By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner admitted that it was nice to get back to winning ways following his sides 4-2 success over West Allotment Celtic on Saturday: “After back to back defeats then losing the game at Northallerton due to the weather conditions, it was nice to get back out there and play – albeit in very tough conditions firstly with the wind then the driving rain throughout the first half. We had both elements in our faces so I can only give credit to the players for the first half performance. We are a team who like to get the ball down and play anyway but obviously against the driving rain and the gale force wind it forced us to really play. However, the pleasing thing was some of the things we have asked the players to do in terms of shortening our game even more and play five and ten yard passes, they did – and to be fair in spells in the half we played some fantastic football. The second goal we scored was great where we have worked it from left to right and when the ball has come in, Craig Spooner has got across the front post and put it (the ball) in at the far post. It’s bits and pieces that we work on so again credit to them (the players) because since Christmas our training levels have been high; our quality has been good and although we lost two games against Sunderland Ryhope CW and North Shields recently, nobody could have complained if we have won both of those fixtures. We talked about how we had lost two games – although performances were good – and how we needed to keep at that level.”

He continued: “First half today we went a goal behind – after a bit of an untidy play but it was a typical ‘difficult weather’ goal if I’m honest. However, we showed fantastic character to come back and equalise immediately. It was a great delivery from Liam Doyle and Ben Harmison – in the opposition’s box – has planted a superb header into the net and it is nice for him to get into those areas. The third goal was a good move but a bit of a scrappy finish after Ben Harmison’s presence caused problems in the box.”

Skinner had mixed feelings at the interval: “I was really disappointed with the second goal we conceded – it was poor,” he added, “Matthew Hayton went straight through the middle of the pitch and scored – but having said that if somebody had offered me a 3-2 lead at half time after having seen the conditions, I would have accepted it.”

He went on: “I thought we managed the second half really, really well. I think our ‘keeper Karl Dryden has made one save which you would expect him stop where he was a little bit wrong footed at the near post and he’s had to make sure. Other than that he’s almost been like a sweeper for us. We moved the ball really well – and again when we came out for the second half the pitch was really slippy underfoot. The players got the ball down and Craig Spooner has scored a fantastic goal to make it 4-2 which makes our task a little bit easier. Then I just thought we had a little spell where – and I’m always looking for the perfect performance – we just turned possession over a little bit cheaply and more than we should have but throughout the whole period I thought we were comfortable without being disrespectful to West Allotment Celtic. We probably could and should have scored more but I was really, really pleased and it was nice to get back to winning ways. Sometimes our group of players get questioned about playing in conditions like today because we’ve got a talented bunch – a technically good group – and I’ve heard people say ‘I’m not sure if they can roll their sleeves up and play in the mud’ – well they’ve shown today that that is not a problem!” He added: “We have had to leave players out of the squad today and that’s the part of the job that nobody likes. It’s always difficult to tell lads they are not in the squad let alone not play but that’s the competition we need because that keeps those who are in the squad and the team on their toes knowing that there is somebody waiting to take their place. You don’t expect them (who are not in the 16) to be happy but I told them ‘we are playing really well at the minute and you may have to be a little bit patient.’ We want everybody to stay because they are a fantastic group – I think I’ve already gone on record as saying this is the best group of players I have worked with in terms of the way they get on with each other and the way the mood is in the dressing room. We are a club who want to progress and go places and the players want to be part of that which is fantastic.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner said he was both ‘disappointed and frustrated’ after Saturday’s away trip to face Northallerton was called off due to high winds amid Storm Malik – but was nevertheless emphatic in his thoughts that the right decision was made.

Skinner said: “Whilst I was disappointed and frustrated, I think common sense prevailed.  Ideally we wanted the game to be on but we didn’t want to travel for it (the match) to be called off down there. We’d had a good training session on Thursday in preparation and we’ll have another two sessions this week – but because we lost both of our last two matches against Sunderland Ryhope CW and North Shields, it means our pensive mood will linger for more than ten days. However, our focus will switch to the visit of West Allotment Celtic to Woodhorn Lane on Saturday (February 5) as we look – and hope – to return to winning ways in front of our fantastic supporters.”

On the team news front, last weekend’s postponement will give Luke Salmon and goalkeeper Adam McHugh an extra week to get some more fitness under their belts after both have been out of sorts through illness but central defender Curtis Coppen is a doubtful starter due to injury and Max Emmerson and Tom Bramley are still ruled out. Meanwhile a new date has been set for the Northallerton clash in North Yorkshire. The Colliers will now travel on Saturday March 5 and Skinner added: “I’m happy about that especially as it is on a Saturday – but we are away to Redcar Athletic on the Wednesday beforehand, so we’ll be clocking up some miles in the space of a few days!”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner accepted the plaudits which came his way after a battling performance from his team – despite watching them go down to a 2-1 defeat against North Shields on Tuesday night.

Skinner said: “After the final whistle, a lot of people said to me that we probably deserved something from the game – including the Shields management team. To be fair I thought we played well and possibly warranted something but we haven’t done that. We can say we deserved something like on Saturday (at Sunderland Ryhope) as well but it’s two games and zero points now and we need to get back to winning ways – starting at Northallerton on Saturday.”

The boss had words of praise for Thomas Kalthoeber who slotted in at the heart of the defence after skipper Ben Harmison had had to pull out: “Before kick off Ben (Harmison) got called into work which was a big blow for us because he’s been a big part of our back four and he’s our skipper. However, I thought Thomas (Kalthoeber) came into the defence tonight and did very, very well having been out on loan at Percy Main for a lot of the season. Thomas played in a practice game for us recently and performed well and tonight he was asked to step up and play centre back and I think he should be really pleased with his performance. One or two of the others did okay but we’ll possibly look to freshen things up on Saturday.” For the trip to North Yorkshire, defensive lynchpin Curtis Coppen will have a fitness test whilst boss Skinner is hoping Luke Salmon and goalkeeper Adam McHugh will be available both having recovered from illnesses.

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner praised his outfit after they had put up a spirited showing despite losing 2-1 against promotion chasing North Shields at The dwmedia Stadium on Tuesday night.

The Woodhorn Lane boss said afterwards that their were aspects of the performance which had pleased him but also spoke bluntly about how his side had shot themselves in the foot – not only once but twice for the goals which they conceded.

Skinner said: “It was a similar story to Saturday at Sunderland Ryhope. I thought we started the game really poorly – and I will take some of the responsibility for that because we didn’t had an opportunity to train before tonight’s game and I just wanted to make a couple of small tweaks. So I changed our match day warm up routine just to try and get one or two messages across and it possibly led to a little bit of a less than tense session and maybes that played a part in our slow start. Having said that, you can’t give North Shields striker Dan Wilson the amount of space we did to turn, get a shot at goal and score. We then did really well to come back and we scored a fantastic equaliser when Dean Briggs switched the play to Jordan Summerly. We talk about the final third – and Summerly did brilliantly to get to the by-line before he’s pulled the ball back and Lewis Suddick has tapped in at the back post.”

He continued: “We then shot ourselves in the foot again. A long ball up and Wilson has won the first header. The ball dropped to Chris McDonald and we haven’t got out to press the ball quick enough. Mcdonald has hit it from quite a distance – 20 yards at least from left to right and it’s gone in – and again it’s a really poor goal to concede having done so well to get back into the game. I thought some of our combination play in the first half in and around the penalty area was very good. I just wanted us to be a little bit more forceful. We saw a lot of the ball and created a couple of good opportunities but came in at half time 2-1 down whilst Shields played quite direct if I’m honest.”

He went on: “After the break, we wanted to continue where we had left off with our combination play in and around the box and switch the play quickly from side to side because Shields try to play quite narrow and central – but the half never really got going. Certainly they (Shields) looked as if they were content to sit in and see if they could just prevent us from breaking them down whilst they offered very little going forward. We probably moved the ball a little bit too slow and at times when we had space to go and run with the ball to draw Shields onto us, we didn’t do that and gave the ball away with unforced errors and to be honest I thought the game just petered out. We made poor decisions like crossing from poor angles; hanging everything up for the goalkeeper (Oliver Marshall) whose handling was impeccable to be fair but we are the sort of team who need to be playing quick combination play in and around the box with little give and goes and third man runs – and we never really got that. We almost looked a little bit devoid of one or two ideas and went that little bit more direct and that little bit long crossing the ball early – and we haven’t got players that suit that style. We haven’t got big bustling forwards who will run and put their head on things – we’ve got good technical footballers and that’s why we tend to try and play our way.”

He added: “Some of our play in the first half when we had the ball was great but needed to be better in the second half. We were always in the game and I threw some subs on to try and freshen things up but it didn’t make a massive difference. Obviously I was disappointed with the result; disappointed with certain aspects of our play particularly out of possession and I think we need to be tougher to play against. We sometimes can be a little bit too easy to play against when we haven’t got the ball.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC’s newest recruit Lewis Suddick was naturally pleased to score on his debut for the Colliers at Sunderland Ryhope CW – but his overall joy was diluted as his side conceded a late goal which saw them go down to a 2-1 defeat.

The North Shields-born 24 year old joined the Woodhorn Lane outfit last week after signing from fellow Ebac Northern League outfit Bishop Auckland. He said: “I’m delighted to have joined Ashington who are a club on the up and it’s something I’m really happy to be a part of. Hopefully I can settle in and really enjoy my football. I had no hesitation in putting pen to paper – look at Ashington’s position in the league table (fifth from top) – they are doing really, really well and when I had a conversation with the gaffer (Ian Skinner) it was a no-brainer.”

On Saturday, Suddick levelled on the hour in the top of the table clash and said: “I started the move off and managed to go and get on the end of it. I kept my cool and finished it so I was delighted with that.” However, reflecting on his debut, Suddick – a primary school teacher – added: “I thought I did alright and obviously I was happy to open my account with my first goal but the most important thing was for the team to get a win and we didn’t manage to do that so I was disappointed. I thought towards the end we at least deserved a draw and it was really unlucky for us to lose in the way we did.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner had sympathy with his outfit after they had lost by the odd goal in three in their top of the table clash against Sunderland Ryhope CW at the Recreation ground on Saturday.

Skinner said afterwards: “To be honest, I thought the result was harsh on us because we deserved something from the game – certainly for the second half performance. It’s good now that we come to places and we’re disappointed that we haven’t won and we’re looking upwards rather than over our shoulders which has maybes been the case in previous seasons. Obviously the result was disappointing because we wanted to take maximum points. It was a game of very contrasting styles and by that I don’t mean to be disrespectful (to Ryhope) because I have got a lot of time for the management team at Ryhope. We knew what we were going to get; we knew they would be direct and get the ball forward quickly and try and turn us around and be aggressive – and they did that in the first half.”

He continued: “It was a little bit of déjà vu from last week (at Sunderland RCA) where there was a bit of a slope on the pitch and it was a really difficult surface to play on and I think we took that for granted and took it literally – because we went too long, too often and too early which played into the strengths of Ryhope who were happy to stand and defend and head things to safety. They (Ryhope) won the majority of the first balls and picked up a lot of the second balls in the first half and we conceded a poor goal with a little bit of a deflection and went in at the break 1-0 down.”

Skinner saw his side mount a sustained challenge from the start of the second period: “At half time we talked about how we could really go and influence the game and how we needed to try and stamp our authority and style on it,” he said, “We dominated possession; the match was played in their half and we created lots of good opportunities but were just a little bit wasteful in the final third. We got into some really good positions in that final third but our final pass, set, touch or cross wasn’t quite where we wanted it to be today.”

The boss however, was delighted with the leveller from debutant Lewis Suddick: “We scored a very, very good equaliser,” he added, “It was really good combination play up the right hand side featuring Liam Doyle and Lewis Suddick who combined with Adam Johnson who then reversed the ball for Suddick who took his goal well. In the end – and certainly in the second half – there were lots of the performance I was pleased with in difficult circumstances and against difficult opposition but I was disappointed with the manner in which we have conceded the two goals. The second was a little bit too easy for them to get the cross in from the left and then it looked like an effort at the back post which hit the crossbar and post and went in.”

Ashington host high flying North Shields at The dwmedia Stadium on Tuesday and Skinner said: “To be honest, it would have been nice to have been able to train on Tuesday to work on our play in the final third! It’s fine margins in that area of the pitch and if we had found that extra quality today we would have taken the game away from Ryhope in the second half but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. However, this group of players always show good character and after every defeat this season we’ve come back and won our next game – and we couldn’t have a better clash than against North Shields.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC’s Craig Spooner is looking forward to Tuesday night’s clash against his former club North Shields at The dwmedia Stadium on Tuesday (January 25).

Spooner has the utmost respect for the Shieldsmen and their management team who gave him the opportunity to trade his skills after he was released by Newcastle United.

But on Tuesday, the Ashington-born 23 year old will be hoping that his side can bounce back after Saturday’s narrow 2-1 defeat by Sunderland Ryhope CW and put a spoke in the Robins’ current form and promotion challenge.

Cramlington-based Spooner said: “North Shields took me in when I was released from Newcastle and they got me back playing and enjoying my football. Credit to the two gaffers (Marc Nash and Anthony Woodhouse) who I get on with really well and who still ask me how I am doing. I was at Shields for two to three seasons before being injured whilst playing in a charity game and missed about a month of the season.”

He continued: “When I returned to fitness, I didn’t really get in or around the team so I joined Ashington because I just wanted to start playing week in week out and the manager (Ian Skinner) has given me that opportunity. My fitness is improving all the time; I’ve scored a few goals and the team are doing well which is the main thing.” Looking ahead to Tuesday night’s clash – which has a 7.30pm kick-off – Spooner added: “I get nervous all the time and North Shields is a big game. They (North Shields) are doing well in the Buildbase FA Vase as well as the league and credit to them. They have got a really good side but I’m hoping we can show them that we are also a decent team who can play well and score goals.”

Photograph: Ian Brodie

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC winger Bobby Taylor says he will be ‘knocking on manager Ian Skinner’s door this week’ hoping to book himself a place in the starting line up against Sunderland Ryhope CW on Saturday – after coming on as a substitute against Sunderland RCA at the weekend and hitting the all important winner!

The Newcastle-based 25 year old had several reasons to be happy on the final whistle at the LGV Park ground including breaking his ‘duck’ after a decade of disappointment: “I’ve been playing at Northern League level for ten years now and I can’t ever recall winning a game there before – until today,” he said, “It’s always a difficult place to come too. I knew it was going to be tough coming off the bench so apart from getting the goal it was also an extra special feeling to get the result and the three points.”

Taylor described his strike which came with eight minutes of normal time left on the clock: “The ball was spinning over my head so the first thing I had to do was touch it down,” he said, “as soon as I had got a good touch, it was a case of hitting it (the ball) as well as I could. It bounced in front of the ‘keeper and sneaked into the bottom corner so I was very happy. I’ve been lacking a couple of goals this season but hopefully I can now add to my tally over the rest of the season.”

North Shields-born Taylor added: “I’ve had to miss some sessions through work commitments but now I’m back in full training and I think I’m playing well – so I’ll be knocking on the manager’s door this week in the hope of securing a place in the starting line up on Saturday!” The Colliers make a swift return to Sunderland on Saturday (January 22) when they face Ryhope CW in a top of the table billing: “We are taking one fixture at a time,” said Taylor, “Every team talk is centred around ‘winning this game’ and not worrying or looking to the rest. It’ll be a very tough match but if we win, we’ll go above them (Ryhope CW) and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner took a few minutes to draw breath after watching his side win a cut and thrust contest 1-0 against Sunderland RCA at the LGV Park ground on Saturday.

Substitute Bobby Taylor struck the all important goal eight minutes from time and apart from the result, the boss was delighted with the impact made by Taylor and Jordan Lashley who were both introduced after 65 minutes: “Sometimes as a manager you have got to look at the bigger picture and think about not always just picking what might be your best 11 players to start – you’ve got to think about if you need to change something in the game, what have I got available. I was pleased for Bobby (Taylor) to get the goal because he was in the team at Whitley Bay and has then had a couple of fleeting visits off the bench whilst Jordan (Lashley) is probably a little bit unlucky because he has played two games and got three goals. Jordan’s probably thinking ‘why am I on the bench’ but it was all geared towards if I needed some impact (from the bench) – and we did today. We wanted that injection of pace up top and both of them (Taylor and Lashley) went on and caused problems.”

He continued: “The two lads were given an opportunity to come on the pitch and make a difference – and they took it. That’s what we always ask of a substitute – we don’t ask them to be happy about not being in the first 11 – what we always say to them is ‘if you get an opportunity to go on and influence the game, do it then lay a marker down for the following week when we have got to pick a squad’ and that’s what both of them (Bobby Taylor and Jordan Lashley) did to be fair.”

Reflecting on the 90 plus minutes of non stop commitment from both sides, Skinner said: “I think everyone in the ground has probably just watched a game of football a bit like what the Northern League is all about really. I thought it was a good game; a decent spectacle and although on the balance of things, RCA will probably argue that they could have nicked it on chances – we have got the win and I’m thrilled with three points. To be honest I thought RCA were probably the better side in the first half – certainly on chances – because they had one or two good opportunities whereas I thought we just forced it ‘long’ a little bit too often and I wanted us to be a little bit more patient. Sometimes when there is a slope on the pitch, the players fall into that lull of ‘everyone wants to get forward down the hill and we want to play forward quickly’ and at times I think we fell into the trap of doing it too often and our play became a little bit predictable. However, when RCA did have a spell where they were the better side, we certainly stuck at it. We defended manfully and defended the penalty area really well – so that was very, very pleasing.” He added: “Second half I thought we were the better side and had the better chances. What we did mention in the team talk was that they (RCA) hadn’t played for a month. I said to our lads ‘you know what it felt like when we came up against Penrith last weekend after not having a game for three and a half weeks – and they (RCA) will be feeling the same way as you were.’ So with 25 minutes to go, we brought Taylor and Lashley on who are very direct and full of pace. That is the last thing teams want to face when it is getting deep into the game and I thought the pair of them offered good width; good pace and we also created a number of chances.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC midfielder Dean Briggs says that the target for the Woodhorn Lane side is to finish as high up the Ebac Northern League’s first division table as possible.

Wideopen-born Briggs returned to the fold last month and was included in the starting line up for Ashington’s Techflow Marine Northumberland Senior Cup quarter final tie against Newcastle United under 23’s which the Magpies won via a penalty shoot out after the game finished all square at 2-2 after 90 minutes.

And on Saturday, the 25 year old came off the bench to score his 16^th league goal of the campaign in the Colliers 3-1 win over Penrith: “The goal was a simple tap in – but it was nice to add it to the tally,” he said afterwards, “It was a case of coming on and working hard and the more minutes I have will improve my fitness and help to get my levels back to where they were. I was happy to get back on board and now it’s a case of seeing how high up the table we can go.” Ashington crept up to sixth place in the division following Saturday’s win but Briggs reckons a promotion bid would be a tall order: “It is a possibility – but it would be a tough ask for us because there are some good sides in the league,” he added, “We would have to win most games and although I can’t see any reason why we can’t do that there are some strong teams in the league and they would have to drop some points.”