Ollerton Undone As Campion's Talent Shines Through

Ollerton Town's recent home comforts came to an end on Saturday as Campion left The Lane with all three points after a 2-0 victory. Ollerton were unbeaten in their last three home fixtures, picking up a 6-2 win against Brigg Town and impressive draws against Grimsby Borough and Hall Road Rangers, yet on Saturday a poor second half performance allowed Campion to run-out winners thanks to goals by Matthew Jones and Talent Ndlovu.
The Town welcomed back Matthew Thompson to their starting line up though they were without striker Kyle Ludlow, Greg Tobin deputising for last season's top goalscorer.
It was the home side who had the better of the early chances. Mark Carter headed over from a corner minutes before he was forced off with an injury, before a Lewis Bingham cross caused havoc in the Campion area, with Tobin eventually poking the ball just wide.
This was the battle of the league's new boys with both sides having earned promotion last season. Campion striker Eli Hey has took to the Northern Counties East League with ease, scoring 30 league goals so far, but he was to have a frustrating day in front of goal which started when he skewed a shot wide after the ball fell for him kindly on the edge of the box.
Ollerton's top goalscorer this season, Josh Bowkett, was brought on to replace the injured carter and his rasping effort from long ranged was tipped over the bar well by Campion 'keeper Daniel Armitage.
The last chance of the half fell to Campion. Hey's swerving shot was parried by Ollerton stopper Scott Gretton and though the ball fell kindly for Talent Ndlovu, he couldn't find the target, tapping wide of the upright.
Gretton was called into action early in the second period, doing well to save Hey's shot before Campion took the lead on fifty-five minutes. From a corner, the ball fell into the path of Matthew Jones and his low effort clipped Ollerton skipper Rob Evans and beat Gretton, finding the bottom corner.
The reverse fixture back in September ended in a 1-1 draw which was Ollerton's first point of the season after a difficult start. Any hope of a similar result this time around was nearly dashed as Campion came close to doubling their lead. Hey rounded Gretton twice but failed to hit the back of the net with Evans doing well at one point to clear the ball off the line.
Sam Stretton's half volley went wide of the goal as Ollerton went in search of an equaliser but on seventy minutes, Campion added a second to give Dave Winter's side a mountain to climb. Ndlovu was slipped through on goal and the youngster showed that he's not called Talent for no reason, keeping his cool under pressure to find the corner.
Ollerton kept pushing for a way back into the game, Lewis Bingham seeing a sliding effort easily saved before Brandon Shaw headed over from a corner.
It was Bingham who scored for Ollerton in the earlier game against Campion and he nearly found the net again late on. His dipping effort was saved by Armitage but after Thompson picked up the rebound, he and his Ollerton team-mates couldn't force the ball in from the resulting scramble.
In the end, Campion went on to secure the win to keep up their push for a play-off place. Ollerton find themselves at the opposite end of the table, just outside the relegation zone. Inconsistency has plagued their form in the early parts of 2017 and The Town will be looking to secure a few more wins between now and the end of April as they look to secure their survival, starting next weekend at Yorkshire Amateur.