Ashington AFC (A) – Match Preview

It's been a long time since I last wrote one of these match previews, and it has been along time since the Steelmen have been in action too

Our last league match was that 6-2 thumping against Newton Aycliffe, and since then we have had nothing. Many near matches that have been postponed on the day, and one that got halted before matchday had even arrived

Fixtures against Grangetown, Grimsby Borough, Blyth Spartans and Matlock have all fallen foul of British weather this month, and it means we now have a very clogged calendar, with the first rearrangement being on the 25th, where we will head down to Grimsby.

Somehow, despite our lack of matches, Adam Boyes still sits at the top of the Step 4 goalscorer table, and we are still on track to be the first side in Step 4 to reach 100 league goals (would be across Englandb but Cobham FC in Step 5 have beaten us to it (and in some style too, winning their match 12-1)

Other than this Ashington match, and the rearranged one vs Grimsby, our last February fixture sees us host Brighouse on the 28th, before a very entertaining March comes into play.

We will be looking for revenge against Bishop Auckland, looking to add more against Ossett and Lincoln United, and clearing up the other postponements as we tick off Heaton Stannington, Blyth Spartans, Grangetown, and then the blockbuster clash of us vs Matlock, which takes place on the 25th.

We are still 7 points clear of 2nd place, though, and with 2 games in hand to go along with it, which does put us in a really good spot.

An absolute gulf in GD, too, means Matlock needs not only to reach our points tally but somehow to make up a 36-goal disparity.

New signing Danny Rowe means we are strengthening this squad even more, and from Spennymoor’s Facebook comments, he is a great acquisition for us, and he should make this great squad even greater.

As for Ashington, they have had one game in February, and it was a shock result too, as the Colliers beat North Ferriby 2-0 on Valentine’s Day.

That was their first win in 5, though, as Ashington had lost 4 on the bounce, including two separate matches where they shipped 4, losing 4-1 to Silsden and 4-0 to Bradford Park Avenue.

Josh Gilchrist is currently the side’s top scorer, with 8 goals to his name this season, which puts him level with our 5th highest goalscorer, Curtis Round.

An away game for us means we could be seeing Brad Fewster score some more, with his 13 away goals putting him 4 clear of 2nd place…which just so happens to be Adam Boyes.

The dismissal of Nick Gray means Ashington are still working with an interim boss, with Marc Ellison and Karl Ross currently at the helm, but hopefully, their 100% winning run comes to an end tomorrow afternoon.

Who knows what will happen, though. It has truly been a while since we last played a match.

All I can say is, hopefully we see you there tomorrow, and hopefully the match is on!

If you’re unable to make it, then there will be live updates on our X page.

But as always, take care, and up the Steelmen!