Atherton Collieries recorded their second win from two pre-season friendlies so far with a 1-0 win against a formidable Warrington Rylands outfit at the Dreams2Reality Stadium.
The visitors, featuring former Collsmen Niall Battersby, Clive Smith and Ben Hardcastle, were just penalty kicks away from promotion to the National League North last campaign, and fielded a strong eleven against a Collieries side that once again took the pre-season opportunity to experiment and rotate.
The Colls should have taken the lead within the first minute, following a penalty awarded due to a foul by goalkeeper Luke Pilling on the on-rushing Riley Filipek. Kielen Adams, who converted from the spot on Saturday, was unable to convert, as Pilling made amends with a low save.
The first half became a continuation of the tightly fought 0-0 between the two sides last season, the Colls perhaps enjoying the better of the ball but in truth both sides cancelled each other out.
In a repeat of Saturday’s outing to Prestwich, ten changes were made for the Collieries over the interval, as the Stripes attacked the Frank Anderson end in the second half, with only striker Liam Sheppard playing the full 90 minutes.
The stalemate was broken on the hour mark, when Javid Swaby-Neavin controlled a pinpoint diagonal ball from Sam Sheridan and combined his strength and skill to cut through the Rylands defence, before drilling home at the far post, a devastating example of the qualities of the two Colls full-backs.
The passage of play was almost repeated shortly after by two of Colls Junior Section graduates, as Liam Sheppard was played through by an incisive long ball from Riley Filipek, but his powerful effort could only sting the palms of Pilling. An identikit effort was produced by Sheridan for Sheppard soon after, but once again could only produce a fine save.
Next up, the Colls travel to Charnock Richard on Tuesday 14th, a game that has been brought forward due to the World Cup schedule, before a trip to Droylsden to contest the Tony Downes Memorial Cup on Saturday 18th.
