A RUN of three victories since their derby defeat at Eccleshill United has lifted Campion back up to third in Division One and the Toolstation Northern Counties East League's entertainers are hoping to continue their recent form.

There was a quiet opening to the season for James Bicknell's men before a 4-0 win at newcomers Swallownest, then suffering a 2-0 home defeat to Knaresborough Town.

Campion then scored seven goals and shipped just one in back-to-back wins before the 3-1 loss at Eccleshill. In the triple run of league successes that followed, they scored 11 but conceded seven as the action at both ends of the pitch continued.

The team keep finding the net – and that is since the departure of last term's top scorer Eli Hey.

Club treasurer Andy Shepard said: "We've had an excellent start and we're all very happy with the results. It was a big disappointment to lose Eli but we had a feeling that it was going to happen, so we looked at our recruitment policy with that in mind.

"We knew it would be almost impossible to replace him with someone else who would score 40-plus goals this season. We went for good forward players who were all capable of scoring and although it was difficult identifying them, we managed to get the players we went for.

"We did it hoping that the goals Eli scored last season would be spread around, with five or six players getting into double figures. We still don't know if it will pay off in the long run but it looks promising so far."

Campion's 3-2 home win over newcomers East Yorkshire Carnegie on Tuesday saw Aiden Day, Kieron Batey and Robbie Graham on target, while Danny Cunningham had hit a hat-trick in the previous 5-3 win at Winterton Rangers.

Shepard said: "We had a good win the other night against a strong side from Hull (Carnegie) and we're up in third and looking to consolidate that place. We've done well in the two seasons we've been at this level and we're looking for improvement now and to push for promotion."