We welcomed National League North Chorley, under the floodlights at the Skuna stadium in the Lancashire FA Trophy. Eyes were not only on the cup tie, as the match marked boss Brad Cooke’s 100th game at the helm and Bailey Thompson made his full debut for Colls after recovering from a long-term injury. The first clear chance of the game fell to Colls as Gaz Peet’s cross gave Luca Defreitas-Hansen an opportunity to get a header in, but it was saved by Kier Barry. Chorley then went up the other end for their first opportunity, Billy Whitehouse had a low driven shot turned round for a corner by Nico Defreitas-Hansen, which led to Billy Owens heading towards Nico, who made a comfortable save. The back end of the first half was then dominated by Chorley as Owens had a strong shot saved, before shouts for a penalty were waved away after an inch perfect tackle from Joel Amado.
Colls started the second half well, limiting Chorley to minimal possession and opportunities. The first chance of the half was created by Peet, his cross across the penalty box arrived at Clive Smith’s feet, however the shot was blazed over the bar. It was almost a carbon copy of the goal scored by Smith in this previous fixture. The pressure was mounting and eventually Chorley cracked, pressure on the keeper Barry led to a poor clearance that fell to the feet of Jay Fitzmartin, who lofted the ball into the back of the net from outside the box. It was a fully deserved goal for Colls, Chorley didn’t create many opportunities in the second half until the back end of the game, an audacious attempt from Whitehouse on the volley trickled through to Nico, before he saved a long range shot from Owens.
A much-deserved win for Colls, alongside a hard earned clean sheet for which Nico deserves plenty of credit, as the Colls advance into the Third Round of the Lancashire Trophy.
Attention now shifts to the league on Saturday, as we make the much anticipated trip to Whitby. Contact @ACFC1916 on Twitter for further details about travel arrangements. Match Report: James Thompson Photography: Ben Roberts - brphotos.co.uk/atherton-collieries-v-chorley-fc David Featherstone - flickr.com/photos/146116962@N06/albums/72177720303917470 Man of the Match: Luca Defreitas-Hansen, sponsored by My Cross to Bar Colls:Nico Defreitas-Hansen, Clive Smith, Gareth Peet ©, Joel Amado, Adam Rooney, Luca Defreitas-Hansen, Ethan Kershaw (84' Ethan Kershaw), Jack Lenehan (73' Aaron Smith), Bailey Thompson (57' Scott Bakkor), Jay Fitzmartin & Arran Pettifer - Subs (Unused): Danny Lafferty
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
