ATHERTON Collieries walked away with all three points following an immaculate NPL Premier Division performance at Whitby Town’s Turnbull Ground, with goals courtesy of Clive Smith and skipper Danny Lafferty securing a 2-0 win.

In contrast to the fog en-route to North Yorkshire, the game was played in remarkably sunny conditions, enjoyed by all of the large Collieries faithful who made the journey.

The Stripes got off to the best of starts, as Gaz Peet received a heavy-handed clattering in the box from a Whitby defender and they were awarded an early penalty.

Lafferty stepped up, and leathered his effort down the middle to confidently take the lead.

Whitby should have claimed a penalty of their own moments later, as a similar incident occurred in the Colls’ penalty area but they were not as successful.

The Colls continued to play on the front foot throughout the first half, with Luca Defreitas-Hansen coming closest with a far-post header from a Jack Lenehan corner.

New signing Declan Daniels impressed on his debut, and particularly shone with his link-up play between attack and midfield. This was most apparent in his involvement in the Colls second goal, a stunner from Smith.

Bringing down a difficult long ball with ease, Daniels laid off a simple pass to bring Rowan Roache into play on the wing. After a brief run, Roache played a searching cross into the box and found the marauding Colls full-back, who scored a rare goal for the club with a spectacular diving header, evoking memories of Ryan Salmon’s goal at Kendal in October 2017.

The second half began very much in line with the first, with Whitby again struggling to contain the threat of Defreitas-Hansen from a set-piece.

The hosts did test the Colls defensive resolve more regularly following the half-time break, and noticeably applied some pressure for a solid stint of the second half.

However, BradlCooke’s Stripes held on throughout, and threatening forays into the penalty area were limited at best.

The balance of play re-entered Colls’ control with the introduction of Matty Gillam and Elliot Rokka from the substitutes bench.

The pair of forwards led from the front with an intense pressing game, and combined with the ever relentless Ethan Kershaw, the game was again dictated by the Colls.

The two forwards also combined to twice come close to increasing the lead, as the Stripes began to hunt for a third goal.

On both occasions, Rokka found Gillam with a near-post cross, with both efforts flicked narrowly wide from a difficult position by the Colls top scorer.

Peet was likewise a constant thorn in the side of the Seasiders as the game came to a close, producing two excellent runs into the box after collecting the ball from deep, with the second almost producing a goal of the season contender as the quintessential wing-back troubled the Whitby stopper with a powerful effort.

In the final minute of the game, Danny Taberner finally received the first true threat upon his goal, producing a low diving save from a Malik Dijksteel header.

The final whistle saw the players receive a standing ovation from Black and White faithful.

Colls are back on home soil on Saturday when they host Stafford Rangers in the league (3pm).