Prestwich Heys 3 Atherton Colls 0: PRESTWICH Heys banished the curse of the home dressing room to become the fifth different winners of the Goldline Trophy at the Reebok Stadium.
The Manchester League side scored twice in four first half minutes to seize control of the tie after Colls had spurned the best opening of the game through Greg Brickell. The striker rounded Damian Rooney only to waste an open net in the 12th minute, for which he was duly punished by Mark Denham's rasping half volley.
The defending champions were stunned and even though they continued to manufacture chances for the enterprising Brickell, their relevance decreased when Prestwich grabbed second. Denham turned provider as he made space to float inside and drill a low ball into the danger zone for Jeff Cavanagh to double the initiative.
The main surprise about the opening 20 minutes was that exciting Heys' striker Abid Uddin had yet to register himself on the scoresheet. That problem was rectified by his looping header from 10 yards three minutes after the interval. Colls created enough to suggest that even a three goal margin was insecure -- but the wastefulness of Brickell exemplified by a second missed open goal -- ended any hopes of a grandstand finish.
The Goldline Trophy is no respecter of reputation and perhaps that's the reason why it has produced five different winners in as many years. "We are a young side and most of the lads played at under 18 level last season, so we've come a long way," admitted victorious manager Adie Moran. "At times we were under a lot of pressure but we defended very well and deserved the win."
Preparations will now get under way for the next Goldline Trophy, which is due to start in the summer.
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