Adam Farrell scored a hat trick while Ben Hardcastle and Ian Rowlands both grabbed a pair of goals apiece as Micheal Clegg's Atherton Collieries side romped to an 11-0 victory away to North West Counties League Division One neighbours Daisy Hill, taking their pre-season goalscoring efforts to 23 goals spread across just three games in the last six days. Colls were in front at New Sirs as early as the sixth minute, Ben Conway creating the chance for Adam Farrell to slot home in to an empty net after latching on to Conor Gaul's through ball, with the Conway-Farrell combination coming up trumps again on twenty six minutes, Farrell headed Conway's corner in to the top right hand corner of Craig Haynes' goal.
It took only another three minutes for Colls to add a third goal, a lovely free-flowing move that was sympomatic of Colls' attacking threat throughout the encounter seeing Conway and Vinny Bailey exchanging passes before Conway laid it on a plate for Conor Gaul to lash in to the net. Having assisted the previous three goals, it was only fair that Conway would eventually add his name to the spreadsheet, and he did so in style on thirty five minutes, dancing his way through a rash of would-be challenges before finishing emphatically to complete the first half scoring with Collieries leading 4-0 at the break.
There had been just ten minutes played in the second half before Colls had a fifth goal, Vinny Bailey making no mistake in finding the net after the ball had landed kindly for him after Farrell had initially miscued his connection to a Ben Hardcastle cross, with a sixth goal added just three minutes later, Farrell completing his hat trick from the penalty spot after substitute James Sigsworth had been tripped in the area.
Clegg made a glut of substitutions on the hour mark but it didn't have much affect on the goalscoring flow, with the visitors going 7-0 up on 68 minutes when Hardcastle scored his first of the evening, receiving a pass from Josh Peet and curling in a terrific left-footed strike from the edge of the area before adding a second goal with a penalty only two minutes later after Josh Peet had been fouled.
Daisy Hill held a brief attacking threat when they hit the outside of Greg Hartley's left hand post from an acute angle before a ninth goal of the evening arrived on 74 minutes when Conway was again at the hub of the proceedings, creating the chance for substitute Tom Bentham to race clear on goal, cutting back inside on to his right foot to deceive a retreating defender before rolling the ball in to the far corner.
Tenth and eleven goals following for Colls in the 79th and 84th minutes, with each being almost a carbon copy as Ian Rowlands first headed in Sigsworth's left-sided corner before nodding home Hardcastle's corner from the right.
With the start of the Evo-Stik League Division One West season still a few weeks away, Colls have a free weekend this weekend before welcoming Evo-Stik League Premier Division outfit Witton Albion to the Kensite Stadium next Tuesday (7th August, 7.45pm) for what is sure to be a testing pre-season encounter ahead of Pontefract Collieries hosting the 2018 edition of the annual 'Jolly Boys Outing' the following Saturday (11th August, 3pm). Atherton Collieries: Greg Hartley, Dave Sherlock, Danny Lafferty, Ian Rowlands, Gareth Peet, Josh Messer, Vinny Bailey, Ben Conway, Ben Hardcastle, Conor Gaul, Adam Farrell. Substitutes (all used): Danny Lambert, Glenn Matthews, Josh Peet, James Sigsworth, Tom Bentham, Jack Everest Goals: Adam Farrell (6’, 26’, penalty 58’), Conor Gaul (29’), Ben Conway (35’), Vinny Bailey (55’), Ben Harcastle (68’, penalty 70’), Tom Bentham (74’), Ian Rowlands (79’, 84’) Match report: Matt Lawton
Photograph: Ian Monk
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
