By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner was naturally disappointed after his side went down to a 1-0 defeat against Ossett United at Woodhorn Lane on Tuesday night.

However, the boss said afterwards, that apart from his outfit needing to learn quickly after conceding poor goals and being more ruthless in the final third, there were lots of things to be pleased with: “I thought we started the game quite brightly and we probably should have been ahead after we fashioned a couple of very good chances,” he commented, “There seemed to be a scramble and we had two or three opportunities inside the space of a few seconds – the Ossett ‘keeper (Joe Green) has done well – and we’ve then hit the bar.”

Skinner admitted that he had missed what turned out to be the only goal of the game: “I turned to speak to somebody as they scored,” he said, “I’ve had their goal described to me but by all accounts it was a disappointing one to concede in terms of a direct ball that’s bounced and the striker has ran onto it – and even then he hasn’t hit it cleanly from what I’m led to believe. Our ‘keeper Karl Dryden has made one save right at the death at the end of the first half where he has pushed the ball out, other than that, he hasn’t had anything to do – but the goal has ultimately cost us to be honest.”

He continued: “For the first 25 minutes, I thought we were very, very good and created some really good opportunities and on another day would have taken one of them. Second half I thought there were lots and lots of things to be pleased with. We must have had 75-80 per cent possession; we’ve flashed the ball across the goal; we’ve put shots wide and the Ossett ‘keeper has made a couple of decent saves. Then Jordan Summerly has done brilliantly to get to the by line and cut the ball back and you’re just waiting for the net to ripple but Wilson Kneeshaw has hit his shot towards the goal and it has struck the ‘keeper on the shoulder – and at that point you start to think ‘maybes it’s not going to be our night.’ Maybes the last couple of games we haven’t had the rub of the green and you think that luck is not on your side – but sometimes you create your own luck.”

He added: “All in all really there were lots to be pleased with but the biggest thing is that it’s two home games now where we have had to go chasing the game and I think what supporters have witnessed tonight, they’ll witness week in week out in this league in terms of most teams play direct; most teams look to get up in the game and when they do that, they look to manage it. There was a spell where we were on top in the second half for about ten minutes then they (Ossett) must have stopped the play every attack. That took the momentum away from us and I was a little bit disappointed there wasn’t a few more minutes added on than the seven that were.”

He went on: “Ultimately to sum it up – it was a poor goal which we conceded which we need to learn from quickly because that’s a number (of poor goals) which we have leaked so far this season in the three matches (two league games and one cup game) whilst we just need to be that little bit more ruthless in the final third.” On Saturday (August 26), Ashington travel to face Stocksbridge Park Steels then on Bank Holiday Monday (August 28), the Colliers take on Consett at Woodhorn Lane (3pm): “We’ll need to check on a few players because we had a couple who had fitness tests before the Ossett game tonight – some played and some didn’t,” he said, “We’ll need to assess the overall picture because we have played tonight (Tuesday) then go again on Saturday and Monday making it three games in six days.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner could not hide his disappointment on Saturday after Kev Hayes had knocked the Colliers out of this season Emirates FA Cup with a goal deep into stoppage time.

Hosts Stockton won the game 2-1. Jordan Summerly put Ashington ahead but home skipper Adam Nicholson levelled before the late drama.

However, Skinner said that the game hinged on a big decision following the 87th minute dismissal of striker Scott Heslop. At the time the scores were locked at 1-1 and the possibly of a replay was on the horizon.

“Obviously we’re disappointed to go out of the Cup especially after conceding so late in the game,” said Skinner afterwards, “Overall I thought to be fair playing against a strong wind in the first half, we rode out luck a little bit in terms of some of the chances Stockton had. That said, on the break we had one or two good opportunities ourselves but we were pleased to come in 0-0 at half time if the truth be known.”

During the break, Skinner introduced Heslop for Cameron Gascoigne: “We thought we could hurt them (Stockton) a little bit with in the wind in our favour and we started the second half really brightly and managed to score from a set play which was good,” added the boss, “However, after that, I was probably a little bit disappointed in our performance. We like to get on the ball and move it and I just felt that at 1-0 we went to direct to quickly which played into Stockton’s hands. Their centre backs wanted the ball up in the air because they were big physical defenders against our small sprightly attackers – albeit Heslop is very good in the air and he caused them all sorts of problems up there. I just wanted us to stick to our process and principals of getting the ball and mixing the game up by playing short at times and playing long and I just felt we went to long to early. The ball was coming back and it turned into a game whereby we invited pressure as the game wore on. We got deeper and deeper because we were playing direct and we were having to get up and move 20, 30, 40 yards up the pitch. When the ball was coming back, we were having to recover 20, 30 yards – so the next time you tend to not go as far up and before you know it, you are ‘sitting in’ a little bit to deep -which I felt happened.”

He continued: “They scored almost a carbon copy goal of ours in terms of an in-swinging corner and a bit of a scramble and the officials have said the ball has crossed the line. At 1-1 you are probably thinking ‘let’s see if we can get a draw and bring them back to Woodhorn Lane on Tuesday’ – but it wasn’t to be. I just thought the unfortunate thing was that they have made the man extra count a little bit and we’ve been on the back foot. To be fair, Karl Dryden has made two or three excellent saves to keep us in it but we’ve just fallen short somewhat 90 seconds from the end. We spoke about not allowing Kev Hayes to cut in from the left which he likes to do and to be fair he’s cut in from the right and opened the goal up and bent one in at the near post.”

He went on: “Overall I probably thought on chances they had a few more than us and Karl Dryden has made more saves than their keeper. But Yannick Aziakonou had a header at the back post; Heslop a header at the near post and Dylan Archer has hit one high towards the top corner which the ‘keeper has palmed around – but the game hinged on a big decision really (the sending off of Scott Heslop).

The result extended Ashington’s winless run at the ground: “It’s strange how it happens in football in terms of even at the very highest level you see teams go to certain grounds and they just can’t seem to get a result – and Stockton seems to be an unhappy hunting ground for us – and it’s proved the case again today,” he added, “Whilst there are other grounds I can think of where we go and we don’t fail to get a result.”
Skinner explained his plans were hit 48 hours before the cup tie: “We were dealt a big blow on Thursday when we lost Charlie Exley, Craig Spooner and Max Emmerson – all through injury,” he said, “Two of those started against Brighouse last week and one came on and had a big impact on the game. Today I thought Jordan Summerly came back in and was excellent as were a couple of others but I think Tuesday will come to soon for Exley, Spooner, Emmerson and Nathan Buddle.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner, reflecting on the 3-0 defeat by Workington in his sides final warm up game ahead of Saturday’s curtain raiser in the Emirates FA Cup against North Shields, said he believed “there were lots of things to be pleased about.”

Skinner commented: “In the early part of the game, I thought we caused Workington one or two problems where they hadn’t really managed to get to grips with how we were trying to play and set up. We started quite brightly and were taking the ball in tight areas and looked comfortable to move it but probably the story of the game was our playing out and build up play which was really good. However, I just thought we got into some great areas beyond their midfield and in front and behind their defence but we were a little bit loose and a little bit slack in the final third. For all the good play that we did have, my criticism or downside is that we didn’t threaten the goal anywhere near enough as we should have done.”

He continued: “We came in at half time 2-0 down and both goals were really poor to concede. The first is a long range effort where we haven’t got out and closed the ball – but it actually came from us giving the ball away in a really good position in their half. The second is an individual mistake as was the third – and I take some of the responsibility for that because of what I am asking the players to do and the way they are trying to do it and I’d far rather they made mistakes today and learn from them if they were to be in the same situation this Saturday.”

He went on: “The three goals were avoidable – other than that I don’t think our goalkeepers have had to make what you would label as brilliant saves. Ross Coombe made a stop in the first half where he saved the ball with his legs whilst at the other end we haven’t worked their goalkeeper anywhere near enough. Second half when they (Workington) got to grips a little bit with how we were playing, they’ve probably been a little bit stronger than us and then a whole host of changes from both teams really disrupted the flow and I thought we just got a little bit loose towards the end. Even some of the good build up and approach play we had seen in the first half started to become a bit sloppy and in the end the game petered out a little bit and it became about managing minutes – but overall it was a really good work out.” He concluded: “I’ve got to say a big thank you to Workington for making the travel across and giving us the game and hopefully it was beneficial for them as well. I thought there were lots of things to be pleased about in our performance whilst there were also things to work on – like our creating and finishing in the opposition’s final third and cutting out or minimising those little mistakes which have cost us goals today.”

By Brian Bennett

Top FIFA, UEFA and Premier League referee Michael Oliver has been in charge of prestige matches over the years – but on Friday August 4, he will be the man in the middle at his hometown football club.

Ashington FC host ‘An evening with Michael Oliver’ in their clubhouse and tickets – priced at £17 which includes a pie and peas supper – are selling well.

Oliver is looking forward to the event and said: “It was nice to see Ashington have such a successful season last year and hopefully the club can kick on again but it is also pleasing to see how well they have developed under the leadership of chairman Brian Shotton, manager Ian Skinner and all of the volunteers.”

He continued: “Obviously it’s nice to come back to Ashington and hopefully the evening will help to raise funds. I’m looking forward to it”

Anyone interested in buying a ticket can purchase from:

https://ashingtonafc.ktckts.com/event/2324aewmo/an-evening-with-michael-oliver

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner said he was ‘most definitely delighted and overall thoroughly pleased’ with the performance from his players after the 0-0 draw against Morpeth Town at Craik Park on Saturday.

Skinner commented: “Obviously it’s the first pre season game we’ve had against higher ranked opposition, It was good that the lads still stuck to the process; the system and the style in which we are trying to play and what today will do subconsciously is that it will show that the way we are trying to play works regardless of the opposition. I thought we dominated the ball for spells; I certainly thought we created the better opportunities and the only slight disappointment is that we haven’t taken some of them – and on another day if we had, we probably would have won the game.”

He continued: “I don’t get carried away with pre season results and what I’m pleased with is the minutes we have got into people. We have pushed players through 70, 75, and 80 minutes today which we needed to do. I also thought the way in which we looked after the ball and moved the ball and rotated position to cause the opposition problems worked really well. I was most definitely delighted with the performance – and overall, I was thoroughly pleased.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner – reflecting on his sides 3-2 win over Whitley Bay at Hillheads on Saturday – reckons he can ‘start to see things coming together’

Monsoon weather conditions coupled with thunder and lightening preceded the game but the contest got underway on time.

The Colliers were 3-0 up at one stage with a brace of goals from Dan Maguire and a trialist before the Seahorses netted twice in the final ten minutes through Josh Gilchrist and Cameron Brewis.

The new campaign is just over a couple of weeks away and Skinner re-iterated that he never gets fazed over pre season results. However he said: “It was an excellent workout against Whitley Bay today but the most pleasing aspect for me was that I can see how things are coming together a little bit in terms of how we are trying to play which is slightly different from last season. There were lots to appreciate in terms of the structure and process as well as the principals which we are trying to apply.”

He continued: “I thought Whitley Bay began the brighter of the two sides and they should have taken the lead after three or four minutes when it was probably harder to hit the bar – which they did – rather than score. After that we grew into the game, netted a good goal through Maguire – and after that I thought we looked relatively comfortable.”

He continued “Second half we began well, added a second goal – again from Maguire -then started to make changes – and we tried to do these in smaller chunks because it does disrupt the flow. A young trialist who has just been released from Carlisle came on and scored our third but from 3-0 up I was slightly disappointed with the two goals we conceded. We have worked quite a bit now on what we call the ‘build up phases’ where we get the ball and play and that was really pleasing. We haven’t done too much about the final third or working out of possession which was probably evident today and I would have liked us to have shown a bit more game management but as I stated last week, I don’t get hung up on results.”

Skinner then gave a glowing tribute to hosts Whitley Bay: “I’d like to thank them for their hospitality which was first class,” he added, “It was good to see their manager Nicky Gray whilst I had a lovely conversation with chairman Paul McIlduff and I’ve just spotted Jennifer Breakwell who is their treasurer out of the corner of my eye so I’ll go and have a word or two with her. I helped Whitley Bay out for a short spell some years ago and it is a place I like going to because of the relationship I have with the club.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager would like nothing better than his players to enjoy another exciting and mouth watering run in this season’s Emirates FA Cup.

The Colliers had some fabulous tussles and victories against the likes of Ashton United, Bradford Park Avenue and Stocksbridge Park Steels during the last campaign – all clubs higher up the footballing pyramid – before they eventually bowed out 3-1 away to Kings Lynn in the fourth qualifying round despite a gallant effort against a side from the National League North.

The draws were conducted last week and in the FA Cup, Ashington will be at home to North Shields in the extra preliminary round on Saturday August 5 with the winners facing an away tie against Stockton Town: “It’ll be tough,” said Skinner, “At least it means we will start the season at Woodhorn Lane which is always a bonus. Hopefully we can try and rekindle some of the magic we had in the FA Cup last season. Obviously it’s a competition which the players look forward to playing in; the club look forward to being involved in; the supporters love it – and it’s got its financial gains as well.”

In the Isuzu FA Trophy, the Wansbeck outfit will travel to meet Dunston UTS in the first qualifying round on Saturday September 9 with the victors away to either Liversedge or Nantwich.

“It will be the club’s first appearance in the FA Trophy for many years and again, it could not have been much tougher than an away game at Dunston UTS. However, at least we’ll have a bit of time to do a spot of homework on them and prepare for it.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington started their pre season warm up games with a 7-2 defeat away to Ebac Northern League first division newcomers Birtley Town on Saturday.

But manager Ian Skinner has re-iterated that he does not get hung up on results from friendlies – as he tinkers with his formation and style of play: “First of all I’d like to say a big thank-you to Birtley for their hospitality,” he said, “They have got a fantastic set up with great facilities and I’ve got a lot of time and respect for their management team of Paul Bryson, Foss and Robin Falcus who I know personally. We had a few missing for holidays and we had five trialists who played who we wanted to have a look at. Birtley looked to be slightly ahead of us in terms of preparations which led to the outcome we got and they were the better team in my opinion across the 90 minutes.”

Scott Heslop scored both Ashington goals.

Skinner continued: “Of the seven we conceded – and I haven’t watched them back yet – at least four were really, really poor individual errors so four of them (goals) were avoidable. We went in 4-2 down at half time after what looked like a really ragged disjointed first half if the truth be known. Second half we looked better. We started brightly; we dominated the ball and had a goal disallowed. We hit the post twice then the Birtley ‘keeper has made three good saves – so we had a real 20 minutes spell where we created more chances – albeit we didn’t take them. However a slightly disappointing thing was the manner in which we conceded two goals in the closing stages.”

He added: “I knew Birtley would be well organised and be fit and have a way in which they would play. It will be a tough place for lots of teams to go to and I’d go as far to say that they will be my surprise package in the first division of the Ebac Northern League this coming season – not just because they beat us – but because what I know about the management team; the club – and behind the scenes I get on really well with Scott Brown who I think is vice chairman there. I know they are a team very similar to ourselves who work on a self generated income model but they have a good group of tight knit lads who want to work hard for each other.”

He went on: “Pre season is about players getting minutes into players legs and I’ll not get hung up on results. I did an interview last year when I said results don’t really matter (in pre season). We went to Alnwick and won 10-0 and everybody started getting excited. ‘Practice what you preach’ or ‘change your speech’ is something I use quite often. Yes there were some things which I was disappointed with today but there were other things I was pleased with too and probably the most pleasing aspect is that everybody seems to have come through unscathed. We’ll train twice this week then prepare for Whitley Bay away on Saturday (July 15) – but the whole ethos around our pre season programme this year was to get as many tough games as we possibly could.”

Meanwhile Skinner is looking to add to his squad: “Things have been quiet on the incomings front,” he said, “We’re probably looking to bring one or two more players into the squad but they’ll have to fit into the way we want to play and have to have the right character for what we are looking for.”

By Brian Bennett

It’s two months since Ashington clinched promotion to the Northern Premier League – and although manager Ian Skinner announced at the Presentation Evening that he would like every member of the squad to remain with him ‘on the journey’ – due to a variety of reasons it was inevitable that a number would move on.

Now the Woodhorn Lane boss – whilst welcoming the new arrivals at the club has publicly chosen to say a fond farewell to the lads who have left: “I think it is only fair that we pay tribute to the roles which they played both last season and beyond,” he said, confirming that eight had departed Woodhorn Lane.

The boss then spoke individually about the eight:

Ben Harmison: Ben was our top goal scorer as well as captain and he played a massive part at both ends of the pitch for us. Unfortunately due to his work, his other sports as well as family commitments, the travel was probably going to prove too challenging for him. To his credit Ben was disappointed that he found himself having to step away and he has made the offer that he will dual register and if we are ever short and he is available he would be more than happy to come and help the club out – so that’s always a positive.

Robbie Dale: Robbie was a revelation at centre back last year. He ended up playing there at the start of pre season and also at the start of the season proper when we had a number of injuries. He said he would do a job for us in the short term and he did so well that he ended up playing most of his games there. He gave us that calmness and experience at the back; his reading of the game was brilliant and his understanding was different class and he’ll be a big miss around the place.

Andrew Cartwright: ‘Carty’ was huge for us at right back last year. He was a good leader in the dressing room and was great on the pitch both in and out of possession and was very much a bit of a modern day sort of full back. He offered us lots going forward in attack but was also good at defending in one versus one situations. He had won promotion with North Shields the previous season and I knew when I signed him that if we achieved our goal (promotion), he wouldn’t be able to continue on the journey with us.

Dean Briggs: Dean became a focal point for us and got his love back for the game – and had that real hot streak where he scored all sorts of goals. His career path took him to Dubai but when he came back, he never really found that spark again and sometimes a fresh start is what a player needs. I think he’d be the first to admit that towards the back end of last season he became a little bit stale and wasn’t the player that we knew of old so a move may just reignite him to get him back to the levels which he is capable of.

Paul Robinson: ‘Robbo’ was another player we knew that come the end of the season he would move on. Paul has got a large contingent of very close friends who play for Newcastle Blue Star so we were always of the opinion that he would have a season with them. I think supporters saw at the back end of the campaign how brilliant he was for us. There was always a joke between Paul and myself that if Ashington could get a 3G pitch or if he could just have the winter off then we could prolong his career even further. He’s another player who goes with our blessings.

Luke Salmon: Luke probably didn’t play as much as he would have liked last season but again we need to remember the contribution he has made to the club over a long period of time. This was his second spell with us and ‘what you see is what you get’ with him. Luke gives nothing short of 100 per cent and scored a couple of important goals for us in games last season. We wanted to keep him but we understand his reasons for finding a move with regular football.”

Adam Johnson: Adam had to use lots of his holidays from work to get time off to play football and it was a challenge for him to play in the Northern League. Obviously our step up to the NPL and the amount of travelling involved would have ruled him out of too many games. It’s disappointing for us but Adam has got himself a great move back to Blyth Town which is his home town club. I wish him all the best – and I’m sure he’ll score lots of goals for them.

Ryan McKinnon: When Darren Lough broke his nose at Bishop Auckland, Ryan got into the side. He played in the inter step play off game at Glossop and was excellent – and never let the club down when he did play. He probably wanted more game time but when he looked at the Lough/Dale partnership, it was too good of a one to break up and Ryan didn’t quite force his way in. He was another player who gave everything for the cause and was a good lad to have around the place and we wish him all the best at Consett. Skinner continued: “It’s with a touch of sadness that we lose those eight players – and possibly one or two more for similar reasons which I have alluded too – but one thing I would say is that every one of them played their part in getting Ashington Football Club to where it wanted to be. They leave with a heavy heart after being part of what was a fantastic group last year – and will go down in history after getting this club out of the Northern League. I wish them all the best in where their footballing journey takes them – but one thing which is for sure is that they will always be welcome at Woodhorn Lane.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC’s new forward Cameron Gascoigne admitted that he garners his footballing inspiration from a family member who is World famous.

Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne was a fans favourite especially during his career in the 1980’s with Newcastle United and also England where he won 57 caps.

Now 21 year old Cameron has revealed that it was his Uncle Paul who taught him how to play football from an early age – and added that he is constantly in conversation with him: “As soon as I could walk, my Uncle Paul was the one who took me out, got me a football and taught me how to play,” he said, “He encouraged me and gave me the love for the game and as I grew older, I viewed all of the games from the Euros and the World Cup when he played – and just watching him inspires me to go and be the best that I can.”

Cameron continued: “He’s always on the phone to me and I ring him pretty much after every game to tell him how I have got on. He gives me some feedback and it’s good especially when I know he’s been and done it at the highest level. My favourite goals which he scored were his stunning free kick for Spurs in their FA Cup semi final against Arsenal in 1991 and the other was for England against Scotland in Euro 1996 – which is just magical and a joy to watch.”