Ashington (Home): Northern League Division 1: Saturday 5th November 2011

Result: Marske United 1 Ashington 2     Scorers Brunskill (pen)

Manager Paul Burton welcomed back Glenn Wesson who had missed the last few games through work commitments but was missing Adam Wheatley following his injury in the North Riding cup game against Richmond Town.

Marske started strongly and forced a couple of early corners but the first chance fell to Ashington on seven minutes but Damen Mullen missed his kick following a cross from the right.  Marske’s first real chance was on 19 minutes when a poor forward ball from Lee Donachie was retrieved by Danny Brunskill who advanced goalwards and shot just wide from 20 yards.  A minute later Brunskill came even closer to scoring when he crashed a shot against the bar from 25 yards which then hit the keeper but failed to go in.

The game was end to end and shortly after Mark O’Dea broke from midfield but his long range shot sailed over Graeme Willey’s goal.  

Marske should have taken the lead on 33 minutes. From a Charlton free kick on the left, the ball fell to Brunskill six yards out but his shot was saved by Karl Dryden.

A minute before half time, Marske were awarded a penalty in controversial circumstances.  From a superb pass from Brunskill which split the Ashington defence, Charlton advanced goalwards and was brought down by keeper Dryden.  The contact appeared to be outside the box but the referee pointed to the spot.  After the complaints from Ashington had died down, Brunskill kept his calm to send Dryden the wrong way from the spot.

The final chance of the half fell to Ashington but Jamie Clarke headed over from 10 yards.

Half-time: Marske 1 v 0 Ashington

At the start of the second half, Derek Bradley replaced Glenn Wesson who had looked like he was struggling with injury.  Ashington started the second half purposefully and it took them only nine minutes to equalise as Clarke headed home from a right wing cross from James Taylor that the Marske defence didn’t do enough to prevent.

It could have been even worse after 56 minutes when Craig Scott hit the post after a superb run. Ashington continued to dominate and from a Marske free kick they broke and Andy Johnson shot straight at Willey.  Marske weren’t seeing enough of the ball and in a rare attacked Brunskill had a shot that was deflected but saved easily by Dryden.  Play switched to the other end and Ashington very nearly took the lead.  After a 2 on 1 on the right, Andy Raw was unable to prevent the ball falling to Johnson who hit the bar with a shot from the edge of the area.

On 66 minutes, Ashington took the lead which their domination of the second half deserved.  Bradley was unable to win the ball on the left and Scott advanced and crossed for Johnson to head past Willey.

Burton responded by taking off Charlton and replacing him with Benn Thompson.  However, Marske were unable to retain possession for long enough to create any chances and Ashington looked the most likely to increase their lead.  Clarke flicked the ball just wide after a cross from Scott who has having an excellent game at left back. With eight minutes to go, a last throw of the dice from Burton led to Jon Burton being replaced by Rob Jones meaning Marske had four forwards on the pitch.  Ashington responded by taking of Clarke and replacing him with Chris Fawcett.

Marske were still unable to create any chances and suffered a blow when Chris McGill went down and had to leave the field of play meaning that Marske had to play the last few minutes with ten men.

In injury time, Marske had one last opportunity when good play on the right by Jones and Donachie led to Donachie advancing into the box but his cross sailed harmlessly over the bar.

Full Time: Marske 1 Ashington 2

This was the proverbial game of two halves. Marske were excellent in the first half and the performance was as good as any this season. With a little more luck they could have been a couple of goals ahead at half time. However, Ashington dominated the second half with Marske creating virtually nothing and their second half performance probably merited the 3 points.

Teams:

Marske United: Willey, Donachie, Raw, Burton (Jones), Carling, Taylor, Wesson (Bradley), Gell, Brunskill, McGill, Charlton (Thompson).

Not Used: Ormerod, Roberts

Ashington: Dryden, Taylor (Buzzard), Scott, Dugdale, Atkin, Grieve, Johnson, O’Dea, Clarke (Fawcett), Godsmark, Mullen.

Not Used: Rees, Deagle, Hogg

Match Sponsors M/O/M:  Danny Brunskill