Atherton Collieries came from behind to record a late pre-season win against Widnes FC, in a tightly-contested game at the DCBL Stadium
A second half double from substitute Aaron Smith sealed the victory for Colls, after Luke Sephton had put the home side in front at the break.
It took Colls a while to find their feet in the 13,000 seater stadium, with a loose pass in midfield almost gifting Luke Sephton an early goal on 12 minutes, the forward raced through on goal but his effort struck the bottom of the post and bounced clear.
The Widnes forward would go on to get the opening goal moments later in unusual fashion - the Colls defence failed to clear their lines from a long ball forwards and Sephton was on hand to tackle the ball from Joel Amado and into the net.
Searching for an immediate reply, Colls went close on 25 minutes when Ethan Kershaw's free kick was turned onto the post by Danny Lafferty. A chance followed for Widnes' Ste Rigby but his close-range effort was blocked on the line by the feet of Amado.
The half time break saw Colls tweak their tactic, with the introduction of Aaron Smith proving key - the substitute stole the ball in midfield and unleashed a low drive into the bottom corner to restore parity on the hour mark.
With Colls largely on top in the second half, some great hold-up play from Dec Daniels saw him slip in Smith unselfishly, however the midfielder's effort on goal was well-thwarted by Owen Wheeler playing in net for Widnes.
Despite being a pre-season fixture, the action was played at a high tempo throughout with both teams battling away to the end. Daniels almost netted the winner for Colls with less than a minute on the clock, nodding against the post following a corner whipped into the back post.
It was the goalscorer Smith who would prove to be the match-winner deep into stoppage time - picking up the ball in midfield, the midfielder drove at the Widnes defence, before firing a powerful effort into the top corner from 25 yards, sealing the win for Colls.
Report: Danny Brown
Photo: Dave Featherstone
