West Auckland Town travel up to Northumberland to face fellow step 4 side Ashington AFC in their maiden voyage of the FA Trophy.
Ashington sit sixteenth in the league on three points after three games and crashed out of the FA Cup to Northern League side Thornaby on Saturday, however they will be looking to make their mark in the FA Trophy this weekend against a West Auckland side that have just come off the back of an impressive 3-0 home win over Silsden.
Established in 1883, The Colliers have a rich history in Northumberland winning the county cup ten times with multiple honours dotted around their 143 year history.
Manager Mark Ellison has been in charge of the first team since January 2026 at first on an interim basis and then subsequently promoted to the full time position in April 2026, he guided Ashington to a comfortable 14th placed finish in 25-26.
Under Ellison, Ashington AFC aim to play a braver, composed, and free-flowing brand of possession football that imposes their style on opponents. Ellison explicitly avoids relying on direct long-ball tactics, preferring short to mid-range construction unless forced by defensive pressure.
Key Tactical Features in Possession
Controlled Build-Up: Ellison demands that his players remain calm and technically secure in possession to dictate tempo, relieve pressure, and find attacking avenues from the back.
Discouraging Pre-Mature Long Balls: Ellison has actively criticized his team when they resort to going long far too early.
He believes direct, direct long passes split the team apart, causing gaps between the playing units to become too wide and turning over possession cheaply.
Fluidity and Urgency in the Final Third: The tactical template favors short, high-tempo combinations in the attacking zones.
Ellison encourages his attackers to play with high collective urgency, looking to cause structural problems for opposing defensive lines rather than just going through the motions.
Exploiting Targeted Spaces: During preseason tactical iterations, Ellison implemented dynamic formations designed to help players identify and exploit specific vulnerable areas in the opponent’s defensive setup.
1. Spatial Structure: The Danger of “Going Long”
Ellison’s biggest tactical critique when his team loses discipline is a premature shift to long balls. He heavily emphasizes maintaining tight structural distances between his playing units.
The Long Ball Consequence: When Ashington begins bypass-play (e.g., launching direct balls up to forward Liam “Hendo” Henderson too early), Ellison points out that the vertical gaps between the defense, midfield, and attack stretch too wide.
The Turnover Loop: These wide gaps prevent midfielders from picking up second balls. As a result, possession is lost quickly and the ball immediately “keeps coming back” under defensive pressure.
2. Tactical Bravery Under Pressure
A core pillar of Ellison’s system is using possession not just to attack, but as a defensive mechanism.
Relieving Pressure: Instead of clearing the ball frantically under high presses, players are instructed to be “braver in possession”. Passing out from tight spaces is designed to force the opposing press to overcommit, creating vertical passing lanes.
Imposing Style: Keeping the ball on the deck is intended to take psychological control of the match, moving the opponent side-to-side and dictating the tempo rather than reacting to the opposition’s physicality.
3. Earning the Right to Play
Ellison balances his aesthetic passing philosophy with pragmatic non-league realism. He teaches his squad that beautiful possession football is a reward that must be won through hard work.
His tactical mantra dictates that Ashington must first “put a shift in” defensively and outwork the opponent physically.Once the team matches the opponent’s work rate and breaks their initial physical intensity, they “earn the right” to settle down, spread the pitch, and play fluidly.
4. Recent Tactical Context (August 2026)
Ashington’s early 2026/27 campaign shows a team still working to perfect this identity over a full 90 minutes, often executing it brilliantly in spells before reverting to old habits:
The Dunston UTS Draw (1-1): Ashington executed the game plan well to take the lead through Liam Henderson, but under late pressure, they began going direct too early, lost midfield cohesion, and conceded a 90th-minute equalizer.
The FA Cup Exit vs. Thornaby (3-2): Ellison noted that his side looked “really comfortable” in the first half when possession was controlled, but unraveled later due to disjointed spells and external frustrations.
The Morpeth Town Draw (1-1): In local derbies, Ellison’s side has relied on defensive resilience (such as Paddy Almond’s equalizer against Morpeth) to anchor the team when possession flow breaks down.
Out of possession, the manager demands a high-work-rate, organized defensive framework that prioritizes compact structures and matching the opponent’s physical output before looking to regain control. He structures the team to protect the center of the pitch, though late-game fatigue remains a work-in-progress challenge.
Key Tactical Features in Possession
Ashington AFC Summary:
1. Defensive Foundations: Players are expected to maintain heavy physical intensity, win individual duels, and match the opponent’s work rate.
When players fail to work hard out of possession, Ellison has explicitly noted that opponents are able to “break on us too easily,” leading to defensive vulnerability.
2. Tactical Compactness
Because his in-possession style requires tight distances between lines, his out-of-possession setup mirrors this by staying compact to restrict space.
Midfield Organization: Midfielders are instructed to squeeze the middle of the park to block central passing lanes.
Limiting Gaps: The defensive units compress forward to ensure the gap between the backline and midfield doesn’t stretch, preventing opponents from picking up easy second balls.
3. Vulnerabilities & Transitional Lapses
While the structure is organized when fully set, Ellison’s side has faced recurring issues out of possession during specific moments of matches:
In-Game Adjustments: If the out-of-possession plan breaks down in the first half, Ellison is quick to adjust at halftime—often demanding an immediate increase in defensive urgency to stop the opposition from dictating the tempo.
The biggest current tactical challenge for Ellison out of possession is maintaining focus in the game’s final 10 minutes.
Aforementioned late results like the 1-1 draw against Dunston UTS and the 2-2 draw with Stocksbridge Park Steels, fatigue or late-game stress often causes his backline to sink too deep into their own box.
This regression allows opponents to push extra bodies into the final third, isolate defenders, and steal late equalizers when the team fails to aggressively push their lines forward.
Can West Auckland register back to back wins or can Ashington get on track with their first win of the season? Find out this Saturday as the two sides lock horns for the first time in two years.
Words by Lewis’ Football Media.
