ARAN Basi did not quite pull off the favour Campion were after last night, but he is confident the North West Counties Football League First Division North side can bounce back from a surprise poor start.

Guest defender Basi was sent off late on as the promotion-chasing Red and Blacks slid to a 3-2 defeat at home to Golcar, leaving them on no points from two games.

Explaining the unusual situation, he said: “(Joint-manager) James Bicknell rang me as they had a few players missing, so I just played to help out.

“My season with Yorkshire Amateur doesn’t start until August 14, and the bosses there said it was fine for me to go and get minutes with Campion, as there’s nothing in the rules against it.”

Basi’s red card was part of a Campion collapse, which saw them blow an early 2-0 lead.

He said: “Their lad was through on goal, so it had to be done, bringing him down. I don’t feel hard done by as it was a clear red.

“We could have won. We were 2-0 up but then conceded right on half-time, which is the worst time to let in a goal.

“Golcar kept pushing, crossing the ball in and got their equaliser, then I got sent off with five or six minutes left and they got the winner just after.”

Despite the early setbacks, Basi is still backing Campion to do just fine without him.

He said: “They can go for promotion. They’ve had back-to-back 3-2 defeats, so scoring isn’t a problem, they just need to tighten up at the back.

“If you want to win leagues, you have to score goals, and you can rely on Campion to do that. It’s more worrying when you start drawing games 0-0 and you’re struggling to score.

“It’s basically a new squad too, I think only four of the lads that started their opener on Saturday were there last season.

“All I’d say is you don’t win leagues in August.”

Basi is managed by Craig Ogilvie and Neil Sibson at Yorkshire Amateur, while Bicknell and Lee Ashforth are in joint-charge of Campion.

Asked if he likes that kind of set-up, Basi said: “I do think two men works, and I think James and Lee have formed a good little duo.

“They’re both very organised and I wouldn’t take those first two results too seriously.

“The team will gel soon and they’ll be picking up three points every week.”

Players are always crossing paths on the non-league football scene in Bradford, but with it being a new-look Campion, Basi admitted: “I only really knew Nicky Boshell from playing with him at Eccleshill.

“I’ve played against their captain Aidan Kirby a few times too but that was it.”

Basi is back at Campion this evening for the Matthew Keenan charity match, which is being played in memory of the popular 34-year-old football coach, who died late last month after contracting Covid-19.