By Brian Bennett

It was a crestfallen Liam McIvor who emerged from the Ashington dressing room after promotion chasers North Ferriby had come back from a two goals deficit and scored a stoppage time winner at Woodhorn Lane on Saturday.

The defeat rubbed more salt into already sore wounds for the Wansbeck outfit following their semi-final defeat in the Newcastle Flooring Northumberland Senior Cup against Morpeth Town in midweek.

McIvor admitted that the sending off of defender Ben Williams on the hour had changed the game. The Colliers held a 2-0 lead when Williams was shown a straight red card for a DOGSO – denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity – but the assistant manager added that there were no excuses and that the players ought to have gone on and won the game.

“After going out of the semi-final of the cup on penalties, it was a demoralising defeat,” he said, “I just hope today’s result doesn’t come back to bite us when we look back at the end of the season. We were cruising at 2-0 – absolutely cruising- and they (North Ferriby) didn’t even test us. The sending off has changed the game and killed us but we were 2-0 up and should still have gone on to win the game. The three goals which we gave away were a disgrace and there are no excuses.”

McIvor had been pleased with the way the first half had panned out: “We came in 1-0 up and I was quite happy,” he added. “The goal followed great play and was a good finish by Josh Gilchrist. We had something to hold onto and then we started the second half really well. Gilly (Gilchrist) got his second (goal) early in the second half and we were in cruise control. In that situation you’ve got to see the game out but unfortunately, we didn’t. Ben Williams is last man and it’s probably a sending off if I’m honest, but we’ve put ourselves in that situation where we should be a bit cleverer. After that things went downhill and we haven’t done our jobs defensively.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Nick Gray admitted that his sides’ exit from the Newcastle Flooring Northumberland Senior Cup against Morpeth Town on Tuesday night was ‘a cruel one to take’ – but said he couldn’t have been prouder of his players.

On a night of high drama at Craik Park, the game finished all square at 2-2 before the Highwaymen cemented their place following a penalty shoot-out which they won 4-3. Morpeth will now face Heaton Stannington or Newcastle United U21’s in the final which will take place at St James’ Park.

“I thought the lads gave a great account of themselves but sometimes in football you don’t get what you deserve,” said Gray afterwards, “To be fair we were a bit nervous before the game but I thought we were the better side. Morpeth scored and that seemed to galvanise us a little bit because we grew into the contest. We said at half time as long as we stay in the game, the longer we would get confidence and I thought we did that. We had some good opportunities and had more entries into the final third than Morpeth.”

He continued: “In the second half the game opened up and I thought we found better spaces. We got an equaliser then to be fair you think about substitutes and its one of them where the lads who came off had done nothing wrong – it was just a case of trying to freshen things up. Then after we went a goal behind in injury time, I thought the boys showed character to come back and get an equaliser. It then goes to penalties – but I don’t know why games like this don’t go to extra time because we are all here, the people are enjoying it, so what difference is it going to make playing an extra 30 minutes? Penalties are a lottery and to be fair we were behind a couple of times and our goalkeeper Ryan Catterick kept us in it with a couple of saves but fair play to the lads who stepped up to the mark to take the penalties. However, I couldn’t have been prouder of the lads than I am tonight. We were down in numbers and that’s down to our small squad but every one of the players gave everything tonight. It’s a cruel one to take but there are more positives than negatives.”

Gray – who was in charge at Craik Park when they won the FA Vase in 2016 –  added: “I’ve had a lot of good times here at Morpeth and I’d like to wish them all the best in the final. The Morpeth chairman Ken Beattie has had a challenging time recently and I’d like to send my best wishes to him as well.”

Ashington return to action on Saturday (March 1) when they face North Ferriby at Woodhorn Lane in the NPL East Division and Gray said: “If we show the same attitude and commitment for the last ten games of our league programme we’ll be fine. We have got to work on our consistency because you can’t just turn it on one week and not the next. We think we know how many points we need to stay in the league and the quicker we can get them the more we can enjoy the run-in to the end of the season.”

By Brian Bennett

Skipper Karl Ross will lead Ashington out against Morpeth Town in the semi final of the Newcastle Flooring Northumberland Senior Cup on Tuesday night  – firmly believing that it will be ‘all cisterns go’ at Craik Park.

The 26 year old midfielder – Ashington’s longest serving player who is a plumber by trade – reckons the clash will produce a good game of football where anything can happen.

Cramlington-based Ross said: “We’ve done well to get to the semi final and all of the lads will be treating this game as if it were the final. It’s going to be a hard test for us because Morpeth are a great team but it’s also a challenge which we will relish. We beat them on their home patch in pre season and if we can perform like we have been over the past few weeks then who knows?”

He continued: “The 3G surface will help us as we try to play out rather than it being on a grass winter pitch which maybes wouldn’t be in pristine condition. Morpeth are a team who like to play football – and so are we – and because of that, I think it will be a good contest for the neutral spectator to watch. However, it’s one of those games where anything can happen. With us being in the NPL East Division – the league below Morpeth – we’ll be the underdogs, but we will have loads of confidence believing that we can win the game.”

Ross is hoping for a good turnout of supporters from the Woodhorn Lane-based club: “Ever since I joined Ashington, the fans have come out in their numbers – so we should have excellent backing on the night,” he added, “It’s a local game; it’s a relatively short distance to travel and I’m sure it’ll be a great match with two sets of great fans.”

The winners will book their place in the final at St James’ Park against Heaton Stannington or Newcastle United U21’s but Ross said cautiously: “It’s naturally a big plus knowing that the final will be at a brilliant venue – but our minds will be focussed purely on the game in front of us and no further.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington’s assistant manager Liam McIvor says he ‘can’t wait’ for Tuesday night’s clash against Morpeth Town in the semi final of the Newcastle Flooring Northumberland Senior Cup to come around.

Apart from local rivalry, the tie which is being staged at Craik Park, will see the Colliers from the Pitching In Northern Premier League’s East Division pit their wits against the Highwaymen, who operate in the division above and McIvor said: “I can’t wait for the game to start because there is no pressure on us – we are the underdogs –  and Morpeth are the team who are expected to go through. However, if the Ashington who played in the second half against Brighouse turn up, we’ll give them (Morpeth) a good game.”

He continued: “It’s a 3G pitch and there is pace in our front three. We’ve got three players cup tied and our squad is not the biggest but with the final at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park what more of an incentive do you want.”

By Brian Bennett

Sam Fishburn, Ashington’s new on-loan signing from Scunthorpe United, made his first appearance for the club in the 3-1 away defeat at Bridlington Town – then revealed afterwards that he could have been facing the Colliers at the Mounting Systems Stadium on Saturday instead of playing for them!

“Funnily enough, I was supposed to be signing for Bridlington – but I wanted to come to Ashington instead!” said the 21-year-old striker who is based in Gosforth, “All I want is to do the best I can, get as much game time as possible and obviously help the boys to get up the table. Today, I thought I did alright to be fair because it was my first 90 minutes for probably over a month so fitness wise it was good to get a start.”

Gateshead-born Fishburn is eligible to play for the Colliers in Tuesday night’s semi final clash of the Newcastle Flooring Northumberland Senior Cup against his former club Morpeth Town – and will go into the contest at Craik Park with fond memories: “I played and won the Senior Cup with Morpeth a couple of seasons ago when they beat Blyth Spartans in the final at St James’ Park,” he added, “It’s a good competition for teams to get into the final and obviously the thought of playing at the home of Newcastle United is a big incentive going into the Tuesday’s game.”

Ashington boss Nick Gray was pleased to tie up the loan deal – which is for an initial month – and was impressed with Fishburn’s first outing: “I thought Sam gave us a good presence up top today,” he said, “He had a torrid time as he got kicked all over but I thought he was a pivotal point for us. To be fair to the lad, he started the game today but had not even trained with us. Consequently, it was a bit of a risk to put him straight into the side but I didn’t really have a lot of options. I thought Sam gave a good account of himself in difficult circumstances and he will get better for us.”

By Brian Bennett

Manager Nick Gray apologised to the Ashington supporters following Saturday’s 3-1 defeat against Bridlington after his side had capitulated in the first half hour during which they conceded all three goals.

‘The Seasiders’ accepted charitable gifts from the Colliers inside a 20 minutes spell and although they rallied after the break and pulled a goal back through Ben Sampson, it proved to be an insurmountable task on the day.

Gray was furious when he emerged from the dressing room afterwards and said: “I’m really disappointed for the travelling fans and we are really disappointed as a group. People have got to stand up and be counted – you can’t just turn it on like a tap. It was a game where there were points available for us today and we didn’t take them but if you give teams three goal starts at this level you don’t deserve anything. If you look at the three goals we conceded, for the first, we lose the ball from our corner and they (Bridlington) go up field and force a corner themselves. The lad doesn’t head the ball at the highest point, he scores it three yards off the floor. The second, was one long ball which we couldn’t deal with and for the third it was our throw in and we’ve given it away in the final third and when they break, their lad is standing unmarked to score.”

He continued: “At half time I said to the players that there were still points in the game for us but there’s no point in me saying it and believing it – they had got to do it themselves. We got a great start to the second half when we pulled a goal back and I was hoping we were going to kick on but it didn’t materialise. To be fair. we were a little bit limited with the personnel we had on the bench today with what we could and couldn’t do but you can’t win games of football with three or four players and that’s what we played with today. I don’t know whether the upcoming semi final in the Newcastle Flooring Northumberland Senior Cup against Morpeth on Tuesday was on the players’ minds and they didn’t want to get injured but the most important game for me was today – not Tuesday. People need to be counted and I just thought we let ourselves down; the club down and the supporters down who had travelled.”

Ashington remain in mid table seven points above the drop zone and Gray added: “It’s disappointing that Bridlington – who are around us – have gained three points because we are still not out of the mire and it’s still in our own hands but we gave ourselves a mountain to climb. Has their ‘keeper made many saves again? Have we put the ball into good areas? Have we put the ball into dangerous areas? Are people prepared to make runs into the channels or make things happen and turn bad balls into good balls? We didn’t do enough today and we are where we are. You’ve got to earn the right to win games of football and I’m just annoyed at the goals we have given away today because they (Bridlington) haven’t had to work hard for them and that’s where we are at the moment with a bit of inconsistency. If anyone had suggested to me before the game that we would get beat 3-1 – and with no disrespect to Bridlington – I wouldn’t have seen that coming. They are in a scrap themselves and first half were more hungrier than ourselves and you can’t have that in football. They were also more aggressive; more creative and quite direct and it was effective for them. They committed bodies forward and fair play to them.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington striker Josh Gilchrist hit double figures for the season on Saturday when he scored a brace which helped his side to a convincing 4-1 win over Brighouse Town.

And afterwards the 22 year old admitted that wearing the number nine shirt is a big responsibility: “From a personal point of view, things are going well for me at the moment and I’m really enjoying it,” he said, “I seem to be in the right place at the right time and it’s a big role playing a number nine because you are expected to score goals. I think every now and then that I’m creeping up and scoring the goals which is the most important thing I can do.”

Wallsend-born Gilchrist, who is a car salesman, continued: “You always have targets in your mind but it’s pretty much a case of me trying to score in every game and play as well as I can for the team. I’ve set myself a target and there are still plenty of games left – so there are opportunities to score more goals and to help the lads out.”

On Saturday, Gilchrist netted the first from the penalty spot and the second in the last minute of the 90. He said: “I was pretty much settled in my mind what I was going to do with the penalty – it’s a case of putting the ball down and picking my spot. For the second goal, Wilson Kneeshaw has done well because he’s up against a strong lad. He’s managed to beat him with a bit of pace and skill and then it’s about me getting in between the two goalposts. I could have stayed out on the edge of the box but I thought if I continue my run, all Wilson had to do was slide the ball across which he did and it was a nice easy finish.”

On the game itself, Gilchrist said: “Today was a good win for us. We started off pretty slow, but we grew into the game and then dominated for much of the it. We just didn’t move the ball quick enough in the first half but manager Nick Gray and his assistant Liam McIvor told us that we needed to do things a bit quicker and with a bit more urgency. That’s what we did and we ended up winning the game nice and easy.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington’s assistant manager Liam McIvor was clearly delighted on Saturday after the Colliers had extended their unbeaten run to four matches with a convincing 4-1 success over Brighouse Town.

“Looking at the bigger picture, our results show only two defeats from our last 12 games – and today was another fantastic win in what for me was a game of two halves,” he said, “Overall I was really happy with the victory. The result put us nine points clear of the drop zone and I reckon we still need one more win to secure our league status.”

McIvor admitted that the opening 45 minutes was a hard watch: “When you come off the back of a good away win which we had through the week, sometimes you are just waiting for something to happen – someone to come up with a bit of magic. However the first half was awful with passing sideways and backwards and I don’t think we had a shot until the 38^th minute.”

He continued: “We proved that you have got to earn the right to win games because that was certainly what we did in the second half where we were much the better side. Basically all manager Nick Gray and myself said at half time was for us to try and get out of second gear and to go forward with a bit more urgency. The first thing we should be looking to do is to go forward – and we did that. The strongest part of our game is our two v ones around the sides and we didn’t do that once in the first half. We play and create our goals from those situations and when we did it two or three times in the second half we got goals from it. Ryan Wombwell got up high (on the pitch) and won us the penalty and it was a great finish from the spot by Josh (Gilchrist). Then in another  two v one, Craig Spooner has slid in Josh who has pulled the ball across for Karl Ross to score.”

Without a fixture in midweek, Ashington now prepare for a trip to face Bridlington on Saturday (February 22) and McIvor added: “We are on a good run and it’s another big game for us.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Nick Gray was ecstatic after his side came from behind to clinch a 2-1 victory over Bishop Auckland on Tuesday night.

And afterwards the boss said: “There are some happy faces in the dressing room – and I want to see happy faces more often! I’m delighted with the result. It was a great win and I thought we deserved it over the 90 minutes. It’s a good three points but it’ll be even better if we can get something from our game against Brighouse Town at Woodhorn Lane on Saturday. Our home form has got to be better. We’ve got 12 games left – six at home and six away – and if we get our home form right then we won’t have to come to away places where we are under the cosh at times. Bishops put balls into our box but we were brave. We headed a lot out and put our bodies on the line and as a group and as a unit, we dug in.”

He continued: “I thought Bishop Auckland started the game well. They got their noses in front and caused us some problems but as the match wore on we dealt with them then got the equaliser before half time.”

He added: “Second half we got into some good areas and had a couple of good chances to get another goal and eventually when we went 2-1 up, we had something to hold onto. I thought each and every one of my players was great. You look at the league table and you worry about it but if we continue to play like we have done tonight I think we’ll be alright. Now we’ve got to take the performance and result into Saturday’s home game against Brighouse.”

Two minutes after Gray had introduced Ryan Donaldson, the former Morpeth Town and Blyth Spartans player came up with the winner and the boss said: “I know the quality Ryan has got and I’m delighted for him. But I’ve been telling the players for weeks that if you don’t shoot you don’t score. Ryan did and hopefully he’ll get some confidence from it. After he came on he looked after the ball well and his game management was good. That’s what you want from your subs. They all came on and made an impact.

By Brian Bennett

Harrison Clark’s first ever goal for Ashington sealed a draw for his side from their Pitching In Northern Premier League East Division clash against Pontefract Collieries on Saturday.

And afterwards, the 21-year-old – who was Nick Gray’s first signing after he had been appointed as manager in early October – described the result as being precious for his hometown club: “After being 2-0 down, it was a point which will be valuable come the end of the season,” he said, “It was just frustrating to be 2-0 down in the first place especially when you feel that you shouldn’t be. They were maybes goals which we shouldn’t be conceding but we’ve shown great character to hit back and grab a 2-2 draw.”

After home skipper Jack Greenhough had put through his own goal, Clark’s big moment arrived with ten minutes of the 90 remaining and he said: “It was a decent finish with my left peg. I think it was Gilly (Josh Gilchrist) who flicked the ball on and I was at the back stick. It was a tap in to be fair but it was obviously nice to get on the score sheet and help the lads.”

Ashington then missed a golden opportunity to clinch victory in the third of four minutes of time added on and Clark added: “We’ve come away even more frustrated but we’ll learn from it because in football you’re always learning with every game which comes around. Whether you win, lose or draw, you’re always taking things away to work on in training –  that’s how you get better.”

Meanwhile Clark, a personal trainer who is based in Dudley, has been switched from a  midfield role to defence and he said: “I’m enjoying it at the back – that’s where I played most of last season when I was at Blyth Spartans. I was right side of a back three and I do feel comfortable there. However, I’m not bothered what position I play – I just like being on the pitch.”