North West Counties League First Division North
Campion 7-1 St Helens Town
Leon Hurles-Brook and Danny Keane were double goal-scorers as ever-improving Campion wiped the floor with poor St Helens Town.
The winless visitors only had themselves to blame after gifting Campion three first half goals – from Mark Ferguson, Keane and Hurles-Brook – because of a style of play out of a kamikaze defending manual rather than one written by Pep.
St Helens have shipped 51 goals in 12 league games and it is easy to see why.
Campion did not even have to get out of third gear.
More goals were inevitable and Keane, Hurles-Brook, Luke Rhodes and Alex Preston ensured a Campion went home with a deserved huge winning margin.
The visitors only looked dangerous after Campion’s big guns went off and centre-half David Thompson – head and shoulders St Helens’ best player – went upfront and they played to their strengths.
St Helens need to take note of that as they created several good chances and it was Thompson who got their goal.
Bearing in mind Campion were without suspended talisman Aidan Kirby; with him it could have been a cricket score.
Playing out from the back is fine if you have the players to perform it and St Helens kept losing the ball in their own half.
Campion never even applied intense pressing, the visitors simply kept giving possession.
The fourth minute deadlock breaker was a crazy goal to concede.
Under no pressure, St Helens lost the ball near the halfway line after two or three passes after their goalkeeper distributed it out.
Midfielder Robbie Graham lofted it over the defender and former Glasshoughton Welfare striker Mark Ferguson rifled it low and hard past the out-rushing goalkeeper.
St Helens put a couple of interesting crosses into the Campion but no-one came close to connecting with them.
Campion were patient and they waited for their moment to finish their visitors off towards the end of the first half.
Hurles-Brook crowned himself the holder of the worst (or greatest) ever miss in Campion’s all-time history by hitting the post from three yards before redeeming himself several minutes later.
He was the provider initially as he carved a path out on the left-side. He killer pass laid a goal on a plate for midfielder Keane.
Ferguson almost benefited from a bad clearance from the visiting goalkeeper but the third goal was coming and Hurles-Brook took several defenders on before sliding the ball down the middle of the goal from around 12 yards.
The main themes of the first half continued into the second.
Keane made the trademark driving run, something that made him a club favourite at Shelley, and it ended with a powerful low effort flying into the bottom corner.
Even when taking off the top battalions in Graham and Paddy Sykes, the Bradford-based side remained on the offensive.
Jacob Ulrichsen set Ferguson scuttling down the right and he pinged it quickly into the penalty area to Hurles-Brook.
The popular winger took his time before curling it in from the edge of the six-yard-box.
This is the point where Thompson was thrown forward and St Helens began to be more direct.
Goalkeeper Brad Emmerson had to make two goal-saving stops as the home side struggled with Thompson’s physicality.
Campion had brief respite as a free kick allowed Hurles-Brook to deliver a peach of a cross for Keane to leap like a salmon and provide Rhodes with a tap-in.
Sixty seconds later saw Thompson force home a consolation to deny Campion a clean sheet.
But rather than sulk, two youngsters combined to add a seventh goal and round off a superb afternoon.
Ulrichsen crossed from the right and Preston converted it from close range.
What They Said
Campion joint manager Lee Ashforth
“I think as soon as we got the second goal it was easy.
“Because of position we are in you always anxious at 1-0 as if they get one it can change a game.
“Once we got the second we just kicked on and won convincingly.
“3-0 at half-time and we were 3-0 at half-time at Daisy Hill so it is good we are putting games to bed in the first half.
“It was an important game that we had to win and we got out of the traps early by scoring in the third minute which always relieves that pressure.
“Our goalkeeper made two or three good saves when we have made subs and game has become disjoined.
“When you look at games like this and teams score six or seven – and I have been on the end of a few – teams are creating chances.
“That’s we did and yeah it could have been more.”
The Teams
Campion: Emmerson, Carney, Crossley, Eastwood (captain), Rhodes, Graham (Ta Seti 53), Keane, Maltby, Ferguson (Preston 65), Hurles-Brook, Sykes (Ulrichsen 56).
St Helens Town: Williams, Brown (Lea 53), Robinson (captain), Clarke, Thompson, Amankwah, Apperley, Devlin, Mugalula (Smith 60), Douglas, Gore. Subs unused: Lea, Merrifield, McMahon, Smith, McDaid.
Who Was In Charge
Billal Moosa (7/10)
How Many Were There
77
Man of the Match
Danny Keane (Campion)
