ATHERTON Colls travelled to second from top Newcastle Town where an inspired first half performance by the Potteries side sent the local side home pointless.

Colls made a dreadful start to the match, going a goal behind after five minutes, when slack defensive marking gave Michael Lennon the easy task of prodding the ball home from close range.

Ten minutes later he added another with Colls in disarray and then set up his strike partner Andy Bott for the third before completing his hat-trick just before the interval.

What a transformation in the second half with the local side playing with much more confidence and Newcastle never really threatened. Colls battled to the end and scored a deserved consolation on 81 minutes when Chris Wilcock's shot hit the post and Barry Massey scored from close range.