Atherton Collieries 2-0 Northwich Villa

Ground 64

Match 68

North West Counties Div 2

Venue Alder Street

Formed 1916

Ground Capacity 2500

Record Attendance 1461 v FC United

At Hilton Park Leigh

Admission £5

Attendance 41

Programme £1-  V GOOD

Distance Travelled 7 miles


With a number of postponements already today even the sleet didn't put me off a visit to the' Colls'  in Greater Manchester .

Railway Sleeper Stand

There's a car park inside the ground but I didn't realise till I was already through the turnstile and making my way round to the club house. A decent looking seated stand near the entrance , apparently made with railway sleepers and painted in the club colours ,  provides a sheltered view for the more discerning fan  .  The back of this stand substitutes for a gents toilet for one unnamed individual so it was a relief to reach the club house  oppositea nd use the correct allocated 'piss pot.'  Further down the touchline is another seated and covered stand .

 There's a wry of odd looking buildings , more like corrugated cargo containers - ideal for a back garden study designed by Dairmuid Gavin with a few plants and outer space creativity . These containers provide the dressing rooms and refreshments outlet .

Changing Rooms

'Sooty, '  playing in black and white stripes were dominant from the start but couldn't convert chances into goals . Half-time and the teams are level 0-0 . Villa's keeper must have felt like he was starring in 'The Alamo ' with defenders nowhere to be seen , gone AWOL I think ! He made several quality saves .

Villa were more alert early in the second half managing to conjure a couple of half decent opportunities but it was the 'miners' who opened the scoring through Danny Smith on 65 minutes , firing home low into the net from outside the box . Atherton doubled the score on 81 minutes with a simple header from three yards .

Peter Atherton peels away to celebrate bottom right - sock n boot . Well I am amateur .

Collieries win by 2-0 and i'm already ot of sight .

Programme was a good effort for this level though a couple of pages were inserted upside down ! Pic to follow.
 Note/ Anthony Pilkington (Norwich City ) starred for the Colls a few years ago scoring a hat-trick against FC United Of Manchester .