. They deliver some great crosses and it’s just about being in the right place at the right time.”

Gilchrist was also happy to contribute with an assist for Liam Henderson: “I was down the left and Liam (Henderson) is always going to be in-between the sticks so it was just a case of putting the ball into a good area,” he said, “The ball fell nicely for him and he put it away well.”

The game was played in incessant rain but Gilchrist thought that helped his side: “It was a little bit slippery and a little bit wet,” he said, “but it suited us because we played some nice football spraying the ball out wide. It’s always a good contest when conditions are like that.”

Gilchrist – a car salesman – says the Colliers have got to be more consistent as they look to hit top gear: “We’ve got a little bit of confidence back which we needed and now we’ve got to kick on – 100 per cent,” he commented, “Even though we lost against Matlock Town, I thought we played well and we took that into today’s game. You can visibly see that we are starting to play better and starting to click a bit more and the next two games are important.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington won for the first time in eight league games with a 2-1 victory over Ossett United  on Saturday – and manager Nick Gray and his assistant Liam McIvor were united in their postmatch thoughts.

Gray said: “I’m thrilled for everyone at the club really, the fans, the committee, the staff but more importantly the players. The win has been a long time coming and to be honest we’ve been close on a couple of occasions. However I thought that Tuesday night against Matlock Town – even though we lost the game 3-2 – gave us a bit of realisation that if we started believing in ourselves we can pick up some points. Today we were very good from the first minute to the last although it was soured a little bit near the end when they (Ossett) scored but it would have been criminal if they had gone on to equalise. I had a gut feeling before the game and lucky things turned out well for us.”

McIvor said: “I thought we were excellent and pressed them (Ossett) well. Our intensity levels were really good today and we took the game to them – something which I haven’t seen us do many times this season. The likes of Matlock Town, Bishop Auckland and Middlesbrough u21’s came to us at Woodhorn Lane with intensity – and we lift our game when we play against better teams – but it was about time we started taking the game to our opponents and we did that today. We got what we deserved but now we’ve got to kick on and put points on the board. We know we are a good team and we have got some good players in the changing room but the position we are in makes us look as if we are a bad team.”

Before the contest Ashington were on the bottom of the East Division table in the Pitching In Northern Premier League but the win lifted them up four places to 18^th.

Gray added: “To be fair, I haven’t looked at the table for the last two or three weeks because I knew we hadn’t won a game so I knew where we would be – and people love reminding me of it. But listen – it’s a long season and we’ve had a tricky start. People like Scott Lowery, Ben Sampson, Michael Colquhoun and goalkeeper Matty Alexander weren’t in the squad today whilst Tyler Jones has come in from Newcastle United and has been brilliant for us in goal. Today he stood up well and has make a fantastic save with the score at 0-0.”

Gray continued: “Ossett had about three chances in the game. They scored a good goal near the end but it was still disappointing to concede and with five minutes of time added on all I wanted was to hear the final whistle. It would have been an injustice if we hadn’t won the game and I’m delighted. We said it was going to be a big week with back to back home games to follow after today and we’ve made the best start possible. We were backed by supporters who came along this afternoon which was great – but to be honest we haven’t performed for them until today and the lads need to start to do that to show them (the supporters) what good players they are. Hopefully the players have now got belief and confidence which will do them the world of good. I said recently that we’ve got a good squad on paper – but paper doesn’t win you anything on a football pitch. Let’s hope we have turned the corner – and I’m confident that we have – but football is a funny game and let’s see what we are saying this time next Saturday. I thought against a good Ossett side that we made them look pretty average – that’s not being disrespectful – but I don’t think they can have many complaints.”

McIvor added: “I didn’t think we were that bad in the first half against Matlock Town last week because we matched them for tempo and no-one had a bad game – it was just the goals we gave away. Today we have done really well – but when they scored towards the end, it was a long five minutes of time added on when you are desperate for three points.  For the first time this season, our subs bench was the strongest we have had in terms of strength and depth. We have got 18-19 players and it’s time for us to kick on.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Nick Gray spoke of his frustration on Tuesday night after watching his side put up a spirited show against Matlock Town.

Josh Gilchrist and Craig Spooner scored in the second half but the Colliers lost the game 3-2.

“Listen after the Consett clash, we wanted a massive improvement and I was pleased with the lads because they gave their all against the best team we have played this season – and that’s no disrespect to any of the other sides,” he said, “We set our minds to it and played with intensity and worked hard and thought we might get some rewards but we didn’t get the run of the green when it mattered.”

Matlock opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a massive deflection: “The first goal

just typifies our luck at the minute” he added, “They have crossed the ball and Scott Lowery has slipped on a pitch which looked great tonight by the way and credit to groundsman Scott Robson. The ball took a deflection and wrong footed ‘keeper Tyler Jones but its the old cliché of if you don’t shoot you don’t score. However, with the form which we have been on recently, credit to the lads because they didn’t buckle and kept on believing.”

Gray was unhappy with Matlock’s second in the 25^th minute: “I’ll study the footage because I thought it was a blatant foul on the far side which led to the goal – but one thing which I will say is that the incident was 70 yards away from our net! Matlock have committed bodies into the box quicker than us but going in 2-0 down at half time, I thought we were still in the game.”

He continued: “The staff believed that we could get back into the contest – we just wanted the players to do the same – and to be fair we started the second half really well having a couple of half chances early doors. Karl Ross then put a great cross in and Josh Gilchrist has jumped for it and the ball has floated into the net. Now it was game on – we were on the front foot – and we wondered whether to change things but decided against it because we were doing smashing. You could see the lads had put a lot of effort into it with some of the players like Scott Lowery, Marc Ellison and Ben Sampson not having played a lot of minutes recently and we just thought about bringing on fresh legs. Then we’ve had another opportunity in the final third to put the ball into a good area and we’ve hesitated, gone backwards and they have broken on the transition with numbers – something which they are good at. The kid (Conor Washington) has had a shot which has hit the bar and guess what? Their player (Cameron Wilson) has reacted quicker than us and scored.”

In the 92^nd minute, Ashington reduced the leeway and Gray said: “The lads kept on going and we’ve scored with a great strike by Craig Spooner. It’s a fantastic individual goal full of technique and it gave us hope – but I was amazed that there were only four minutes of time added on when there were nine substitutions; a couple of head injuries and a little bit of time wasting.”

Gray is looking for the same desire from his side starting with Saturday’s trip to Ossett United: “It’s consistency that we need to look at and improve on as we go again on Saturday,” he added, “If the players continue to give what they have done tonight then there won’t be any issues. We have three important games coming up in a week and we have got to play with the same intensity. The bottom line is if we do that then we have got a chance in all three (games) to get points but the players have to belief in themselves and if we continue with that desire, our first win should come sooner rather than later.”

By Brian Bennett

Following Ashington’s 4-0 hammering against Consett on Friday night it was a distraught Liam McIvor who emerged from the dressing room to give his postmatch thoughts.

McIvor – the assistant manager at Woodhorn Lane – was bold and frank when he said: “I’m speechless to be honest. It’s not very often where I have come away from football and felt that I could cry. We have got some great players in our team but if you give goals away the way we do then you’ll get absolutely nothing. Had it not been for goalkeeper Tyler Jones we could have been 5-0 down inside the first 10 minutes – and we couldn’t have complained. Two nil was bad enough – the goals coming from long throw ins and where we’ve given the ball away – then the third (goal) has killed us just before half time.”

McIvor admitted that words had been exchanged in the dressing room during the interval:

“It’s not the first time this season where strong words have been said and we can’t continue having these conversations every week,” he said, “We’ve had four great training sessions since the Blyth Town game. We talked about how we got away with it at the end of that match with Tyler Jones’s save getting us a point in a 0-0 draw but realistically we should have been out of sight by half time. Against Blyth Spartans we scored a last minute equaliser after conceding a silly goal; the goals at Dunston were equally as bad – and its becoming a recurring theme every week. What I do know is that you don’t win games when you give away goals in the manner in which we do as a team.”

He continued: “Losing 3-0 at half time at Consett, for the second half you either roll your sleeves up, stick your chest out and jump in the trenches or you roll over. What I will say is that we were much better and although they (Consett) scored at the end, we have got to improve as a team. We can’t concede goals the way we are doing and expect to win games of football and that’s the reality. We don’t do the basics well enough at times and we can dress it us as much as we want but the goals we are giving away are a disgrace.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington have been handed an away draw in the first round of the Newcastle Flooring Northumberland Senior Cup.

The Colliers will travel to face Ebac Northern League second division outfit Newcastle University and manager Nick Gray said: “The Senior Cup gives teams a realistic chance to play at St James’ Park which is fantastic. Last year we did well in the competition before bowing out at the semi final stage on penalties against Morpeth Town so we’ll be looking to go one better this time round and get through to the final. We’re away from home and we know what Newcastle University will be about – they’ll be a young, fit and energetic team but we’ve just got to make sure that on the night we are firing.”

The full draw is:

Blyth Town v Blyth Spartans

Alnwick Town v Prudhoe YC

Newcastle Blue Star v North Shields

Newcastle Uni v Ashington

Whitley Bay v West Allotment

Newcastle Benfield v AFC Newbiggin

By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Nick Gray is confident that his squad will break their seasons duck and register a first league win.

In the middle of a break – after the home game against Hallam was postponed last week as the Sheffield side were involved in a cup replay plus no fixture at the weekend or this midweek – Gray spoke frankly as he reflected on the campaign so far.

The Woodhorn Lane club have exited both the Emirates FA Cup and Isuzu FA Trophy whilst currently being on a run without a win in the East Division of the Pitching In Northern Premier League: “We’ve completed the first month of the season now and its always difficult because you’ve got to find ways of winning games – and we haven’t done that yet,” said Gray, “The results in the cup competitions have been disappointing but the league is your bread and butter and we’ve been beaten twice in five games. I’ve spoken to the group and there have been some conversations between us – and what resoundingly comes out is that we are together because all of players and staff care. The fans have been great and we just need to start to turn things around – which we are confident we will do.”

He continued: “Since our last game we’ve had the opportunity to give the players time off but we haven’t – instead we trained three times last week including Saturday and we’re training again this week. If we had been top of the league I may have seriously thought about giving them time off but it’s been an opportunity to put some sessions together which rarely happens during the course of a season and we’ve taken advantage of that.”

Ashington travel to face Consett on Friday night (September 12) at the Belle View Stadium and Gray said: “Over the last couple of games Consett have done really well. They did go down 3-1 against Matlock but they are a very good side and there’s no shame in losing against them. To be fair Consett are a good side. They have made a couple of shrewd signings which have made a difference to them. Come Friday, we’ll have our full squad available with the exception of the two goalkeepers Matty Alexander and Josef Herdman who are both injured. Tyler Jones has come in from Newcastle United and has been a very able replacement in goal whilst outfield wise, it’s now down to the players to perform – which they know themselves. On paper we are strong – but paper doesn’t win you games of football. With holidays out of the way we are looking to move on and I’m confident our first win won’t be far away.”

He went on: “I think the young lads including the Powell twins, Harry and Rory have done really well and although defensively we’ve had a couple of lapses, generally we’ve looked pretty good. For me, it’s the middle third and final third where we need to improve – but we are confident on that score.”

He concluded: “Players always get opportunities and it’s up to them to take them and whilst I’m happy with the squad if there’s room for improvement we’ll look to do that.  This mini two week break has given us breathing space and a chance to regroup. It has allowed us to ask questions and to speak about things. Hopefully the supporters will see a different Ashington and look forward to the rest of the season.”