Augher 0-4 Kesh
Ryan Campbell scored his third hat-trick in his last five games as Kesh eased past Augher Stars.
Grant Ellis scored the first, with Campbell scoring an eight-minute hat-trick either side of halftime to keep Kesh level on points with the division one leaders.
Player/manager Campbell was frustrated with his team’s first-half performance, but delighted to take home three points.
“It wasn’t pretty,” he conceded. “I had to give out at half time because it was as poor a first half as we have had in a very long time, although somehow we were still two nil up.
"I thought we battled hard and mixed it with them, but we got into the game they wanted to play.
"It was a tussle off the ball and a lot of set plays, freekicks, corners and long balls. It wasn’t our style. It was frustrating.
"Thankfully we got two goals at nice times, and that settled us going in at halftime.”
“They did have a few corners and free kicks around our box, and they had a couple of chances to equalise, but thankfully they didn’t and in the second half the players listened to what we had to say.
"We came out the first 20 minutes of the second half and we destroyed them with our football and opened them up a few times. We went four nil up and the game was done and dusted.”
Kesh took the lead after seventeen minutes when Grant Ellis came in at the back post to power a header over the line from close range, but Stars were always in contention up until Campbell started his goal spree on the stroke of halftime.
The striker was brought down inside the penalty area a minute into added time, and he picked himself up to send the keeper the wrong way from the spot.
One minute after the restart he added his second and Kesh’s third when a cross to the back post found Sam Robb in space.
His header was saved by Matthew Grimes in the Stars’ goal but the ball bounced to the feet of Campbell who tapped in from two yards out.
He completed his treble seven minutes later, again from close range, when he converted a low cross from inside the six-yard box.
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