Deegan Atherton thrilled to get off the mark for Worksop Town

Atherton capped off the victory over the Northern Counties East League side with a well-taken goal with five minutes remaining.

The 21-year-old has never been renowned for his work in the final third but says it is something that is required of himself due to Craig Parry’s philosophy.

He said: “I thought I had a lot of space out wide today, so I kept getting on the ball and trying to drive forward.

“You know what Paz’s (Parry) style of play is like; we always like to get forward and attack the goal, so if I get the chance then that is what he wants us to do.

“I have been here four years and that was my first goal for the Tigers, so when the chance came there was no other option but to have a shot and thankfully it went in

“It was a great feeling; I turned around and saw all the fans cheering – it has been a long time coming.”

Worksop had endured a tough start against the Miners, who made the Tigers work on an extremely hot afternoon, and the home side eventually pulled away in the second period.

“I thought the performance was good,” said Atherton. “We always tried the right things, and, in some parts, we showed great quality.

“We started good on the ball but made a couple of mistakes defensively and we cleaned those up in the second half. I think it was the case of starting slow and getting better.”