Atherton Collieries were left ruing missed chances and pondering what might have been as they were beaten 4-1 at Worksop Town.

Goals from Regan Hutchinson, Jay Rollins, Aleks Starcenko and Colin Daniel sealed victory for Worksop, while Nathan Caine got on the scoresheet for the visitors.

Colls went into the game looking to bounce back from late heartache against Ilkeston Town last time out, and started brightly against a Tigers team fresh off a 7-0 victory in midweek.

Josh Solomon-Davies could not quite keep his effort down after bursting in behind the defensive line, while a clever Jordan Boon free-kick nearly caught Paul Cooper by surprise, but the ball would ultimately head out of play via the bar.

However, it was the home side who opened the scoring eight minutes in, with Hutchinson driving forward from full-back, before slotting the ball comfortably out of reach of Nico Defreitas-Hansen.

David Chadwick’s men continued to threaten despite going a goal down, though, and found themselves denied by the woodwork a further three times in what was an open and entertaining first half.

The pick of the chances fell to Joe Adams, who pounced smartly on a misplaced pass by Cooper, subsequently rounded the Worksop shot-stopper, only to send his effort crashing into the post from close range.

And those missed chances came back to haunt Colls shortly after the break, as the hosts capped off an improved spell by doubling their advantage, with Rollins finishing emphatically into the bottom corner.

But still the away side refused to concede defeat as they halved the deficit through Caine, who was on hand to turn home a loose ball after a bit of pinball in the Worksop penalty area.

Any hopes of a comeback were halted, however, as Colls failed to see out a corner, which eventually allowed Starcenko to poke home to restore the Tigers’ two-goal lead.

And another corner would provide Worksop with their fourth, with the ball headed home by substitute Daniel.

Atherton Collieries are next in action on Tuesday night when they host Bacup Borough in the Lancashire Trophy, before returning to Northern Premier League Premier Division action with another home game against Marine on Saturday.