By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington FC’s use of a Veo camera came up trumps last week when a panel reviewed the red card issued to Ben Harmison and overturned the decision.

The Colliers skipper was sent off after only quarter of an hour of his sides top of the table clash against Ebac Northern League first division leaders Newton Aycliffe at Moore Lane – a decision which left supporters flabbergasted and manager Ian Skinner ‘in shock.’

Woodhorn Lane secretary Gav Perry said: “On the Sunday following the match against Newton Aycliffe, we reviewed the footage and felt that the referee had made a clear and obvious error in sending Ben off. That evening we submitted the initial intention to appeal the decision to the Northumberland Football Association (NFA) and then forwarded the video evidence on the Monday. A hearing was set for Wednesday evening and at 6pm I received the outcome whereby the appeal was successful and the red card had been expunged from Ben’s record.”

Skinner was naturally delighted – but unhappy that video footage is the only way to contest a dismissal: “Ben Harmison should never ever have missed a game of football because of the red card and it was overturned – rightly so – and he was available to play for us on Saturday (against Guisborough Town). As a club we have invested thousands of pounds in equipment and subscriptions for our benefit to review performances, and we shouldn’t need to use this to be able to overturn a poor decision. If we hadn’t had a Veo camera last week, Ben would have been suspended.”

He continued: “My view on the incident hasn’t changed. I said on the day that it wasn’t a red card and the reason why I didn’t comment or make any noise was because I was in shock that the referee has even considered producing the red card. We are not a club that would appeal just for the sake of it but having reviewed the video footage, it only confirmed what I thought I saw in live play – that Ben has genuinely cleared the ball. I’m still disappointed that it was a decision made in what was quite an important fixture – first v second – and we‘ve ended up playing the best part of 30 minutes longer than they have (Aycliffe) with ten men and that probably showed in the end when they scored two goals in the last ten minutes.”

He went on: “I would like to thank the panel who took the time to look at it – and I thank our secretary Gav Perry for taking the time to clip the footage and make sure the case was put together and I’m just pleased that we have still got Ben for the remainder (of the season) and will not lose him for any games.”

Harmison said: “When I saw the red card go up, I was frustrated but you cannot say anything otherwise you risk getting yourself into more trouble so you’ve just got to accept it. I was shocked (by the red card) as no one was asking for it but I knew I would get off if there was footage available and the camera showed it wasn’t a red card.

I’m happy the club appealed – I would like to thank the panel – and I’m over the moon.”

Ashington AFC are pleased to offer a ticket deal for the final four home games of the 2022/23 season.

Backed by an amazing 488 average league crowd so far and 3,408 supporters through the door across five Cup fixtures, our supporters are leading the way in the Northern League this season.

With four big home fixtures to come we would appreciate all the support we can get as the lads look to keep in the promotion hunt. The first of those games is upcoming on Saturday against Guisborough Town (3pm Kick Off).

Ticket prices are £21 for Adults, £9.00 for Senior Citizens / Students and £3.00 for Under 16. That offers a saving of a full game across all categories.

You can buy your four game tickets online at the following link:

https://ashingtonafc.ktckts.com/package/asn4game2223/final-4-ticket

A poster for the final four games can also be downloaded here if you are able to print and display anywhere.

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner could not hide his disappointment on Saturday night after his side had gone down by a 4-1 score line against Newton Aycliffe – the leaders of the Ebac Northern League’s first division.

Victory for Skinner’s outfit would have seen them leapfrog over their County Durham opponents on goal difference – but the Newtonians came out on top to go six points clear although the Colliers have two games in hand.

Ashington were forced to make a reshuffle before kick off when Andrew Cartwright pulled out through injury. Craig Spooner reverted to full back and Dean Briggs slotted into the midfield.

Both sides finished the first half with ten men. Ashington skipper Ben Harmison saw red after quarter of an hour and Oscar Eckley-Aldsworth followed shortly before the break.

Skinner said afterwards: “Obviously my initial reaction is one of disappointment. I was disappointed with all four goals which we conceded but if we look at it logically, what I did say before the game regardless of the result was that nothing would be won today and all we have lost is three points. People will be looking at it (the result) and thinking in terms of the final league table – but I can stand here now and say that if we win every game between now and the end of the season, nobody can finish above us – so it’s still all to play for.”

Reflecting on the match from kick-off, Skinner said: “I thought we started the game quite well and moved the ball quite well but then we have conceded a really poor goal where they (Aycliffe) worked a little three versus two in the wide area and the cross came in too early and it’s a free header at the back post so that was really, really disappointing. The second goal is totally avoidable after we gave the ball away which allows them to break and he (Liam Adamson) finishes it. We are 2-0 down and have ten men and you think ‘it’s going to take a big effort’ – but we’ve done it before this season ironically against Aycliffe in the FA Cup where we came back to win it 3-2 – albeit when we had 11 players on the park. Then we score after a good little quick movement where Dan Maguire has taken on his shot early to make it 2-1. We dominated for the final few minutes and didn’t want the half to end because we were right on top and had another couple of half chances to come in level.”

He continued: “Then half time becomes a little bit chaotic. Aycliffe have just gone down to ten men and haven’t had time to really re-adjust and from our point of view, we’re not sure how they are going to set up – so all we could do was to focus on ourselves. We talked about how we could cause them some problems – and being really brave going man for man almost out of possession and we would see how the game developed. We started really brightly and certainly dominated the ball although they had a couple of minutes early on where they tried to slow things down. We had lots of the ball and probed but never really threatened the goal enough and I think the big moment was where Dan Maguire has wriggled free and his cross-cum-shot has rolled along the line and hit Dean Briggs’s heel – and I don’t know how the ball hasn’t gone in. If we had scored then to level at 2-2, I think we would have go on to win it.”

He went on: “As the game draws on you are looking and thinking ‘we are going to have to start taking one or two risks to see if we can nick a point.’ Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Would I change anything? I probably wouldn’t make four subs all in one go like I did. If you think we’ve only got ten players on the pitch, I’ve changed 40% of the team so that was a big change to expect the subs to get straight up to game speed and be able to play and I probably should have split it into two twos. That said, after we made the changes, we did lose our way a little bit. I don’t know whether it was how we were trying to play but I was also disappointed with one or two players in how we ended the game. Towards the end – bearing in mind we were only a goal away from being in the game – we were certainly very poor in the two goals which we conceded late on. People might look at it and think it was because we were pushing forward to try and get an equaliser but that doesn’t wash with me – those two goals were massively avoidable and with the second half being ten versus ten, Aycliffe have beat us 2-0 and that’s not acceptable.”

On Saturday (March 11), Ashington are at home to Guisborough Town (3pm). Skinner will await a fitness report from Andrew Cartwright whilst Darren Lough and Scott Heslop are still likely to be sidelined.

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington FC midfielder Dean Briggs came off the bench to score the vital goal which gave the Colliers a 1-0 victory over a resolute Carlisle City side at Woodhorn Lane on Tuesday night.

And afterwards, the 26 year old said: “It’s about time. The last time I scored was at the end of August so I was buzzing to get the winner tonight to be fair. Paul Robinson has made the run and the ball has dropped to me and it was probably a good thing that I didn’t have any time to think about it – I just tried to hit the target and luckily it went in the bottom corner.”

Newcastle-born Briggs continued: “It’s been a pretty frustrating season for me with injuries and not getting a good run of games so I’d like to get a few more goals before the end of the season. We have a tough game on Saturday (at Newton Aycliffe) and it was important to get the win tonight.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner thought his side were full value for Tuesday night’s 1-0 win against Carlisle City at Woodhorn Lane.

From the midway point of the second half, the boss made changes as the Colliers could not find a way through a disciplined Cumbria rearguard.

And it was two of those substitutes Paul Robinson and Dean Briggs who combined – the former the provider and Briggs the scorer – to administer the knockout punch.

“We had to work hard – but to be fair we’ll have to work hard between now and the end of the season,” said Skinner afterwards, “Obviously we are in a good run of form so Carlisle City have come here tonight with a game plan to sit in and try to defend for their lives. They defended really deep; defended the edge of their box; tried to deny us space but let us have the ball whilst seeing if they could grab something on the counter attack. It’s not the first time we have seen that this season – it’s the first time in a little while – but it shows that people are taking notice of our recent form.”

Looking back on the first half he said: “I thought we moved the ball around our shape relatively well but it was just a little bit too slow and it allowed them (Carlisle) to get set behind the ball. We just needed to do things a little bit quicker and be a little bit braver – and our combination play in and around the penalty area, we just needed to take one or two more risks because I thought we played a bit safe.”

Skinner felt more at ease after the interval: “From the start of the second half, I thought we looked a little bit more bright and inventive,” he commented, “We did look to combine in and around the box and within the first couple of minutes we got in behind them (Carlisle); won a corner and built on it from there really. But as the game goes on, you start to think ‘is it going to be one of those nights?’ Then after a great ball across the box, the ball has dropped to Dan Maguire who has tried a little back flick and with everybody rooted, you are just waiting for the ball to roll into the bottom corner of the net – but instead it goes the wrong side of the post. We’ve also hit the crossbar but kept plugging away and then a little bit of Paul Robinson magic out wide, where he twists and turns; jinks one way then the other and gets that famous ‘chop’ and he rolls the ball to Dean Briggs who finished excellently into the bottom corner.”

He continued: “On performance I thought we deserved it; we had the lion’s share of possession and our ‘keeper Karl Dryden has made only one save in the first half which you would expect him to make. Karl had to be alert and handle balls into the box or balls bouncing through to him – and he’s done that.”

He added: “I’m delighted with another three points; delighted with another clean sheet and we’ll look forward to training on Thursday and then travel to play Newton Aycliffe away on Saturday.”

*The meeting between the two sides at Moore Lane is without doubt a top of the table clash in every sense – leaders Aycliffe against the Colliers who are in second place.

However Skinner said his outfit will be treating it like any other game: “As far as I’m concerned, it’s just another game of football,” he said, “We’ll do what we always do and approach it like any other match.” Striker Scott Heslop is ruled out with a foot injury but Skinner said apart from that, he will have almost a full compliment of players to select from for the 3pm kick-off.

By Brian Bennett

When Ashington midfielder Craig Spooner scored a brace in the resounding 4-0 victory over West Auckland last week, it was the first time the midfielder had found the net since the beginning of November when the Colliers won 4-1 at home against Whickham.

Now after being on target in Friday’s 2-1 victory over Newcastle Benfield, the 24 year old has notched three in two games– and says he is ‘loving’ his time at Woodhorn Lane:

“Friday saw another one for my tally – but the most important thing was the three points,” he commented afterwards, “I thought we made it hard for ourselves in the second half especially the last ten minutes or so when they (Newcastle Benfield) pulled a goal back but I’m delighted we clinched the win.”

He continued: “I’ll just take things game by game but I reckon I’ll get more goals as long as I keep getting into the right positions. That’s my target – to score as many goals as I can from midfield and to make sure we are definitely battling for the league but I’m absolutely loving my time here.”

By Brian Bennett

Skipper Ben Harmison climbed out of his sick bed to help Ashington to a narrow 2-1 win over Newcastle Benfield at Sam Smith’s Park on Friday night.

But afterwards the 37 year old stated that the most important thing was his side taking the three points: “At the end of the day, it’s irrelevant how the points come – a win is a win,” he said, “We know how hard it is to play against Newcastle Benfield and it doesn’t matter whether you are one or two goals up against them, the players they have got can hurt you which probably showed when we had our backs against the wall for the last 20 minutes.”

He continued: “Benfield started quick but the players they have got are all young, lively and fit. Their movement was good and they passed the ball well – and it took us around 10- 15 minutes to get used to things. Once we did that and kept our shape, we knew we would get chances because we have got players in our side who will take them. Dan Maguire for instance just needed one chance (to score), dinking the ball over the ‘keeper after a great move.”

He continued: “We started the second half well which we have done for the last few games. But for some reason, we stopped going forward in the last 20 minutes and let them back into it with a goal and our ‘keeper Karl Dryden has made some great saves.”

Harmison, who played for 78 minutes before being substituted, admitted that ‘flu had left him ‘wiped out’: “I came home early from nightshift at 3am in the morning feeling wiped out,” he added, “I felt weak and had no energy. Today (Friday) is the first day where I’ve felt a bit better and the manager (Ian Skinner) knew about the situation and asked me to contribute whatever I could. However at this time of the year you are also going to get niggles and injuries.”

He concluded: “It was a great win for us and the three points was all we needed. We are chalking games off one by one and we’re not bothered about anybody else – instead everyone else can worry about us.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner gave a massive shout-out to his squad following their 2-1 win over Newcastle Benfield on Friday night.

The victory propelled the Colliers up to second place in the Ebac Northern League’s first division table – but behind the scenes, Skinner revealed that he had experienced pre match problems due to illness: “It was a great result tonight and even more so because we’ve got some illness in the camp,” he said, “We lost Damen Mullen and Liam Smith before the game with this ‘flu bug which is going around whilst skipper Ben Harmison has been laid low for the last four days and today (Friday) was the first time he had left his sick bed. On top of that, I’m struggling a bit with it (the ‘flu) myself but again this just typifies this group of players we have here because they want to work so hard to try and take us to where we want to go and they deserve maximum credit.”

Harmison actually started the game until he was replaced with quarter of an hour of the contest remaining and was involved in the build up to the second goal scored by Craig Spooner shortly after the interval which added to a first half strike by Dan Maguire before Cameron Gascoigne reduced the arrears in the closing stages.

However Skinner’s overall message remains unchanged: “We’ll just keep looking at one game at a time,” he added, “We needed to come here tonight and win and we’ve done that. Now all of our focus is on Carlisle City whom we play at Woodhorn Lane on Tuesday (February 28).”

Reflecting on the contest at Benfield, Skinner pointed towards Maguire’s goal as being ‘key’: “I thought we started the game a bit slowly and Benfield began the better of the two sides,” he said, “It took us a little while to grow into the game and then when we did, we got one or two chances and scored a fantastically worked goal. It came a couple of minutes before half time and if you could pick times to score, that’s a key period. The opposition don’t get a lot of time to come back at you before the break and then when you get to the interval, it takes the sting out of the game and you start again.”

Skinner praised goalkeeper Karl Dryden when he added: “Second half I thought we started quite brightly and then we have scored a second early to make it 2-0. That makes the evening a bit more comfortable – and I thought for large periods of the second half, we did look comfortable. Then towards the end, obviously 2-0 down at home, they (Newcastle Benfield) are going to start to throw numbers forward. Karl Dryden has made a couple of outstanding saves to be fair to him and I’m disappointed he hasn’t kept a clean sheet because his performance tonight probably deserved one.”

He continued: “We faced a couple of corners where we couldn’t quite clear our lines and the ball has dropped to Cameron Gascoigne on the edge of the box and he’s hit a decent strike across the goal and into the far corner. Then we managed the game after that. We took our time with things which you are going to do. A couple of weeks ago we were frustrated that teams were doing it to us, but its part of the game. When you are the ones chasing the game, it frustrates the life out of you but when you are the ones that are up in the game and managing it, then you don’t complain about it. It’s about managing the game and slowing it down a little bit and I’m naturally delighted with the three points because its never an easy place to come to (Newcastle Benfield).”

He concluded: “The games are coming thick and fast again – so we’ll dust ourselves down ahead of the Carlisle City fixture – and that’s as far as we’ll look.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner announced that new striker Scott Heslop is ‘registered and available for selection’ as the Colliers make the short journey to face Newcastle Benfield at Sam Smith’s Park tomorrow evening (February 24).

Proven goal scorer Heslop has joined the Wansbeck outfit from West Auckland – although he was not involved for the County Durham side when the two teams met at Woodhorn Lane last weekend which resulted in a convincing 4-0 home win.

The 28 year old, who has also played higher up the footballing pyramid for Dunston UTS and Consett, trained for the first time with his new team mates on Tuesday night and is delighted to have put pen to paper: “Things didn’t work out for me at West Auckland and when Ashington’s assistant manager Andy Coyles spoke to me, he was singing the praises of the club – about how well it is run – so I snapped his hands off. I thought it was the right move for me and my target is to hopefully help the lads and the club to get promoted.”

Gateshead-born Heslop – a software engineer – was a member of the successful Dunston UTS side in the 2018-19 season when after winning the Ebac Northern League’s first division, they took the next step up. And under Coyles’s management at Consett, the forward who is based in Low Fell, also chipped in with goals – including the first for the Steelmen in their 2-1 play-off win against Histon last season which saw them promoted from the ENL: “Last year I netted ten for Dunston in the league above and then about nine for Consett,” added Heslop.

A patient Skinner has finally got the player under his wing: “It’s a bit of a long story really,” said the boss, “I knew Scott when he was a youngster at the Newcastle Academy as I was his coach. It’s a one of those situations where you follow the progress of players who you have coached in that sort of environment. I tried to sign him when he left Dunston UTS but at the time, he chose Consett over us mainly because I think they were still in the FA Vase and were pushing to be league champions so I didn’t hold that against him. However I always said he would be someone who I’d be interested in bringing to Ashington – because he’s a goal scorer.”

He continued:  “During this season, we had a little run of games where we found goals hard to come by; albeit winning matches but only by the odd goal. Then we had a situation where Dan Maguire pulled up in a couple of games with injury; Dean Briggs picked up a knock; AJ (Adam Johnson) was unavailable through working commitments -and all of a sudden we looked a little bit short. I did say recently if I could bring one or two faces in, just to freshen the group up towards the end of the season, I would. We brought Lewis Green in and I just thought that Scott hadn’t played much for West Auckland so I got our secretary Gav Perry to put in an enquiry to see if he would be available and we got some positive vibes back that he might be.”

He went on: “It took a little bit of time to sort out but we got permission to speak to Scott. So the fact that I knew him; had tried to sign him before; the fact that he had played for Andy (Coyles) second half of least season at Consett – and I can remember him scoring against us in the away game up there – all pointed in the right direction. Scott was hungry to play so we managed to get things done and he will add additional firepower to the squad – I’ve no doubt about that. AJ (Adam Johnson) is available again after having work commitments; Dan Maguire came back into the side last Saturday; Ben Harmison scored four goals in a week and we have Lee Mason – so it’s a nice problem to have. We’ve gone from being a little bit thin on the ground to maybes having some riches in terms of centre forwards but that’s what we want because we are at the business end of the season and we need to keep winning games.”

He added: “Newton Aycliffe are going off like a steam train at the top of the division with nine straight wins – and we have got them to play twice next month – and I just need everybody in my dressing room to stay focussed. By adding two pieces of quality in Lewis Green and Scott Heslop, it’ll keep people on their toes. I’ve got players who will be sat on the bench desperate for an opportunity and not only that; we’ll have a little bit of depth in the squad now. We’ll have a couple of people who maybes aren’t in the squad who’ll be itching to get back in (the squad) – and that’s the way it should be.”

Tomorrow’s match at Newcastle Benfield has a 7.30pm kick-off.

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Craig Spooner was delighted to score a brace in the 4-0 rout over West Auckland at Woodhorn Lane on Saturday – but revealed afterwards that he is still chasing a first ever hat trick at senior level!

And the 24 year old – who has recently played for the Colliers at full back – says he is happy to play anywhere. However when he netted just past the half hour mark on Saturday, it was his first goal for the club since the beginning of November: “To be honest, I don’t mind where I play as long as I do my job for the team,” he commented, “Midfield is my preferred position and it was great to be back in the number ten role, score two goals and for us to get the win.”

Spooner scored twice in the space of ten minutes in the opening period and added: “For my first, it was a bit of a lucky ricochet off their centre half which has put the ball in my path and I’ve taken a touch and scored. For the second, I saw ‘Damo’ (Damen Mullen) run through the middle so I arced my run around the back; he’s hung the ball up and I’ve just tapped it in.”

Spooner – based in Cramlington – expressed mixed feelings when he was replaced by Lewis Suddick for the final quarter hour: “Initially, I was disappointed because I’ve never scored a hat-trick at senior level,” he said, “but then I thought ‘I’ve done my bit for the team’ – so I wasn’t really bothered when I came off. As a group, the result finished off what was a perfect week for us with three wins on the bounce as well as three clean sheets.”

Manager Ian Skinner was full of praise for the versatile Spooner when he said: “Craig is a great lad who can play in a number of positions and in recent weeks, he’s done a fantastic job for us both at right back and left back. Obviously we lost Dean Briggs to injury during Tuesday’s win over Redcar Athletic and we just thought that we were at home; second half against Redcar when we moved the ball quick we caused them problems and just thought we needed to play nice and quick. With Jordan Summerly being available I possibly could have left the back four the same as they had kept two clean sheets but I just thought we’d put a natural left back in which would release Craig to go into the number ten role. I thought with his energy and ability to get on the end of things and score goals was what we might need today – and that proved to be the case. I know Craig was desperate to get a third but I was more than pleased for him that he got the two!”