Atherton Collieries narrowly lost out 1-0 to Marine in a closely fought encounter at the Skuna Stadium.
Louis Britton's strike on the stroke of half-time made the difference, as Colls fell short in their ambitions to record consecutive wins, despite a spirted performance against play-off chasers Marine.
Brad Cooke made several changes to his side after a huge effort to defeat Radcliffe on Tuesday night, with Gaz Peet, Clive Smith, Ben Hardcastle and Oli Brown dropping to the bench. Adam Haw was named in the starting line-up for his full Colls debut, whilst the game marked Marcus Cusani's 100th appearance in black and white.
Marine started the game in the ascendency, winning the early midfield battles but unable to craft a true opening. Mackenzie Chapman was on hand to smother Ben Hodgkinson's strike for the visitors after a tricky run from the impressive Louis Britton.
The clearest opportunity for Colls in the first half fell to Marcus Cusani, the winger unable to find the net on his centenary appearance, scuffing his effort high and wide from point-blank range following a Luca Defreitas-Hansen knock-down.
As the Collieries began to build momentum, Marine struck right on the half-time whistle, a composed finish from Louis Britton breaking the deadlock and robbing the Colls of the chance to head into the break level.
Brad Cooke's side took control after the interval and enjoyed more possession in the second half, but grit and defensive resolve from an organised Mariners back-line frustrated and limited the Stripes to half chances.
Marine created two late opportunities on the counter attack, goalscorer Britton twice denied one-on-one after breaking away with numbers committed forwards for Colls.
Following the game, the Collieries celebrated the 250th appearance of captain Danny Lafferty with a presentation in the clubhouse. The Colls are back in action next Saturday as they welcome FC United of Manchester to the Skuna Stadium. Kick off 3pm.
Colls: Makenzie Chapman, Adam Rooney, Joel Amado, Arran Pettifer (Gaz Peet 72'), Danny Lafferty, Luca Defreitas-Hansen, Adam Haw, Jack Lenehan (Ben Hardcastle 51'), Bailey Thompson, Jay Fitzmartin, Marcus Cusani (Oli Brown 51')
Unused: Clive Smith, Jesse Ebosele
Colls Mon of the Match: Luca Defreitas-Hansen (sponsored by My Cross to Bar - Colls USA)
Report: Rob Clarke & Danny Brown
Photo: Dave Featherstone
