The pre-season friendly schedule for Atherton Collieries began in earnest with a Thursday night trip to Prestwich Heys, with an experimental Colls side eventually on the wrong side of a 2-0 defeat.

Although the emphasis was on the Black and Whites trialists for this opening friendly fixture, new signings Eden Bailey, Alex Doyle and Calen Gallagher were named in the starting XI, alongside returning first-teamers, Kyle King and Jack Buckley.

Centre-forward Bailey was quick to become the focal point for the Stripes, regularly showing strength and pace to prove a consistent thorn in the side of the Heys defence.

He tested the goalkeeper with multiple well-taken opportunities that were ultimately to no avail.

Although chances and possession were evenly distributed throughout, it was the hosts’ Dylan Fitzgerald who opened the scoring with a well-placed finish from outside of the six-yard box, following great work from Erik Souza.

As manager David Chadwick continues to assess his options, the Collieries XI was rotated heavily at the interval, with Jack Evans and Liam Sheppard among the names entering the fray, while the trio of new signings were withdrawn from the action.

While Bailey impressed as a lone focal point for the Colls in the first half, it was likewise the front trio who caught the eye in the second half, with youth teamer Liam Sheppard, substitute Max Bardsley-Rowe and a trialist combining well to maintain late pressure on the Heys back line, ultimately to no avail.

Praise must also be due to goalkeeper Buckley, who kept the Colls in the game at times with a string of impressive saves as play bounced from end to end.

It fell to Heys to put the game to bed with the final kick of the game, drilling home as a corner was unable to be cleared by the Stripes.