NO MESSING AS ATHERTON COLLIERIES LIFT THE LEAGUE CUP

ATHERTON COLLIERIES 2 COALVILLE TOWN 1
INTEGRO NPL CUP FINAL @ THE IMPACT ARENA ALFRETON
2 MAY 2018 --- 7.45PM

JOSH MESSER [4] GIVES ATHERTON COLLS AN EARLY LEAD

When Josh Messer scored Colls opening goal after just 8 minutes the cup had the feel of heading to Atherton as the Lancashire side worked so hard to keep a determined Coalville at bay and succeeded when they added a second through Jordan Cover in the second half, Nathan Wilson pulled a goal back for the East Midlands side but it proved to be too late.
Once again The Impact Arena home of Alfreton Town was chosen to stage a prestigious game this time the Northern Premier League Cup Final, upon the announcement Mr R of the Buxton parish reminisced about the old finals at Maine Rd in Manchester and the crowds regularly in the thousands.  Well lets just add that tonight the supporters of Atherton Collieries made up the majority of the crowd and they were vociferous and loyal to the cause throughout the evening and with a long midweek trip to the East Midlands they had not come to muck about they wanted a trophy and they got it to further supplement the encouraging rise of the Colls over the last few seasons, what a journey they are on.

A LONG AND WINDING ROAD

Talking of journeys over a few of my ground hopping trips I had spoke to Joe Gibbons who was at the time also producing some excellent blogs and photos documenting the sporting scene.  Well in the last few years Joe as joined the Collieries committee and tonight it was good to catch up with him for a brief moment looking resplendent in jacket and tie but still stood on the terraces enjoying the game.
Following heavy rain for most of the morning the pitch had held up well but the Alfreton grounds man had told me that it was running off the pitch mid morning.  No ground descriptor is required here with Alfreton being my closest senior non league ground and having been well documented before.
Just before kick off there was time to catch up with Bill Draper Alfreton supporter and announcer who showed me his award having in the last few weeks reached 2,000 consecutive games watching Alfreton, yes 2,000 just think about it.  Nothing has stood in Bill's way and it really is a remarkable achievement and one the club are duly proud of following his recent presentation.

COALVILLE THE FLAGS ARE OUT

The action then and it was Coalville who threatened early on and when Atherton got in a scrambled goal line clearance it looked like the Leicestershire side would be odds on for the lead but of course football is a funny old game.  Because in Atherton's first attack Gareth Peet got in an excellent cross that avoided all aerial attempts to connect that was until Josh Messer at the back post headed home.  Cue wild scenes of delight as the Atherton players celebrated with their fans and Joe tells me its Messer's first competitive goal in 5 years, nice timing.
The remainder of the first half seemed to find Coalville just off the pace as Atherton battled away for everything denying Town any way through and when the second half kicked off it continued in the same vein.  It was developing into a strange affair with Coalville trying hard to get back but moves were breaking down mainly due to the sheer determination of Atherton to win this game.
On 68 minutes it looked as though it would be all over but when Cover broke through and his effort struck the post the head in hand moment became joy a few seconds later when he slotted in the rebound to make it 2-0.

ATHERTON COLLIERIES NOT TO BE OUT DONE ON THE FLAG FRONT

Much as Coalville tried to get back into the game it wasn't happening and it just looked like it was not going to be there night having struck a post with a 25 yard free kick they did pull a goal back on 85 minutes with a sweet move that saw Wilson lift the ball over the out coming Atherton keeper.  In the final minute of five additional Jermaine Hollis was sent off for Coalville after he left a foot in on a challenge with Collieries keeper Greg Hartley.
At the final whistle the Atherton players were off to celebrate with their band of supporters and for Coalville that oh so terrible delay as runners up waiting for the trophy presentation would ensue before Danny Lafferty lifted the cup for Atherton Collieries to continue their remarkable recent successes.