Atherton Collieries progressed in the Emirates FA Cup with an ultimately comfortable 3-0 showing against Irlam.
The visitors had a golden opportunity to take the lead after fifteen minutes, firing high and wide under severe pressure from Colls stopper Harvey Bardsley. Vociferous penalty shouts from the follow-through were waved away.
The Collieries capitalised seconds later, Liam Sheppard pegged down the wing before playing a low cross through a crowded penalty box for Kielen Adams to convert diligently. The remainder of the stanza saw the sides continue to play football ‘the right way’, but they basically cancelled each other out.
Danny Lafferty’s Stripes upped the ante after the half-time debrief and strike duo Sheppard and Adams had quickfire chances repelled in the penalty box.
However the home side weren’t to be denied and when Sheppard laid the ball off, Freddie Gordon did the rest. The young gun cut through the Irlam rearguard before powering home. A quality first Colls goal for the ex-Morecambe player.
Moments later it was three. Adams edge of the box sortie looped beyond ex Colls Mon Jack Buckley and nestled snuggly into the bottom corner.
Further chances came and went for the Stripes strike duo, before Freddie Gordon eventually doubled the lead, receiving the ball from Sheppard with a tidy piece of skill before powering home.
Kielen Adams notched again for Colls third, finding the bottom corner with a speculative looped effort from range, beating former Colls stopper Jack Buckley. This was perhaps Kielen’s best ever performance in a Colls jersey.
Buckley made a couple of good saves to keep Sheppard off the scoresheet as the home side finished the game strongly.
A satisfying Collieries display, it’s now all eyes on the draw for the next round which will be played on Saturday 5 September.
On Tuesday, Padiham visit the Dreams2Reality for a Northern Premier League West encounter. This is final instalment of an exhausting 5-games in a fortnight home residency, ko 7.45pm.
