By Brian Bennett

After Ashington climbed up to mid table in the Pitching In Northern Premier League’s East Division following a 2-1 win over Pontefract Collieries on Saturday, manager Ian Skinner revealed that it was a ‘collective management decision’ – to make slight alterations on the park – which paid dividends.

Within minutes of making the changes, the Colliers romped into a two goals lead with Craig Spooner and Wilson Kneeshaw on target and the boss said afterwards: “As a management team, we got our heads together and decided to alter one or two things. Sometimes they work for you and sometimes they don’t. Today they have and helped us to get a positive result. It was a collective management decision – but it’s the players who carry out those instructions.”

Skinner continued: “I was delighted with three points at home because we probably haven’t won enough games at Woodhorn Lane this season if the truth be known. It was a difficult but great occasion too as we paid tribute to the late Sir Bobby Charlton. The public turned out; there were lots of red around the stadium and a fantastic minute’s applause was held. Sir Bobby was a true humble gentleman – and to win in front of our fans and some people who may have been visiting the ground for the very first time was great. We talk in this league about needing to put positive runs of results together because it moves you up the table relatively quickly and today we replicated what was a really good performance and good win at Winterton.”

Skinner reflected on the first 45 minutes: “With all the rain we had, the pitch was challenging,” he said, “Consequently, the way we try and play was always going to be difficult on that surface and we needed to do all of our best work as early as we could before the pitch cut up and got a little bit worse. I thought the opening half was pretty even and pretty uneventful with not a lot of chances. Pontefract got into some good areas and have put some good balls into our box but we defended really well and a 0-0 score line was probably a fair reflection of a first half where we sussed each other out a little bit.”

He added: “Second half I thought they (Pontefract) started a little bit brighter than us and were maybes in the ascendancy – and that’s why we made the changes. Almost immediately we fashioned two fantastic opportunities for Craig Spooner and Wilson Kneeshaw to score then we had a spell where we were in control and should have added more. I thought we had a really strong case for a penalty on Connor Thomson followed by a fantastic move where we have played the ball inside to Connor (Thomson) and he’s hit the post. Another good move – albeit at 2-1 late in the game – and Craig (Spooner) has hit the woodwork. But it wouldn’t be Ashington if we didn’t make it a little bit exciting and fair play because it was some finish for their goal by Adam Haw. The ball has dropped to him and he’s put it right into the top corner and that obviously leads to a little bit of a un nervy end to the game – but we saw it out and I was delighted with the three points.”

He went on: “When you break it down into simple terms and go through our 1-16, I think we had lots of players who had a good game and if you have that, it means you tend to win games of football matches and I think that was true today. I don’t want to single anyone out because I think there were eight or nine lads who were excellent. Now we’ve got to put the result to one side; work hard in training this week and prepare for our away trip to face Grantham on Saturday.”

By Brian Bennett

Connor Thomson was happy on Saturday night after he excelled on his debut for Ashington in their 4-0 win over Winterton Rangers.

After linking up with the Woodhorn Lane outfit on loan from Morpeth Town, the 27 year old striker went straight into the Colliers side for their important clash in North Lincolnshire – and made a sensational impact by scoring the opener early in the contest and later adding a second!

“As a debut it couldn’t have gone much better and I’m over the moon,” said Newcastle-born Thomson, “As a forward especially, you want to make an impact – either by scoring or claiming an assist – so for me to get a goal after six minutes gave me that confidence to crack on. My second from the spot was a pressure penalty – but you have to back yourself and I’m glad it went in. I took penalties for Morpeth last season and it’s something I like to do – so hopefully I can keep it up.”

Cramlington-based Thomson added: “I only knew a few of the lads beforehand but I loved every minute of my first game. I was delighted with the win even though we should have had scored more to be honest. I was looking to go on and get a hat trick but my legs started to give way a little bit and that’s why I came off – but I’ve scored two and I’m happy with that.”

Ashington FC coach Ritchie Hill said of Thomson: “He’s what we have needed and he made a great introduction. Connor just gives us a bit of everything. He’s strong; capable of winning headers; he’s quick and very direct and he’s previously played with Dan Maguire and Wilson Kneeshaw at Blyth Spartans so that helps. He just wants to play and he’s buzzing which is important. The management team at Ashington have been trying to get someone in to give us a bit of help at the top end of the field and Connor is a good fit. More importantly he’s a good lad and he’s fitted in well with the group.”

By Brian Bennett

Wilson Kneeshaw was named as the ‘Player of the match’ in Ashington’s 4-0 success over Winterton Rangers on Saturday – but the striker brushed the individual accolade to one side insisting that the overriding aspect was helping his side to a crucial victory.

Kneeshaw netted one goal and claimed three assists but he was also thwarted on several occasions by home ‘keeper Nathan Popple: “Obviously I have scored one and have assisted so I’ve helped the team,” he said, “I was disappointed that I didn’t get a couple more but the main thing today was coming away with the three points in what was a good performance. Now we can hopefully kick on and start moving up the table.”

For Darlington-born Kneeshaw, after receiving a pass from Nathan Buddle, his lay off which led to the opening goal from Connor Thomson took him back to his time with Blyth Spartans and Gateshead: “The three of us just linked really well,” he said, “I’ve known Connor from my days with him at Blyth and Gateshead so I know his game and what he’s about as a player – and the same goes for Nathan. I was happy for Connor to get off the mark and start his loan spell at Ashington with an excellent performance. He’s come in and brought something to the team straight away and obviously if I can assist and help with that then it’s really good.”

The 29 year old admitted that he has benefited by a change in mentality: “For my goal I was happy with the finish,” he said, “I changed my mentality over the past couple of weeks not to get down with myself because its been easy to do that in the past so I’ve been really trying to focus if sometimes things don’t go my way. Reflecting now I can look back on today’s game and say I probably should have scored in the first period but I got one in the second half – a left footer into the bottom corner – so I can’t complain.”

By Brian Bennett

One swallow doesn’t make a summer. Similarly one victory doesn’t define a season but Ashington coach Ritchie Hill is looking for Saturday’s 4-0 drubbing over basement side Winterton Rangers to kick-start the Colliers’ campaign.

Two goals from debutant Connor Thomson and one each from Wilson Kneeshaw and substitute Ben Williams saw the Wansbeck outfit claim three precious and well deserved points in North Lincolnshire as they look to climb away from the lower part of the Northern Premier League East Division table.

Hill said afterwards: “In the light of recent results it was a much needed win – and I thought we did it in style. The lads trained really well last week and they’ve converted it into a really good performance away from home. The final score was 4-0 but on another day it could have been seven, eight or nine. It was a pressurised game and we are happy but we’ve got to be realistic and not get too carried away. The important issue now is our game against Sheffield FC this coming Saturday because it’s imperative that we back up today’s result and kick on.”

Hill – who is based in Darlington – was delighted with Ashington’s opening as they took the lead in the sixth minute through Connor Thomson: “We set up really positively and I thought our first goal was brilliant,” he said, “I was wondering if the second (goal) was ever going to come because we had good chances and we needed it to settle us down. Winterton had a couple of moments but when we eventually got the second, the side grew in confidence and were really good. It was an important stage in the contest when Connor (Thomson) converted from the penalty spot to make it 3-0 and to be honest when the ball hit the back of the net, it was game over.”

He continued: “It’s been very frustrating for us and I think some of our performances have deserved more but results are what it is all about at the end of the day. We started the game today one point ahead of Winterton and defeat would have seen us in serious trouble. If you go unbeaten for three or four games, you leapfrog teams then all of a sudden you become connected with the sides in the place off places so it’s all about trying to put a run of results together. It’s an old cliché but we’ll take one game at a time. Today was important and a clean sheet was brilliant because the last time we didn’t concede was in the Emirates FA Cup against North Shields – and that came on the opening day of the season at the beginning of August.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner said his side ‘lost their way’ during the 4-1 defeat against Stockton Town at Woodhorn Lane on Saturday.

The Teessiders looked a well drilled and organised outfit – but after going into the interval with the game goalless, Skinner commented: “At half time I was happy. We chatted about one or two things and we talked about being a little bit more positive and playing a little bit more on the front foot but I thought we came out and started really poor and Stockton were brighter than us. Then we lost our way and they scored a really good second goal. We made some changes and tried to push real high numbers up front to just try and steal some territory and pin them (Stockton) back a little bit – and we did that for a little spell only we didn’t really threaten the goal anywhere near enough. We moved the ball too slow and allowed Stockton to get into a low block and credit to them because they worked really hard. After that whether it was a lack of belief that we weren’t going to break them down I don’t know but they (Stockton) scored two goals in the last few minutes which was really disappointing. However all in all, I don’t think anybody can begrudge Stockton leaving here with three points as I thought the best team on the day won.”

Skinner said his outfit did well in a first half which he found to be ‘uneventful.’ He added: “I thought Stockton started the game brighter than us; they were on the front foot and quicker than us and they moved the ball with pace and purpose more than we did. However credit to our lads as we managed to dig in and find a way into the game and the second half of the first half petered out into a sparring match where both sides had the ball for a little while but there weren’t any real great opportunities and I thought it was a pretty uneventful first half.”

Skinner described Wilson Kneeshaw’s late goal as being the only ‘bright spot’ in the second 45 minutes: “To be fair the only bright spot for us to take out of the second half was Wilson’s goal. I thought he worked tirelessly all day and we’ve tried to really work with him, looking for him to run in behind – which is more of his strength – and to use his pace albeit I thought when he did get in behind and took all those extra touches he might have missed the chance which resulted in the goal – but fair play to him. He’s danced inside and danced inside again so I was pleased for him.”

Ashington now have two away games on consecutive Saturdays – against Winterton Rangers and Sheffield FC – and the boss added: “We have got two huge fixtures coming up – they’ll not be easy but we’ll prepare properly as we always do. We’ll study the video footage this week from the Stockton game and review it as a group – but what we won’t do is to fall out with each other. There’s still a long way to go in the season but the sooner we start winning games of football the better.”

Meanwhile Skinner spoke about the updates on four players. He said: “Striker Scott Heslop has chosen to go to Birtley Town and we wish him all the best whilst Oli Thompson picked up an injury at Gateshead hence that’s why he hasn’t been available.  Max Emmerson has been out of action for the best part of two years. He’s getting five minutes here and ten minutes there and I think we’re at a stage with him now where he really needs to go and test himself in terms of playing regular so he’s going to Whickham on a 28 days loan. Charlie Exley – who is suspended for us at step 4 level – can play at the level below us so we’ve allowed him to join West Auckland also on a 28 days loan.”

He concluded: “We are actively looking to possibly bring in one or two players but at the moment it’s difficult to do that.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner admitted after his sides single goal defeat against Cleethorpes Town on Saturday that it was a ‘hard one to take.’

Shortly after half time, Will Annan scored for the Owls then Skinner looked on as his outfit were unable to find the net despite carving out a handful of chances inside the final quarter hour.

The boss said afterwards: “It was a hard one to take today to be honest because I thought from one to 16 we were really, really good. We looked very well organised and limited them (Cleethorpes) to very little. In fact they only had one shot on target and scored and it came from a little bit of an error and Paul Van-Zandvliet is distraught by it. Mistakes are part of the game and at the moment we just seem to get punished when we make them. However, I’m not sure I could have asked much more from the players today.”

He continued: “There wasn’t a lot in the game if I’m honest. First half we had a chance early on cleared off the line and I don’t think they (Cleethorpes) had a shot on target in the first half. After the break, we came out and did okay and were on for what I would call as being a classic away performance whereby we were solid and we tried to play on the counter attack. The mistake led to the goal and they (Cleethorpes) have scored. With 20 minutes to go we changed one or two things to go on the front foot and we’ve dominated possession. We’ve also created some very good chances; their ‘keeper (James McKeown) has made two or three very good saves; we’ve had a couple of scrambles in the box whilst Craig Spooner has hit the bar – and I don’t anyone could have complained had we taken something from the game.”

He went on: “Nobody likes to get beat and I acknowledge that we have lost but I’m not sure the performance warranted a defeat today and its one of them where at the end I said to the lads ‘listen, you’ve performed really well both in and out of possession; we’ve had a plan and stuck to it and on another day we could have won it or at least certainly taken a point.’ If you look at statistics we will have had more of the ball than them (Cleethorpes) and had more shots than them both on and off target – but we just haven’t put the ball in the net.”

For the all round trip of over 350 miles to North East Lincolnshire, Skinner travelled down without nine players and he said: “Nine were out but I’m not using that as an excuse – far from it. The lads who played today stood up and were counted and were brilliant – and it shows the strength and depth of the squad that we have got. Cleethorpes are on a good run whilst we were also on a good run and I thought we deserved something from the game. However sometimes football can be cruel and we’ve been punished for a mistake and we’ll learn by it. We’ll dust ourselves down; train twice this week and prepare for Stockton Town at home on Saturday.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington FC’s assistant manager Andy Coyles admitted that the ‘chat’ in the dressing room at the interval proved pivotal on Tuesday night as the Colliers reached the quarter finals of the Newcastle Flooring Senior Cup after a 5-1 win over Newcastle University.

“We said at half time that if the lads from the University had been 3-1 in front they would have deserved it – 100 per cent,” he commented, “We had a couple of opportunities ourselves but they had two one on ones and a penalty and I thought they had the better of the chances. We were open and honest with the lads as we always are and we thought we were very fortunate to be in front. We broke it down and said to them ‘we are 1-0 up and they need to score two goals away from home to actually win the game – lets not make that happen.”

He continued: “It was a classic case of a game of two halves. I thought in the first period we were very poor – poor by our standards considering the standards that we set a week ago against Dunston. We made a few changes in order to protect a few lads going into Saturday’s league game at Cleethorpes – only we couldn’t get going. We got off to a great start with a goal inside two minutes but I think it was probably the worst thing that could have happened to us. Our standards slipped from the minute Declan Bisset put the ball into the back of the net and the way we conducted ourselves and the way we played the game just wasn’t us – it wasn’t what we have been doing.”

He went on: “We had a ‘chat’ at half time and the second half was a lot more promising and a lot more pleasing. We produced a lot more combination play; the link up play was good; decision making was better and as a result we got our just rewards.”

Coyles added that the crowd of 320 had been treated to some ‘great’ goals: “The first which we scored came after excellent build up play out wide and great link up play by Wilson Kneeshaw with Declan Bisset in a great position to score,” he said, “In the second half Declan (Bisset) has added another fantastic goal and I thought he was close to – if not – being the player of the match. Declan and Si Jakab gave two terrific performances and of the lads who came on, I thought Scott Heslop deserves a mention after netting twice and nearly getting a third – but there were some great goals tonight. The University also scored with a fantastic effort in the second half which put us under a lot of pressure at 2-1. However, the job tonight was to win the game and we’ve done that – but we just need to make sure that we don’t replicate that first half performance anytime soon!”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner is adamant that his players will ‘turn things round’ – as the Colliers slipped down a notch and now occupy fourth from bottom spot in the Northern Premier League East Division table following a 2-0 defeat against Newton Aycliffe on Tuesday night.

Two goals in the last quarter hour of the first half from Jake Petitjean and Kyle Davis secured the points for the home side who as a result, came off the basement and leapfrogged over the Colliers.

It was Ashington’s fourth league defeat of the season and fourth consecutive game where they have failed to score but there were other issues on the night with the Wansbeck side having the play out the final 35 minutes with nine men after Charlie Exley and Karl Ross were sent off either side of half time – both for second yellow card offences.

However Skinner said afterwards: “The players know they need to be better; the management team know that too and it’s a collective whereby we are all as one where we win together and lose together. But I’ve got no doubt that when we maybes get a little bit of a rub of the green in certain situations that we’ll turn it round because we have got too much quality.”

During the interval, the boss brought on Ben Sampson and Scott Heslop for Damen Mullen and Wilson Kneeshaw and shortly after the second dismissal, Craig Spooner was introduced for the injured Dan Maguire.

Skinner had nothing but admiration for the players who completed proceedings: “I’ve got to give a special mention to the nine players that finished the game,” he added, “the effort, desire, commitment and work rate they gave in those 35 minutes was fantastic and was the huge plus point. Every one of them went home knowing that they had done the best they could in a very, very tricky situation. The biggest thing for me is the rest of the players who were here tonight and who witnessed the last 35 minutes with nine men. They need to take that commitment, effort and that work rate into every game we go into because we did it tonight with two players short.”

He continued: “There’s no room for you not to be able to do that otherwise it would have been a far worse situation – but what we have got to start doing is applying that from the first whistle when its 11 v 11. If we do that, I’ve got no doubt that we’ll turn things round because there are some honest players in the group. We’ll work hard in training on Thursday to be better then we go again on Saturday at home to Dunston UTS.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner says his outfit need to ‘smarten up – and fast’ in the wake of Saturday’s 3-0 defeat against Dunston UTS in the first qualifying round of the Isuzu FA Trophy.

Speaking after the reverse, Skinner said: “I have mixed emotions if I’m honest. I thought we started the game really, really brightly; moved the ball really well and caused them (Dunston) lots of problems. Then we have a great move and create a great opportunity for Wilson (Kneeshaw) 12 yards out in front of goal. Yes give Dunston ‘keeper Dan Staples a little bit of credit for saving it but Wilson probably should score from there and it would have given us our just desserts – only it wasn’t to be. That was one of a couple of fantastic opportunities we had to take the lead and they are opportunities we need to start taking because then it makes it a different game. But then we’ve conceded a really poor goal where we’ve allowed the wide man to come inside with no pressure on the ball, cross into the box and Jordan Summerly’s got dragged under the ball and the lad at the back post – unmarked – has scored.”

He continued: “I could see the confidence drain out of everybody with players not quite wanting to get on the ball as much as they probably should and it’s a one of those situations where the mentality has got to be ‘let’s make sure we don’t concede another one’ – but at the minute we seem to concede one (goal) then concede another and today we soon found ourselves 3-0 down. As a managerial team, we can break every goal down into poor goals – but the ones we are conceding are really poor. The second (goal) comes after we have been on the attack and the home goalkeeper has gathered the ball and thrown it out to the left back. We’ve come to get pressure on the ball and we’ve stopped before we even get to the man and allowed him to play it unattended – which means we’ve now got a player out of position. Again it’s a really, really poor goal from our point of view but then all three were to be honest – and we need to smarten up and smarten up fast.”

Skinner added: “We’d had two very, very good training sessions during the week. On Thursday night both in and out of possession I saw some of the best I’ve seen from this group since we brought them together and it’s about transferring it from training pitch to match pitch. I reference boxing sometimes and you can have what you call gym fighters. You can have a boxer who in sparring looks brilliant because he knows his opponent isn’t actually going to hit him or hit him properly and I think we’re a little bit like that – in training we look really, really sharp and really, really good then when we get out onto the pitch we’re apprehensive. Again it’s like the boxer who goes into the ring to fight an opponent he doesn’t know and becomes a bit apprehensive and is worried a little bit – and we look a little bit like that – and until we start making it more difficult for other teams when we are out of possession, we’ll continue to lose games of football.”

He continued: “Dunston have come out second half and albeit they were 3-0 up so they didn’t really have to push or exert too much. But it’s frustrating for us because we started really sloppy for a couple of minutes then we got on the ball and started passing the ball again. It becomes a confidence thing where the lads think ‘it’s 3-0 and chances are that the game has gone’ – so let’s get on and play. There was a water break which came at an idea time because I was about to make a substitution and we managed to change one or two things and again from the restart, we dominated the ball. We had a couple of shots that flashed wide and then we’ve picked up a red card which is again frustration – and means that the game is over.”

He went on: “Again to our credit, we had to sit in when we needed to and see the game out and when we got the ball, we kept it quite well with ten men. However, as I said only recently ‘goals win games’ and until we start scoring – because that’s three games in a row now where we haven’t scored – and make it more difficult for the opposition to put the ball in our net, it’ll be a long hard season. The players know that and I have told them in no uncertain terms what we need to be improve on and the sooner they realise that the better. They are a group of players that have been brought together after a lot of changes in the summer and there’s still one or two trying to find their feet whilst we’ve just brought another couple (of players) in recently and we’ve also had a number of injuries. Craig Spooner and Dan Maguire were on the bench today because they missed our game at Bridlington last Saturday through injury whilst Oli Thompson was ineligible today. His parent club Gateshead didn’t him cup tied which is understandable because they got to the final of the Trophy last season.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Oli Thompson says he is delighted to link up with Ashington on a loan deal from Gateshead.

The Sunderland-born youngster, who only turned 18 last month, made his debut for the Colliers in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Stocksbridge Park Steels at Bracken Moor – and claimed an assist for the opening goal headed home by Charlie Exley – before making his first appearance at Woodhorn Lane in Monday’s 2-0 defeat by Consett.

“I’m delighted to join Ashington,” said Thompson, “I need minutes in the tank and Gateshead sorted the loan out for me. I think I can develop here (at Ashington) and become a better player and hopefully when I return to Gateshead, I’ll have a lot to thank Ashington for.”

Looking back at his first appearance in a black and white shirt, he said: “Overall I was happy but I did feel a bit leggy in the second half because that was my first 90 minutes in about three or four months. I thought we deserved to win in the end. For the first 20-25 minutes we were bopping the ball about quite well and they (Stocksbridge) couldn’t quite get near us but the penalty which they equalised from was a turning point and the game switched momentum in their favour. However we got the winner in the second half so I was happy.”

Thompson was honest about the part he played in Exley’s goal: “I’m not going to lie,” he said, “It was a shot but it worked out well in the end, with Charlie (Exley) heading the ball in at the back post.”

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner said: “Oli is somebody who I know very, very well. I had a year coaching him in the youth team (at Gateshead) and he was brilliant. The game everybody will remember is against Blyth Spartans. We were 3-1 down; Oli then scored a hat trick and we won 4-3. Through his own hard work, endeavour and willingness to listen and learn he managed to earn himself a professional contract at Gateshead and he’s been really bright and sharp for the first team in pre season. He’s a little bit unlucky to find himself out on loan to be honest because Gateshead do really think he has a big future but the plus side with that is my relationship with them and Oli.”

Thompson has signed on a season long loan with a recall option any time after 28 days and Skinner added: “I jumped at the opportunity to take Oli because I think he will offer us that little bit of something different and people who watched him play at Stocksbridge will have seen that he’s happy to take the ball under pressure; he’s low centre gravity and can twist and turn one way and the other. He’ll run at people and cause them problems; his range of passing is good and he’ll chip in with a few goals so I think he’ll be a really positive player for us and I’m just delighted that we have got him.” He went on: “In the opening 15 minutes against Stocksbridge Oli was brilliant. He played the pass for one of Wilson Kneeshaw’s one on ones; he put the ball in for Charlie Exley to score; he had an effort where he picked the ball up on the edge of our own box and ran the full length of the pitch and stung the ‘keeper’s hands who had to turn it over for a corner. We probably and possibly could have withdrawn him but you just know if you get him on the ball, he can create something in an instant. I’m just looking forward to working with him and hopefully helping him to develop further.”