Big gate sees Colls draw with Wanderers

A BUMPER crowd attended the Kensite Stadium for Atherton Colls’ 3-3 draw with Bolton in the season’s pipe-opener for both sides.

New Wanderers gaffer Phil Parkinson was present at the game along with a sprinkling of the first team set-up but it was a youthful Superwhites outfit on show.

Colls started with ten of last season’s squad and looked resplendent in their black and white halved centenary shirt.

Colls took the lead on seven minutes.

Veteran midfielder Brad Cooke made a swashbuckling run into the box and was upended by Wanderers custodian Jake Turner for a stonewall penalty.  

Turner guessed the right way but he was unable to stop Mark Ayres’ 12-yard effort.  

Ten minutes later, Cooke doubled the advantage with a howitzer of a strike from 20 yards out.  

On 25 minutes, the lead was halved when the diminutive and talented Alex Samizadeh scored from close range after he had shown fine footwork in the box.

With just seconds of the half remaining, Wanderers equalised through Constantin Sandu but Colls still had time to retake the lead through speedy striker Jordan Cover.  A first half goalfest.

Both teams predictably ringed the changes for the second half and the game never reached the giddy goalscoring heights of the opening 45 minutes, but there was no lack of effort, intensity and talent on display. Lewis Coleman was just off target with an overhead kick for Colls before Turner expertly pushed a goalbound Gareth Peet daisy cutter on to the far post.

Peet then went down in the box but referee Handley gave short shrift to penalty appeals.

 Colls keeper Danny Taberner, making a welcome return from a leg injury that ended his season in March, had to be on his mettle when he was left one-on-one with an attacker, but he bravely smothered the ball.

The visitors equalised just when it looked like Colls were set for a famous victory.  

An opportunist 50-yard effort by Tom Grivisti was tipped on to the bar by the back-pedalling Taberner only for Ronaldo Pearson to gobble up the rebound.

The crowd of 1,780 must be a Colls best for a generation or three.