Atherton Collieries narrowly lost out 1-0 to Marine in a closely-fought NPL Premier Division encounter at the Skuna Stadium.

Louis Britton’s strike on the stroke of half time made the difference, as Colls fell short in their ambitions to record consecutive wins, despite a spirited performance against play-off chasers Marine.

Brad Cooke made several changes to his side after a huge effort to defeat Radcliffe on Tuesday night, with Gaz Peet, Clive Smith, Ben Hardcastle and Oli Brown dropping to the bench.

Adam Haw was named in the starting line-up for his full Colls debut, while the game marked Marcus Cusani’s 100th appearance in black and white.

Marine started the game in the ascendency, winning the early midfield battles but unable to craft a true opening.

Mackenzie Chapman was on hand to smother Ben Hodgkinson’s strike for the visitors after a tricky run from the impressive Britton.

The clearest opportunity for Colls in the first half fell to Cusani, the winger unable to find the net on his centenary appearance, scuffing his effort high and wide from point-blank range following a Luca Defreitas-Hansen knockdown.

As the Collieries began to build momentum, Marine struck right on the half-time whistle, a composed finish from Britton breaking the deadlock and robbing the Colls of the chance to head into the break level.

Cooke’s side took control after the interval and enjoyed more possession in the second half, but grit and defensive resolve from an organised Mariners back line frustrated and limited the Stripes to half chances.

Marine created two late opportunities on the counter attack, goalscorer Britton twice denied one-on-one after breaking away with numbers committed forwards for Colls.

Following the game, the Collieries celebrated the 250th appearance of captain Danny Lafferty with a presentation in the clubhouse.

The Colls are back in action on Saturday when they welcome FC United of Manchester to the Skuna Stadium (3pm).