ATHERTON Collieries came up short in the first of their two cup finals in two days.

A Colls side, reshuffled with a second cup final the following night in mind, faced Prestwich Heys in Monday's Hospital Cup final, held at the Macron Stadium, but a disappointing performance meant it was Heys collecting the trophy after a 1-0 win.

Paul Tierney, brother of former Bury star Mark, made the difference with Heys' winner, finding the top corner of the goal with a chip from just outside the box.

It may have been a fine goal and one worthy of winning the game but Colls, who dominated the possession, were left ruing their inability to fashion clear-cut scoring opportunities. A late chance did come the way of substitute Mark Battersby but the club's leading scorer saw his finish rebound off the frame of the goal.

"I'm disappointed we couldn't put up a proper Atherton Collieries performance," admitted manager Michael Clegg. "We were always confident of getting a result but we were under no illusions it was always going to be a tough game.

"We had a lot of the ball but I don't think we created that much and you have to credit Heys for that – and if we had to lose a cup final to anybody I'm glad it was them as I've got some good friends at that club. I'm sad that we couldn't fully showcase our ability but congratulations to Heys."

Club secretary Emil Anderson was equally magnanimous after the defeat. He said: "We had a lot of the possession throughout but didn't have many openings, so you can't take anything away from Prestwich, well done to them.

"Obviously we would have liked to win the game and defend the cup but it just wasn't to be. We've played a lot of football recently and we've limped over the line at the end of this season, we've drawn three, lost three and won just one of the last seven games."

There's little doubt at Alder Street that the hectic end-of-season schedule has had an effect on Colls' season. Clegg's men have had to fit their final four matches into just six days, with the Men United Cup final against Colne coming 24 hours after their defeat at the Macron.

But ahead of facing Colne at Fleetwood Town's Highbury ground, Anderson isn't about to complain about battling on several fronts, as it means the club's management team are doing something right.

"We are downbeat after the result," he added. "You could say we've under-achieved, particularly if we lose to Colne and we come out with nothing, but we've played too many games.

"We are confident with the players we have as we have beaten Colne twice but it's a cup final and anything can happen.

"It would be so disappointing to come out of the season with nothing at the end but we have finished third in the league and reached two cup finals.

"The last two years for this club have been beyond our wildest dreams, we have got used to winning – it's funny how that dynamic changes in football – but we just stopped winning when we had the chance to finish off at the end."