FA Trophy dreams came to an end for Colls with defeat at Barrow, but it wasn’t for the want of trying after an admirable performance against the National League leaders. On a typically blustery evening on the Furness peninsula, the drama began well before kick off when a minibus breakdown saw a horde of Colls fans left stranded on the M6. Salvation arrived in the form of a JR’s Taxis minibus, allowing them to join the rest of the windswept away contingent 20 minutes in to the first half.
In the time ahead of their arrival, they missed Tom Bentham force a smart save low down from home goalkeeper Luke Simpson, before Paddy Wharton responded in similar fashion to an attempt at the other end.
The hosts went in front on 35 minutes when Danny Lafferty was somewhat harshly adjudged to have fouled Dior Angus in a shoulder to shoulder challenge on the edge of the box. In something of an inevitability, Lewis Hardcastle, brother of ex-Coll’s player Ben, swept home the resultant free kick in to the bottom corner.
Gareth Peet went close to an equaliser just before half time, breaking clear on the left flank and delivering a ripping strike that Simpson did well to tip the ball around the near post at full stretch.
One down at the break, Colls started the second half brightly with Ben Conway doing well to beat the home offside trap, only to be denied by Simpson when one-on-one, the home custodian doing well to create an object too big to avoid.
Peet was a whisker away from an equaliser on 66 minutes, firing in to the side netting after Conway had picked him out at the far post.
Fresh from his heroics in heading a late equaliser in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Warrington Town, Colls skipper Danny Lafferty almost repeated the trick with twenty minutes left, nodding agonisingly wide of the target.
Barrow’s current title as the best non-league side in the country isn’t one to take lightly, and they showed their quality in promptly going straight to the other end and doubled their advantage, albeit from the penalty spot, Jack Hindle dusting himself off to send Wharton the wrong way after he had been tripped by Lafferty.
The two division gap was far from obvious throughout the evening, and Brad Cooke’s yellow-clad visitors still kept themselves in the game, Tom Bentham flashing an effort across goal and Danny O’Brien seeing a strike blocked.
Wharton remained solid in the face of a couple of long range Barrow attempts late on, with the Colls hordes cheering their side to the rafters at the final whistle.
With FA Trophy interest ended, Colls are back in league action on Saturday (11th January) when Stalybridge Celtic are the visitors for a 3pm kick off. Atherton Collieries: Paddy Wharton, Clive Smith, Gareth Peet, Josh Thompson, Danny Lafferty ©, Niall Battersby, Ben Conway, John Welsh (Dave Sherlock 77’), Tom Bentham, Vinny Bailey (Danny O’Brien 61’), Danny Lambert (Kris Holt 61’). Substitutes (not used): Matt Grimshaw. Rama Spice Man of the Match: Paddy Wharton Attendance: 861
Match Report: Matt Lawton
Match Preview: Morpeth (A)
December 1, 2023
Atherton Collieries head to Morpeth on Saturday 2nd December, aiming to break a duck which has led to the Colls so far never recording a
