By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner has described his sides clash against West Allotment Celtic in the quarter final of the Newcastle Flooring Northumberland Senior Cup this evening (February 6), as being a ‘big game’ for the Wansbeck based outfit.

Following their 4-1 defeat against Dunston UTS on Saturday, Skinner said: “We’ll dust ourselves down and prepare properly as we always do. It’s a competition we’ll be taking seriously and although the winners already know that they will face Newcastle United Under 21’s or Bedlington Terriers at home in the semi final, we’ll certainly not be looking past West Allotment. It’s a big game for us and they are a good side. They went to Birtley Town last week and won 3-1 and today they’ve got the same result after travelling to face Redcar Athletic.”

Tonight’s game at Woodhorn Lane has a 7.30pm kick-off.

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner expressed ‘mixed emotions’ after the Colliers 4-1 defeat at the hands of promotion hopefuls Dunston UTS on Saturday and added that ‘big decisions’ didn’t go in his sides favour.

A fine strike by skipper Karl Ross cancelled out Jack Maskell’s opener before Michael Pearson put the home side back in front just past the half hour mark.

The Wansbeck side were well in the game but as they continued to search for an equaliser, UTS clinched the points with late counters from David Robinson plus an own goal.

Skinner said afterwards: “Today was a day of mixed emotions because there was so much to be pleased about – yet there was so much that I’m disappointed about. Certainly UTS were more ruthless than us – they possibly only had four or five shots on target and scored four goals – the last one is an own goal – whereas in the first half we’ve had three or four really good chances but haven’t taken them plus big decisions didn’t go our way today.”

Skinner believed his side should have been awarded an early penalty: “I thought we started the game quite brightly and could and should have had a penalty,” he said, “Connor Thomson has gone through and taken a shot and it’s gone beyond the goalkeeper (Dan Staples). The ball is going towards the goal but Connor’s had to hurdle the ‘keeper who has come flying out which prevents him from getting to the ball to tap it in and allows their recovering defender to get to the ball and clear it – so that was a big decision which went against us. The laws of the game tell you that there doesn’t have to be contact – it’s the intention.”

Ashington went behind in the 14^th minute before drawing level and Skinner added: “I was disappointed with the goal we conceded in terms of we didn’t get out quick enough to Sado Djalo who has hit a fantastic shot. Obviously we haven’t reacted when Maskell has knocked the ball into the net but some of my boys are saying they thought it was offside although I couldn’t comment having just seen it in live play. However, the goal we scored through Karl Ross was really good. We got in down their right hand side on a number of occasions in the first half and some of our link up play in and around the box was good and that led to a great strike from Karl (Ross) for the equaliser.”

Six minutes later, the Colliers were behind again – and Skinner could not hide his feelings: “The second goal we conceded was really annoying,” he said, “It came from our free-kick on half way where we gave the ball away. They (Dunston) have then attacked us and even though we’ve won the ball back in and around our penalty area we’ve hit our own player trying to clear it and before you know it, the ball has ended up in the net. We’re 2-1 down, despite the hard work we’d put in to get back in the game and also the bright 10-15 minutes we had causing them problems down their right hand side.”

Skinner believed his side could bounce back after the break: “Did I think we could hit back? – most definitely,” he added, “We talked about one or two things which we needed to be careful of because they (Dunston) play forward quickly. We spoke about areas where we could hopefully entice them to come into – then exploit some space that they would leave by drawing them into certain areas of the pitch. We did it at times but I just thought they defended their box really well. Second half we dominated the ball and territory and we got into some good areas and there were some really pleasing parts to our game. Some of our approach play and build up play was excellent but they (Dunston) managed to get in blocks and defended their box really well.”

He continued: “The fourth goal is disappointing. We probably had the stuffing knocked out of us with the third (goal) and you just think ‘let’s keep things right’ – but again we’d just been a little bit weak and their lad hasn’t even chased it thinking ‘I’m not going to get on the end of it.’ We’ve gone to stab it clear and stabbed it in our own net and it probably summed up our day. To be fair the top end of the pitch we were attacking in the second half didn’t suit Connor Thomson or Wilson Kneeshaw’s running style. It was very, very heavy – but listen it’s that time of year and with the weather we’ve had, it’s just good to get games on.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner was left totally mystified as to why his side were so inept in their 3-1 home defeat by Sheffield FC at Woodhorn Lane on Saturday.

A clearly disappointed Skinner said afterwards: “I didn’t see that performance coming if the truth be known because we were on the back of three consecutive wins with lots of positives from those displays. It was two weeks to the day since we last played and although we’ve trained as usual, it looked that way. Out of possession we were really, really poor. On the transition from attack to defence we didn’t get near the ball quick enough to affect them (Sheffield). We allowed them to get the ball and play forward quickly which then meant we had to make big recovery runs on a heavy pitch. If I’m honest I didn’t think we did enough today and naturally I’m disappointed. There were too many players below par and when you have maybes up to six (below par) then you are going to struggle to win games of football.”

The boss reflected on the first period: “I thought the first half was pretty even. We’ve had a couple of chances and we certainly played the better football but it was between the boxes. We had a couple of instances in the first half where their ‘keeper (Edd Hall) has made a save and pushed the ball out and then he’s blocked the rebound; we had one chance which flashed across the goal whilst they’ve had a couple of corners which caused us one or two problems.”

The visitors took the lead after 35 minutes and Skinner said: “The goal is really disappointing because we had players around the ball. Their lad (Cameron Johnson) has picked the ball up facing the corner flag but we’ve allowed him to turn and we’ve dropped off. He’s then come inside which opens the goal up and he’s used those players as a bit of a shield to bent the ball around so it’s difficult for our ‘‘keeper Karl Dryden to see and we find ourselves 1-0 down.”

He continued: “For the first two or three minutes of the second half, I was pleased because we were really, really bright. There was an instance where we’ve crossed the ball in from a corner. We’ve prodded it towards goal and it has hit the goalkeeper and sat in the six yards box. We’ve had nobody on hand to just tap it home and they’ve managed to thump it clear. That was before they scored the second and at that point I just started to think ‘it might not happen for us today.”

Skinner was frustrated by the nature of Sheffield’s other goals: “We huffed and puffed a little bit but then we’ve been done by two set plays from two deep corners,” he said, “For the first one there’s been a challenge and the ball has dropped in the box and they have been first to react to stab it home. For the second, there’s lot of talk about a foul on our ‘keeper Karl (Dryden) but there were that many players in the six yards box. It’s one of them where people use the term ‘in the modern game’ about goalkeepers being too well protected – but again Sheffield have been first to react.”

He continued: “I take some of the responsibility because we probably changed systems and changed one or two positions twice or three times in the game but the reason we do that is just to see if we can get a bit of a spark from someone – but it just didn’t happen. We haven’t defended our box well enough to prevent them from scoring and haven’t caused them enough problems in their box to score more goals than they did. The performance today was not at the levels we are capable of and which we have been playing in recent weeks which have got us positive results. Credit to Sheffield – they’ve left with the three points and despite all of our possession, goals win games.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Cam Gascoigne came in for warm praise from Ashington manager Ian Skinner following the Colliers 2-1 win at Ossett United on Saturday.

“I thought there were some outstanding performances today” said the Woodhorn Lane boss afterwards, “but I’ll give a special mention to Cam Gascoigne. If the truth be known, I’ve been trying to invest and get him to understand what it is we want from him. Today we’ve asked him to play in a position that is a little bit alien to him but what I love about Cam is that he’ll ask questions and wants to know exactly what we require from him. First half he played in front of the dugouts then second half when he had to switch to the other side it was brilliant to see him embrace it.”

He continued: “I could mention every single player – but for Cam who has been in and out of the team since he came to the club and who has also struggled with injury a little bit, I thought he was excellent.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Connor Thomson was recently announced as Ashington’s ‘Player of the month’ for December – now the striker has gone top of the scoring charts at the Woodhorn Lane based club after bagging both goals in the Colliers 2-1 away win at Ossett United.

On Saturday, the on-loan forward from Morpeth Town took his tally to 13 but admits that he should be further ahead than fellow forward Wilson Kneeshaw who has 11: “I’m over the moon,” said the 27 year old afterwards, “but being brutally honest, I probably should have had more. Nevertheless I’m glad I got the two and the good thing was that as soon as they (Ossett) scored, we’ve impacted on the situation straight away. Sometimes, we’ve had a bit of a tendency to just like let the game go away but to react like we did today was really good.”

Newcastle-born Thomson added: “The match itself was hectic. There was a lot of backwards and forwards and it was like a basketball game where we were both chasing it. In the second half we opened up and could show our pace and bit of skill to get us in behind.”

Thomson reflected on both goals: “For the first it was a through ball by Dan Maguire,” he said, “My pace got me in and I got kind of a lucky touch whilst for the second, Wilson (Kneeshaw) got down the line, put it across and I had a tap in.”

He went on: “Now I just want to keep scoring goals; the team to continue to win games and see us move further up the table.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner was thrilled that his side made it three wins in a row after they came away with a 2-1 victory over Ossett United on Saturday – with the boss adding that he had enjoyed the contest!

After getting his breath back following a pulsating crescendo to the game, Skinner commented: “I am delighted that we have picked up three points away from home after our two results of late at Woodhorn Lane (wins against Hebburn Town and Belper Town). We came here today and wanted to continue our good run and we’ve managed to do that. First of all, I’ve got to say that I thought it was a good game. It’s not often when I stand on the sidelines involved in a game and say I quite enjoyed it – but today I did and credit to Ossett because they played their part in it. I thought in the first half we played some really good football in spells and nearly scored what would have been a brilliant goal after stringing 14-15 passes together in the build up. We switched the ball from side to side and their goalkeeper (Matt Bancroft) has made a decent save from Dan Maguire. However, it would be remiss of me not to mention a couple of chances which Ossett had. Karl (Dryden) our goalkeeper has made a World class save to be fair from point blank range and then from the rebound they’ve hit the post and it was 0-0 at half time.”

He continued: “Second half they’ve gone 1-0 up. That’s been a little bit of an achilles heel for us of late and when teams score first sometimes we find it difficult to break them down because they’ll drop off and give us lots of the ball. However we replied pretty quickly with a good goal through Connor Thomson and added a second – again through Connor. I thought we controlled the game after that if the truth be known until probably the last five minutes. Ossett were the home team; they’ve got nothing to lose and they are going to throw bodies forward. They changed their shape a little bit which caused us one or two problems with two number tens and two centre forwards up there. On another day some of the chances which they’ve had first and second half they might be disappointed not to take something from the game but for me there were pleasing things to come out of it. We came from a goal down to win and in the last five minutes when they have thrown everything at us – similar to the clash at home against Belper Town – we’ve stood up and defended really, really well.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Wilson Kneeshaw’s 11^th goal of the season punctured Belper’s hopes of going second top of the Pitching In Northern Premier League East Division on Tuesday night as Ashington won a tight contest 1-0.

And afterwards, Colliers boss Ian Skinner paid tribute to both sides: “It was a great result for us,” he said, “Obviously it means that we have now put back to back home wins together which is good – and that’s what we asked for. We hadn’t played since our 4-0 victory over Hebburn Town on Boxing Day and went into the game against Belper on the back of a really positive home performance – and we wanted to follow that up with another (positive performance.) I have to feel for Belper travelling up to Ashington on a Tuesday night and we referenced that to the lads in terms of how early they would have had to set off from Derbyshire and could we start really bright and try and use that to our advantage. Overall, I thought it was two pretty well matched teams throughout the 90 minutes with a little bit of individual brilliance for the goal by Wilson Kneeshaw the difference.”

He continued: “We came in 1-0 up at half time and we talked about managing the ball; trying to invite them (Belper) to come and have to press us which would leave spaces for us to try and exploit them to add to our tally. However, I thought they slightly shaded the second half as we didn’t seem to really hit our straps or keep the ball as well as we can. Sometimes we demand a lot from the lads – we have got high standards – whereby we want perfect performances and perfect results but that can’t always be the case. I think what we have done tonight is to win a little bit ugly in the end when we haven’t been at our best – and that is something which I have criticised the group for previously. We turned in a disappointing performance but I certainly thought the lads dug in, battled and scrapped and managed to take the three points.”

He added: “Belper are a good side. I thought they were well organised and they tried to move the ball well in the first period then second half they’ve looked to press us a little bit high and push more numbers forward. However, we seem to be the only team in this league that haven’t got somebody who can throw the ball the width of the pitch. It was something which we had to deal with and we stood up and were counted. Belper had a couple of good chances and they’ll probably think they deserved something from the game but we had a couple of opportunities too. Their ‘keeper (Daniel Moore) has made a good save from Wilson (Kneeshaw) with his foot and then he was on hand again to deny Wilson right at the end when they were pushing bodies forward.”

Skinner added: “Oli Thompson and Will Constantin have both been recalled by Gateshead but we are not looking to bring anybody in which means we are working with a slightly reduced squad in terms of numbers. I’m not someone who looks to bring players in frequently anyway so the group that we have got now will be the group we will look to work with from now until the end of the season – unless of course something comes out of the blue which we think will improve us. However, I think this group of players deserve to see the season through; look to maintain their good form on the pitch and see where they can take the club.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Clutching the match ball under his arm, Connor Thomson said he was ‘buzzing’ after scoring a hat trick for Ashington on Tuesday as they gave Hebburn’s promotion bid of a jolt with a 4-0 hammering at Woodhorn Lane.

And afterwards the on-loan forward from Morpeth Town revealed that he had fancied his chances of scoring against second from top Hebburn – along with his strike partner Wilson Kneeshaw.

Kneeshaw got the Colliers off to a flying start with a goal in the eighth minute before 27 year old Thomson added three – two of which were a striker’s instinct!

“I’m absolutely buzzing,” said Newcastle-born Thomson afterwards, “It’s the first time in a while where I’m getting a run of games and can relax and be myself. After we got the first two (goals), Wilson Kneeshaw and myself were both confident about scoring a few more. We took our chances – and to get three goals myself to help the boys’ record a win made it a brilliant Boxing Day for us.”

Thomson reflected on his hat-trick: “For the first goal, as soon as I got the ball around the defender, I thought ‘just take the chance and bury it’ – and luckily enough that happened. For the next, I saw Oli (Thompson) and I know in that situation that I just need to make that little bit of a split second decision – and luckily enough I’ve got right in front of the defender and put it away. Then for the third, I saw the ball bounce around and I stumbled it in! My initial reaction was that I thought I may have been offside – but I thought I would put the ball into the net anyway and it’s been given.”

Cramlington-based Thomson – who is a gym owner – is hoping he and his team mates can use the victory to ‘push on.’

On Saturday (December 30), Ashington travel to face Consett and Thomson added: “We need to recover and take the confidence from today’s win into Saturday’s game and look to build another run like we had earlier in the season before that little bit of a dip. We should be looking to push on.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner said his squad of players take maximum credit following the crushing 4-0 win over Hebburn Town at Woodhorn Lane on Tuesday.

After Wilson Kneeshaw had opened the scoring, striker Connor Thomson provided the knockout punch on Boxing Day with a hat-trick as the Colliers ran riot and they could have inflicted an even heaver defeat on The Hornets who lie second from top of the Pitching In Northern Premier League’s East Division.

On the day of the contest, Skinner had said: “With our group of players, I always look forward to playing the teams who are in and around the promotion and play off spots. Nine times out of ten we play particularly well against them and a look at our results this season shows that we have had very positive results.”

Ashington didn’t only play ‘particularly well’ which led to a positive result – they were magnificent and got the three points they so richly deserved.

Consequently a delighted Skinner said afterwards: “All credit to the players really – they are the ones who go out onto the pitch and do it. We the management team just try and set them up and give them some advice as to how we think we can cause the opposition problems. I even said to them (the players) before the game that I back them every time we play against teams who are in and around the top of the table who are talking about promotion and play offs simply because this group of players at Ashington are equally as good as everybody in the division. Maybes the one aspect where we can improve is that level of consistency but from the first whistle today I thought we looked ‘at it’ and busy. We looked to play quick and move the ball – we got it down and we’ve gone 1-0 up with a good goal then added another with a fantastic move.”

Skinner touched on the dismissal of Hebburn’s former Ashington player Dean Briggs in the 24^th minute: “It was as clear a red card as you’ll probably ever see,” he said, “I’ll not be too quick to forget what Dean Briggs did when he was at this football club – but that was as poor a tackle that I’ve seen in a long, long time – and on a mate (Craig Spooner) as well – and he was rightly sent off.”

The boss continued: “I just thought our game management after that was really good apart from the final couple of minutes of the half where we gave away a couple of needless corners and free kicks. Obviously when they went down to ten men, they sort of played a 4-4-1 formation and sat in a little bit to try and stay in the game and probably looked to see if they could pinch something on the counter attack or from a set play. I thought we moved the ball really well and got to a certain point where we slowed the game right down and invited them to come out and try and pinch it (the ball) off us so we could then play in behind. That was very much the game plan second half. Again we’ve played as well as we can against ten men because it’s not always easy and I thought we controlled large periods of the second half and always looked a threat going forward. They (Hebburn) had to try and condense the space and they’ve tried to drop in and let us have the ball to a point and defended with a little bit of a high line – and that’s dangerous when you have got the strike force and the pace we have.”

He added: “If we wanted to be really greedy we could and should have scored more as we created numerous chances but if you’d offered me a 4-0 win before kick off I’m pretty confident I would have accepted it! Listen – Hebburn are a good side by the way. They have got good players and they will be right up there come the end of the season – make no mistake about that. But I was just delighted with our performance; the result; and for everybody involved who came out on a Boxing Day, gave up their time and supported us. Before our game, there were one or two grumblings from disappointed Newcastle United fans following their 3-1 defeat by Nottingham Forest who asked us not to let them down further and thankfully we’ve managed to turn it around with a good result! It was a nice little Christmas present for the staff; the volunteers; the players themselves and for all of the supporters.”