ATHERTON Colls clinched an incredible third championship title in five years to ensure they will be playing in the Evo-Stik Premier Division next season.

A tense goalless draw against Trafford at the Skuna Stadium was enough to seal top spot ahead of Radcliffe, who were held by Ramsbottom United, with a game to spare.

Michael Clegg’s side have been on an upward trajectory since 2014 when they climbed out of the bottom reaches of the North West Counties League and are now set to face northern non-league stalwarts like Hyde United, Marine, Scarborough and, potentially, FC United at the Skuna Stadium next season.

Speaking after promotion was confirmed, club skipper Danny Lafferty admitted there had been some nerves on the day but that the result was all-important.

“You have got to try and forget about the occasion, put everything to one side, forget about winning the league and just get the game won,” he told the club.

“You wouldn’t be normal if you didn’t feel the nerves and we all did slightly but you have to get the job done.

“It would have been nice to win the game, it wasn’t the most exciting, but we got the job done – who cares? We have won the league.

“It has been a long season. We have had so many hurdles thrown in front of us with injuries and people leaving and it just feels like there’s a massive weight off our shoulders.”

Colls welcomed a gate of 843 fans to the game – more than double their average attendance this season.

The club has become a commercial success in the town, attracting new sponsorship, and gaining a closer connection to the local community during Clegg’s successful time at the helm.

To clinch promotion in front of home support was especially pleasing for Lafferty.

“The fans were brilliant, and they have been since the start of the season,” he said. “We would not be in this position if it wasn’t for them. I’d like to say a big thanks to every single one of them.”

Tension was high on Easter Monday as the Colls and Radcliffe games were played simultaneously and that translated on to the pitch, where the players were unsure how their title-rivals were faring.

“Me and Grimmy (Matt Grimshaw) were speaking and I said to him ‘Radcliffe must be winning’ because the fans were quiet. They would have been cheering if they were getting beat,” he said.

“That was about 10 minutes prior to when I heard the fans go up. That’s when we knew we just had to keep a grip of the game, keep the ball and we got the result we needed.”