A ‘different way of winning’ for Ashington

The Colliers bagged all three points after a flash of brilliance from striker Dan Maguire had seen him net the only goal of the game just past the midway point of the first half.

Skinner said: “It’s going to be difficult for our players to recreate some of the football which they played earlier in the season because pitches – including our own - are changing due to the weather.

"I think the positive from today is that we probably found a different way of winning. It’s not a way that Ashington are accustomed too having to work hard for it and also work hard for the chances.

"Albeit we had a lot of possession and we probably had three or four clear cut opportunities throughout the game but only managed to take one of them.”

He continued: “After we took the lead, they (Northallerton) are going to try and keep it a 1-0 then for the last 15 minutes ‘have a go.’ That’s how the game panned out really and fair play to them as they threw bodies forward a little bit more.

"However I thought we showed some resilience which we’ve done throughout the season in terms of wanting to keep clean sheets and wanting to defend and it isn’t something you could always say about us - certainly last season.”

The boss described Maguire’s goal as ‘brilliant’: “Dan (Maguire) had already struck a fantastic effort which hit the bar but he’s got this uncanny knack of sitting defenders down and then rolling the ball into the corner which he did again today,” he said.

“It was a brilliant finish. However Dan should have scored another in the first half - and he knows this himself – when he’s blazed over.”

Skinner went on: “Second half, Ben Harmison has had a very, very good chance which he’s fired over so on another day it could have been 4-0 – and I don’t think our goalkeeper Karl Dryden has had to make a save.

"They (Northallerton) haven’t really had an effort on target and any half chance they fashioned, a lot of it came from us with unforced errors. It’s not a game which I’ll watch back too many times.

"All in all it was not the prettiest game of football but that’s going to happen now as we get into winter pitches but to win 1-0 away from home and take all three points is all anybody could ask for.”

Skipper Ben Harmison admitted that the Colliers had to dig deep before collecting all three points.

“That’s now four league wins on the bounce,” he said. "We had a long travel down and Northallerton played well and made it really hard for us today.

"We had to grind it out and although we were a bit sloppy, we didn’t really look like conceding.

"When it gets to this time of the year when pitches cut up, I’d quite happily not play very well but get three points.”

For Saturday’s home clash against West Allotment Celtic (November 19), strikers Lee Mason and Dan Maguire plus defenders Andrew Cartwright and Darren Lough all face fitness tests.