ATHERTON LR 2 WHITLEY BAY 1 A STUNNING first half performance earned Atherton LR three vital promotion points with a 2-1 victory over fellow contenders Whitley Bay.

A length of the field move on 29 minutes saw keeper Andy Hills roll the ball out to Damien Kelly. A sharp interchange with Joey Dunn set Gavin McDonald free and his cross was met perfectly by Dunn to finish perfectly.

Four minutes later it was 2-0 for LR when Lee Cryer got the final touch in a goalmouth scramble. The visitors battled hard in the second half, getting a goal back on 83 minutes but denied on several other occasions by the brilliance in goal of Hills. New signing Steve Iley got a five minute run out as substitute towards the end of the game. Boro leave it so late RADCLIFFE BORO 2 FARSLEY CELTIC 0 RADCLIFFE Boro kept right up with the UniBond Division One pacesetters with a 2-0 home win over Farsley Celtic...but left it late in sealing the three points.

Ian Lunt, after 75 minutes of struggling to get in the action, hit both goals in the closing stages on 75 and 82 minutes.

"It was a dour struggle and uncompromising encounter," says club secretary David Murgatroyd. "Farsley certainly did not come to entertain but we stuck to it and the result was the right one for us at the end of the day." Colls back on track HASLINGDEN 0 ATHERTON COLLS 1 A FOUR-GAME losing sequence for Atherton Colls was brought to an end in a single goal away victory at Haslingden, putting Alder House promotion hopes right back on course.

New signing Graham Dodd did the damage with the decisive strike on 27 minutes. Fellow striker Peter Oldbury, also making his debut after signing for the club last week, made an impressive debut and the new strike force showed much promise. Daisy Hill pay for slip MAGHULL 1 DAISY HILL 0 SLOPPY defending in the opening stages cost Daisy Hill dear in a 1-0 defeat at Maghull. Tony Richardson got the vital goal for the Merseysiders after only 10 minutes.

Daisy Hill's Danny Mills, just announced as the NWCL December Player of the Month, limped off half-way through the second period and misses tomorrow night's big cup encounter at Blackpool Rovers. United come unstuck ASHTON TOWN 2 RAMSBOTTOM UNITED 1 RAMSBOTTOM UNITED came unstuck in a 2-1 defeat at Ashton Town. Darren Rigby on 83 minutes and Neil Thompson on 72 minutes scored for the home side, with Martin Hulme on 64 on the scoresheet for the visitors.

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