Atherton Collieries picked up a comprehensive and exhilarating 4-0 win on the road at Stalybridge Celtic to cap off a rollercoaster August schedule.
Manager Daniel Lafferty made a number of changes to the side that had disappointed at Congleton on Saturday, with goalscorer Liam Sheppard returning to the starting lineup alongside attacking midfielders Rodney Ajayi and Louis Potts, whilst Sam Olawumi returned from injury in defence.
Kielen Adams and Liam Sheppard operated as the Black & Whites dual threat leading the line, and Adams was the first to set his sights with a drilled effort just wide from the edge of the box, before producing a fine save from Celtic stopper Charlie Monks after being played through by the young Sheppard.
Stalybridge did have a chance to take the lead themselves, with an outlandish outside of the boot volley from the edge of the box beating Harvey Bardsley and rocketing off the corner of the crossbar.
It was Liam Sheppard who eventually broke the deadlock, picking up a forward ball from Sam Sheridan on the left flank and beating the advances of three defenders, before powering into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Louis Potts turned it into a quickfire double minutes later, striking home first time after a smart dribble through the defence from Freddie Gordon.
The Colls weren’t out of the woods yet, with Stalybridge gifted a golden opportunity to climb back into the game on the brink of half-time after a penalty was conceded by Sam Sheridan. Celtics’ Jack Irlam stepped up for the spot-kick, however his effort into the bottom left was saved confidently by Bardsley, preserving the two goal advantage into half-time.
Any worries of a Celtic fight-back after the interval were promptly quashed by Kielen Adams moments into the second half. The forward picked up the ball on the half-way line following a well-timed interception from Jack Sloan, and tore through the defence before looping the ball home from the corner of the penalty box, a remarkable finish.
And whilst the Collieries fans were still celebrating his first, Adams thundered home a header from a Ben Rydel corner, putting the game beyond any doubt whilst supporters were still finding their spots on the terraces following half-time.
With a comfortable lead secured, the Collieries rotated and took the opportunity to acclimatize some new faces into the team with some all important minutes, with midfielders Harry Forshaw and Will Decandia coming on for their second and fourth appearances in the Stripes respectively and maintaining the attacking impetus.
Harvey Bardsley was called into action again in the final minutes, producing a low save before watching the rebound fired high and wide, sealing his fourth clean sheet from eight games, a much needed response following the FA Trophy exit in Congleton.
At the final whistle, Lafferty’s men celebrated with the Stripes faithful, who had made the Bank Holiday Monday trip to “Staly Vegas” and returned home with the jackpot.
The Collieries return to FA Cup action against Northwich Victoria on Saturday, to be played at Runcorn Linnets, with the Under 17s also representing the club in FA Youth Cup action this week on Thursday, stepping up to face the higher ranked Wythenshawe Under 18s at the Dreams2Reality Stadium.
