Atherton Collieries bounced back from the weekend’s disappointment with a resilient and attacking performance against second-place Widnes FC, writes Josh King.

The first 20 minutes saw a succession of Colls chances be repelled by a stout Widnes defence, with no efforts quite reaching experienced stopper Mark Halstead.

The first real flashpoint came in the 25th minute, as Keilen Adams was yellow carded for a “collision” with former Collsmon Nathan Caine.

It was Adams who created the best opportunity of the first half, beating Halstead with an effort which was placed inches wide of the post.

The first real chance for Widnes came in the 45th minute, as Louis Isherwood rose highest from a corner to power a header at debutant Solomon Honor who made a strong save.

After the Colls spent the first half in the ascendancy, it was Widnes who were quicker out of the blocks after the interval, going close twice within five minutes of the restart, drawing another strong save from Sol Honor before threatening again from the resultant corner.

The Black & Whites had their first real chance of the second half on the 65 minute mark, as a corner pinballed around the Widnes area, who defended well with many bodies on the line to deny the home side the lead, with Kielen Adams and Danny Lafferty both unable to convert.

Sol Honor continued his debut to remember with two late saves to deny the Dragons, producing a great close range stop from a header before tipping an effort wide from the edge of the box.

Alfie Belcher came the closest to producing last minute heroics for the Colls, as he combined well with Will Riding before beating two defenders with great skill, and drawing a fantastic save from the experienced Halstead.

Although the game finished a stalemate, it was an entertaining and end-to-end affair throughout, with both teams having their chances to claim a full share of the spoils.

Next up, the Colls travel to Hednesford Town on Saturday looking to further build momentum and refund their footing in the league table.