ATHERTON Collieries reached the first qualifying round of the FA Cup at the expense of Hallam, where they will come up against some rather familiar foes.

Colls were deserved winners at the Sheffield side, with Jordan Cover hitting a hat-trick in their 4-1 victory.

Although the in-form striker missed a chance for his fourth from the penalty spot, Gareth Peet followed up the loose ball to complete the scoring.

And their reward is a tie at the team that ended their wonderful FA Vase run last season, Cleethorpes Town.

The Lincolnshire side beat Mike Clegg’s team at the last-16 stage before going on to lose the final at Wembley.

And club secretary Emil Anderson is relishing the chance for Colls to get one over on Cleethorpes when they go there on September 2.

“We do owe them, losing to them last year was just one of those things,” he said. “We had a great chance but they upped their game, won it and ended up going to Wembley, so we’ll take a good crew there and hopefully progress this time.

“We’re on an adventure into the unknown this year, the last three years has been a dream for us so, win, lose or draw, we’re going to enjoy it all.”

The Colls manager remains philosophical as he recalls that 3-2 loss, admitting they may not have gone on a run that sealed promotion from the Hallmark Security League after their Vase exit.

“That game was horrendous for us, it was probably the lowest point of my managerial career” said Clegg.

“We gave away a sloppy goal, scored an own goal, missed an open goal and they scored the winner in injury time.

“It really hurt us, there were plenty of tears in the dressing room but we became such a close unit after it, it really galvanised us and became the driving force for us winning the league. It catapulted us to where we are today, and let’s not forget, Cleethorpes are a very good side, they came out of that game with a lot of respect from us.

“We know we lost to a very good side who ended up playing at Wembley.

“We’ll go there with a new plan this time, and we’ll look to win the game, we don’t want to mess about trying to play to bring them back for a replay.

“We believe we’re a good side, we’re grafters but we have a lot of flair and pace going forward, and other teams know it takes a lot to beat us.”

In the Hallmark Security League First Division, Daisy Hill played out a goalless draw at Cheadle Town, while Atherton LR’s home game against Nelson fell foul of the weather.