Atherton Collieries continued their resurgent run of form with a Tuesday night victory at Hanley Town.
The Black and Whites recorded successive wins as well as three successive clean sheets both for the first time since September 2022, with Radcliffe loanee Lewis Rawsthorn the man of the hour as he notched his first goal in the Stripes.
Recent Collieries games have proved stern tests for the opposition defense and goalkeepers, and from the off the Colls looked keen to provide more of the same threat in Staffordshire.
The deadlock was broken early into the game with Lewis Rawsthorn converted with a thunderous strike into the far post, following a nice set-up from Will Riding.
The threat continued throughout the first half, with Riding himself unfortunate not to punish an error from the goalkeeper with a long range effort that sailed narrowly high, whilst Pa Babou Jenkins was also inches short of an all-time classic Collieries goal with a dramatic overhead kick from the edge of the box.
Max Bardsley-Rowe proved to be the Colls biggest threat in the second half, with his pace causing problems for Hanley skipper Louise Keenan all evening, and the right-winger could consider himself unlucky not to notch an assist after providing great opportunities for both Lewis Rawsthorn and Alex Doyle.
As the Black and Whites fought to build upon their advantage, Michael Clegg freshened the legs with the introductions of Ethan Kershaw, Tom Bentham, Oli Putnam and debutant Alfie Belcher.
The chances continued for the Colls into the dying embers, with Oli Putnam seeing a goalbound effort cleared following another goalkeeping error, before a subsequent goal-mouth scramble saw the ball bounce anywhere but into the Hanley net.
It’s a short turnaround now for the Collieries, as Runcorn Linnets travel to Atherton for what will certainly be a very tough test at the Dreams2Reality Stadium on Friday night, before the club host Lancashire Junior Cup action with a Flatcap Derby between the Under 18s and Laburnum Rovers at 2pm on Sunday.
