Atherton Collieries continued their fine vein of form to pick up a 1-0 victory at Trafford on Tuesday night, with Michael Clegg’s men now recording 12 points from the previous 15 available.
The first half was an admittedly tepid affair, with the Trafford defence insistent on controlling possession between themselves, and the Collieries happy to let them do so with no risk conceded.
When the chances of note came, they were for the Stripes, who were looking to counter attack with pace through Aaron Dwyer, Bobby Bjork and Alex Doyle.
It was a great cross from Kielen Adams to the feet of Tom Bentham that created the best opportunity of the game, but the forward’s feet were tangled with the goal at his mercy just outside of the six yard box.
The Collieries positive outlook deservedly wedged the game wide open at the beginning of the second half, as Alex Doyle cut the high line of the Trafford defence wide open to find an immaculately timed run from Kielen Adams, who powered home with typical aplomb.
The forward’s fourth goal from the last four games forced the hand of the hosts, who moved their attritional possession based football further upfield but remained unable to create much danger against a resolute Colls defence.
Toba Obitayo, a firm contender for man of the match, was the closest to scoring the game’s second, producing a thunderous header from a Bobby Bjork cross.
Aaron Dwyer also created multiple chances of note for the Colls, with Ethan Kershaw, Alfie Belcher and Matty Bryan reinforcing the forward thinking approach as the game reached it’s dying embers.
The game ultimately petered out, with the Colls successfully putting one of the league’s title challengers to the sword to collect a fourth win from five matches.
The result sees the Colls climb above the relegation zone for the first time since April 2023, but with the Black and Whites occupying sixth in the league form chart and also now just six points outside of the playoffs, ambitions could well be moving higher.
The Colls are on the road again this weekend, travelling to Nantwich Town on Saturday, before a home double bill sees Lancaster visit the Dreams2Reality Stadium on Tuesday night for Lancashire Cup action, before the next edition of Friday Night Football against Vauxhall Motors.
