Buildbase FA Vase Fourth Round - Shildon 1 Atherton Collieries 4
Sat 7th January 2017 | FA Challenge Vase | By Ian Templeman
Atherton Collieries marched into the last 16 of the Buildbase FA Vase, courtesy of an outstanding 4-1 win over reigning Northern League champions Shildon up in County Durham.
After a goalless first half, Colls were up against it when Amar Purewal put the home side ten minutes after the restart, just minutes after Mark Battersby had hit the crossbar for Colls.
But the fighting spirit of the Colls side, backed by a big following, then kicked in and they kept up the goalscoring form that they have displayed throughout the season with four goals in the last half hour.
Ben Hardcastle, Mark Battersby, Daniel Lafferty and Jordan Cover were all on target for Colls, who now must be seen a side to avoid in Monday’s draw, having despatched their much-fancied hosts out of the competition in such impressive style.
It wasn’t all plain sailing though, and it was Shildon who began the game on the front foot, coming very close to opening the scoring with the first effort of the game in the opening, with Colls keeper Adam Reid making a fine point blank save to scoops the ball off the line from Shildon’s Mickey Rae.
For much of the first half both sides enjoyed spells of possession without creating much in the way of clear cut chances, and as half time approached Colls came close when Ben Hardcastle squared a ball across the face of goal that evaded attackers and defenders alike, while at the other end Jake Kenny blocked a goalbound effort on the line before the ball was scrambled away for a corner.
The half ended goalless, but the second 45 minutes will live long in the memory of everyone involved with Colls who watched the events unfold.
The visitors began on the front foot when a Mark Battersby effort was deflected wide straight after the break, and the Colls striker came even closer six minutes later when he chipped the ball over the advancing goalkeeper only to see it rebound back off the crossbar.
It was a disappointment that was compounded within three minutes when Shildon took the lead, Amar Purewal slotting home into the bottom right hand corner.
But although spirits were no doubt lifted in the home camp, the never-say-die fighting spirit coupled with the goalscoring firepower in the Colls ranks soon kicked in, and within five minutes they were level, although the equaliser arrived in unexpected fashion when the Shildon keeper Nick Liversedge mishit a clearance straight into the path of Ben Hardcastle who needed no second invitation to despatch the ball into the empty net.
Within three minutes Colls were in front, with Mark Battersby glancing a delightful header past the keeper from a Mark Truffas near post cross, and they increased their lead with 20 minutes remaining when Daniel Lafferty’s looping header from a corner crept in under the crossbar.
It was a stunning 10 minutes that killed off the home side’s hopes, and a perfect afternoon was rounded off three minutes from time when a breakaway goal from Jordan Cover put the seal on one of the most memorable victories in the club’s history.
Colls now take their place in the last 16 of the competition for the first time, and manager Michael Clegg was naturally glowing about his side’s performance.
“Just before they scored we had hit the bar, and when that happens you wonder if it is going to be one of those days, but with this bunch of players I believe anything is possible, you can never write them off.
“We showed them (Shildon) a lot of respect and I think they deserved that. Shildon are a top side, and they are a lovely club.
“I know that sometimes it can come across like “oh, we’ll have a beer and whatever happens happens”, but we had prepared very well and I thought that if we did get beaten it would be because they were the better side. But I knew that if we carried out our instructions, we could win.
“We weren’t great for the first twenty minutes, but we said let’s grow into the game, because we know that with our pace and fitness, going into the last half hour of games, if a team is in touching distance we can hurt them.
“They’ll know they missed a couple of chances themselves, but it’s just one of those days where you have got to enjoy it, these types of games don’t come around very often”.
Buildbase FA Vase Fourth Round - Shildon 1 Atherton Collieries 4
Sat 7th January 2017 | FA Challenge Vase
By Ian Templeman
Atherton Collieries marched into the last 16 of the Buildbase FA Vase, courtesy of an outstanding 4-1 win over reigning Northern League champions Shildon up in County Durham.
After a goalless first half, Colls were up against it when Amar Purewal put the home side ten minutes after the restart, just minutes after Mark Battersby had hit the crossbar for Colls.
But the fighting spirit of the Colls side, backed by a big following, then kicked in and they kept up the goalscoring form that they have displayed throughout the season with four goals in the last half hour.
Ben Hardcastle, Mark Battersby, Daniel Lafferty and Jordan Cover were all on target for Colls, who now must be seen a side to avoid in Monday’s draw, having despatched their much-fancied hosts out of the competition in such impressive style.
It wasn’t all plain sailing though, and it was Shildon who began the game on the front foot, coming very close to opening the scoring with the first effort of the game in the opening, with Colls keeper Adam Reid making a fine point blank save to scoops the ball off the line from Shildon’s Mickey Rae.
For much of the first half both sides enjoyed spells of possession without creating much in the way of clear cut chances, and as half time approached Colls came close when Ben Hardcastle squared a ball across the face of goal that evaded attackers and defenders alike, while at the other end Jake Kenny blocked a goalbound effort on the line before the ball was scrambled away for a corner.
The half ended goalless, but the second 45 minutes will live long in the memory of everyone involved with Colls who watched the events unfold.
The visitors began on the front foot when a Mark Battersby effort was deflected wide straight after the break, and the Colls striker came even closer six minutes later when he chipped the ball over the advancing goalkeeper only to see it rebound back off the crossbar.
It was a disappointment that was compounded within three minutes when Shildon took the lead, Amar Purewal slotting home into the bottom right hand corner.
But although spirits were no doubt lifted in the home camp, the never-say-die fighting spirit coupled with the goalscoring firepower in the Colls ranks soon kicked in, and within five minutes they were level, although the equaliser arrived in unexpected fashion when the Shildon keeper Nick Liversedge mishit a clearance straight into the path of Ben Hardcastle who needed no second invitation to despatch the ball into the empty net.
Within three minutes Colls were in front, with Mark Battersby glancing a delightful header past the keeper from a Mark Truffas near post cross, and they increased their lead with 20 minutes remaining when Daniel Lafferty’s looping header from a corner crept in under the crossbar.
It was a stunning 10 minutes that killed off the home side’s hopes, and a perfect afternoon was rounded off three minutes from time when a breakaway goal from Jordan Cover put the seal on one of the most memorable victories in the club’s history.
Colls now take their place in the last 16 of the competition for the first time, and manager Michael Clegg was naturally glowing about his side’s performance.
“Just before they scored we had hit the bar, and when that happens you wonder if it is going to be one of those days, but with this bunch of players I believe anything is possible, you can never write them off.
“We showed them (Shildon) a lot of respect and I think they deserved that. Shildon are a top side, and they are a lovely club.
“I know that sometimes it can come across like “oh, we’ll have a beer and whatever happens happens”, but we had prepared very well and I thought that if we did get beaten it would be because they were the better side. But I knew that if we carried out our instructions, we could win.
“We weren’t great for the first twenty minutes, but we said let’s grow into the game, because we know that with our pace and fitness, going into the last half hour of games, if a team is in touching distance we can hurt them.
“They’ll know they missed a couple of chances themselves, but it’s just one of those days where you have got to enjoy it, these types of games don’t come around very often”.
