IAN SKINNER: “LET’S SEE IF WE CAN GO ON ANOTHER POSITIVE RUN – WHICH WE ARE MORE THAN CAPABLE OF DOING”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner has challenged his squad to replicate the vast majority of the first half of the season as the second segment gets under way on Saturday (January 7) with the Colliers at home to Penrith (3pm).

Skinner – whilst having his Festive celebrations dampened following the 2-1 defeat on Boxing Day against Whitley Bay at Woodhorn Lane – said that on reflection, the club can’t be anything other than pleased with the first half: “Obviously the current run of four games without a win slightly dampens where we are and probably takes a little bit of the shine off but what we can’t do is to forget or lose sight of where we have come from,” he said, “I’ve been reflecting a little bit now that we are at the half way point and it’s the first little bump in the road that we’ve hit in a while. We finished last season on a massive high by winning the Ebac Northern League first division cup and then for the first competitive game of the new campaign, contested the Cleator Cup final against North Shields and got a positive result with a 3-2 victory. So in two games, we were successful in collecting two pieces of silverware – and for ten years prior, this club hadn’t won anything.”

He continued: “We started the season really, really well, winning seven and drawing two of our first nine league games and then went on that amazing run in the Emirates FA Cup where we beat teams from two and three divisions above us but since that defeat in the fourth qualifying round at King’s Lynn, it’s interesting. Since that day we haven’t quite been the same if I’m honest, winning five, losing four and drawing two matches. And if you look at King’s Lynn, they’ve suffered a little bit the same. So they had a good result against us then beat Doncaster before they lost to Stevenage – and since then they’ve stuttered a little bit in the league and are trying to find their feet in terms of getting back on track. I said it at the time that the FA Cup is a fantastic competition when you’re in it but it’s ruthless and the minute you go out, it’s a massive comedown and you’re forgotten about. We’ve rode our luck a little bit since we got knocked out so after leading 2-0 against West Allotment Celtic, certainly scoring in the last minute to get the winner was pleasing (after they had come back to level at 2-2) and we followed that with a fantastic result against Bishop Auckland (5-0). I think what we have just got to remember is yes the last four games have been disappointing but where we actually are as a club considering where we have been previously. Yes we should be further ahead in terms of points to where we are but that said we’ve only lost four league games so far. We are half way through and if we were to only lose four more in the second half of the season, we’ll be in with a decent shout (at the top end of the table).”

He went on: “We have got to get back to the standards we set earlier in the season and that will come from working hard but in terms of overall reflection, I think we can’t be anything other than pleased with the progress which the club is making. Probably not as pleased as I would have been three or four weeks ago when I would have used the word ‘delighted.’ But we have got to keep putting things into context. This football club hadn’t won silverware and hadn’t progressed as far in the FA Cup for many years and hasn’t been challenging in and around the top two and three in the league for a long time either. We’ve sat down as a group and had a little look at where we now are at the half way stage. There have been one or two things spoken about in terms of needing to improve whilst not forgetting all the hard work we have done and whilst our last four results is starting to become a slight concern, it’s not a crisis. It’s maybes about refocusing and realigning our goals to what we want to achieve come the end of the season and kicking on in the second half and taking things week by week and game by game. Let’s not get too carried away and let us stick together. We all need to row in the same direction and see if we can go on another positive run which we are more than capable of doing. There’s no doubt in my mind that this group of players I’ve got are good enough to go on another long unbeaten run – that’s the challenge to them – and if we can do that, we’ll see where it takes us.”

Also looming up in the near future, is Ashington’s away tie against Heaton Stannington in the quarter final of the Techflow Marine Northumberland Senior Cup on Wednesday January 18 with the winners at home to North Shields or Blyth Spartans.

Skinner has had his players in for training since the reverse against Whitley Bay and for Saturday’s game against Penrith hopes to be able to choose from virtually a full squad of between 20-22 players.

Meanwhile Ashington Football Club were saddened to hear of the passing of Barry Hindson. Barry covered games on the radio for BBC Newcastle featuring teams in our region and was a stalwart of the non-league scene. The club send their condolences to Barry’s family and friends at this sad time.

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner said after the 2-1 Boxing Day defeat by Whitley Bay that his side need to get back to basics.

In front of a crowd of 771 on a bitterly cold day in Wansbeck, Skinner saw his outfit look lively early on. They took the lead through Lee Mason and skipper Ben Harmison had a chance to double the lead but blazed over a 39^th minute penalty.

The Seahorses stung the Colliers immediately after the interval and after drawing level through Lewis Orrell, Luke Porritt netted what proved to be the winner.

Skinner said afterwards: “Obviously I’m disappointed with the result and some of the things in our play that happened during the game although there were other aspects which pleased me. We had a couple of chances in the first half through Lee Mason where the Whitley Bay ‘keeper (Dan Lister) has made a great save then Mason put us ahead and I keep saying if we get one chance to drop to anybody in the club it should be to him. Lee is a good finisher and he showed it with that goal. We looked dangerous a little bit in the first half – we were getting in between the lines and getting runners in behind their back three. Then we had a penalty and an opportunity to go 2-0 and on another day, Ben Harmison would score from the spot but he didn’t today – and it was a key moment in the game because if we had come in at half time holding a 2-0 lead it’s slightly different. We went into the dressing room at the break and there were a fair few things which we weren’t particularly pleased about.”

Whitley fashioned an equaliser inside the first minute after the resumption: “We started the second half dreadfully,” added Skinner, “We gave the ball away and conceded a really poor goal which eventually was a scramble in the six yards box and he (Lewis Orrell) poked it home and it seems to be a bit of a pattern for us at the moment that when we concede one, we ship another one quickly. We conceded three in six minutes at West Auckland and two in seven minutes today but just before their second goal we’ve had a good move with a ball into the box and Lee Mason has put it just wide.”

Shortly after, home stopper Kyle Hayes was caught out by a cross from Bailey Geliher which saw Porritt give the coast side a 2-1 lead: “You can’t legislate for individual errors which is what happened for Whitley’s second,” said the boss, “In the first instance, it was poor defending then the lad (Geliher) was stretching and he’s looked to smash the ball across to try and keep it in play. The wind has caught it; Kyle (Hayes) has misjudged it and went to try to tip it over the bar and missed it and it’s come off the front of the crossbar to Porritt at the back post who has bundled it in. After that they (Whitley Bay) were happy for us to have the ball a little bit and look to play on the counter attack and for the last 15 minutes we moved the ball but didn’t really create anything of real note. We had a couple of half chances; played balls across the box and flashed shots from the edge of the box.”

The defeat was Ashington’s third in four matches and Skinner continued: “All in all we’re naturally disappointed to lose at the half way point in our league programme. We started off the season fantastically well but we are having to adapt a bit to how we played earlier in the season. I keep mentioning pitches and again we are having to adjust. Teams are now aware of how we want to try and play and although the objective for us is to try and win every game, we are not going to do that and I think our players need to realise that they need to work a little bit harder (to win matches). In addition to the players, I think everybody connected to the club just needs to realise where it has come from. It was never going to be easy and I said at the start of the season that it would still be tough and not to get carried away. We have got a very talented group of players but to coin a favourite phrase of mine ‘hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.’ We just need to get back to basics to find our winning ways and get back to working hard; being a little bit more disciplined; doing the simple things well – and if it takes a scruffy 1-0 win then so be it but the sooner we can get that win the better. Nobody is pressing the panic button but we certainly need to realise that we need to be better – first and foremost ourselves and then we need to get back to winning football matches starting at home to Penrith on January 7.”

He went on: “I wouldn’t have argued if it had finished a draw today but it wasn’t to be so congratulations to Whitley Bay manager Nicky Gray and his team who came here and won – they are having a good season themselves. On reflection you could say we probably deserved a draw – but we didn’t get one and sometimes in football you get what you deserve.”

Skinner added: “There were pleasing things – we have got goalkeeper Kyle Hayes back who has come in and played well today. Obviously he’ll be disappointed with the second goal but he made a very good save low down to his right in the first half and he’s made a decent save in the second period so it’s good to have him back to compete for the number one spot with Karl Dryden. We also managed to get some minutes into Dean Briggs who had been out for ten weeks and who certainly looked bright and lively in the first half. He played a couple of balls through but faded massively in the second half which you would expect due to fitness.”

Ashington’s next game is not until Saturday week (January 7) and Skinner said: “The schedule is all over the shop because of bank holidays and training facilities not being available. We’ll probably train again this week and then twice next week ahead of the Penrith game when I’m hoping that I should have almost a full compliment of players to pick from.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC will be looking for two Christmas presents to be delivered on Boxing Day when they take on Whitley Bay at Woodhorn Lane.

Following the recent cold snap, the first is the weather forecast which looks favourable to allow the tussle between these two local sides to go ahead.

Having banked up four consecutive postponements, the Colliers will be eager to return to action for the first time in over three weeks against a rejuvenated Seahorses outfit under manager Nicky Gray.

Consequently the contest between the Colliers, who lie in third place in the Ebac Northern League’s first division and second from top Whitley who are a point ahead, promises to be a top of the table Christmas cracker in every sense – and provided the game gets the green light, will represent the half way point in the league schedule for both clubs.

But whilst the weather remains key, the other present which the Woodhorn Lane side will be hoping for is another bumper crowd.

The Wansbeck side have already set a new attendance record this season when 1,424 came through the turnstiles in early October to watch Ian Skinner’s side beat higher status opponents Stocksbridge Park Steels 3-0 in a third qualifying round replay of the Emirates FA Cup whilst in the previous round, over 700 witnessed the 2-1 win over Bradford Park Avenue and four other home gates have attracted over 600.

Ashington chairman Brian Shotton said: “We are hoping that the game will go ahead – and if it does, then it will be over five weeks since our last home game which is far from ideal from a cash flow perspective. I know the weather has impacted on games being called off but you are also hoping to keep the interest bubbling amongst your supporters.”

He continued: “I’m hoping fans from both clubs will come out in force for the match and if they do, it could see us break through the 1,000 barrier for the second time this season for a home match. Boxing Day is a traditional footballing day in the calendar and it’s a big game between two of the best supported sides in the league – two teams who are chasing at the top of the league – so we need all the support we can get.”

The weather has resulted in cancellations for Ashington against Whickham, Redcar Athletic, Heaton Stannington and Carlisle City – the latter where the whole programme in the ENL was postponed on Saturday due to frozen pitches – but the break has allowed a number of players to recover from injuries.

For the clash, Kieran Graham will be the referee with Connor Kitson and Michael Moore as his assistants. The kick-off is 1pm.

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner is hoping to strengthen his squad ahead of Christmas and the New Year – with several of his players scheduled to make a return.

The Colliers were due to make the short trip to face Heaton Stannington on Wednesday (December 14) in the quarter final of the Techflow Northumberland Senior Cup, however this match has been postponed and moved to January 18th after the freezing temperatures over the last few days.

On Saturday Ashington have their first home game for a month in the Ebac Northern League when they take on Carlisle City (3pm). Then waiting around the corner is their mouth-watering top of the table clash against local rivals Whitley Bay at Woodhorn Lane on Boxing Day.

Although goalkeeper Kyle Hayes, Lee Mason and Dan Maguire are returning to the fold alongside Lewis Suddick, Skinner revealed that midfielder Dean Briggs is expected to remain on the sidelines for another couple of weeks: “We had to send Dean for a scan on his ankle because he had a reaction after coming on as a substitute at West Auckland,” said the boss, “However, the scan showed nothing too sinister other than a high grade two tear in his ligaments. That usually means about eight to12 weeks out of action but Dean has missed six weeks already so we’ll just have to monitor the situation.”

Skinner – speaking after Saturday’s match against Redcar Athletic had been called off on Teesside – added: “Potentially Kyle Hayes will return now that he and Lewis Suddick have completed their training courses for their work occupations. Lee Mason and Dan Maguire would have been in the match day squad at Redcar today and again we will need to get them back up to speed as quickly as possible and get them as many minutes as we can. Obviously we don’t want to cause them too much stress or load them too quickly too soon so it’s about managing them properly.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner shrugged his shoulders as he acknowledged that the weather had scuppered back to back away games for his side last week in the Ebac Northern League’s first division.

The Colliers clash at Whickham on Tuesday fell foul of a waterlogged surface at the Glebe following heavy rain whilst Saturday’s trip to face Redcar Athletic was called off at noon due to a frost affected pitch.

Skinner said: “Obviously there’s a disruption now with the weather and that always happens throughout the season so it’s about making sure we still manage to train even though games are being called off. It’ll give us an opportunity to get one or two players back and it’ll be a week by week situation with the aim of training hard and preparing properly to win whichever games we are faced with in that week.”

Like the postponement at Whickham, Saturday’s thumbs down decision on Teesside left Skinner frustrated: “We want to play,” he added, “We want to put this little run of indifferent results right and want to get back on the winning trail – and the sooner we do that the better because it just calms everybody down. Obviously we’ve had such a positive start to the season and now that we’ve had two defeats and a draw from three games, people are just getting a little bit twitchy. We were always going to have some bumps in the road but as I said only last week, it’s about putting the season into perspective. We’ve just got to keep believing in the process and what it is that we are trying to achieve and how we are trying to achieve it. We’ll come through this little blip but the only way we can do that is by playing matches – and at the moment we are in the hands of the weather.”

Meanwhile Skinner’s squad had time to relax on Saturday: “It was too late to be able to organise anything after the Redcar game was cancelled so I gave the lads the day off,” he added.

On Saturday (December 17), Ashington are at home to Carlisle City (3pm).

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner – obviously disappointed after watching his side come out on the wrong end of a 4-0 defeat at West Auckland – said that the key word surrounding the Woodhorn Lane based outfit at the moment is ‘perspective.’

After trailing to a Jordan Blinco opener shortly before half time, the Colliers were swept away on the hour as West scored three inside four minutes through Corey Nicholson and a brace from Cieran Jackson.

Skinner said: “Listen, I think the word for me today is perspective – because we certainly need to put things into perspective. Lots of aspects went against us today but in my eyes there were still positives to take from the defeat. We have now gone three games without a win and there was always going to come a point in the season where we would hit a sticky patch or maybes fall out of form a little bit and I think we might be in that period right now. I keep mentioning pitches but it’s no coincidence that pitches aren’t suiting us at the moment but we’ve got to be bigger than that and learn to play different ways.”

Skinner’s plans were hit in the hours leading up to the kick-off: “I left people out of the squad and then turned up on match day with people dropping out at noon and 1.30pm. So on Friday night I’m ringing lads to say ‘sorry you’re not in the 16’ and then come 3pm on the Saturday, we couldn’t fill the bench – so that’s gone against us a little bit.”

He continued: “In terms of the game itself, we started relatively well. I thought West Auckland started a bit cautiously and allowed us to have the ball and we’ve produced two fantastic moves – one in particular where we have worked the ball from left to right, gone in down the side, made a great cut back with a great connection at the front post and you’re just waiting for the net to ripple – but the West ‘keeper (Daniel Cameron) has denied us with a brilliant save. Then we have worked it from right to left, got wide and crossed the ball in and it’s flashed across the goal with the defender making an unbelievable block on the line at the back post. At 0-0, they were two massive chances and if they had gone it, it’s a different game and then I just thought we took one or two risks in our own half. We needed to play in their half more and again it was collective errors that led to the first goal. We didn’t get out and press the ball quick enough and then when we did get towards the ball, we stopped and allowed them to play the ball down the line which allows the centre forward to time his run to be onside and he was through and scored.”

The definitive action came when West scored three goals in four minutes: “We actually had a bright start to the second half,” added Skinner, “Then we’ve lost the game through poor individual defending and one versus one situations in wide areas and then one of two players have lost focus and concentration on what their job was. West have scored three goals in four minutes whereby they got down the sides, played the ball inside and managed to square it to a free player in the box to side foot home from a maximum of ten yards. They were three almost identical goals – we are 4-0 down – and the disappointing thing is that when we go 2-0 down, we should get a reaction whereby ‘we’ve got a bigger job to do now and we need to switch on and concentrate’ – but we got the complete opposite so that’s something we will have to look at.”

He went on: “We are in a tough period – we were always going to go through one – and it’s about sticking together but you don’t become a bad team overnight. We’ve played our 18^th league game today and have dropped 15 points. That means we are collecting on average over two points per game and if you do that for an entire season you’ll be in a strong position come the end of it – but perspective is the key word. Yes we are not in the form we were in earlier but it’s up to us to work hard and get the balance right. From Wednesday night at Heaton Stannington, there were at least four changes in the starting eleven so again this run of games which we are in of two a week means we can’t really get lots of continuity so that has had an impact – but we are not looking for excuses. We’ll keep things in perspective; we’ve got a good squad and we should be able to utilise that squad during this period. We just need to work hard; work hard for each other collectively and concentrate because a six minutes lapse has cost us the game today. People see the score line and think ‘that’s a thumping – and potentially 4-0 is a thumping’ but for periods of the game today we played some decent football and created some very, very good chances. West Auckland have scored four goals whereas we’ve probably had at least ten shots on target and haven’t scored – and that’s the difference.”

Skinner concluded: “To finish on a positive, we’ve managed to get Dan Maguire, Dean Briggs and Lee Mason on the pitch as substitutes – hopefully there’s no instant reaction – and when they came on we saw some spark and some inventive play in and around the final third with lots of shots from distance and on another day we could have got one or two goals back. Potentially to have all three available for selection again on Tuesday night (December 6) when we make the short journey to play Whickham would be a big plus.”

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner said he thought his side dropped two points after the 1-1 draw at Heaton Stannington on Wednesday night.

The Colliers trailed in to a 27^th minute opener from Daniel Stephenson before skipper Ben Harmison stoked home the equaliser 11 minutes from the end or normal time.

Skinner said: “We’ll take a point because we lost against Sunderland RCA on Saturday. It’s always nice not to lose back to back games – but all in all I thought it was two points dropped tonight. We had lots of the ball, so it was a similar story to last Saturday (v Sunderland RCA) but I thought we passed it with a bit more of a purpose tonight. We certainly got into some good areas but our play in the final third wasn’t quite where it has been in previous games. Credit to Heaton Stannington who I thought worked really, really hard in order to try and stop us playing – and then tried to attack us down the sides where they have got some quick and lively players. The game plan for them worked in terms of they went ahead and were then able to try and sit in a little bit and invite us onto them to try to get us to come out to create space for their pacy players to catch us on the counter attack.”

He continued: “Second half we came out and it was a similar story to the first 45 minutes. We are on winter pitches which are very heavy and we need to get used to that – but it just goes to show what a good job our groundsman Scott Robson does at Woodhorn Lane. Again we got into some good areas and threatened their goal a bit more and their ‘keeper (Tom Flynn) has made a couple of saves. He made a good one in the first half when he got down low from a Ben Harmison header and he’s made a couple of very good saves in the second half. I thought we were coming into the game and felt as if we would get something from it. We weren’t playing as well as we could but the amount of possession we had, there was going to come a point where our quality would come out in the end.”

Skinner added: “I then did something which I have never ever done when I made four substitutions together. We changed our shape and I thought we really took control of the game. We started to overload in wide areas; we started to get runners off Ben Harmison in behind and we started to pick up second balls which we didn’t do anywhere near enough in the previous 70 minutes of the game. “

He went on: “We sacrificed our principals a little bit towards the end to try and make sure we got something out of the game. We went a little bit more direct into Ben Harmison and looked to get down the sides a little bit quicker and put balls into the box earlier – and we got our just rewards with Karl Ross running on the end of a Harmison flick on. He then rode a couple of challenges and he’s managed to roll the ball into Harmison’s path and he’s finished across the ‘keeper – and if I’m honest we should have gone on and won it.”

For Saturday’s trip to West Auckland (December 3), Skinner will run fitness checks on Dan Maguire, Damen Mullen and Lee Mason.

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC manager Ian Skinner said his sides 2-0 defeat against Sunderland RCA on Saturday was a blip and not a disaster.

A first half brace from striker Kyle Fryatt brought the Colliers sequence of five consecutive wins to a halt at Sunderland LGV Park and afterwards Skinner commented: “Obviously it was disappointing that the run came to an end but full credit to RCA who worked really hard for the win today. But as far as I’m concerned it’s a blip – it’s not a disaster. We were always going to lose more than one game in the season in the league and it’ll be how we react on Wednesday night (November 30) when we go to play Heaton Stannington.”

Skinner reflected on the first half: “I thought we started the game okay and probably dominated the ball for 20 minutes or so,” he said, “Albeit we were a little bit slow in moving the ball but we created one or two half chances. However, when we got into the final third we were a bit loose with the final pass. It was almost as if it became a little bit too easy for us in terms of having lots of the ball and we started to make poor decisions and tried to play the difficult pass instead of doing the simple thing.”

The boss was disappointed with both goals conceded: “We were punished for two unforced errors really,” he added, “We gave the ball away really, really cheaply just inside their half and they’ve played one ball in behind. Fryatt has run onto it and took the goal really well with a little lift over the keeper. Likewise for the second one, we were too casual playing out from the back and our ‘keeper Karl (Dryden) knows he has made a mistake by lofting the ball straight to their player (Fryatt) and he’s gone through and it’s 2-0. It gives them (RCA) something to work for and fight for and again as the half progressed I thought we still had lots of the ball but didn’t really do enough with it.”

Without a trio of strikers in Dan Maguire, Lee Mason and Ben Harmison, Skinner refused to make their absences an excuse: “Second half was disappointing coming down the back as we turned the game into a bit of a scrap as opposed to a football match and I don’t think we passed the ball as well as we could,” he added, “That said we got into some good areas on three or four occasions and have hit the post twice and had a couple of blocks but all in all we weren’t at our best. We were missing a lot of players but injuries are part and parcel of the game so we’ll not use that as an excuse. But obviously our three top goal scorers weren’t playing today and when you take those out of any team then obviously it makes the job a bit more difficult.”

Skinner then elaborated on positives to come out of the reverse: “I thought AJ (Adam Johnson) came in today for his first start in a while and worked really hard whilst we also got some minutes into Robbie Dale who has been out for ten weeks,” he said, “But this group of players are really good at bouncing back from a poor result – the last time was at home to Heaton Stannington and after that we then won five games in a row. So hopefully it’s just a case of pressing the reset button and refocusing and getting back to doing what we do well. What we need to understand is that the pitches are changing now so some of the type of football we played early in the season is difficult on difficult pitches and we’ll need to look at different ways in which to play – starting first and foremost by making sure we compete.”

For Wednesday’s short journey to face Heaton Stannington (7.30pm kick-off), Skinner said he will need to check on his trio of injured strikers – Maguire, Mason and Harmison – before naming his line up.

By Brian Bennett

Ashington FC midfielder Liam Smith reckons there is more to come from the Colliers – even though the Woodhorn Lane side have won their last five matches in the Ebac Northern League and sit third from top of the first division table.

South Shields-born Smith scored his second goal of the season in Saturday’s 3-2 victory over West Allotment Celtic and is happy on several fronts: “Obviously it’s been a while since I played a consistent amount of matches so I’m still not at my peak,” he said, “but I’m getting nearer and nearer with every game and as a team we haven’t dropped any points over the last five games so that’s the main thing.”

Ironically, Smith opened his account after being on target in the 3-1 away win against West Allotment Celtic in the Techflow Northumberland Senior Cup – but Saturday’s effort which put the Colliers into a 2-0 lead – was a venomous left footer from the edge of the area: “I just wanted to make good contact with the ball,” he said, “It was pretty much straight at the ‘keeper but it (the ball) went through a few players so I think it caught him by surprise. Nevertheless I was delighted when it hit the back of the net.”

The 27 year old – a strength and conditioning coach – who signed for Ashington in mid August added: “I’ve settled in and I’m enjoying it. Everything is good – the group of lads, the coaching staff and the fans so I’m happy. I don’t feel we are playing great at the minute but we are still winning and that’s the sign of a good team. Eventually I think things will all come together – where we are playing well and picking up the points.”

By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington FC skipper Ben Harmison blasted home a 96^th minute penalty which secured a 3-2 victory for the Colliers over West Allotment Celtic at Woodhorn Lane on Saturday.

And afterwards, Harmison admitted that his side – 2-0 up at the break – had not fired on all cylinders: “I thought overall that we deserved to win – but we made it hard for ourselves second half,” he said, “We got really complacent and stopped trying to score goals. We needed to get that third (goal) because all of a sudden if it (the game) goes to 2-1 there’s a bit of pressure on you – and that’s what happened. They then got the equaliser and the game was so open it was anyone’s for the taking.”

Harmison elaborated on the move which led to the high drama – with the third penalty of the game being awarded in the dying seconds of the game: “I put a diagonal ball through for Dan Maguire and he’s ended up getting a penalty which I put away,” he added.

Harmison believed he was playing in the back four – until a late change of plan: “I thought I was playing centre half today but the manager tweaked things and with the conditions, he wanted to play me up front just to give us a bit of an out ball,” he said, “I was comfortable taking the two penalties and I was just happy they went in to be fair. Even though we were poor for half an hour in the second half it shows the character of the team because we kept going and kept putting balls into the box at the end. We needed that bit of luck and we managed to get three good points.”

Ashington start a run of six consecutive away games when they go to Sunderland RCA on Saturday (November 26) and Harmison said: “Naturally, it helps playing at home with the big crowds but we’re looking to it and hopefully the fans will travel to support us. We had a couple of players missing today but we’ll have a couple back for Saturday and we’ll continue to take it game by game.”

Manager Ian Skinner hailed the versatility of Harmison: “I think with Ben it’s fantastic to have somebody like him who can do a brilliant job at both ends of the pitch. Last season we really bore the benefits of him as a centre half but I think this term – and certainly in this run of five straight wins – we are seeing the benefits of him as a centre forward in terms of him occupying defenders; always keeping the opposition on their toes and allowing us to mix our play up.”

He continued: “With Ryan McKinnon unavailable, the easy option today (against West Allotment Celtic) would have been to play Ben at the back. The pitch was going to cut up and be difficult to play on and would be heavy underfoot and we wanted to leave him (Ben) up top. We asked one or two others to play in slightly different positions – credit to them – and we got our just desserts. Ben scored with two penalties after creating them both so fair play to him and he is now the top goal scorer at the club. The irony is that when we asked Ben last season, he said he preferred playing at centre back – but I wonder what his answer will be now!”