Interview taken from HeedLines issue 293, produced for the fixture against Tamworth on Friday, October 23rd.
Gateshead now have an international goalscorer in the ranks in Ash Boatswain.
The forward was absent from The Heed’s squad for two weeks from late September to early October, having been called up to the Montserrat national team for their four CONCACAF Nations League C fixtures.
Boatswain and The Emerald Boys played four games in the early-season international break, facing Turks & Caicos Islands and British Virgin Islands twice each in their efforts to return to Nations League B.
Those games saw the 21-year-old take his international caps to double figures, having been first called up to the international stage back in September 2024 as a 19-year-old.
Though Ash hails from Colchester, his roots lie in Montserrat as the birthplace of his grandmother and grandfather on the side of his father, Neil.
Now, Boatswain admits he couldn’t imagine not wearing an Emerald Boys shirt, but that wasn’t always the case.
“I first heard about it when I was 16 or 17,” he said.
“There are actually some lads in the Montserrat squad who didn’t know they could play for them when they were younger, but I always knew about my heritage, my parents made sure I knew about it.
“It got mentioned to me at 16 or 17 [playing for Montserrat] and I actually didn’t want to do it because I thought I was too young, I wasn’t aware of everything about it so I was a bit sceptical.
“When I think about, back then I was probably a bit worried about going over for the first time because you’re meeting a whole bunch of new people, but everyone is so close there, it’s such a good environment to be in.
“I love going to Montserrat – I’ll probably be going until I can’t play anymore!”
His recent international call up has been the most successful so far, from both a personal and a collective point of view.
Montserrat won all four of their fixtures to top Nations League C and return to Nations League B in the process, as well as setting up a two-legged play-in tie against Nicaragua next month, the winner of which progresses to CONCACAF Gold Cup prelims.
Boatswain scored three goals across those four games and played all but one minute for his country – the kind of experience that you scarcely find in a 21-year-old player.
“It was expected that we’d smash the group,” he said.
“No disrespect, but if we didn’t win League C by a big margin then we would have all been extremely disappointed.
“For the next set of Nations League games we’re in League B, and then if we top that group we’d go into League A and then you’re playing against Premier League players for countries like Honduras and Jamaica.
“Those countries have top level players and you’re playing in front of 20,000 to 50,000 fans per game.
“Because we finished top we’re playing Nicaragua in a two-legged tie, one game is in Nicaragua and the other is in the Dominican Republic.
“Even for that game, I reckon they’ll bring 20,000 fans, and they’re mental with flares everywhere.
“Those are the sort of things I would never have experienced if I didn’t play for Montserrat, the places I’ve been are amazing.”
Personally, the Montserrat camp has been beneficial for Boatswain not just in terms of the goals he scored on international duty, but also the mentorship he finds with the Emerald Boys.
Fellow striker Lyle Taylor is one of those mentors, having played at every level from the Championship down to the National League South, where he now plays for Chelmsford City.
“He’s like the perfect role model I could have there,” said Boatswain.
“He has his own play style, but we both obviously have big frames, so he teaches me how to use my body and how to get in certain positions – he’s a good mentor.
“Personally, [the last international camp] was unreal. We had new management staff and we’ve got new Spanish coaching staff, so they’re really demanding and it’s made it much more professional for everyone.
“Everyone tries to make you better at Montserrat. There are quite a few senior lads there who have played at good levels, and they always try to push you on, but everyone is so close.
“We speak day to day on WhatsApp groups and stuff, and when you go out there it’s a really positive environment.”
Now back in Gateshead, Boatswain is very much back in the thick of things in black and white.
He returned in the National League Cup last Tuesday night, and played just over an hour before last Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup fourth round qualifying tie against Stafford Rangers (after the time of this interview).
Those goals for his country can only help his confidence in helping Gateshead out of a difficult situation in the National League, with tonight’s game against Tamworth the perfect opportunity to kick start a revival.
“It’s just about confidence,” said Boatswain.
“Obviously it hasn’t been great for goals for the team this season, so when I got the goals with Montserrat it felt like I was getting back into the flow of things, and now I can try to translate that into these games.
“I think it’s going to be a massive help – I kind of needed it.
“From the outside, I can see how the table looks and what people are hearing about the club, but personally I don’t have any doubts about the team.
“I know the quality we’ve got and the team we’ve got, and I don’t think this bad run will last too much longer.
“There’s too much quality in the team for us to be in this position, so I’ve got excitement to get us out of it, start enjoying it game by game, and being confident.”
