Campion AFC 3 - 2 AFC Emley

AFC Emley’s unbeaten run has come to an abrupt end after a surprisingly disappointing away performance against Campion AFC.

Emley twice came from behind to draw level with Campion in the first half, but Darren Hepworth’s men couldn’t quite conjure up a third goal to reply to Ely Hey’s early second half lob, which proved to be the match winner.
Jordan Coduri rescued Emley on Wednesday night against Winterton Rangers, but nor he or anyone else in a green shirt could contribute to a comeback in Bradford on Saturday afternoon.

It was Emley, who, as they have done for the past few games, started the brightest but once again fell behind first.

A typical route-one long ball was punted towards Ely Hey, who completed the easy task of slotting past Graham McLachlan to make it 1-0 to Campion.

The visitors’ response was rapid. After pandemonium in the Campion penalty area, Ashley Flynn was in the right place at the right time when the ball fell to his feet. This season’s top scorer added another to his tally, smashing the ball into the top corner.

However, Campion would not let that goal dampen their spirits and went in search of the lead once again. An unmarked Ely Hey cropped up inside the penalty area and headed in from close range.

Aaron Joseph was the next player in an Emley shirt to take Campion’s lead from them. Another penalty area scramble ended up in the midfielder finding the bottom corner from a tight angle.

Soon after that equaliser, Ashley Flynn raced through on goal with the ball at his feet, but Daniel Armitage made himself big in Peter Schmeichel style and blocked Flynn’s effort with his arm. That’s the second time in as many games that Flynn has been denied by the goalkeeper in a one-on-one. Maybe he is losing his killer touch?

HT: Campion 2 – 2 AFC Emley

The second half was a sour sight for travelling supporters as they had to endure 45 minutes of wayward passing and schoolboy defending.

This gifted the hosts with a chance to retake the lead for the third time in the match, as well as a great chance for Ely Hey to complete his hat-trick. The big centre-forward lobbed Graham McLachlan and watched the ball loop into the top corner as Campion went 3-2 ahead.

From that goal onwards, Emley’s heads dropped severely – as did their ability to complete the simple stuff. 5-yard passes and defensive clearances seemed to be causing all sorts of problems as Darren Hepworth watched his side crumble.

Campion looked the likelier of the two to score the next goal, but after Ely Hey was forced off through injury, their dominance in the match decreased.

None the less, Emley didn’t seem to have the cutting edge to muster up a third goal. Kieran Ryan and Ashley Flynn both had flashing efforts that went well wide – an accurate summary of how the Pewits’ performed throughout the match.

FT: Campion 3 – 2 AFC Emley

It is thought that plenty of hard work will be going into the simple stuff on the training ground ahead of Rossington Main’s visit to the Welfare Ground on Wednesday night.

However, Emley will not let this defeat damage their attitude as promotion is still set in Darren Hepworth’s sights.

Campion have now leap-frogged Emley in the table.