The Robins were left frustrated after they were forced to settle for a point with Ashington at a windy Daren Persson Stadium
Both teams entered the half time break level, with Gary Ormston’s header being cleared off the line early on.
Ashington almost break the deadlock midway through the second period through Brandon Slater’s well struck effort.
Colliers ‘keeper Adam McHugh was lucky to stay on the pitch late on when he brought down Callum Smith just outside the box.
But despite a number of chances late on for the hosts, they were unable to break the visiting defence.
The visitors had the first real chance of note in the sixth minute when Dominic Price’s bending strike curled just the wrong side of the upright.
Straight up the other end, the Robins thought they should have been awarded a penalty when Max Emmerson brought Kyle Patton down, only for the referee to waive the claims away.
In the 12th minute, Paul Van-Zandvliet almost beat the ‘keeper to a brilliant Paul New through ball, but McHugh was able to smother the ball at the midfielder’s feet.
The Robins were piling on the pressure and in the 16th minute, a long-range effort from Gary Ormston was drilled inches over the crossbar.
And they really should have taken the lead in the 28th minute, only for McHugh to make a fantastic reaction save to claw Ormston’s header off the line.
It seemed like it would be a matter of time before Shields took the lead and in the 37th minute, they almost had it when Van-Zandvliet’s through ball fed Callum Smith, who raced through on goal but fired with shot wide from the angle.
Despite being under the cosh for most of the half, Ashington almost snatched the lead on the stroke of half time, when his corner kick got caught in the air and came crashing down on top of the crossbar.
It was a quiet start to the second half for both sides, with neither team really threatening to break the deadlock.
However, in the 57th minute, the Colliers were appealing for a penalty when Brandon Slater went down in the box after a New challenge. They were left disappointed when referee Derric Wade quickly waived their claims away.
Ashington had their tails up now and only a few moments later, a powerful shot from Slater was blocked by a lunging challenge from Nick Cassidy.
As time was running out in the game, the Robins were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead when a Adam Forster pass released Smith on goal.
With the ‘keeper the last man, Smith was brought down by the Ashington shot-stopper as he tried to round him. To the bemusement of the home supporters, the referee neither played advantage (with Bainbridge tapping the ball home) or sent the keeper off; electing to give him a yellow instead.
The resulting freekick, taken by substitute Gareth Bainbridge, skipped narrowly wide of the right-hand post.
With the game coming to a close, the Robins had two glorious chances to claim a well-deserved win, however, both shots, which were across the face of goal, weren’t converted by the man at the far post.
Final Score: North Shields 0 Ashington 0
Referee: Derric Wade
Attendance: 304
North Shields Starting XI: Greg Purvis, Nick Cassidy, Chris McDonald, Gary Ormston, Paul New, Rhys Williams, Paul Van-Zandvliet (Cam Cunningham 62), Adam Forster (c), Kyle Patton (Gareth Bainbridge 56), Paul Robinson (Craig Spooner 62), Callum Smith
Yellow Cards: Nick Cassidy
Unused Substitutes: Connor Campbell, Wayne Buchanan
Ashington Starting XI: Adam McHugh, Thomas Kalthoeber, Ben Gaffney, David Luke, Curtis Coppen (c), Thomas Bramley, Callum Johnston, Max Emmerson, Dan Taggart (Lee Scott 77), Dominic Price (Owen Gourley 89), Brandon Slater
Yellow Cards: Curtis Coppen, Adam McHugh
Unused Substitutes: David Edwards, Danny Anderson, Ben Sampson
