SIGHS of relief reverberated around Atherton on Tuesday night as Atherton Colls celebrated a first win under new management team Dennis Haslam and Tommy Foster with a 1-0 home triumph over Flixton.

It marked a first league victory for the club since September 26.

Way back then that 3-2 win over Maine Road was the ninth game of the season and Alan Lord was still in charge. The Flixton game was the 28th outing of the campaign.

The timing of the first win could hardly have been better. As the vandalism and burglary attacks on the club have now reached such sickening regularity that officials at Alder House are quite justifiably beginning to talk of some sort of vendetta against them, a bit of good news was desperately needed to lift everyone's spirits.

The team had also slipped a little too near the bottom two relegation places for comfort as the Division One listing going into the game showed just Great Harwood Town and Leek CSOB below Colls, both four points adrift. Allied to all this was the need for the newly assembled team under Foster and Haslam to show their bosses - and everyone else - that they were heading in the right direction.

They certainly delivered he goods, right smack bang on time. It was quality performance all round. Recent signing from Castleton Gabriels Stuart Shepherd got the vital only goal of the game on 28 minutes following good work by Anthony Smith.

There could be little argument that Colls fully deserved the win as a further effort from Ian Gibson converted from a corner was strangely ruled out for offside. Another recent new signing from Tetley Walker, Steve Abram, was named as the game's star performer.

"It was certainly good to get that first win," outlined a rather calm and relaxed Foster after the final whistle. "We needed it but to my mind the big game of the week for us was always at home to Great Harwood Town tomorrow because that is a real 'six pointer'. The relegation issue will rest on how many points the bottom teams take off each other."

After the disappointment of last Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Tetley Walker, Atherton LR bounced back on Tuesday night to beat Colne 3-0 at Crilly Park in a Division Two fixture.

Mark Jones scored early on for his first goal for the club since his transfer from Colls and Tom Purcell and Barry Massay underlined Rovers superiority in the second period. As on the weekend Colin Lomas was again named man of the match. Tomorrow LR entertain Holker Old Boys at Crilly Park.

Tragedy had struck Rovers last week with the sudden death of club director Jack Hetherington. An immensely popular and highly-respected character, his loss was a bitter blow for the Crilly Park club.