By Brian Bennett

Ryan Wombwell scored his first ever goal for Ashington in their 1-1 draw against Sherwood Colliery on Saturday.

Wombwell’s strike came with just two minutes of the 90 remaining – but the on-loan defender revealed afterwards that the thoughts from within the Ashington camp was that they had dropped two points as opposed to claiming a valuable one on the road.

The 23 year old said: “The first half was disappointing. The shape we played worked well on Wednesday against Grimsby Borough but today we didn’t really get the press right. Following an injury to Scott Lowery, we changed shape and it worked much better for us. From thereon in I thought there was only one team in control of the game and that was us. We managed to score late on but we’ve said in the dressing room that we thought it was two points dropped after the amount of the ball we had in the second half.”

Newcastle-born Wombwell – who is based at Westerhope – described his goal: “Ben Sampson had a shot which took a deflection and wrong footed the ‘keeper a little bit and although he saved it (the ‘keeper), the ball ran to me. It was quite a simple finish to hit the target and I was happy to finally get my first goal for Ashington ten games in. Although we got a little bit of luck with the ball dropping for us, we earned it by the amount of attacks we had and I thought we played well in the second half.”

Wombwell will continue to wear Ashington’s colours after the Woodhorn Lane club and Morpeth Town agreed to extend his loan until the end of the campaign. Wombwell added: “I came to Ashington and have started and played every game and that’s what I wanted to do. The group of lads in the changing room are brilliant and I’m really enjoying it. I’m happy that the loan has been extended until the end of the season and now I can focus on helping the team to get as high up the league table as possible.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington’s assistant manager Liam McIvor looked on as Ryan Wombwell scored a late equaliser to rescue a point for the Colliers from their clash against Sherwood Colliery at Debdale Park on Saturday – and said he thought a draw was the least the Wansbeck side deserved.

Wombwell’s strike – his first goal for the club – took Ashington’s recent run to three wins and two draws from their last six matches and McIvor reiterated what manager Nick Gray said recently – that he thinks the team are heading in the right direction.

McIvor commented: “I thought 100 per cent we were the better team in the second half and a draw was the least we deserved. From the start of the game, we just dropped off a little bit and made them look good by allowing them play. If you give any player time on the ball they’ll kill you and we just gave their two midfielders time on the ball to pick passes out and they created a couple of good chances but thankfully for us they missed. For the first 35 minutes we didn’t get going then when Scott Lowery unfortunately got injured and we changed our shape, we looked a different team.”

Ashington went in at the break trailing to a penalty which was converted by Sherwood’s Carter Widdowson but McIvor was always optimistic: “The message at half time was to keep going because we have got quality in the squad and I knew we would create chances. We hit the woodwork twice and I think we’ve created enough (chances) today than we have done in the last three of four games but we just need that extra bit of quality in the final third.”

He continued: “We have travelled to both Grimsby and Sherwood in four days – in total a round trip of over 600 miles – and have come away with four points out of six and I would have settled for that beforehand. It was important not to lose today especially after winning on Wednesday and we’re heading in the right direction. However the message to the lads is simple – if we want to be a good team we have got to kill teams off like we should have done today.”

McIvor added that the squad will train twice this week ahead of Saturday’s away clash against Stocksbridge Park Steels (January 25).

By Brian Bennett

Manager Nick Gray will take his new Ashington side to face one of his former clubs in the semi final of this season’s Newcastle Flooring Northumberland Senior Cup.

The Colliers have been drawn away to Morpeth Town whilst the other tie will see Heaton Stannington face holders Newcastle United u21’s.

The boss heard the draw ahead of what was an excellent 1-0 win over Grimsby Borough on Wednesday night and said: “I have some fond memories as well as having had some very good times at Morpeth so it will be nice to go back. On top of that I also have good friends at the club. The last time I returned to Craik Park with another club we didn’t do ourselves justice on the night and although we know it’s going to be a tough challenge for us, it’s a local derby and a semi final with the chance to play in the final at St. James’ Park. We’ll look forward to it with anticipation.”

By Brian Bennett

Delighted after his side had collected three precious points with a 1-0 victory after a pulsating non-stop encounter against Grimsby Borough on Wednesday night, Ashington manager Nick Gray has challenged his players to perform even better.

On what eventually turned out to be a perfect evening for football – following a pre match scare as fog hovered around the ground less than three hours before kick-off – a goal in the dying embers of the first half by Craig Spooner decided the outcome at the Bradley Football Development Centre.

The win lifted the Colliers up to 15^th place in the table and gave them a bit of breathing space – but it remains very tight at the foot of the East Division table. Sheffield are on the bottom with 15 points then the next seven clubs are separated by only four points.

Consequently it came as no surprise when Gray said afterwards: “Tonight’s clash at Grimsby was the start of an important passage for us where we had five of our next seven games on the road – so we needed to get points on the board away from home and set ourselves some targets. It’s never easy to travel this kind of a distance – a round trip of over 300 miles – on a Wednesday night but credit to the lads. They arrived at the ground; were focussed and to be fair I thought they put in a good shift all over the pitch.”

He continued: “It was a great three points tonight but can we go and get something from our trip to Sherwood on Saturday because that’s what we have got to do – get points from teams who are in and around us. We’ll happily take the win and the plaudits tonight but we know we can challenge ourselves to do even better with the ball.”

Reflecting on the first half Gray said: “The opening half was nip and tuck. I thought both teams gave the ball away cheaply in and out of possession with Grimsby looking dangerous when we gave the ball away and vice versa. At 0-0, we made some great interceptions from crosses which came into our box and we defended as a unit. I thought we grew into the game and got our noses in front with a goal by Craig Spooner which came out of nothing. He (Spooner) chases lost causes – and tonight he’s got his rewards! Once you go ahead, you’ve always got something to hold onto and second half I thought Spooner then Ryan Donaldson could have scored a second goal to be fair but both missed great opportunities. Craig has said to me that the ball took a bobble – and I’ll take his word on that – but at 1-0, it was going through my mind ‘are we going to rue those chances?’

He added: “Second half it was a case of do we stick or twist and do we bring subs on with fresh legs? It was also about game management and I thought we did that really well and can’t remember our goalkeeper Dan Staples having to make a save. We’ve been playing a certain way and having the lion’s share of possession in games but not doing a great deal with the ball so we changed our shape. I thought we had someone up there (Craig Spooner) and the switch worked tonight – if it hadn’t then I would have taken it on the chin. Formations don’t win games of football – footballers do – and man for man I thought we had more players who were better than the opposition player. Don’t get me wrong, Grimsby have got some good players but we kept them quiet. They are a good side who attack with pace on the counter attack but I thought we dealt with it well and our defending was outstanding. Scott Lowery, Jordan Summerly, Ben Williams and Andrew Cartwright all did their jobs – but the defending came from the front.”

Meanwhile Ryan Donaldson made his debut playing up front alongside Spooner and Gray concluded: “I thought Ryan had a good debut. He showed his experience and he’ll get better for us.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Nick Gray wants his players to improve their away form in the second half of the season.

Following back to back league games against Bishop Auckland and Newton Aycliffe which have been postponed due to frozen surfaces, the Colliers now head into a programme of fixtures which will see them on their travels for five out of their next seven matches – and Gray is looking for an improvement in results.

The pitch at Woodhorn Lane was so solid that Saturday’s scheduled clash against Newton Aycliffe was actually called off on Friday tea time and Gray was keeping his fingers crossed that with milder weather forecast, Wednesday night’s trip to face Grimsby Borough would get the green light.

However, the boss was philosophical about the forthcoming journeys when he said: “It’s not ideal and it’s just the way things have fallen with the weather – but at the same time we need to be better with our away form and look to get some positive results. We know we have to do much better and need points on the board and within the dressing room we’ll be setting ourselves a target. The earlier we reach that target the better. It’s a tough challenge but after these seven games if we’ve bagged a good points haul then it’ll have been worthwhile – if not then it will put us under pressure for the home games.”

He continued: “The weather has stopped our momentum but we’re in the same boat as a lot of other clubs. When I was with Morpeth Town, we experienced a long winter in 2016 – the same season we won the FA Vase – where we didn’t play a game for nine or ten weeks! On Thursday night I spoke at training that we’ve got to keep switched on and be focussed and think that the next game is going to go ahead. We are in a good place at the minute and need to play as soon as we can – but we’ve got to make sure that when that next game comes, we’re 100 per cent prepared.”

Meanwhile Gray revealed that he had organised a behind closed doors friendly at the weekend: “You have to try and keep ticking over,” he added, “Some players have had more minutes than others recently but as manager, it also gives you an opportunity to look at shape and formations. It was disappointing but not a surprise that the Newton Aycliffe clash was postponed. They are always a tough side to play against so we knew it would have been a difficult game but you are just waiting for the next match because the longer it goes on (without a match), the tougher it is for the lads to get back into a routine.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Nick Gray has added experienced campaigner Ryan Donaldson to his squad.

The midfielder joined the Colliers from neighbours Blyth Spartans last week and Gray is looking to the former Hartlepool man to bring leadership as well as experience to the squad.

Gray said: “”I’ve known Ryan closely for a good few years and I think he’s been a bit unlucky. Some of the comments about him when he was with Morpeth Town and Blyth Spartans have been unfair. I know what Ryan can bring to the team and I know he wouldn’t have come to Ashington if he couldn’t give to the squad what he knows I expect from him. He’s a great lad who will bring some leadership and experience into the dressing room – an aspect which we haven’t got a lot of. Consequently I’m delighted to get him onboard because he’ll be as infectious in the dressing room as he will be on the pitch.”

Meanwhile the Woodhorn Lane club have also extended two loan deals with Morpeth Town and Gateshead respectively for defenders Ryan Wombwell and Ben Williams.

Gray added: “I’m definitely delighted to get both players tied up until the end of the season because they are two lads who enhance the squad. In Ryan’s case, he’s an honest hard working lad who is the first to criticise himself and in general, I’m disappointed when lads don’t perform to their full potential.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Nick Gray received the perfect Christmas present from his players when the Colliers’ win over Heaton Stannington on Boxing Day lifted them out of the bottom four of the East Division of the Pitching In Northern Premier League.

At the time, the 3-1 victory made it three games unbeaten before the Wansbeck side went down to a single goal defeat at the hands of promotion chasing Dunston UTS just before the turn of the New Year. And whilst the boss is the first to admit that there is still plenty of hard work ahead, he said: “I think things have changed and Woodhorn Lane is a much happier place than it was a month ago when were down to ten men and lost 4-0 against Liversedge. I watched the Dunston game back and we did really well against them. I thought we had as many opportunities as they did and kept a very lively forward line – which they have – quiet. However when we got into the final third we just didn’t have enough to trouble UTS’s Dan Lowson who is a very good goalkeeper.”

Gray has stressed that he is striving for consistency within the whole of his squad: “Obviously you want to do as well as you can in the second half of the season but we’re in the position we are in for a reason and the word I’m looking for is consistency – we need more players to be consistent and we seem to be getting there,” he said, “We’ve got to make sure that we finish this season strongly and we’ll be hoping that we can get through to the final of the Newcastle Flooring Northumberland Senior Cup. On top of that, we’ve also got to plan and look ahead to next term.”

Meanwhile Gray is delighted with the progress made by full back Jordan Summerly as well as the return of goalkeeper Dan Staples. Summerly had a spell where he was ruled out for a few months with an injury whilst Staples has just reclaimed the number one jersey after serving a three match suspension: “Jordan is getting fitter and stronger,” added Gray, “I think he gives us balance on the left hand side and he’ll get even better with more games under his belt. We’ve also got competition in the goalkeeping department now and I thought Dan Staples had his best performance for the club under my management against Dunston UTS,”

The boss was disappointed that Saturday’s away game against Bishop Auckland was postponed due to a frozen pitch: “You want to get back into the swing of things as quickly as you can,” he said, “We had started to hit a bit of form and I was hoping it would continue but it wasn’t to be. However if there is any consolation it’s not too far a travel for what will be a midweek fixture.”

Ashington now prepare for their clash against Newton Aycliffe at Woodhorn Lane on Saturday (January 11) and Gray said: “We’ll be training twice this week ahead of the game and keeping our fingers crossed for a change in the weather. Aycliffe are a very good side so we will have to be at our best to get a result.”

By Brian Bennett

It’s rapidly approaching four months since Nick Gray took over the managerial position at Ashington and appointed Liam McIvor as his assistant.

And with a blank Saturday after the Colliers’ scheduled league clash away to Bishop Auckland was postponed due to a frozen pitch, Gray took time out to reflect on his time so far in the post and talked to press officer Brian Bennett about the ups and downs:

“Football changes all the time. The most difficult thing for me is that we have a good set of lads here yet we are in a position in the league table which we don’t want to be in. Obviously there are reasons for that and you try and bring players in but it’s very difficult during the season so recruitment has proved to be a bit difficult. However we have added a few players and the key thing is that they will improve the squad. The job is slightly more difficult than I thought but it’s something which I like – hitting things head on – and I think we’ve seen signs of improvement. We’ve got to start looking up the table and we need to be better in the second half of the season and look to get some consistency.”

“Losing defender Paddy Almond last week – who joined Blyth Spartans – was a blow. I wished him all the best but there was nothing we could do about it with one of the reasons he left being that Blyth are in the league above. I recently signed Scott Lowery and we brought him in because the defence was an area where we needed to improve and there wasn’t a lot of competition. Scott came in and I thought he was excellent against Dunston whilst I also thought Ben Williams had a really good game and the two complimented each other. In fact the whole back four complimented each other plus goalkeeper Dan Staples.”

“We have got to be wary that the squad now consists of 18 players because I thought we had too many with 21/22 but if someone becomes available that we think would improve the squad then we’d be interested in them – like Ryan Donaldson who was available and who we signed last week from Blyth Spartans. Bailey Geliher is also back fit and training. We haven’t got a lot of competition up front so to have him will be a plus for us.”

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By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Nick Gray analysed the 1-0 home defeat against Dunston UTS on Monday night and reckons his squad need to have more belief and conviction.

Gray said afterwards: “The result was disappointing – and I’m a bit frustrated and disappointed for the lads because they put a lot of effort into that game. I thought we played better in the second half against the wind than we did in the first but the lads need to have a bit more belief and conviction. I didn’t think we got the ball down to play at all in the first period where it (the ball) kept coming back to us but I thought we looked quite solid without the ball.”

Sado Djalo struck shortly before half time with the goal which decided the contest and Gray added: “We switched off for a two versus one situation and they put the ball into a good area and scored. However apart from that there was nothing in the game but with Dunston having got their noses in front, they could dictate how to play. My lads are giving their all and I thought we were the better side after the interval without looking as if we were going to hurt them in the final third and that’s what we lacked – that little bit of quality where it mattered.”

Gray made substitutes in the second half and said: “The lads who came off hadn’t done anything wrong but it was a case of trying to freshen things up. The game went quickly in the second half – against a side who are going to be up there at the end of the season. Dunston’s frontline and firepower are very good players but I thought we handled them really, really well and kept them quiet and defensively it was our best display of the season. Scott Lowery came in at the back and I thought he did well as did Marc Ellison and these lads have made a difference but we still need to keep improving. In the last three games we have got two wins followed by this 1-0 loss but tonight I thought we looked more solid defensively as a unit than against Heaton Stannington on Boxing Day where we got three points!”

Gray went on: “We now head into the New Year and the second half of the season where we have to be better than we have been in the first half but we are going the right way and we know what we need to work on and improve. We are still relying on one or two players and need others to shine a little bit more but I’ve got every confidence in the squad going forward.”

Ashington now prepare for an away showdown against Bishop Auckland on Saturday January 4, where kick off is 3pm.