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Rampant Colls cruise to victory at expense of 10-men Widnes
Widnes Football Club12 Jan 2015 - 18:19
10-man Widnes were on the receiving end of a heavy defeat at the Select Security Stadium on Saturday afternoon ....
as the rampant Atherton Collieries came to town and swept the hosts aside, recording a 5-0 victory.
Colls showed why they are fighting for promotion and ultimately the league title, as their prolific attack was too much for Widnes to handle. The home side rarely had anything to shout about going forward as Atherton’s dominance of possession was a pivotal factor in Steve Hill’s men suffering their tenth league defeat of the season.
It was a nightmare start to the game for Widnes, as Atherton took the lead inside the opening two minutes. An original shot on goal from Kristian Holt was spilled by goalkeeper David Nevitt into the path of the league’s top goalscorer Mark Battersby, who routinely stroked the ball into the back of the net to put Colls 1-0 up and net his 19th league goal of the season.
Widnes never really recovered from their poor start to the game, as they continued to panic and look nervous. Colls continued to attack, showing great drive and confidence in doing so. Ben Hardcastle forced a good save out of David Nevitt before James Brooks delivered a cross into the area that Hardcastle was unfortunate not to get on the end of in what was a let-off for the home side.
It went from bad to worse for Widnes just beyond the 15-minute mark. In what looked to be a harsh decision, Matty Lennon was shown a straight red card for pulling back Battersby as the forward advanced on goal. It looked as though the defender had put his hands on the back of the forward to contest for the ball. However, the referee deemed that Lennon had pulled back Battersby and promptly sent the Widnes man off. Mark Truffas curled the resulting free-kick wide of the up-right.
Widnes had dug themselves into a deep hole early; a hole that got even deeper when Steve Hill’s side were forced into a change when Luke Colford was forced off with a groin injury with Daniel Lomax replacing him in what was a like-for-like substitution at right-back. Kristian Holt was the next Colls player to test David Nevitt, as his half-volley from distance was comfortably gathered by the former Avon Athletic keeper.
Minutes later, the title chasers persistence going forward was rewarded as Colls doubled their lead. Truffas sent in a cross from the left that skipper Tom Mitchell failed to deal with as Bradley Cooke read the flight of the ball extremely well to nod home his 8th league goal of the season, showing good anticipation to react to the attempted clearance from Mitchell.
This goal seemed to wake Widnes up from the deep sleep that had plagued their performance in the opening half hour. Their first real chance of the game fell to in-form marksman Graham Molloy whose volley towards goal was comfortably caught by goalkeeper Danny Taberner.
Widnes seemed to have regained confidence as they ended the half in strong fashion, as they showed good purpose going forward. They were mightily unfortunate not to have a goal to their name heading into halftime, as Paul Cliff rattled the post from 25 yards out with what was an excellent effort.
Despite Widnes’ strong showing in the closing minutes in the first-half, Colls began the second period in the same vein as they had performed throughout the opening 45 minutes. It wasn’t long before they made it 3-0.
Collieries won a free-kick just outside the area that Mark Battersby promptly drilled against the foot of the post. The ball rebounded to Matt Grimshaw, who calmly put the ball away to score Colls’ 1900th goal in the North West Counties Football League.
Moments later, Widnes midfielder James Ludgate was on the receiving end of a bad challenge from Collieries’ Josh Messer that sparked a massive uproar in the middle of the field, with all but a hand full of players involved. Messer’s challenge fully warranted a red card, but the referee only brandished a yellow card. The referee didn’t have the best of games, as his decisions regularly incurred the wrath of both sets of players. This was another critical decision that Steve Hill thought that he got wrong, alongside his decision to dismiss Matty Lennon.
It took a great interception from substitute Daniel Lomax to prevent Colls from bagging their fourth of the game. Ben Hardcastle advanced the down the right wing, making light work of Paul Carney as he delivered a cross that Lomax dealt with well, averting any danger in the process.
Eventually, Michael Clegg’s side managed to bag their fourth goal of the game. Mark Battersby doubled his account in the game with a calm and composed finish on the spin, as he curled the ball into the bottom corner beyond the motionless Nevitt.
Keeper Nevitt was one of Widnes’ better players on the day, which was further on-show as the game surpassed the 70-minute mark. He pulled off a sensational double save to deny a shot from Matthew Boland and then Bradley Cooke, as the shot-stopper rushed out to reject the earlier goalscorer at his feet.
Colls’ fifth and final goal came with 15 minutes left in the game, as a lengthy spell of possession for the away side ended with Boland linking up well with Ben Hardcastle with the latter rounding off the scoring for the title contenders with a deft chip over the outstretched David Nevitt.
Manager Steve Hill expressed disappointment with his side’s performance following the game. “It was disappointing to lose. It was uphill as soon as we went down to 10-men, but nevertheless we’ve lost to a very good side. I think we shot ourselves in the foot a few times with individual errors, where we’d be better clearing the ball rather than playing around with it in dangerous areas. That’s something that is happening a bit too often now.”
Hill refused to criticise the referee when asked about Lennon’s dismissal but he believed that Atherton’s players had a major influence over his decision. “I just think that they all shouted red card at him, and I don’t think it was a red card and I don’t know what he was looking at, but he sent our man off and we have to live with that.”
Next time out, Widnes host Holker Old Boys at the Select Security Stadium in their fourth consecutive home game. It is a game that has now become even more pivotal for the home side in their quest for a playoff spot, as the Cumbrians sit two places ahead of Widnes, with an advantage of three points and four games in hand.
Widnes are fully capable of pulling off a victory against another tough opposition. They showed glimpses of their best in the defeat, particularly towards the end of the first half despite the fact they had one less man. Recent victories over Irlam and Eccleshall will also remain in the back of their minds as they look to cement their top-half status.
Match Report by Callum Chadwick
Colls showed why they are fighting for promotion and ultimately the league title, as their prolific attack was too much for Widnes to handle. The home side rarely had anything to shout about going forward as Atherton’s dominance of possession was a pivotal factor in Steve Hill’s men suffering their tenth league defeat of the season.
It was a nightmare start to the game for Widnes, as Atherton took the lead inside the opening two minutes. An original shot on goal from Kristian Holt was spilled by goalkeeper David Nevitt into the path of the league’s top goalscorer Mark Battersby, who routinely stroked the ball into the back of the net to put Colls 1-0 up and net his 19th league goal of the season.
Widnes never really recovered from their poor start to the game, as they continued to panic and look nervous. Colls continued to attack, showing great drive and confidence in doing so. Ben Hardcastle forced a good save out of David Nevitt before James Brooks delivered a cross into the area that Hardcastle was unfortunate not to get on the end of in what was a let-off for the home side.
It went from bad to worse for Widnes just beyond the 15-minute mark. In what looked to be a harsh decision, Matty Lennon was shown a straight red card for pulling back Battersby as the forward advanced on goal. It looked as though the defender had put his hands on the back of the forward to contest for the ball. However, the referee deemed that Lennon had pulled back Battersby and promptly sent the Widnes man off. Mark Truffas curled the resulting free-kick wide of the up-right.
Widnes had dug themselves into a deep hole early; a hole that got even deeper when Steve Hill’s side were forced into a change when Luke Colford was forced off with a groin injury with Daniel Lomax replacing him in what was a like-for-like substitution at right-back. Kristian Holt was the next Colls player to test David Nevitt, as his half-volley from distance was comfortably gathered by the former Avon Athletic keeper.
Minutes later, the title chasers persistence going forward was rewarded as Colls doubled their lead. Truffas sent in a cross from the left that skipper Tom Mitchell failed to deal with as Bradley Cooke read the flight of the ball extremely well to nod home his 8th league goal of the season, showing good anticipation to react to the attempted clearance from Mitchell.
This goal seemed to wake Widnes up from the deep sleep that had plagued their performance in the opening half hour. Their first real chance of the game fell to in-form marksman Graham Molloy whose volley towards goal was comfortably caught by goalkeeper Danny Taberner.
Widnes seemed to have regained confidence as they ended the half in strong fashion, as they showed good purpose going forward. They were mightily unfortunate not to have a goal to their name heading into halftime, as Paul Cliff rattled the post from 25 yards out with what was an excellent effort.
Despite Widnes’ strong showing in the closing minutes in the first-half, Colls began the second period in the same vein as they had performed throughout the opening 45 minutes. It wasn’t long before they made it 3-0.
Collieries won a free-kick just outside the area that Mark Battersby promptly drilled against the foot of the post. The ball rebounded to Matt Grimshaw, who calmly put the ball away to score Colls’ 1900th goal in the North West Counties Football League.
Moments later, Widnes midfielder James Ludgate was on the receiving end of a bad challenge from Collieries’ Josh Messer that sparked a massive uproar in the middle of the field, with all but a hand full of players involved. Messer’s challenge fully warranted a red card, but the referee only brandished a yellow card. The referee didn’t have the best of games, as his decisions regularly incurred the wrath of both sets of players. This was another critical decision that Steve Hill thought that he got wrong, alongside his decision to dismiss Matty Lennon.
It took a great interception from substitute Daniel Lomax to prevent Colls from bagging their fourth of the game. Ben Hardcastle advanced the down the right wing, making light work of Paul Carney as he delivered a cross that Lomax dealt with well, averting any danger in the process.
Eventually, Michael Clegg’s side managed to bag their fourth goal of the game. Mark Battersby doubled his account in the game with a calm and composed finish on the spin, as he curled the ball into the bottom corner beyond the motionless Nevitt.
Keeper Nevitt was one of Widnes’ better players on the day, which was further on-show as the game surpassed the 70-minute mark. He pulled off a sensational double save to deny a shot from Matthew Boland and then Bradley Cooke, as the shot-stopper rushed out to reject the earlier goalscorer at his feet.
Colls’ fifth and final goal came with 15 minutes left in the game, as a lengthy spell of possession for the away side ended with Boland linking up well with Ben Hardcastle with the latter rounding off the scoring for the title contenders with a deft chip over the outstretched David Nevitt.
Manager Steve Hill expressed disappointment with his side’s performance following the game. “It was disappointing to lose. It was uphill as soon as we went down to 10-men, but nevertheless we’ve lost to a very good side. I think we shot ourselves in the foot a few times with individual errors, where we’d be better clearing the ball rather than playing around with it in dangerous areas. That’s something that is happening a bit too often now.”
Hill refused to criticise the referee when asked about Lennon’s dismissal but he believed that Atherton’s players had a major influence over his decision. “I just think that they all shouted red card at him, and I don’t think it was a red card and I don’t know what he was looking at, but he sent our man off and we have to live with that.”
Next time out, Widnes host Holker Old Boys at the Select Security Stadium in their fourth consecutive home game. It is a game that has now become even more pivotal for the home side in their quest for a playoff spot, as the Cumbrians sit two places ahead of Widnes, with an advantage of three points and four games in hand.
Widnes are fully capable of pulling off a victory against another tough opposition. They showed glimpses of their best in the defeat, particularly towards the end of the first half despite the fact they had one less man. Recent victories over Irlam and Eccleshall will also remain in the back of their minds as they look to cement their top-half status.
Match Report by Callum Chadwick
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