By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC’s progression into the last eight of the Ebac Northern League first division cup following a 1-0 win over Thornaby on Wednesday night was tarnished by an injury to Thomas Kalthoeber.

On the hour mark, the 20 year old defender made a brilliant last ditch tackle inside the Colliers penalty area but seconds later was in pain before being stretchered off with a hamstring tare.

The Wansbeck side have already got Max Emmerson and Tom Bramley on the long term injury list and manager Ian Skinner said of Newcastle-born Kalthoeber: “It’s early days but we think he (Thomas) could have potentially torn his hamstring so that could be him out for the season. We wish him well. Thomas came back into the side recently and has been really, really good and was solid again tonight. However, injuries are part and parcel of football.”

After being on their travels for four consecutive matches at Newcastle Benfield, Redcar Athletic, Northallerton Town and latterly Thornaby – during which time they clocked up a round trip of 380 miles – the Colliers make a welcome return to Woodhorn Lane on Saturday (March 12) when they take on Seaham Red Star.

Skipper Ben Harmison, Lewis Suddick and Paul Robinson – who all missed the cup tie at Thornaby – come back into contention for the 3pm kick-off.

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner described Saturday’s 4-2 defeat at the hands of Northallerton Town as being disappointing in ‘a multitude of ways.’

And the boss admitted that he would shoulder part of the blame after making changes to the line up following Wednesday’s 4-1 win over Redcar Athletic on Teesside.

Skinner emerged from the dressing rooms and said: “It was a disappointing result and a disappointing and frustrating display given the two good away performances we came into the game on the back of. I’ll take some of the responsibility for making five changes to the side but the thought process behind it was that we’d obviously been on the road for the last two games and had two really good results and I just thought I would freshen things up today rather than lads play three games in a week plus the fact that we have another game on Wednesday. You lay the gauntlet down to people and say ‘go on then, there’s an opportunity to reinforce or remind us of what you are capable of and give me a headache for the First Division Cup match away to Thornaby on Wednesday (March 9). I’ve got that headache – because now it’s a case of what team do I pick after today’s showing was really, really disappointing in a multitude of ways.”

He continued: “I didn’t think we passed the ball as well as we could; individual errors for goals were really, really poor and when we got ourselves back into it at 2-1, I actually then thought: ‘do you know what, this is typical Ashington – and that we’d probably go on to get a point or if not win it! But within a few minutes we have conceded again with individuals errors – being the wrong side of the man – and when we do get the right side of the man, we don’t press the ball and he (Shaun Ryder) turns and hits it (the ball) – and don’t get me wrong, it’s a fantastic finish.”

He went on: “Overall I’m really baffled but we’ve got to look at the bigger picture and I’ve probably played a part in it for making the changes. Players who have come in haven’t probably given me what I thought they would give me whilst individual errors during the game have really cost us and it always gets to a point where if you go behind in a match, there’ll come a point where it will be one game too many – and that game was possibly today.” However, Skinner reflected on a first period where chances went begging for his side: “If you look at the first half and some of the opportunities we had, there were at least three really good ones – and if you take them then it’s a completely different game,” he said, “But we’ll dust ourselves down and the positive thing is we usually bounce back in our next fixture.”

By Brian Bennett

Jordan Lashley was still on cloud nine – after hitting all four goals in Ashington’s 4-1 victory over Redcar Athletic on Wednesday night.

The 23 year old ex Bedlington Terriers striker came off the bench midway through the second half with his side trailing 1-0 – and completely transformed the game in a little over 20 minutes.

Afterwards Lashley said: “This was my first ever hat-trick – let alone four goals. It hasn’t sunk in yet and probably won’t until later tonight. I’ve already received a few messages of congratulations from members of the family but at the moment I’m absolutely buzzing about it and also that we got the win. When I came on with about 25 minutes left the boss (Ian Skinner) told me that when I got the ball, to turn and get at their defence and let shots fly. So as soon as the ball came to my feet I looked to turn and drive and have a go.”

It took Ashington-born Lashley only two minutes to open his account and he added: “When Bobby (Taylor), Max (Cowburn) and myself came off the bench, the boss said ‘we want you three to change the game.’ I was obviously pleased to score the first goal which brought us level but the focus after that was for us to go on and win the game. We could see that Redcar were tiring and there was plenty of space for us to exploit – so I was happy to help!”

Lashley – a sales advisor who is based in North Seaton – selected his third goal as being the pick of the bunch: “I turned; the defender stood and the space has opened up and I bent the ball inside the far corner from outside the box.”

Now Lashley’s aim is to stay in the side: “We want to try and finish the season as strong as possible,” he said, “We have got the quality and can pick up points and wins if we play the way we know we can,” he said, “I was out of the squad for a few weeks but I remained patient and when I got the chance I just told myself that I had to take it and try to remain involved.”

Manager Ian Skinner said: “Jordan came to the club and people remember the story where he wasn’t in the squad and then I called him in and he scored a couple of goals on his debut at Whitley Bay. He netted on his home debut but then dropped out of the squad through illness and hadn’t been able to get back in. He got this opportunity – we thought he deserved it too – but what supporters have seen tonight is what we the management team see in training on a weekly basis and it was about giving him the confidence to transfer that from the training ground to the pitch.” He continued: “In training Jordan has got great feet and goes past people; he scores goals and we try to give him the confidence to try and go and do that on a Saturday. That’s why we brought him to the football club and I’m really pleased for him that he has scored four really well taken goals. Two of them were fantastic finishes; two were good finishes. He has never approached me to ask ‘what is going on? – you brought me to the club and I’ve been in and out.’ Instead he’s been patient and full credit to him.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner said he was doubly delighted on Wednesday night – with his sides 4-1 win against Redcar Athletic – and for four goal marksman Jordan Lashley.

Trailing 1-0, Skinner made a triple substitution thrusting Max Cowburn, Bobby Taylor and Lashley into the fray – and to say the move paid dividends would be a gross understatement as the latter scored four times in the final quarter of the match: “I was delighted with the result as well as for Jordan Lashley,” enthused Skinner afterwards, “The win moves us up the table albeit we’ve probably played more games than some of the teams around us but we have got the points on the board and I’m a ‘points on the board’ person as opposed to having ‘games in hand.’

He continued: “It was a funny sort of a game really. Obviously we were the away team but they (Redcar) set up like an away team. They defended with a low block and out of possession they had every player in their own half. Early in the game we saw lots and lots of the ball and if I could get the stats, we would probably have broken the league record for the amount of possession we had across the 90 minutes. However, in the first half we were just a little bit slow. We didn’t quite move the ball quick enough to move Redcar around and cause them problems. We were also wasteful in possession and were guilty of making unforced errors where we gave the ball away under no pressure.”

For all the dominance they had, Skinner saw his side go a goal behind: “It was a classic sucker punch,” he added, “I think – until the end where they came out because they were behind – it was probably their only shot on target in the first 70 minutes but fair play to the lad Owen Clarkson who finished it fantastically. The ball went in off the underside of the crossbar and inside the top corner and that gives them (Redcar) something to hang on for. They had set the team up to frustrate and stifle us and not give us space in behind which is a compliment to our lads – but we are not top goal scorers in the league for nothing and it just got a little bit frustrating in the first half because we know we are better than that.”

He continued: “Second half we improved. We did move the ball quicker and we know when we do that, they’ve got to shuffle and slide as a unit and the more you do that, the move you become tired and gaps start to appear. We kept looking to pass it; look to create chances and in the end we made a triple substitution to stay on the front foot. I put three very forward thinking players on to try and get us back in the game and Jordan (Lashley) has come on, scored four goals and I’m really happy for him.”

Ashington go to Northallerton on Saturday (March 5) and Skinner said: “That’s two wins in a row for us and we will be looking to make it three in North Yorkshire. As ever, we’ll just take one game at a time and if we win those games, we’ll see where it takes us at the end of the season.” Ben Sampson and Curtis Coppen will both undergo fitness tests whilst Paul Robinson should be available to return to the squad.

Br Brian Bennett

Midfielder Karl Ross scored Ashington’s opening goal against Newcastle Benfield on Saturday – with his side going on to claim a comfortable 3-0 win.

And afterwards, Ross, who has waited patiently on the bench to get back into the team, admitted that after returning to the starting line up the previous week against Bishop Auckland, he has hit the ground running: “I’m happy to be back on the pitch after being on the sidelines,” he said, “I thought I was a bit unlucky to drop out of the team because I thought I was playing well but that’s football and you’ve got to take your time. I’ve come back in; I’ve hit the ground running again and I’m getting fitter – and enjoying it.”

Cramlington-based Ross – a plumber – revealed that his shot for the goal took a deflection – but no-one will be taking the strike away from him: “The ball came to me on the edge of the box and it’s one of those where the pace is already on the ball and I’ve just aimed for the target really. It took a slight deflection but I’m still claiming it!”

Reflecting on the game, the 23 year old said: “For the first few minutes we had to adjust to what was a tricky surface but the lads were outstanding today and that’s what we needed. Obviously being away from home we knew we just needed to tighten up a bit and we did that.” Ashington-born Ross believes the Colliers – who as a result of Saturday’s success, moved up to fifth from top of the first division table of the Ebac Northern League – have been ‘outstanding’ this season: “In all honesty, at the start of the campaign, I don’t think we expected to be in this position because of where we were last term – but things have gone well for us,” he said, “We are a young side who have been outstanding this year – and long may it continue.”

By Brian Bennett

Luke Salmon’s goal in Ashington FC’s 3-0 victory against Newcastle Benfield on Saturday may not have been in the spectacular bracket – but that didn’t alter the happiness which it brought to the versatile defender or midfielder.

After a spell on the sidelines, Salmon was recalled to play at full back for the Bishop Auckland game recently which the Colliers won 2-1 and last weekend, was handed a role on the left hand side of midfield – and poked home the crucial third goal.

North Shields-born Salmon, who lives in the town, netted in the 57^th minute to record his second league goal of the season and he said later: “It’s always good to get back into the side. I try hard in training and I try hard in the game but without a doubt, it’s always a better feeling when you score a goal.”

The 30 year old – a teacher – was withdrawn towards the end of Saturday’s contest – replaced by Bobby Taylor – and described his goal: “I thought the Benfield lad was trying to block it (the ball) and I thought I’d just kick it into the net – it was a simple as that! When I was taken off, I said to Mark (Ramsden) in our dugout: ‘a goal is a goal’ – whether it’s a 30 yard screamer or a scrappy affair.”

Salmon spoke of an attribute in the Ashington camp which is playing a vital role: “The attitude has been great,” he added, “The boss (Ian Skinner) has been honing in on good attitudes and today even though we won, it might not have been our perfect performance but the attitude of the lads counted for a lot.” He went on: “I think as a group, we’ve done brilliantly so far this season. We’d lost twice to Newcastle Benfield in the FA Cup and FA Vase so it was good to get a win.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner was clearly delighted after watching his side claim a thoroughly deserved victory on the road on Saturday as they brushed aside Newcastle Benfield at Sam Smiths Park.

And afterwards, Skinner was pleased on several fronts when he said: “First and foremost, I thought it was a good professional performance from the players. We spoke beforehand about needing to improve our away form. Our home record is second to none but we talked about being a little bit more difficult to play against (away from home) where the onus is on the home team really to take the game to us whereas sometimes we go away and take the game to them and we get caught and end up with high scoring games which we have seen in recent weeks. So today we said: “let’s be brave; let them as the home team bring the game to us and then when we do get the ball and we transition from defence to attack, we go and do what we are good at because I don’t think anybody can argue that we have got a talented group of players who in possession love to play and love to get the ball forward. However, what was equally pleasing today was visibly being able to watch that out of possession, people wanted to run to recover back into position; people wanted to run to get the ball back and that’s all we ask of them (the players) really. Football is a game where you can talk about formations; systems; tactics; game plans, game models and philosophies on how you want play but ultimately we want players to run around when we have got the ball – as well as when we haven’t – and I thought we did that today.”

From a personal angle, after being involved in the game for many years Skinner notched another ‘first’: “It’s probably – and without being disrespectful – as comfortable as I’ve ever been in a game,” he said, “I just felt from very early on as if we were in control without being brilliant. Our ‘keeper Adam (McHugh) has made a couple of good saves to be fair but we have limited them (Newcastle Benfield) to very, very little. For us, we have scored three different goals; Karl Ross’s effort was from the edge of the box and was a good strike; Luke Salmon has put over a great ball for the second goal for Lewis Suddick and although the third one scored by Salmon is a bit of a scramble, it was welcome and pleasing to see – because Ashington don’t score too many like that! Benfield then had to decide whether to stick or twist and as the home team the onus is on them to keep having a go. Consequently it opened up more space for us and we could possibly have had a couple more – but I’ll not be greedy and if anybody had offered me a 3-0 win before the game – as well as a relatively comfortable afternoon – I would have gladly accepted it.” He continued: “We made some brave decisions because some players have played a lot of football recently. So we changed the line up and although people may have looked at the team and wondered why Ashington changed a winning line up after the win against Bishop Auckland the previous week, I just think we are at that part of the season now where not only have lads played a lot of football, there is a case of in the middle of the park where pitches – including our own – are getting difficult so I just thought ‘let’s freshen up that central area.’ Also to factor in is that we play five games – including a couple of midweek matches – in ten days so there was one eye on that aspect as well. It was nice that having made the decision to rotate one or two (of the players), it resulted in a positive result – but that now gives me more headaches for Wednesday night when we are away to Redcar Athletic! You always say to lads ‘when you get an opportunity – take it’ and Ben Sampson and Karl Ross worked tirelessly in midfield; Dean Briggs came back in today and worked hard out of possession – as did everybody else – so it was a collective for us both in and out of possession. Overall, it was a good team effort and I was delighted with the three points.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner – furious with his side who threw away a 3-2 lead before ending up with a 5-3 defeat at the hands of Whickham the previous weekend – made wholesale changes on Saturday and was delighted as they came from behind to win 2-1 against Bishop Auckland at Woodhorn Lane.

Matty Waters fired the visitors ahead in the first minute of the second half but goals from Bobby Taylor and Lewis Suddick secured the victory which completed the double over the Heritage Park outfit this campaign.

Skinner explained his decision when he said: “I made six changes and if the truth be known and without being disrespectful, earlier in the week I was probably going to make more. However, the flip side of that is that it’s a big shout. If I made more than that with seven, eight, nine, ten or 11 then you’ve got to think ‘what sort of performance are you going to get in terms of it being an 11 which will not have played together too often or played together recently. We made the changes because we wanted to be a bit more solid and that’s no disrespect to the players who dropped out from last Saturday. We’ve had people since the turn of the year like Luke Salmon and Karl Ross who have been very, very patient, and their attitude and application in training week after week has been first class. They have accepted the decision which we have made in terms of why they haven’t been playing and I just felt they deserved an opportunity to play today – and I thought both came in and performed admirably.”

He continued: “Making the six changes was a little bit of a) there are some players who deserve an opportunity to play and b) I just needed to freshen things up a little bit because I keep telling players when I leave them out at a weekend that it’s a squad game and that we’ll need you. Having won only one (game) in four before today, if I hadn’t given some of them an opportunity, suddenly they’ll be saying ‘if you don’t need me now, when will you need me’ so there was a little bit of that attached to it as well.” One of the six changes was in goal where Adam McHugh came in for Karl Dryden: “We have got two fantastic goalkeepers at the club,” added Skinner, “No other team in this division will have two ‘keepers as good as we have got. Karl (Dryden) has played the last 12 matches and again has performed really, really well but I just felt as if I needed to give Adam (McHugh) a game and he has come in today and done everything which he has been asked to do.”

Photo: Ian Brodie

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC’s Lewis Suddick netted the winner against his former club Bishop Auckland on Saturday as the Colliers wrapped up a 2-1 victory at The dwmedia Stadium.

It was Suddick’s third goal in five matches since he put pen to paper for Ian Skinner’s side and significantly was the first which resulted in the Wansbeck side picking up points after his previous strikes came in the 2-1 defeats – and consecutive matches – against Sunderland Ryhope CW (on his debut) and North Shields.

But whilst he was delighted to score what proved to be the decisive goal midway through the second half, North Shields-born Suddick, who lives in the town, declared that the only thing which mattered was the result: “It was a really good feeling to score and especially the winning goal – but the most important thing was for us to get back to winning ways,” he said, “everyone in the dressing room knows the quality we have got even though some of our recent results haven’t really reflected that.”

The 24 year old – a PE teacher – described his strike: “I caught the ball lovely and as soon as it left my foot I knew it was going in,” he added, “I had a few chances today so I’m really glad that one of them went into the back of the net – and luckily for me it was the winner!”

Suddick was impressed with the display from Ashington after Matty Waters had opened the scoring for Bishop Auckland with an outrageous strike: “They (Bishop Auckland) scored a really good goal and sometimes you’ve just got to hold your hands up, and to be fair to the lad (Matty Waters) he’s hit an absolute worldy,” said Suddick, “but what our supporters saw from us today was a more disciplined performance without the ball and I thought we did really well in terms of being harder to break down and finding the right balance between staying tight and keeping their chances down to a minimum whilst we played some really expanse football at times which culminated in two really good goals.”

Suddick also believes Ashington have learned quickly: “The previous week at Whickham, we were 3-2 up and should have seen the game out,” he said, “I think we have learned from that with the way we ‘managed’ the game today in the last 10-15 minutes. We really killed the game off and made it hard for them (Bishop Auckland) to get back into it so it was a more mature performance from everybody.” Ashington FC boss Ian Skinner said: “Lewis (Suddick) has been great since he came to the club. I knew he would want to do really well against his former club and he’s popped up with what turned out to be the winner. Lewis has got real quality and is technically very, very good. He’s chipped in with goals – that’s three in five matches – so you can’t argue with his goals per game ratio. I was pleased he scored today and I think he was too – judging by his celebration! Lewis is somebody who we’ll be looking to try and pin down long term – because he’s also the type of player that we’ll be looking to try and build the side around.”

Photo: Ian Brodie

By Brian Bennett

Thomas Kalthoeber played a significant role on Saturday as he was involved in both goals as Ashington came from behind to win 2-1 win against Bishop Auckland at Woodhorn Lane.

And afterwards, the 20 year old defender – who slotted in on the right hand side of the back four – revealed that although he was delighted to earn a recall to the side, it nevertheless came completely out of the blue.

“I was pleased to get back into the team – but I wasn’t expecting to return at full back,” said Kalthoeber who had a spell with Percy Main Amateurs – members of the Northern Alliance League – earlier in the season, “I hadn’t played in that position (full back) since I was at Ashington last term and to be honest I thought I would be on the bench.”

Newcastle-born Kalthoeber was heavily involved in the action and described his involvement in the two goals: “They (Bishop Auckland) kept utilising the other flank which allowed me to have a lot of space on my side – so I kept driving forward to try and beat my marker and to create things,” he said, “For the equaliser, I took a throw in which went over the head of the centre half and Adam Johnson has spun his marker and crossed for Bobby (Taylor) to nip in and score. A few minutes later, I got the ball out wide. I drove forward against the left back, cut inside and played it (the ball) with the outside of the boot to Lewis (Suddick) who applied a really good finish for what turned out to be the winner. I was really happy with the result especially after we lost when we should have won at Whickham the previous week in horrible conditions.”

Kalthoeber – who is based in Longbenton – is hoping to get the nod for the away game against Newcastle Benfield at Sam Smiths Park on Saturday (February 26) but knows there is competition for places: “I got my opportunity and hope I did enough to keep the shirt – but I’ll just have to wait and see,” he added. Ashington FC boss Ian Skinner said: “Thomas (Kalthoeber) played really well today. The only reason we took him off with 20 minutes to go was because he was getting into great positions and covering a lot of ground down the right hand side but he took a couple of heavy knocks and just seemed to be tiring a little bit. We were getting lots of space and lots of opportunities to attack Bishop Auckland down that side and we thought a fresh pair of legs might help. As it happened when we changed, they (Bishop Auckland) altered their shape a little bit and ended up with two players in the wide area because they tried to play 3-5-2 which meant we could play two versus one against them (in wide areas). Then they changed to a 4-3-3 so they had two players in the wide areas which made it a bit more difficult for Liam Doyle (who had replaced Thomas) to get out. However, Thomas should be really, really pleased with his performance. He played a couple of games at centre back for us after coming back from Percy Main and performed really well and was probably a bit unlucky to drop out of the side when Curtis Coppen came back in. Today I asked him (Thomas) to play right back which he’s no stranger too as he’s played a number of games there before.”