Are you passionate about Ashington AFC and making an impact in our community. The Matchday Secretary is a central role on matchdays within the club.

Role Overview

The Matchday Secretary is responsible for the administration requirements of the club for both home and away matches.

Key Responsibilities

• Co-ordination with opposition officials and match officials
• Matchday administration such as team sheets
• Post-match administration
• Time commitment: Circa 3-4 hours per matchday

Desired Skill

• Communication: Have excellent communication skills
• Organisation: Be organised and have an eye for detail
• IT: Be IT-savvy
• Prioritisation: Be able to prioritise tasks and work under pressure
• Relationship building: Have an aptitude for building relationships

Why join us?

• Be part of a dedicated team passionate about football and community development.
• Contribute to the sustainability and success of our club.
• Gain valuable experience in sports administration.

Please note that this is a voluntary position

To express and interest please email nicola.sanders@ashingtonafc.com and/or secretary@ashingtonafc.com.

You can also download a PDF copy of this role profile here.

Are you passionate about Ashington AFC and making an impact in our community. The Club Secretary is a central role within the club for the ongoing day to day operational running of the club.

Role Overview

The Club Secretary is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the club. They are the club’s main point of contact for communication, information, and administration.

Key Responsibilities

• Handle incoming and outgoing correspondence, including informing members of meetings.
• Main point of contact for governing bodies i.e. The FA, The Northern Premier League, The Northumberland FA etc.
• Attendance as a club representative at various meetings throughout the year

Desired Skill

• Communication: Have excellent communication skills
• Organisation: Be organised and have an eye for detail
• IT: Be IT-savvy
• Prioritisation: Be able to prioritise tasks and work under pressure
• Relationship building: Have an aptitude for building relationships

Why join us?

• Be part of a dedicated team passionate about football and community development.
• Contribute to the sustainability and success of our club.
• Gain valuable experience in sports administration.

Please note that this is a voluntary position

To express and interest please email nicola.sanders@ashingtonafc.com no later than 5pm Friday 21^st February 2025.

You can also download a PDF copy of this role profile here.

By Brian Bennett

Ashington’s assistant manager Liam McIvor was still seething when he gave his postmatch interview stating that the Colliers had thrown two points away on Saturday after their NPL East Division clash against Consett had finished 1-1 at Woodhorn Lane.

Both goals came from second half penalties with Josh Gilchrist on the mark for the Colliers before Calvin Smith levelled in the 84th minute.

Before the contest, the Wansbeck outfit were one point behind ‘The Steelmen’ with a game in hand and McIvor said: “It doesn’t seem that bad of a result when you see the other scores in the league this afternoon for teams around and below us – but we are looking on our draw as being a massive two points dropped.”

The game itself was certainly not one for the purists – a fact which was endorsed by McIvor: “I thought the first 20-25 minutes were good and then everything just became slow and lethargic with people frightened to get on the ball and the quality was just terrible,” he said, “To be honest, the second half wasn’t much better but we got ourselves ahead and should have seen the game out.”

He continued: “We’ve gone through on a one on one and I don’t know why we’ve tried to scoop the ball over a ‘keeper who is 6ft 5ins tall. If we had scored it would have secured the win but instead Consett have gone to the other end and we’ve given away a penalty – and I don’t know how we were caught out.”

By Brian Bennett

There was double joy for Karl Ross at Woodhorn Lane this afternoon.

The 26 year old – Ashington’s longest serving player and captain – played his 200^th game for his hometown club against Consett on the same day that he signed an extension to his contract.

Ross – who lifted the coveted Players Player of the Year award at the end of the last campaign – said: “I knew in my first season with the facilities they have got here that I didn’t want to play anywhere else. As for the volunteers at the club, I’ll do anything for them which is why I have committed myself for another season. I’m grateful for being here – it doesn’t seem like two minutes since I first joined. The manager (Nick Gray) came up to me the other week and said ‘I’m planning for next season and I want you to stay’ – and it was a no brainer to say yes. I love the club and there’s no place I’d rather play.”

Originally with South Shields, Ross went on loan to Whitley Bay for a couple of weeks then moved back to the Filtrona Park outfit. He initially joined Ashington on loan in 2018 before making the move permanent. “I’ve loved it here ever since,” said Ross, who has netted 17 goals for the Wansbeck based side, “It’s a great place to play football. You want to enjoy your football – and the people around the club, the lads in the dressing room, the management team, the volunteers and the supporters make you have a smile on your face so why would I want to go anywhere else.”

Manager Nick Gray said: “From the first minute Liam McIvor (assistant manager) and I came in, Karl was injured but he came along to all of the training sessions and all of the games and that is credit to someone who you can see is a leader off the pitch. Supporters only see what goes on on the pitch but its huge what goes on off the pitch and if there were more Karl Ross’s in the dressing room then we wouldn’t be in the position which we find ourselves in at the minute.”

He continued: “We’re delighted to get him on board and its just rewards for him because he’s been a great servant to this club – there’s not many of them about and it says something about the lad. He sees where our vision is and was delighted to be offered an extension to his contract. In this day and age in football, to get to 200 games for one club is a fantastic achievement. I’m delighted for him and his family and also Ashington FC – and roll on the next 200 games!”

He added: “We are trying to put things in place going forward and it’s difficult when we don’t know where we might be next season – but we are going in the right way and we’re confident that we will be in the same league next year. Although nothing is set in stone you’ve got to have that confidence in the group and set your stall out and get things in place as soon as you can.”

He went on: “I’ve been in football a long time and I’ve seen what Karl does for the club – but I don’t think people have appreciated what he has done. I’m delighted for the lad because he’s the heartbeat of the team.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Nick Gray plunged into the transfer market this week to sign goalkeeper Ryan Catterick from fellow NPL East Division outfit Bishop Auckland.

Woodhorn Lane supporters will recall that on the final day of the Ebac Northern League’s first division campaign two seasons ago when Ashington had to avoid defeat and Bishops needed to win to decide which club went into the Inter step play off final against Glossop North End, it was Catterick who kept his side in the game with an outstanding display between the posts.

The match finished all square at 1-1 after Andrew Cartwright’s ice cool penalty on the hour had cancelled out a first half spot kick by Craig Gott.

The following week, the Wansbeck outfit turned in a five star performance culminating in a 3-0 victory over Glossop which clinched them promotion to the Northern Premier League’s East Division.

25 year old Catterick – who watched from the stand as his new side went down to a 4-0 home defeat against Newton Aycliffe on Tuesday night – said: “As soon as I spoke to the manager (Nick Gray) he was straight up and honest – and that’s what I wanted to hear. I remember playing at Ashington – it’s a good set up and a nice ground. I’m happy to be here and I can’t wait to get going and to enjoy my football again.”

After coming through the academy at Middlesbrough, Catterick was a scholar at Hartlepool United before he turned professional with the club where he played for three years. He then signed for Marske United and helped them to get promoted to the NPL Premier Division before he joined Bishop Auckland where he has played for the past two and a half seasons.

Ashington boss Nick Gray said: “We were lucky when we had Ross Coombe but he decided he wanted to have a bit of time out of football then when Dan Staples was suspended after being sent off we were fortunate that Michael Hogan came in on loan from Blyth Spartans and did a sterling job. We are always looking to improve the squad – Ryan became available and he will give competition to Dan Staples.”

Gray continued: “With his quality as a goalkeeper, Ryan had a lot of enquiries from other clubs and we’re just delighted to get him on board. He’s at a good age and probably hasn’t hit his full potential yet and we are now fortunate to have two very good goalkeepers at the club.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington manager Nick Gray – understandably hurt after a 4-0 defeat on Tuesday night against Newton Aycliffe – nevertheless gave praise to the County Durham outfit and described them as being “the best team we have played so far this season.”

Gray said afterwards: “We were beaten on the night by the better team so full credit to Newton Aycliffe. They were excellent tonight and in my opinion are the best team we have played so far this season. We have got to look at the bigger picture for ourselves. You learn from games and tonight we will certainly learn but we’ve got a big game against Consett on Saturday where we have got to look to bounce back.”

He continued: “The first half – without us being great – I thought we contained them (Newton Aycliffe) quite well out of possession. However we needed to improve in possession and I actually thought we came out better for the start of the second half and it was our best little spell. Then we gave away a poor first goal followed by another poor second and you cannot give good teams two goal head starts like that because it gives them confidence. We looked short of ideas and we didn’t have a great game at all. We’ll reflect on it and although tonight’s result is not going to determine our season, we’ve got to get back on the horse as quickly as we can.”

He added: “It was a really poor result against a good side and I didn’t think we helped ourselves either. You cannot give a team like Newton Aycliffe all the time they had because if you do that then you’re going to get caught out and we got what we deserved in the end. We’ve had three away games and have dug in for seven points but tonight in front of our home fans, we were really disappointing. Next month is crucial where we face teams in and around us and we need to have positive results starting on Saturday.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

It was a smiling Liam McIvor who emerged from the Ashington dressing rooms following the Colliers’ 1-0 win over Stocksbridge Park Steels on Saturday.

Defender Ben Williams scored the all important goal as early as the fourth minute and although the Wansbeck side had to defend manfully, it took their recent points haul to 14 from a possible 21.

“It was a fantastic win,” said McIvor afterwards, “It wasn’t the best performance but it’s not always about playing pretty football, it’s about jumping into the trenches on occasions to win games when you have to – and that’s what we have done today. We’ve had three away games in ten days and have travelled hundreds of miles but we’ve collected seven points out of nine which is fantastic and I’m really happy.”

Looking back on the first period, he said: “In the opening seconds Stocksbridge had a chance but Scott Lowery and Ben Williams combined to made a great challenge otherwise we would have been 1-0 down. After that the game was wide open. It’s frustrating sometimes but when you are not playing well, you’ve got to work hard and get men behind the ball and that’s what we did. The message at half time was for the players to try and keep the ball a little bit better and for us to have a bit more width to our game. However, they (Stocksbridge) came out strong and had a lot of the play but didn’t really have any clear cut chances. As the game wore on we changed the formation a couple of times just to try and get more men in the middle and we even went to five at the back in the last five minutes. We had players putting their bodies on the line and there was some great defending.”

McIvor was equally pleased with the goal scored by Ben Williams: “It was well worked and proved to be an important first one of the season from Ben (Williams) but to be fair all the players have got to look to chip in. We don’t score from many set pieces but we’ve got a bit of a threat at the minute with having a bit more height in the box.”

He added: “This run of games has seen us move up the table whilst teams in and around us have dropped points. It’s still tight but we’ve got a big week ahead with two home games against Newton Aycliffe on Tuesday and Consett on Saturday. Hopefully we are now on the right path but we need to continue to pick points up.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ben Williams was delighted to get off the mark and register his first goal of the season for Ashington on Saturday which secured a precious 1-0 win over Stocksbridge Park Steels.

However the 20 year old defender who is on-loan from Gateshead until the end of the campaign also spoke about how he was ‘buzzing’ for his team mates with Dunston UTS the only side to inflict defeat on Nick Gray’s side in the last seven matches.

Williams said: “We came here with two results in mind – a draw or a win – and to get the three points was brilliant. It was a hard fought game and I thought we deserved it. We’ve had a good ten days with the win at Grimsby, draw at Sherwood and the result today and we’re on a good run at the minute and are just hoping that we can keep it going. We knew we had a tough start to the season but now we are picking up some points and this is exactly what we needed.”

Stocksbridge – on the fringe of the play offs – went into Saturday’s game on the back of a superb 1-1 away draw against Pitching In Northern Premier League East Division leaders Cleethorpes in midweek but they were shell shocked when Williams struck in the fourth minute: “It was a case of being in the right place at the right time to tap the ball in,” said Newcastle-born Williams, “However, I’m buzzing for the lads about the result because it’s a real confidence booster in this little run that we’re on. Obviously I’m a defender and my main job is to keep the ball out of our net but if I can chip in with a goal or two as well, then I’ll be happy.”

Williams – who is based in Bedlington – praised the defending of his team mates on Saturday: “A lot of the games in this league are like it was today,” he added, “You know what you are going to come up against and it’s about being brave and putting your body on the line. There are going to be teams who are just going to throw it (the ball) into the box especially late on when they are trailing 1-0 so you’ve just got to be brave in defending and we were excellent at doing that today to be fair. I thought there was a lot of last ditch tackling by us and that’s also what you need. It’s a confidence booster for us as well because it shows we can defend well and get results like today.”

Do you want to help Ashington AFC to increase their online engagement and offering on matchdays? This is a fantastic opportunity for an individual who is keen to develop their own personal skills in the media domain while also providing an essential service for fans far and wide.

Role Overview

As a Matchday Social Media Lead, you will play a key role in providing timely updates via our online platforms with an aim of building excitement and connecting with the online audience on matchdays.

Key Responsibilities

• Pre-match build-up: Posting team lineups, player profiles, interesting stats, and pre-game hype on social media platforms.
• Live updates: Providing real-time updates on the score, key moments, substitutions, and notable plays during the match.
• Post-match analysis: Posting post-match reactions from players and the manager, key highlights, and match statistics.
• Fan engagement: Responding to comments and questions from fans, running polls, and encouraging interaction on social media.
• Time commitment: This role will predominantly be for home matchdays (away matchdays where possible) from approximately 1 hour before kick off to 30 minutes after the final whistle.

Desired Skill

• Strong understanding of social media platforms
• A commitment to the clubs’ values of professionalism and inclusivity
• Excellent writing and communication skills
• Knowledge of non-league football
• Ability to work under pressure

Why join us?

• Be part of a dedicated team passionate about football and community engagement.
• Contribute to increasing our profile within the local and wider community
• Gain valuable experience in online sports media.

Please note that this is a voluntary position and any interested parties will need to be over the age of 16 to ensure we adhere to all the various policies of media platforms used.

To express and interest please email media@ashingtonafc.com.

You can also download a PDF copy of this role profile here.

Are you passionate about Ashington AFC and making an impact in our community. We invite you to join our Revenue Growth Committee. This is a fantastic opportunity for individuals who are eager to contribute their skills and ideas to help us thrive financially and expand our reach.

Role Overview

As a member of other Revenue Growth Committee, you will play a key role in driving our club’s revenue growth initiatives. Your contributions will directly impact our ability to attract sponsors, enhance our community offerings and create sustainable revenue streams.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with fellow committee members to develop and implement strategies aimed at increasing revenue through various channels.
• Identify potential sponsors and create tailored proposals that align with the clubs  values and objectives.
• Brainstorm and propose innovative ideas to enhance growth, including merchandise sales, event hosting and community engagement initiatives.
• Regularly report on progress and outcomes of revenue initiatives to the club board.
• Time commitment – Max 2 hour per week.

Desired Skill

• Passion for football and community engagement.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Creative mindset and ability to think outside the box.
• Ability to work collaboratively within a team.

Why join us?

• Be part of a dedicated team passionate about football and community development.
• Contribute to the sustainability and success of our club.
• Gain valuable experience in revenue generation.
• Network with local businesses and community leaders.

To express and interest please email nicola.sanders@ashingtonafc.com no later than 5pm Friday 31^st January

You can also download a PDF copy of this role profile here.