Nathaniel Dacres (left) outmuscles Ryan Hall, but Brighouse still came out 7-1 winners
The result did not matter for Eccleshill United; getting the new era properly started was the priority during the 7-1 defeat against a very strong Brighouse Town team on Friday night.
Eccleshill have a blank canvas following the end of the partnership with RIASA and only two players remain from last season.
Some of the players that new manager Mark Greaves has brought to Eccleshill only met their team-mates for the first time last night so the match was all about fitness and getting to know each other.
Greaves will have known his team were facing a huge test. Brighouse boss Paul Quinn played two sides and any team facing Ryan Hall in one half and then Danny Facey in the other is going to have a tough time.
Eccleshill actually began very brightly against their far superior Evo Stik Division One North opponents and should have gone ahead.
Striker Luke Harrop was unlucky with his first attempt which hit the crossbar. He should have done better with the second effort as he only had goalkeeper Paul Hagreen to beat.
Eccleshill midfielder Andy Cooper controls the ball during their 7-1 defeat to Brighouse
Experienced player Andy Sunley takes on Brighouse captain Leon Henry
New Eccleshill United manager Mark Greaves is building a new team
From there on it was one-way traffic. Debutant Tom Robinson fired Brighouse ahead in the 19th minute with a well-taken volley and the chances kept flowing.
Former Bradford (Park Avenue) defender Steve Hollingworth, now known for prolific spell as a striker for Campion, was the recipient of a perfectly-executed pass from Tom Haigh for the second goal. Hollingworth ran through and kept his cool to go round Joe Stead and score.
Brighouse had two more goals in the bank before half-time as poor defending allowed Robinson to grab his second. From the kick-off from that goal, Brighouse quickly won back possession and club captain Leon Henry scored with a low, but powerful strike.
Quinn made nine changes at the interval and his second half team wasted no time in stamping their authority on the game.
James Hurtley looks like he enjoyed his first half appearance
Steve Hollingworth scores his first ever goal for Brighouse
Steve Hollingworth recently signed for Brighouse after scoring 44 goals for Campion
Eccleshill goalkeeper Joe Stead is unable to save Leon Henry’s effort
Ernest Boafo scores after powering through the Eccleshill defence
Ernest Boafo had too much strength for the Eccleshill defenders when he powered through for goal number five straight after the break.
Those watching had to wait another 20 minutes for another goal. This time Facey got on the score-sheet with a low finish.
Eccleshill then pulled a goal back as Matty Dalton’s perseverance allowed him to cross for Jarad Peltier to score a simple tap-in.
The final word went to Boafo, who added the seventh with a penalty after Facey was fouled.
Brighouse Town: Hagreen (Metcalfe), Thornton (Peacock), Horne (Scott), Wilson, Field (Fisher), Hurtley (Allison), Robinson (Johnson), Haigh (Harris), Hollingworth (Boafo), Hall (Facey), Henry (Scully).
Eccleshill United: Stead, Craven, Bartle, Cooper, Catley, Kitson, Wade, Peltier, Harrop, Dalton, Lopez. Subs: Sunley, Cooper, Dacres, Charles, Hammond.
Referee: S Barrot