By Brian Bennett

Ashington started the season with a bang on Saturday when they delivered a knockout
blow to local rivals North Shields after an emphatic 4-0 victory in their Emirates FA Cup
extra preliminary round match at Woodhorn Lane.

New signings Cameron Gascoigne and Wilson Kneeshaw featured prominently. The
former broke the deadlock early in the clash before Kneeshaw netted either side of the
interval before Craig Spooner added a fourth goal with half an hour remaining.

Colliers manager Ian Skinner had said before the game that he was anticipating a tough
match but Gascoigne’s opener on 11 minutes – strangely to be the first of only three
highlights in the first half – completely changed the dynamics.

Darren Lough clipped the ball down the left flank to Spooner who crossed into the
middle of the area to the unmarked Gascoigne who slotted home from eight yards wide
of ‘keeper Jonny Ball.

It was a dream start – and the goal certainly gave the Wansbeck outfit a boost to spray
the ball around with confidence and dominate proceedings.

Ashington’s second arrived in the 35 th minute when Dan Maguire played an intelligent
pass which released Kneeshaw through on goal and the striker made no mistake,
driving the ball past the advancing Ball.

Then with half time imminent, Ashington were awarded a free kick 30 yards out.
Spooner took it and whipped a delightful right footer which smacked against the inside of
the post and bounced clear.

However, the home side did not have to wait long before they added a third.

Just two minutes into the second period, Spooner raided down the left and when his
cross was smashed against the bar by Gascoigne, the rebound fell to Kneeshaw who
calmly stroked the ball inside the bottom corner.

Then just past the hour mark, Spooner made it four.

Maguire found Kneeshaw on the right and when the newcomer cut the ball back,
Spooner nonchalantly side footed into the net.

Midway through Thomas Potter fired over for the Robins whilst Ashington had
opportunities to go nap at the other end.

Ben Sampson and substitute Mason Hardy combined to set up Maguire whose shot was
blocked and when the ball broke to Hardy, he curled a low left footer narrowly wide.

In the final quarter hour, Ashington’s play turned sloppy yet five minutes from time, sub
Damen Mullen stroked past the post after being set up by Spooner.

*The Colliers will now travel to play Stockton Town in the preliminary round on Saturday
August 19.

*Ashington commence their programme in the Pitching In Northern Premier League on
Saturday (August 12). The Wansbeck side are at home to Brighouse Town (3pm kick-
off) then on Tuesday (August 15) make the trip to face Newton Aycliffe.

Ashington: Dryden, Dopson, Summerly, Ross, Buddle, Lough, Gascoigne (Hardy 62
minutes), Sampson, Maguire (Mullen 83 minutes), Spooner, Kneeshaw (Aziakonou 77
minutes). Subs not used: Exley, Coombe (gk)

Referee: Michael Moore

The first time the sides met was way back in the 1906-07 season in the first qualifying round of the cup. After a 2-2 draw at Ashington the sides met at what was then known as the Old Cycling Grounds, Hawkey’s Lane and this time Shields won by the odd goal in three.

In the wake of World War II on Saturday 16th November 1946, an estimated 2,000 Ashington fans made the short journey to Appleby Park by specially arranged trains and were part of a 7,600 strong crowd. The game was drawn 1-1 with the Colliers taking a 1-0 lead into half time after Homer headed a Farrington cross home with “the speed of a bullet”. Conway got an equaliser for Shields in the 57^th minute and was the best goal the journalist had ever seen setting up a replay at Portland Park.

That game played at 2.15pm on a Monday afternoon was watched by 4,000 and also ended 1-1 with goals from Fenwick (Ashington) and Fergusson (Shields). There was some controversy at the end of the game as the referee abandoned it due to failing light and poor conditions in extra time. The Colliers claimed, as it had said it should be finished that day, the replay should again be at Portland Park, Shields argued for a neutral venue. In the end the replay took place at St James Park in Newcastle. Poxton opened the scoring for the Colliers but the Robins ran out 3-1 victors with a hat trick from Tommy McGarry that sent them to Hartlepool in Round 1.

In the 1954-55 season the Colliers disposed of both Newburn and Heaton Stannington by six goals to one at Portland Park before drawing the Robbns. Ashington started the game in lively fashion with right winger Dowson causing Shields trouble. At 0-0 the Colliers full back Laws cleared two off the line with keeper Myers beaten. The Colliers broke the deadlock with an unexpected goal when Allen sent a fierce rising drive into the net. Turnbull made it two heading a  Dowson cross past the Shields keeper. The game ended 2-0 and the Colliers went on to defeat West Sleekburn Welfare 2-1 at Portland Park before losing at home to Scarborough 3-2.

North Shields got revenge the following season winning 3-1 at Appleby Park in the 2^nd Qualifying Round. Goals from Corrall (2) and Charlton made it 3-0 before Ashington got a late consolation through Turnbull. Shields again drew the Colliers at Appleby Park in the 1956-57 season and again ran out winners this time 1-0.

In 1957-58 the sides were again matched and after a 0-0 draw at Appleby Park the sides fought out a replay in Ashington. A crowd of 3,750 were present on a Wednesday afternoon in October to see Glendinning put Shields ahead after 7 minutes. Bobby Cummings drew the Colliers level on 51 minutes putting a half volley under the bar. On 65 minutes Crosbie gave the Colliers the lead and a third was added late on as Shields chased an equaliser.

After four consecutive seasons had seen the sides drawn together there was a nine year break before their next cup encounter. In the 1966-67 after a 2-2 draw at PP the Colliers traveled to the Coast for the replay. Shields opened the scoring on 10 minutes through Thompson but Linnigan had the Colliers level 20. Sproates put the Colliers ahead on 53 minutes before Thompson leveled with his second of the game. An own goal from Oakley had the Colliers back in the lead before Carr wrapped it up on 87 minutes when he slammed home.

The next tussle between the sides came in the 1979-80 season as they were drawn together at Appleby Park. North Shields under the watchful eye of John Tudor went ahead in the eighth minute through Lilley. They doubled their lead just before half time after an excellent three man move involving Rafferty, Lilley and Barker with the latter hitting a low shot past Jobey. The Colliers grabbed what would be a consolation in the 84^th minute through Brian Pringle.

The next and last time the sides met in the FA Cup was in the 2004-05 Season when North Shields had just been promoted to the Northern League second division and the Colliers the first. Ashington won the tie 1-0 with a goal from Mark Campell.

By Brian Bennett

Ashington go into Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup tie against local rivals North Shields at
Woodhorn Lane with manager Ian Skinner warning his squad that they face a tough
opponent.

However the boss said at the weekend that the prolonged run which his side enjoyed
last season – where they reached the last qualifying round before exiting the competition
away to National League North side King’s Lynn – will have no bearing this time round:
“The run we had was fantastic but we have almost a completely different squad this
season so it will have no bearing this time round,” said Skinner, “We have got a tough
draw – albeit we are pleased that we are at home – and we’ll be making sure that we are
prepared and ready to go. We have got one or two players unavailable but make no
mistake about it, the lads will know the importance of the game and come Saturday we’ll
make sure that we pick what we believe to be the best squad and best side which can
hopefully get us a positive result.”

Kick off is 3pm.

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner, reflecting on the 3-0 defeat by Workington in his sides final warm up game ahead of Saturday’s curtain raiser in the Emirates FA Cup against North Shields, said he believed “there were lots of things to be pleased about.”

Skinner commented: “In the early part of the game, I thought we caused Workington one or two problems where they hadn’t really managed to get to grips with how we were trying to play and set up. We started quite brightly and were taking the ball in tight areas and looked comfortable to move it but probably the story of the game was our playing out and build up play which was really good. However, I just thought we got into some great areas beyond their midfield and in front and behind their defence but we were a little bit loose and a little bit slack in the final third. For all the good play that we did have, my criticism or downside is that we didn’t threaten the goal anywhere near enough as we should have done.”

He continued: “We came in at half time 2-0 down and both goals were really poor to concede. The first is a long range effort where we haven’t got out and closed the ball – but it actually came from us giving the ball away in a really good position in their half. The second is an individual mistake as was the third – and I take some of the responsibility for that because of what I am asking the players to do and the way they are trying to do it and I’d far rather they made mistakes today and learn from them if they were to be in the same situation this Saturday.”

He went on: “The three goals were avoidable – other than that I don’t think our goalkeepers have had to make what you would label as brilliant saves. Ross Coombe made a stop in the first half where he saved the ball with his legs whilst at the other end we haven’t worked their goalkeeper anywhere near enough. Second half when they (Workington) got to grips a little bit with how we were playing, they’ve probably been a little bit stronger than us and then a whole host of changes from both teams really disrupted the flow and I thought we just got a little bit loose towards the end. Even some of the good build up and approach play we had seen in the first half started to become a bit sloppy and in the end the game petered out a little bit and it became about managing minutes – but overall it was a really good work out.” He concluded: “I’ve got to say a big thank you to Workington for making the travel across and giving us the game and hopefully it was beneficial for them as well. I thought there were lots of things to be pleased about in our performance whilst there were also things to work on – like our creating and finishing in the opposition’s final third and cutting out or minimising those little mistakes which have cost us goals today.”

By Brian Bennett

Top FIFA, UEFA and Premier League referee Michael Oliver has been in charge of prestige matches over the years – but on Friday August 4, he will be the man in the middle at his hometown football club.

Ashington FC host ‘An evening with Michael Oliver’ in their clubhouse and tickets – priced at £17 which includes a pie and peas supper – are selling well.

Oliver is looking forward to the event and said: “It was nice to see Ashington have such a successful season last year and hopefully the club can kick on again but it is also pleasing to see how well they have developed under the leadership of chairman Brian Shotton, manager Ian Skinner and all of the volunteers.”

He continued: “Obviously it’s nice to come back to Ashington and hopefully the evening will help to raise funds. I’m looking forward to it”

Anyone interested in buying a ticket can purchase from:

https://ashingtonafc.ktckts.com/event/2324aewmo/an-evening-with-michael-oliver

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner said he was ‘most definitely delighted and overall thoroughly pleased’ with the performance from his players after the 0-0 draw against Morpeth Town at Craik Park on Saturday.

Skinner commented: “Obviously it’s the first pre season game we’ve had against higher ranked opposition, It was good that the lads still stuck to the process; the system and the style in which we are trying to play and what today will do subconsciously is that it will show that the way we are trying to play works regardless of the opposition. I thought we dominated the ball for spells; I certainly thought we created the better opportunities and the only slight disappointment is that we haven’t taken some of them – and on another day if we had, we probably would have won the game.”

He continued: “I don’t get carried away with pre season results and what I’m pleased with is the minutes we have got into people. We have pushed players through 70, 75, and 80 minutes today which we needed to do. I also thought the way in which we looked after the ball and moved the ball and rotated position to cause the opposition problems worked really well. I was most definitely delighted with the performance – and overall, I was thoroughly pleased.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner says he knows his outfit will face a tough test when
they make the short trip to face Morpeth Town at Craik Park on Saturday (3pm kick off).

The boss previewing the friendly said: “It is a game we will look forward to – going in
against a team who operate higher up the pyramid than ourselves. The pitch will suit our
lads because we’ve got some good technical players and the bounce and the roll will be
true. However we know it will be a tough test but I think we are at the stage where we
are looking for that test.”

He continued: “There are some familiar faces in the Morpeth camp and some people
who I get on well with and I think it will be an excellent game for us. I think it will be a
good game because I think they will cause us problems – but I’d like to think we’ll go
there and cause them some problems as well.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC is delighted to announce the appointment of two more members to the managerial staff at Woodhorn Lane.

And in doing so, the Colliers will have a unique three pronged team as manager Ian Skinner, his assistant Andy Coyles and now newcomer Ritchie Hill are all ‘A’ licensed coaches.

The other appointment sees ‘keeper Karl Dryden – who had an outstanding season between the posts last season – taking on the additional role of goalkeeping coach.

Skinner said of Hill: “I was looking to bring another member of staff into the coaching team and I spoke to a number of people, including Ritchie and I felt he was the best fit. He’s experienced; his knowledge is excellent and he’s been involved in the professional game in and around the academy system with Middlesbrough; he’s been at Spennymoor in the National League and with Consett in the Northern Premier League – the league we are going into. He has a good working relationship with Andy Coyles so integrating him into the team was probably easy.”

He continued: “Ritchie has been with us now for a number of weeks but wanted to come in and have a ‘soft and gentle’ introduction. His practices are good; the players like him and his man management is good. I’m not sure there’ll be many management teams at our level – and far further up – that are as qualified as ours in terms of Andy, Ritchie and myself – all of us being ‘A’ licensed coaches and I think that speaks volumes for what we are trying to do. When people look at us and sometimes criticise us for the way we are trying to play and the level we are playing at, I think sometimes it’s a disservice to all of us who have worked at the top end of the game and I believe that we can create an environment here that the players will flourish in.”

Of Karl Dryden, Skinner said: “Being a senior goalkeeper, we asked Karl to take on the responsibility of also being goalkeeping coach which is a specialist position. We felt rather than bring a third party external person in, that it was probably right to offer that opportunity to Karl – which he wanted to take – and we are delighted with his decision to accept. It will certainly not mean that this role will impact on his playing career – he’ll still be seen as a player first and foremost. When we let the goalkeepers break off for a small time during training he’ll lead their development and we’ll probably try and bring one or two younger goalkeepers in to work with him so we are always planning for the future.”

Hill said: “I’m delighted to be part of such a big club with so much history and I didn’t need any persuading to join. Initially the approach came from Andy Coyles whom I worked with at Consett last year and then after a brief conversation with manager Ian Skinner it was an absolute no brainer and I’m thrilled to be on board. The group of lads here are very honest and hungry to progress and improve both as individual players and as a group, so it’s been a doddle really. Their application and commitment is first class and the last couple of weeks have been a joy.”

Dryden said: “I’ve played in the Northern League for 17 years and for me, the role of being a goalkeeping coach is an extension of playing. I’m 35 (years old) now and not getting any younger! Now that Ross (Coombe) has come in, it’s being able to go to training and having the ability to go to one side predominantly just to work on something technically ourselves before coming back into the session at the end.”

He continued: “I’ve got my level two qualification from when I did my scholarship years ago and being goalkeeping coach is something I’ve always thought about doing. It’s never actually cropped up until now and when the manager (Ian Skinner) asked me, I was more than happy to agree to do it.”

By Brian Bennett

For Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner there was far much more to admire from the 2-0
victory over Bedlington Terriers on Wednesday night than the result.

Skinner – who gave starts to a plethora of youngsters for the first 55 minutes of the
game – said afterwards: “The first half team tonight was very much about the fact that we
have got a crop of youngsters who we feel we can develop. They may not all be ready
for the ‘here and now’ but credit to them. Other than Charlie Exley – who was playing his
first pre season match tonight because he has been on holiday – plus Ross Coombe
who has also played at the level which we are going into; Jordan Summerly and Yannick
Aziakonou and a little bit of experience with Danny Craggs, we blooded six youngsters
all at the same time. I include Max Emmerson in that half a dozen because he is still a
young boy and he has been out almost 24 months so to see him back out on the pitch
was a huge plus. I thought they all applied themselves well in the first half and tried to
carry out the way we wanted to play.”

He continued: “There are still lots of things to look at and work on, in particular being a
little bit braver on the ball but for 55 minutes I thought they were really good and should
be pleased especially the younger ones, four of whom were only 18 (years of age).
They’ve gone up against a good second division Northern League team in Bedlington
Terriers – who were in the play offs last year – and have held their own and matched
them. I would have liked to have left them on the pitch longer if I’m honest but we had to
get some minutes into the other lads. We were however conscious that we had trained
the previous night so we didn’t want to overload the players who came on for the final 35

minutes with an eye on the Morpeth game on Saturday. I thought it was evident when
we made all of those changes that there was a little increase in tempo and probably a
little bit of a better understanding in what we are trying to do but that comes with
experience.”

The boss also took time out to praise striker Dan Maguire: “I thought the first goal was
very good,” he said, “It was a great move – probably one off the training ground which is
always nice and this system is bringing the best out of Dan (Maguire). He scored two at
Whitley Bay on Saturday – and he could have had three – and he’s made one tonight for
young Mason who I thought finished it off fantastically well then for our second goal
Scott Heslop has taken the shot on early and it’s taken a big deflection. Some of our
play was really good and we fashioned some really good chances and being super
critical we should have scored one or two more.”

He went on: “All of these pre season games which we play are geared around our start
to the campaign on August 5. It’s about minutes in people’s legs; getting the players up
to match sharpness; getting them to understand what we are asking them to do; getting
them to understand the structure whilst sticking to the process and the principals in
terms of how we are trying to play which is vastly different to how we played last year.
We just feel we have come up with a way of playing that suits the group; gets the best
out of them and at the minute with every game which goes by, it looks a little bit more
embedded. We have got a group of talented footballers and historically if you go back
over the seasons since I returned to the club, I have always looked to try and recruit
talented footballers because of some of my philosophies and beliefs in how I would like
to play the game.”

He concluded: “All in all it was a fantastic work out and I say a big thank you to
Bedlington – who I thought were excellent. They tried to play the game in the right way
which is pleasing to see and it was a very worthwhile exercise.”

By Brian Bennett

The Northern Premier League released the new fixtures last week – and Ashington
manager Ian Skinner was upbeat about them.

The Colliers start their campaign with a home tie against North Shields in the Emirates
FA Cup on Saturday August 5 – then a week later play their first game in the NPL for
over 50 years when they take on Brighouse at Woodhorn Lane: “It’s always nice to start
with a home game – and we have been blessed with two in a week in the FA Cup and
the league,” he said, “We’ll gather as much information as we can on Brighouse but the
early indications suggest that they are in a similar situation to ourselves whereby they’ve
had quite a turnover of players. However all we can do is to make sure we are prepared
and ready to go. We have a few more friendlies before that game so they should really
get us up to speed.”

Ashington take on neighbours Bedlington Terriers on Wednesday evening at Woodhorn
Lane (July 19) then go to Craik Park on Saturday (July 22) to pit their wits against
Morpeth Town: “If you include the Whitley Bay game, that’ll make it three games in
seven days for us and we’ll start to see more players getting minutes into their legs.”