Report: Colls 1-1 Glossop North End

Colls welcomed old friends Glossop North End to the Kensite Stadium for an Evostik Division 1 North fixture in what was a unique occasion. It was the first Atherton Colls game ever played on Alder Street without the imposing Formby Hall watching over proceedings. A sad loss for the town! It was a first game against the Derbyshire outfit since the 2015 Men United Cup Final when over a 1000 punters passed through the turnstiles at Curzon Ashton FC to witness a 2-0 triumph for the visitors. Midfield enforcer Rick Smith made his debut for the black n white stripes with left side duo Danny Lambert and Gareth Peet returning to the starting line up. Liam Wood who was part of last season's NWCFL Championship team returned to his old stomping ground as part of the North End squad. The first half was an attritional affair with both sides cancelling each other out. The keeper's had the odd pot shot from distance to contend with but another lowing scoring game at The Kensite looked on the cards. The only real excitement for the drenched crowd of 241 to enjoy/endure was the buffoonery of a Glossop Ultra's inflatable crocodile being lodged on the clubhouse roof and the little Scottie dog invading the pitch momentarily towards the end of the half. Why the mutt was off the lead is anybody's guess. Thankfully the second half saw the focus on the twenty two players rather than off field shenanigans. Ash Woods had a couple of efforts well saved by NE custodian Russ Saunders who incidentally played for Colls under Dave Conlon in 2008/09 before forging a decent non league career. The game looked like meandering towards a stalemate when Colls conceded with twenty minutes remaining on the clock. A functional free kick was pumped into the box and Adam Reid looked like he was going to gobble up the ball . However he stopped and big centre half Courtney Meppen-Walter outjumpped his marker to nod into the right hand corner of the net. Glossop looked to have nicked their sixth consecutive league triumph on to consolidate a play off position slot and attempted to see the game out in the corner far too early. Michael Clegg's team weren't deflated by the hammer blow and on 85 minutes deservedly regained parity. Darrhyl Mason showed plenty of endeavour and no little flair to set up Iain Howard to score from twelve yards out. The relief was palpable around the ground but Colls could have still won it. Jordan Cover flashed a piledriver wide and it was the visitors who were glad to hear the final peal of Referee Topp's whistle. All in all the draw was a fair result. The game was played in inclement conditions throughout but the spirit was top notch. There were seven draws out of nine in the division on the day which statistically indicate an evenly matched bunch of teams. Atherton Collieries: Adam Reid, Chris Lynch, Danny Lambert (Darhyll Mason 72'), Rick Smith, Jamie Forbes, Danny Lafferty, Ben Hardcastle, Brad Cooke (C) (Kris Holt 75'), Ash Woods (65' Jordan Cover), Iain Howard, Gareth Peet - Substitutes: Johnny Gorman, Rob Sadler, Darhyll Mason, Jordan Cover, Kris Holt Attendance - 241 Man of the Match - Iain Howard