AFC Darwen Win The Reusch First Division Challenge Cup
Thu 23rd April 2015 | The Edward Case Cup | By Ian Templeman
AFC Darwen lifted the Reusch First Division Challenge Cup for the first time in their history with a hard fought 3-1 win over Atherton Collieries at Bootle’s Delta Taxis Stadium.
A cracking header from Paul Coote gave Darwen a half time lead and they doubled their advantage 12 minutes into the second half, when Anthony Lynch added a second from close range.
A Mark Battersby penalty brought Colls back into the game with 20 minutes to go, but Ryan Steele’s 35th goal of the season in stoppage time clinched victory for Darwen.
The opening 20 minutes saw play swing from end to end, with both sides enjoying time on the ball without the keepers being seriously tested, although AFC Darwen had a sight of goal in the 5th minute, when Anthony Lynch played a neat through ball to Karl Turner, who was denied by a fine blocking tackle by Colls defender Gareth Carson as he shaped to shoot.
There were muted claims for a penalty on 26 minutes when Darwen’s Ryan Steele was knocked over by Colls’ keeper Danny Taberner in a chase for the ball as it ran out of play, but the referee waved away any thoughts of a spot kick being awarded.
Two minutes later, there was a “heart-in-the-mouth” moment at the other end for Darwen keeper Stefan Holden, who misjudged the bounce of the ball as he ran out of his area to clear.
The keeper’s mishit clearance landed at the feet of Colls’ prolific front man Mark Battersby, who immediately launched a 40 yard long range effort over the head of the stranded keeper, but the ball floated harmlessly over the crossbar.
Play was stopped momentarily just after the half hour, when one of the assistant referees pulled up with a leg injury and had to pass lineman duties over to the fourth official, but once play restarted AFC Darwen took the lead in the 35th minute.
A fine early cross from Darwen’s Tom Entwistle found Paul Coote in space on the edge of the box, and the big striker powered in a header that ended up in the back of the net after grazing the underside of the crossbar, and he duly celebrated the goal by pulling out a Spiderman mask and wearing it as he milked the applause of the supporters.
Colls hit back and after Mark Truffas almost found Ben Hardcastle with a cross to the back post, heated appeals for a Colls penalty for a foul on Mark Battersby were waved away by the referee.
In first half stoppage time, Battersby was again involved in the action when he took the ball with his back to goal inside the box, and although he turned his marker well, he couldn’t get any power in the shot and the ball was safely gathered by Holden.
At half time Colls made a double substitution with Kristian Holt and Nathan Battersby being replaced with Brad Cooke and Gareth Peet, and they began the second half strongly with Mark Battersby coming close with a shot that was deflected for a corner.
But despite Colls domination of the early possession, they were caught by a sucker punch 12 minutes into the second half, when a neat through ball played Ryan Steele through in the inside left channel, and he unleashed a fierce shot that Colls keeper Taberner did well to parry but Anthony Lynch followed up and completed the simple task of firing into the net past the grounded keeper to put Darwen two ahead.
Unabashed, Colls continued to press forward but although they won the territorial battle, dogged defending by Darwen kept them at bay, and if the defence was breached, Holden in the Darwen goal was in inspired form, most notably when he made a terrific full length save from a Brad Cooke free kick.
But with 20 minutes left, Colls finally reduced the deficit from the penalty spot, when Cooke was tripped on the edge of the box, and Mark Battersby stepped up to bury the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
Not surprisingly, Colls then laid siege to the Darwen goal with Wedge, Messer and Peet all having chances, but a combination of desperate defending and breaks of the ball allowed Darwen to keep the Colls onslaught at bay, and they hit Colls with a killer third goal on the break in stoppage time.
When a Colls attack broke down, a quick ball forward found Ryan Steele in acres of space on the left with the Colls defence out of position, and the striker arrowed in on goal and curled a shot across the keeper into the far corner of the net to seal victory for Darwen.
AFC Darwen manager Nick Lloyd: “I can’t fault the effort of the lads, everyone really dug in, and I’m really proud of every single one of them, they worked their socks off.
“Credit to Colls, who came out and gave us a really good game, but we got the ball down and tried to play, and took our chances.
“When we scored in the first half I admit that was against the run of play, but that is what we are capable of, one cross and one goal.
“They threw everything at us in the second half, but I think we defended resolutely, used our subs sensibly and tried to settle the lads down.
“I don’t know how many corners they had in the second half, but we defended them all and by hook or by crook stopped them going in.
“It’s a great boost for us going into the play offs, we are brimming with confidence, we have got goals in this side and we tend to be good in one off games”.
Atherton Collieries manager Michael Clegg: “They scored a decent goal, and we felt we should have had a penalty when the linesman flagged for a free kick and the referee didn’t give it.
“How we didn’t end up getting something out of the game I don’t know. In the second half we must have had 15 attempts on goal to their two, and they scored from both of theirs. But you can’t take anything away from Darwen, they proved what happens when everyone works hard and fights for each other.
“Their keeper made some great saves and they have got some good players, let’s not forget their two front men are on 30 goals this year, but I think on any other day we’d have gone on to win that game.
“We were creating chances and it just wasn’t falling for us, but fair play to Lloydy and his lads, and I hope they get promotion, they are a really competitive side.
“We’ve had some very good days this season, and we just have to dust ourselves down and go again, but everyone is really disappointed”.
AFC Darwen: Stefan Holden, Kieran Wood, Tom Entwistle, Luke McKenna, Adam Douglas (captain), Kiel Lonsdale, Anthony Lynch, Karl Turner, Paul Coote, Ryan Steele, Conor Gaul.
Subs – Lee Turner (for Paul Coote 90), Oliver Telford, John Leeming (for Anthony Lynch 69), Aaron Khan, Daniel Banks (for Karl Turner 89)
Atherton Collieries: Danny Taberner, Jake Kenny, Keith Wedge, Josh Messer, Matt Grimshaw, Gareth Carson, Ben Hardcastle, Kristian Holt, Mark Battersby (captain), Nathan Battersby, Mark Truffas.
Subs - Brad Cooke (for Nathan Battersby 46), Robert Swanton, Gareth Peet (for Kristian Holt 46), Matt Boland, Jordan Cover (for Mark Truffas 62).
Referee: Michael Barlow
Assistants: Peter Stone & Simon Robinson
4th Official: David Mason
Attendance: 307
AFC Darwen Win The Reusch First Division Challenge Cup
Thu 23rd April 2015 | The Edward Case Cup
By Ian Templeman
AFC Darwen lifted the Reusch First Division Challenge Cup for the first time in their history with a hard fought 3-1 win over Atherton Collieries at Bootle’s Delta Taxis Stadium.
A cracking header from Paul Coote gave Darwen a half time lead and they doubled their advantage 12 minutes into the second half, when Anthony Lynch added a second from close range.
A Mark Battersby penalty brought Colls back into the game with 20 minutes to go, but Ryan Steele’s 35th goal of the season in stoppage time clinched victory for Darwen.
The opening 20 minutes saw play swing from end to end, with both sides enjoying time on the ball without the keepers being seriously tested, although AFC Darwen had a sight of goal in the 5th minute, when Anthony Lynch played a neat through ball to Karl Turner, who was denied by a fine blocking tackle by Colls defender Gareth Carson as he shaped to shoot.
There were muted claims for a penalty on 26 minutes when Darwen’s Ryan Steele was knocked over by Colls’ keeper Danny Taberner in a chase for the ball as it ran out of play, but the referee waved away any thoughts of a spot kick being awarded.
Two minutes later, there was a “heart-in-the-mouth” moment at the other end for Darwen keeper Stefan Holden, who misjudged the bounce of the ball as he ran out of his area to clear.
The keeper’s mishit clearance landed at the feet of Colls’ prolific front man Mark Battersby, who immediately launched a 40 yard long range effort over the head of the stranded keeper, but the ball floated harmlessly over the crossbar.
Play was stopped momentarily just after the half hour, when one of the assistant referees pulled up with a leg injury and had to pass lineman duties over to the fourth official, but once play restarted AFC Darwen took the lead in the 35th minute.
A fine early cross from Darwen’s Tom Entwistle found Paul Coote in space on the edge of the box, and the big striker powered in a header that ended up in the back of the net after grazing the underside of the crossbar, and he duly celebrated the goal by pulling out a Spiderman mask and wearing it as he milked the applause of the supporters.
Colls hit back and after Mark Truffas almost found Ben Hardcastle with a cross to the back post, heated appeals for a Colls penalty for a foul on Mark Battersby were waved away by the referee.
In first half stoppage time, Battersby was again involved in the action when he took the ball with his back to goal inside the box, and although he turned his marker well, he couldn’t get any power in the shot and the ball was safely gathered by Holden.
At half time Colls made a double substitution with Kristian Holt and Nathan Battersby being replaced with Brad Cooke and Gareth Peet, and they began the second half strongly with Mark Battersby coming close with a shot that was deflected for a corner.
But despite Colls domination of the early possession, they were caught by a sucker punch 12 minutes into the second half, when a neat through ball played Ryan Steele through in the inside left channel, and he unleashed a fierce shot that Colls keeper Taberner did well to parry but Anthony Lynch followed up and completed the simple task of firing into the net past the grounded keeper to put Darwen two ahead.
Unabashed, Colls continued to press forward but although they won the territorial battle, dogged defending by Darwen kept them at bay, and if the defence was breached, Holden in the Darwen goal was in inspired form, most notably when he made a terrific full length save from a Brad Cooke free kick.
But with 20 minutes left, Colls finally reduced the deficit from the penalty spot, when Cooke was tripped on the edge of the box, and Mark Battersby stepped up to bury the ball into the bottom corner of the net.
Not surprisingly, Colls then laid siege to the Darwen goal with Wedge, Messer and Peet all having chances, but a combination of desperate defending and breaks of the ball allowed Darwen to keep the Colls onslaught at bay, and they hit Colls with a killer third goal on the break in stoppage time.
When a Colls attack broke down, a quick ball forward found Ryan Steele in acres of space on the left with the Colls defence out of position, and the striker arrowed in on goal and curled a shot across the keeper into the far corner of the net to seal victory for Darwen.
AFC Darwen manager Nick Lloyd: “I can’t fault the effort of the lads, everyone really dug in, and I’m really proud of every single one of them, they worked their socks off.
“Credit to Colls, who came out and gave us a really good game, but we got the ball down and tried to play, and took our chances.
“When we scored in the first half I admit that was against the run of play, but that is what we are capable of, one cross and one goal.
“They threw everything at us in the second half, but I think we defended resolutely, used our subs sensibly and tried to settle the lads down.
“I don’t know how many corners they had in the second half, but we defended them all and by hook or by crook stopped them going in.
“It’s a great boost for us going into the play offs, we are brimming with confidence, we have got goals in this side and we tend to be good in one off games”.
Atherton Collieries manager Michael Clegg: “They scored a decent goal, and we felt we should have had a penalty when the linesman flagged for a free kick and the referee didn’t give it.
“How we didn’t end up getting something out of the game I don’t know. In the second half we must have had 15 attempts on goal to their two, and they scored from both of theirs. But you can’t take anything away from Darwen, they proved what happens when everyone works hard and fights for each other.
“Their keeper made some great saves and they have got some good players, let’s not forget their two front men are on 30 goals this year, but I think on any other day we’d have gone on to win that game.
“We were creating chances and it just wasn’t falling for us, but fair play to Lloydy and his lads, and I hope they get promotion, they are a really competitive side.
“We’ve had some very good days this season, and we just have to dust ourselves down and go again, but everyone is really disappointed”.
AFC Darwen: Stefan Holden, Kieran Wood, Tom Entwistle, Luke McKenna, Adam Douglas (captain), Kiel Lonsdale, Anthony Lynch, Karl Turner, Paul Coote, Ryan Steele, Conor Gaul.
Subs – Lee Turner (for Paul Coote 90), Oliver Telford, John Leeming (for Anthony Lynch 69), Aaron Khan, Daniel Banks (for Karl Turner 89)
Atherton Collieries: Danny Taberner, Jake Kenny, Keith Wedge, Josh Messer, Matt Grimshaw, Gareth Carson, Ben Hardcastle, Kristian Holt, Mark Battersby (captain), Nathan Battersby, Mark Truffas.
Subs - Brad Cooke (for Nathan Battersby 46), Robert Swanton, Gareth Peet (for Kristian Holt 46), Matt Boland, Jordan Cover (for Mark Truffas 62).
Referee: Michael Barlow
Assistants: Peter Stone & Simon Robinson
4th Official: David Mason
Attendance: 307
