Atherton Collieries continued their fine vein of form to pick up a 1-0 victory at Trafford in NPL West on Tuesday night, with Michael Clegg’s men now recording 12 points from the last 15 available.
The first half was an admittedly tepid affair, with the Trafford defence insistent on controlling possession between themselves, and the Collieries happy to let them do so with no risk conceded.
When the chances of note came, they were for the Stripes, who were looking to counter attack with pace through Aaron Dwyer, Bobby Bjork and Alex Doyle.
Colls striker Dwyer floated a free-kick over in the 10th minute and shot wide from 30 yards three minutes later.
At the other end Trafford won a succession of corners but they all came to nothing and their cause was hindered by an injury to Isaac Noble who limped off in the 36th minute to be replaced by Ryley Smith.
It was a great cross from Kielen Adams to the feet of Tom Bentham that created the best opportunity of the game, but the forward’s feet were tangled with the goal at his mercy just outside of the six-yard box.
Dwyer fired over again as Trafford became sloppy in possession and the first shot on target came in the 41st minute when Dwyer’s low drive was comfortably held by home keeper Sam Booth.
The hosts had to wait until the second minute of stoppage time in the first half before Colls stopper Sol Honor was forced to make a save, easily holding a weak ground shot by Smith.
The Collieries’ positive outlook deservedly wedged the game wide open at the beginning of the second half, as Doyle cut through the high line of the Trafford defence to find an immaculately-timed run from Adams, who powered home with typical aplomb.
The forward’s fourth goal from the last four games forced the hand of the hosts, who moved their attritional, possession-based football further upfield, but remained unable to create much danger against a resolute Colls defence.
Trafford’s best chance arrived in the 51st minute when Rio Clegg gained possession 10 yards from the Colls goal, but he hesitated and saw his shot deflected behind.
Karl Marginson’s team were enjoying their best spell of the game and Damola Sotona went close to an equaliser with a low shot that was held by Honor.
Gradually Colls regained control with Dwyer and Doyle both firing in shots that were held by Booth.
In the 74th minute Toba Obitayo, a firm contender for man of the match, was the closest to scoring the game’s second, producing a thunderous header from a Bjork cross that cannoned back off the bar.
Dwyer also created multiple chances of note for the Colls, with Ethan Kershaw, Alfie Belcher and Matty Bryan reinforcing the forward-thinking approach as the game reached it’s dying embers.
Trafford’s Smith wasted a free-kick from the edge of the Colls penalty area in the 83rd minute and despite the sending off of Danny Lafferty for a second yellow card for time-wasting in stoppage time, the hosts were unable to create any clear-cut openings.
It ultimately petered out, with the Colls successfully putting one of the league’s title challengers to the sword to collect a fourth win from five matches.
The result sees the Colls climb above the relegation zone for the first time since April 2023, and with the Black and Whites occupying sixth in the league form chart, and also now just six points outside of the play-offs, ambitions could well be moving higher for Clegg’s men.
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