Poke

Ashington  0  Consett  2

Northern Premier League – Division One East

Admission / Programme - £9 / £1.50

It’s a right old poke to Ashington.

So on that basis, my plan of action was an August Bank Holiday Monday, you know, when it’s all nice and quiet on the roads!

To be honest, right up until the Bank Holiday weekend I was in two minds whether to make the marathon journey on the Monday, but then I cast my mind back to previous years when places like Worthing, Dulwich Hamlet and Needham Market have been destinations of choice, and other than being ran into by a lorry on the way back from Dulwich, they’ve all been largely ok trips.

The Northern League once again provides two new clubs to the Northern Premier League, Newton Aycliffe were the champions and readers will recall I started the current season with a Tuesday night trip to the said County Durham venue. Ashington though gained promotion via the now defunct Inter-Step Play-Off, which in itself was slightly controversial as they only found out a couple of days before the game, that their opponents would be Glossop North End, and that of course would be an away trip.

Let’s not make any bones about it, as much as Ashington is a long journey, and for clubs in the First Division East like Belper Town, Carlton Town and Grantham Town, it’s definitely two toilet stops venture, this is a famous and proud old club that absolutely should be plying it’s craft in the upper echelons of football.

Historically, they were once a Football League club, joining the Third Division North in 1921-22 season, before missing out on re-election at the start of the 1928-29 season when York City beat them by 28 to 14 votes. During this period they had their best FA Cup run, losing to Nottingham Forest in the Third Round by two goals to nil, and, to this date, they remain the most Northerly club to play in the Football League!

They played in various leagues in the North East until 1968 when the Northern Premier League was formed, whereby Ashington were elected as founder members alongside the likes of Wigan Athletic, Macclesfield Town, Morecambe, Fleetwood, Boston United and Scarboroough, all clubs who at some stage went on to become members of the Football League themselves. A third from bottom finish saw them relegated, and by 1970 they were in the Northern League, where they remained until the end of last season.

The Northern League years saw a couple of Second Division championships won, but in terms of threatening at the top of the First Division, it was only really last season that they shone, and, after an absence of over fifty years, they are once again back in the Northern Premier League.

Now then, I remember a few years back, 2008 to be precise, when Ashington left their famous old ground, Portland Park. An iconic town centre ground, which of course once hosted professional football and saw a record crowd of 13,199 watch an FA Cup tie against Rochdale, it suddenly saw a pilgrimage of ground enthusiasts visiting it before it was too late to do so, the final game being against Seaham Red Star in the February of 2008 with close on 2,000 watching the game.

The new ground was opened in the August of that year with an FA Cup tie against Ossett Albion, 341 watched that, it seems saying goodbye is much more popular than saying hello!

So, how did the day go then?

Well, the journey up was quite a pleasant one, albeit the traffic did get a bit sticky around when the M1 and the A1 merged East of Leeds. The A19 took me up past Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Sunderland and then of course through the Tyne Tunnel, with North Shields, Newbiggin and Blyth to the East, before Ashington appears after a series of roundabouts. Parked up just after 1.30, it took me the best part of three hours, and to be honest, I’ve sat for longer waiting to get off the M1 at Alfreton before, so no complaints from me.

What’s the ground like then? Well, it’s tidy, with the focal point being the main stand / club building which is built on two levels with the smart bar area at the top, looking out over the pitch. As you walk up the stairs, on the wall is a large photograph of the Charlton brothers (who were born in Ashington) and ‘Wor’ Jackie Milburn, who is also a son of the town. The rake of the seating and the fact the seats are effectively at second floor level means the view of the action is a very good one, and on the day a crowd of just shy of 700 rocked up to watch the game.

Opposite the main stand is an Atcost style structure that runs virtually the length of the far side, with a seating section in the middle and terracing at either end. It is open flat standing behind both goals. The bar service was very quick, and inexpensive, while the more substantial food items could be had from a van behind the goal.

Game wise, well to be fair Consett won it 2-0 and it would be hard to find anyone in the ground who could argue it wasn’t the right outcome, not strictly based on the balance of play, but more so on their effectiveness. Ashington had plenty of possession but lacked a cutting edge, and when they did get into good positions, the Consett defence was very well organised and dealt with any problems. The visitors on the other hand took the lead in the ninth minute through Will Shaw, while Scott Fenwick grabbed the second ten minutes into the second half.

An enjoyable afternoon, and even the journey back was trouble free, albeit this time my technology took me out past South Shields and Hebburn to the A1 at Washington, before heading South.

It might be a right poke, but it’s an enjoyable poke, and pokes of that nature are few and far between!