Colne victorious in season opener
Sat 30th July 2016 | Match Reviews | By Dave Priestley
The League's seasonal opener took place at Colne's XLCR Stadium last night as League Winners - Colne, faced MEN United Cup Winners - Atherton Collieries for the Champions Trophy .
In a very close game, ultimately it was Colne who triumphed with goals coming from Dominic Craig on 79 minutes, closely followed by a goal from Matthew Beadle to wrap the game up on 87 minutes.
It was sweet revenge for the Reds against Atherton Collieries who had beaten them in the MEN United Cup Final at the end of last season.
The first half was a midfield battle with chances few and far between at either end, although Colne looked the more likely to break the deadlock and Colls keeper Adam Reid was by far the busier of the two custodians.
Reid was in action on the half hour when he punched the ball clear off the head of Ben Wharton as Simon Nangle’s free kick reached him in the goalmouth. And five minutes later, Reid was at full stretch to push Ben Hoskin’s cross out for a corner as Nangle homed in on a scoring opportunity.
With half time approaching, Colne turned up the pressure and Beadle and Danny Boyle both had shots blocked in the visitors’ penalty area. And Reid once again kept his side on level terms when he got down to block Nangle’s close range shot in a one-on-one scoring chance.
The Reds continued to press in the second half but Colls hit back with some good attacks on the break and Tony Aghayere made a good save at the foot of the post from Bradley Cooke’s goal bound shot.
In the end-to-end action, Ben Wharton and Beadle came close for Colne while Justin Pickering and Christian Holt threatened for Colls with some good attacking play. And Dave Sherlock supplied some dangerous crosses into the home goalmouth after some good right wing runs.
On 79 minutes, Colne made the breakthrough when Wharton got to the bye-line on the left wing and his cross found Craig whose first time shot came back off the crossbar and Craig kept a cool head to fire home the loose ball with a well placed shot giving the Reds the lead.
Both sides continued to attack but it was Colne who doubled their lead on 87 minutes when Craig’s low cross from the right found Beadle on the left who found the net with a low diagonal shot past the keeper, and within a few minutes the final whistle souned and Colne were presented with the trophy by North West Counties League Chairman Paul Lawler on a memorable night for the Reds.
There was a good atmosphere across the evening with 211 supporters turning out to see Colne take the trophy, as they prepare for their first season in the Evo-Stik League Division One North. Atherton Collieries gave a strong performance and will be looking forward to the start of the season with optimism following a successful pre-season campaign.
Colne victorious in season opener
Sat 30th July 2016 | Match Reviews
By Dave Priestley
The League's seasonal opener took place at Colne's XLCR Stadium last night as League Winners - Colne, faced MEN United Cup Winners - Atherton Collieries for the Champions Trophy .
In a very close game, ultimately it was Colne who triumphed with goals coming from Dominic Craig on 79 minutes, closely followed by a goal from Matthew Beadle to wrap the game up on 87 minutes.
It was sweet revenge for the Reds against Atherton Collieries who had beaten them in the MEN United Cup Final at the end of last season.
The first half was a midfield battle with chances few and far between at either end, although Colne looked the more likely to break the deadlock and Colls keeper Adam Reid was by far the busier of the two custodians.
Reid was in action on the half hour when he punched the ball clear off the head of Ben Wharton as Simon Nangle’s free kick reached him in the goalmouth. And five minutes later, Reid was at full stretch to push Ben Hoskin’s cross out for a corner as Nangle homed in on a scoring opportunity.
With half time approaching, Colne turned up the pressure and Beadle and Danny Boyle both had shots blocked in the visitors’ penalty area. And Reid once again kept his side on level terms when he got down to block Nangle’s close range shot in a one-on-one scoring chance.
The Reds continued to press in the second half but Colls hit back with some good attacks on the break and Tony Aghayere made a good save at the foot of the post from Bradley Cooke’s goal bound shot.
In the end-to-end action, Ben Wharton and Beadle came close for Colne while Justin Pickering and Christian Holt threatened for Colls with some good attacking play. And Dave Sherlock supplied some dangerous crosses into the home goalmouth after some good right wing runs.
On 79 minutes, Colne made the breakthrough when Wharton got to the bye-line on the left wing and his cross found Craig whose first time shot came back off the crossbar and Craig kept a cool head to fire home the loose ball with a well placed shot giving the Reds the lead.
Both sides continued to attack but it was Colne who doubled their lead on 87 minutes when Craig’s low cross from the right found Beadle on the left who found the net with a low diagonal shot past the keeper, and within a few minutes the final whistle souned and Colne were presented with the trophy by North West Counties League Chairman Paul Lawler on a memorable night for the Reds.
There was a good atmosphere across the evening with 211 supporters turning out to see Colne take the trophy, as they prepare for their first season in the Evo-Stik League Division One North. Atherton Collieries gave a strong performance and will be looking forward to the start of the season with optimism following a successful pre-season campaign.
