By Brian Bennett

Gary Ormston will wave a fond farewell to his playing days on the football pitch when Ashington travel to face Bradford Park Avenue in their final league match of the season tomorrow.

The midfielder has announced that he will hang up his boots after the final whistle at the Horsfall Community Stadium and as he reflected on the last 25 years he said ‘It’s been some career and I’ve had some incredible experiences but I just thought now was the right time to retire from the game.”

Born in Newcastle, Gary who is 41 has achieved what all non-league players yearn for. He’s played at Wembley and got an FA Vase winners medal; as an avid Newcastle United supporter, he describes an unforgettable night when he won the Northumberland Senior Cup whilst also being part of a league championship side and having had success in other cup competitions.

“At 16 I got a scholarship YTS at York City,” he said, “It was pre-season and my mam and dad took me to Newcastle Central railway station – and I then realised I was on the way to adulthood. After two years at York, I joined Dunston then I dropped down to Heddon on the Wall where my old schoolteacher was the manager but I got demoralised with football. When I got my love back for the game, I signed for Consett where I played over 300 games for them back in the good old Belle Vue days then onto Whitley Bay where I won the Vase.”

“I returned to Dunston, and as you creep over the age of 30 you start to get written off so you spend your time proving people wrong a little bit,” he said with a wry smile, “I then moved to North Shields and had a good spell there. I was approaching near late 30’s and you keep saying to yourself “I’ll see what I’m like and have another year” – but I have never signed a contract and if I felt okay it was a case of ‘let’s go again.’

Ormston lists winning the Vase as one of three distinct highlights during his career. “I was 27 at the time and it was my biggest achievement,” he added, “It was the whole thing – because you’re riding along on the crest of a wave. Whitley Bay had already won the competition twice in as many years. My best mate David Pounder joined Whitley Bay as well but you don’t think that they’ll get to a third consecutive final at Wembley. Paul Chow scored near the end as we beat Coalville Town 3-2.”

He continued: “I would say the best achievement was winning the Northumberland Senior Cup at St James’ Park against a Blyth Spartans side who were brilliant at the time. It was an unbelievable night for me and my family. We got battered early on before I opened the scoring at the Gallowgate end from the edge of the box where I curled the ball into the bottom corner. It remains as being the best game of football I ever played in.”

He added: “The third highlight was when North Shields won the Northern League first division title. We had a really good side and we played Whitley Bay on a Bank holiday Monday. We had to win or draw to clinch the league title – and we came out on top with a 3-1 scoreline. I netted the third with a penalty right in front of our fans and the celebrations were incredible.”

He went on: “I have played with some phenomenal players and it’s been some career. I’ve been very fortunate because I haven’t had a bad injury in 25 seasons and never missed a pre- season. To retire from the game is not a decision which I have taken lightly because I’ve been thinking and talking about it with my friends and family. I fancy doing a bit of hiking and trail running and I’ve also signed up to do the Great North Run this year plus another couple of things. Football has opened up so many doors and we have been to so many wonderful places – like Market Harborough – and even the last few years with Ashington I’ve been to Belper and my family have come along.”

He concluded: “There have been some incredible experiences and things which I’ll never forget – but I think the time is right to give my wife Gemma, biggest fan Sommer as well as my family and friends a bit more of my time. It’s like passing football over to the youngsters and letting them crack on with it.”

In partnership with our Supporters Club we are please to bring you the supporters poll for Player of the Season.

Please cast your vote by 5pm on Wednesday 30th April.

The winner will be revealed at our presentation evening on Friday 2nd May.

Coming Soon

2024/25 Supporters' Player of the Season

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By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Nick Gray saw his outfit go down to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Heaton Stannington on Easter Monday and revealed afterwards that he didn’t think the Colliers did enough to win the game.

It was another flat performance by the Colliers with little for a crowd of over 700 to cheer about and was decided by a goal six minutes into the second half by visitors substitute Andrew Burn: “I’m naturally disappointed but I didn’t think we did enough to win the game,” said Gray, “I thought we were comfortable in the first half and had the lion’s share of possession without hurting them. Second half for the goal, we’ve misplaced the ball out of play and haven’t dealt with a long throw in again and have made it easy for the goal scorer to hit a half volley at the far post.”

He continued: “After that you look for a little bit of inspiration and quality in the final third and if I’m being honest, we didn’t have any at all. It’s hard to put into words how I really feel – I’ve got a lot of thoughts and feelings, but I don’t think now is the right time to say anything.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington’s assistant manager Liam McIvor has described the Easter Monday showdown against Heaton Stannington as being a must-win game for the Wansbeck side.

McIvor was speaking minutes after the Colliers had secured a share of the spoils from their Pitching In Northern Premier League East Division clash against Sheffield on Good Friday.

Ashington’s goals came from Josh Gilchrist and Craig Spooner.

The point was better than nothing, but the Colliers are still not safe from the drop and McIvor said afterwards: “Considering we were 2-0 down it was a huge point today. Survival is still in our hands – and the reality of the situation is that we have got to win against Heaton Stannington on Easter Monday because we don’t want to be going into our last game at Bradford Park Avenue needing to take anything from it in order to stay up.”

McIvor has asked the people of Wansbeck to provide backing from the terraces: “We need as many fans inside Woodhorn Lane as possible,” he said, “Newcastle United are not playing and the supporters can help us massively. They are absolutely unbelievable, and we need them to be behind us from the first minute to the last.”

Looking back at the 2-2 draw in Sheffield, McIvor said: “The first half was awful – everything that could go wrong went wrong. No-one was at the races. Second half we gave it a right go. We got a great start which brought us back into the game and then it was all Ashington. However, we still need to try and create something else because we rely on Craig Spooner and Josh Gilchrist too much and the rest of the team have got to chip in as well.”

McIvor also heaped praise on ‘keeper Ryan Catterick “Ryan pulled off two great saves for us in the second half,” he said.

Monday’s game kicks-off at 12 noon.

By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Nick Gray says his players have got to ‘turn up’ for two big games over the Easter period following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat against Garforth Town.

The boss takes his side to face already relegated Sheffield FC on Good Friday before the Colliers host local rivals Heaton Stannington at Woodhorn Lane on Monday – but he is becoming increasingly frustrated not knowing what kind of display he will be see from his outfit: “We don’t know what we are going to get from the players and as a result we are getting Jekyll and Hyde performances,” he said after the visitors clinched all three points following an own goal by ‘keeper Ryan Catterick: “We seem as if we are going to turn the corner then we start to go back. Today there was nothing in the game and I didn’t think either team deserved to win it and it’s a hard one to take. Ryan (Catterick) has made a mistake and held his hand up but to be fair to Ryan he has done smashing for us since we signed him. However, I thought there were only about three or four players who did their jobs for us today – and you cannot win games of football with that. You’ve got to take responsibility yourself and I think that’s where the game is going a little bit. People always look to blame someone else, but you’ve got to look in the mirror first. Did we do enough to win the game? I don’t think we did but they (Garforth) got their noses in front, and we haven’t tested their goalkeeper nor did we use the extra man after they had their defender sent off.”

He continued: “They had two decent chances in the first half but for me on our home turf we’ve got to take the game to them. No disrespect but we’ve got a lot more to play for than them. We got into some good areas but made poor decisions, were poor with our passing and got caught up with poor offsides so it’s a disappointing day. Now it goes down to another week where you are thinking ‘what’s going to happen?’ We’ve got the quality to do it but at this time of the year it’s not about the quality – it’s about the mentality of winning games of football which will get you over the line and we have got to look at ourselves and see if we have got that.”

He went on: “We have a big weekend ahead of us. If we had got three points today, we would have been happier, but we have got two teams around us to play (Sheffield FC and Heaton Stannington) who are also fighting for points. Unfortunately, Sheffield have been relegated but that means nothing. I know they will be up for the game, and they will play with freedom. Our players have got to know the importance of next week and make sure they are ‘at it’ from the start. We had enough quality to win the game today but we didn’t do enough. That’s down to us as a unit and I’m really disappointed – but the league table doesn’t lie.”

Ashington played against ten men from the 53^rd minute when Harry Viggars was sent off and Gray added: “We didn’t make use of the extra man – it’s as simple as that. They filled holes whilst we didn’t move the ball or put three or four passes together. We weren’t aggressive enough, we just laboured, and we’ve got to get ourselves right. If we look after ourselves, we’ll be fine – but it doesn’t come easy.”

He concluded: “Squad wise Harrison Clark and Ryan Donaldson both returned after injury and hopefully there will be one or two more to follow.”

By Brian Bennett

Josh Gilchrist netted the goal 20 minutes from time which sealed three points for his side from their away clash against Liversedge at The Leading-Edge Clayborn Stadium on Saturday.

And the 22-year-old striker revealed that his 14^th goal of the campaign was probably one of the most important he has scored all season.

“It was a scrappy game,” said Wallsend-born Gilchrist afterwards, “There wasn’t much in it and to be fair to Liversedge they worked hard and done the basics well. They’ve pumped it up and put us under a bit of pressure, but it was important that we stayed in the game, and I knew if we got one chance it would be the one chance we need.”

Gilchrist described his goal: “Jamie Holmes has slipped the ball through to me and I went one on one in the box. I did a little step over, hit it early and managed to put the ball in the bottom corner – and I knew as soon as it left my foot that it was going in. It is probably one of the most important goals I have scored all season and brought us a massive three points although it doesn’t shake the table as much as we would have liked – but it’s in our hands.”

He continued: “If we keep picking up points which we can do – and we’ve got some important games coming up – then we’ll be fine. We’ve got Garforth Town at home on Saturday then face a massive two games against Sheffield and Heaton Stannington over the Easter weekend. We weren’t at our best today – all of the lads in the changing rooms know that – but it’s the sign of a good team when you are picking up points and haven’t played well.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington’s assistant manager Liam McIvor admitted that his sides’ clash against Liversedge on Saturday was ‘awful to watch’ – but said the 1-0 victory was a fantastic result in West Yorkshire.

Josh Gilchrist scored the vital goal in the 71^st minute of a game which will not live long in the memory of both sets of supporters: “It was a fantastic result,” said McIvor afterwards, “No one cares about how well you play when you are where we are in the table because it’s all about getting the three points. It was a huge win today because teams in and around us have picked up points apart from Consett. For everyone connected with Ashington, only when they see the other results will they realise how big the three points were for us today. Now we face another huge game at home to Garforth Town on Saturday. We are 14^th in the table but there’s only three points separating 12^th placed Grimsby Borough and 19^th placed Ossett United.”

He continued: “The game was terrible – the whole 90 minutes were awful to watch – but I’ll settle for that and take three points any day of the week. In the first half we got stuck and the ball was bouncing all over with no-one wanting to take responsibility. We couldn’t string three passes together and it was horrible to watch.”

He went on: “At half time the message to the lads was to try and relax and let the football do the work and to win those key moments in the final third. We talked about how one little bit of magic could get us a goal – and it happened.”

McIvor added: “Apart from the result, other positives for us today were that Marc Ellison returned to the side and got 90 minutes under his belt whilst Harrison Clark got back onto the pitch in the closing stages after being out of action for a month.”

Following on from our post last week regarding giving our fans the options to vote on our new kit, Ashington Football Club is proud to unveil sponsorship opportunities for our 2025/26 home shirt. We’re inviting local and regional businesses to be part of our historic club.

We’re offering three premium sponsorship positions:
• Front Shirt Sponsor – £8000 + VAT
• Reverse Shirt Sponsor – £4000 + VAT
• Sleeve Sponsor – £1,500 + VAT

As a non-league club run on a not-for-profit basis, sponsorship plays a vital role in keeping the heart of the community beating strong through football. Your support helps fund essential running costs, community support, ground improvements, and ensures we can continue to provide an inclusive club for players, volunteers, and supporters alike.

Partnering with Ashington FC is more than just brand exposure – it’s joining a proud club with passionate fans, deep local engagement, and big ambitions since 1883.

Your name, your brand, your business – on the shirt, in the spotlight, and at the heart of something special.

To discuss sponsorship opportunities, get in touch today:

Email: sponsorship@ashingtonafc.com
Phone: 07818 032 696

We’re excited to share the chance for you to choose our 25/26 home season kit! This year, we’ve honoured our heritage by incorporating our traditional stripes and colours into three designs. Now it’s your turn to weigh in!

⚫️ Design A – A nostalgic black and white stripe design that pays homage to our roots.

⚪️ Design B: A fresh take on our classic stripes, blending tradition with modern style.

⚫️ Design C: A refined, minimalist approach that keeps our beloved stripes front and centre.

Which design resonates with you the most? Cast your vote below.

The poll will close at 5pm on Friday 11th April 2025

Coming Soon

Ashington AFC - 2025/26 Home Kit

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By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Nick Gray wasn’t being flippant when he said that he would have accepted a sub-standard performance from his side against Emley at Woodhorn Lane on Saturday – so long as they secured three points!

However, after seeing the Colliers trail at the break by a single goal, the boss got the best of both worlds. Not only did the Colliers turn the contest on its head to win the game 3-1 but they arguably gave their best 45 minutes of the season.

Gray had said last week that in the run in to the end of the season that his lads faced six cup finals. On Saturday they ticked the first one off and emerged with flying colours.

Albeit the game was spoiled by a strong wind – and for the second period Ashington who had the elements on their backs, played against a ten-man Emley side after their striker Joshua Ayres had been red carded in stoppage time in the first half.

Nevertheless, it was a beaming Gray who emerged from the dressing room to deliver his postmatch thoughts: “The most important thing was the result – and I’m delighted,” he said, “We’ve now played Emley twice in a month and they are a side who are in the play offs. They are a good outfit but if I’m being honest, we haven’t looked out of sorts with them as we’ve competed with them. They won at their place and we have won here. We were so desperate for the points that I would have accepted an awful performance and for us to be second best in exchange for a win which we got – and we thoroughly deserved it!”

He continued: “The wind was really strong and we tried to go with it in the first half but it didn’t happen. We gave a soft goal away which we’re disappointed about but despite going in 1-0 down at half time, I was still confident that we had an opportunity in the second half. In that first period, we had a couple of forced injuries but the lads didn’t feel sorry for themselves nor did it stop their rhythm. I always say its not about the players who aren’t there – it’s about the players who are there and each and every one of them today were fantastic.”

He added: “At half time we had a good opportunity but as we had both our centre halves on yellow cards we had to be careful and I told the lads that if we kept 11 players on the pitch we’d get our rewards. I also mentioned that a key issue was for us to be aggressive in the first 15 minutes and the full backs had to be higher up the pitch. We got the equalising goal which gave us the lift to go again and we kept on being aggressive for the entire half.”

He went on: “You can say that the sending off made a difference – however it doesn’t give you a divine right to win a game just because you are up against a team with ten men. I thought Liam Henderson led the line really well and he has given us a different dimension but I liked the way we took the game to them (Emley) and in the end, it was a thoroughly deserved three points.”

Gray gave a huge pat on the back to goalkeeper Ryan Catterick: “Our third goal scored by Ryan Wombwell was well worked,” he said, “but to be fair after that at 3-1, Ryan (Catterick) has made a great save. He had nothing to do in the second half but he showed his qualities because if they had made it 3-2 with ten minutes to go, even against ten men, we would have got nervous. However, each and every one of the lads played their part today. It’s a happy dressing room and the win will give us that little bit of momentum going into the last five games of the season.  We keep on saying that it’s down to what we do and as long as it’s in our own hands that’s all we can ask for.

Gray reserved his parting shot to say a massive thank you to the fans and volunteers at the club: “With the Newcastle United parade taking place, it’s been hard for non-league football with a lot of volunteers, supporters and players also wanting to celebrate,” he said, “However, to be fair I think Ashington made a great gesture by offering the fans half price admission to our match and I’ve got to thank the supporters and volunteers  who came along today because it means a lot and is much appreciated.”