Tomorrow Whitley head north for the only time this season when they take on Ashington with Nathan Haslam looking to continue his unbeaten start as manager. Following a creditable draw at Shildon last Saturday, the new boss saw his side pick up a well deserved victory over Whickham on Tuesday evening, a result that saw Whitley leapfrog the Colliers in the lower half of the table. Speaking after the midweek game, Haslam said that despite the victory, he was not expecting to name an unchanged side at Woodhorn Lane. “It’s getting towards the end of the season and I want to see all the lads play, so I’ll be making a couple of changes, nothing wholesale to disrupt the shape or set up. Lewis Walton could potentially be involved but what’s most important is that he has time to recover from the cuts on his face, so it might be better to give him a bit more time off. We’ll be looking for three points, as we do in every game, but it’ll be a tough one. There are no easy games in this league.”
For two Bay players, this game will have added significance as they are ex-Colliers and will be facing their former club. Luke Salmon, who has scored three goals in the last two games will doubtless be hoping to maintain his rich vein of form while Ben Christensen could return to the starting eleven after recovering from injury.
When the sides met at Hillheads in October, Kieran Brannen scored the Bay goal in a 1-1 draw. Ashington have a good record against Whitley in recent seasons but have been struggling since the turn of the year and will be seeing this game as an opportunity to put their current poor form behind them.
With a forecast of bad weather, fans are advised to check the website and social media for any updates before travelling to the game.
