Monday, 16 February 2026

ASHINGTON AFC

16th February 1929

Mention Ashington to any football follower and the chances are they will have heard of the birthplace of 1966 World Cup winning brothers, Bobby and Jackie Charlton YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT.......... and Jackie Milburn, a legend at Newcastle United, also played for the town’s team, known unsurprisingly as the Colliers. I hope these names are familiar with you!

Ashington AFC was formed in 1883, making it one of the oldest Clubs in Northumberland. Despite its minor status it entered the FA Cup as early as 1887. After joining the Northern Alliance in 1892, the club soon switched to the East Northumberland League where it remained until 1902 when it returned to the Northern Alliance. The Colliers played in this league until 1914, winning the League Title in 1913/14, as well as the Northumberland Challenge Bowl in 1913. They switched to the North Eastern League in 1914/15, finishing the season in ninth place. The outbreak of World War One brought an end to the League.

Ashington spent 8 seasons in the Football League in the 1920s, their last season being 1928/29. They finished bottom of the Third Division (North) that season conceding 115 goals with their worst defeat being 8-2 at home to eventual champions Bradford City. 
On this day in 1929 Ashington suffered another major defeat at their Portland Park ground that season, 4-7 against Doncaster Rovers with Tom Keetley scoring 6 of the Doncaster goals. That was – and still is – the record goals scored by a Doncaster player in a League match while the 180 League goals he scored in his Doncaster career also remains a Rovers record. 
Amazingly Tom was one of six Keetley brothers who played in the Football League including four – Tom plus Harry, Joe and Frank – who turned out for Doncaster Rovers.
Ashington failed to gain re-election at the end of the 1928/29 season, their place being taken by York City of the Midland League.

Unfortunately, a difficult few seasons followed both on and off the pitch. A few close scrapes with relegation saw the club frequently changing managers and with increasing uncertainty surrounding the clubs Portland Park ground, Ashington FC made the worst start to a season in the club’s history in 2007/8 which saw only one point gained from the first ten matches. In came manager Andy Gowens, a former Ashington player, who worked wonders in keeping the Colliers in the Northern League First Division. On Friday 15th February 2008 Ashington played their final game at Portland Park against Seaham Red Star. A bumper crowd of 1,954 – the biggest attendance at a Northern League game in over 25 years – saw Seaham spoil the party with a 3-2 win.


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