Match Report

By Brian Bennett

Ashington marched through to the semi finals of the Newcastle Flooring Northumberland Senior Cup after a deserved 3-1 victory over Newcastle Blue Star at Woodhorn Lane on Tuesday night.

First half goals from skipper Wilson Kneeshaw and Craig Spooner put the Colliers on track and although Sean Reid reduced the arrears on the hour with a penalty, a third goal near the end from substitute Michael Ndiweni sealed the result for the Wansbeck outfit.

The game was played at a fast tempo throughout and both teams were rightly applauded off the field after the final whistle by the 267 supporters who watched proceedings on a bitterly cold evening coupled with snow laden conditions during the second half.

Ashington went into the clash on the back of a 2-0 home defeat against league leaders Cleethorpes Town at the weekend whilst their opponents – who sit fourth from top of the first division of the Ebac Northern League – enjoyed a 3-1 success over West Auckland last Friday.

The home side were quickly out of the traps and showed no hangover – and after squandering a couple of chances, they went ahead on the quarter hour mark.

In the third minute, Paddy Almond ventured forward on a 50 yards run which took him inside the visitors penalty area where he was blocked out and when the ball ran to Ben Sampson, his tame effort was taken by ‘keeper Dan Lister.

Minutes later, Ashington drove forward again and Spooner had a shot which was pushed out by Lister.

However for Ashington fans, the opener from Kneeshaw was worth the admission money alone.

It was slick one touch football and when Josh Gilchrist slotted the ball through which released Kneeshaw in the clear, the skipper advanced before burying a right footer wide of Lister and into the net.

The Woodhorn Lane outfit continued to dominate the clash and after Spooner had fired narrowly over from 20 yards, another great opening was spurned in the 25th minute.

Again the interchange of passes was swift involving Bailey Geliher and Gilchrist but Sampson’s effort was blocked.

Ex Collier Max Emmerson and Nathan Kidd featured for Blue Star who regularly found the latter out wide to prompt their moves down the right flank but it was Dan Lanning who tested home stopper Dan Staples just past the half hour with a shot from distance which the ‘keeper pushed around to his left.

However seven minutes before the break, Ashington doubled their lead when Gilchrist rolled the ball wide into the path of Spooner who fired across Lister and inside the far corner.

As the snow began to fall in the second half, Sean Reid was wide of the mark following a free-kick – but the visiting skipper got his side back into the game in the 62nd minute.
Kidd was upended in the box by Staples and after referee Elliot Cowens had awarded a penalty, Reid sent the ‘keeper the wrong way from the spot.

Geliher was not far away with an effort from the edge of the area which was deflected behind whilst at the other end, a cross by Lanning flashed across the face of goal.

As the snow got heavier, their was also a flurry of yellow cards before Gilchrist set up substitute Karl Ross whose shot struck a Blue Star player to go for a flag kick.

However in the 87th minute, Ashington booked their passage into the last four of the competition when substitutes Cam Gascoigne and Michael Ndiweni combined to add a third.

Gilchrist was again involved as he teed the ball up for Gascoigne to fire goalwards from 20 yards with Ndiweni getting the final touch as the ball flew inside the post.