Jack’s got the Wright stuff as defender scores on debut as Crusaders hammer Hendon

Hungerford Town maintained their unbeaten home record with a comfortable 3-0 win over Hendon.

Goals from Sam De St. Croix, debutant Jack Wright and Cheltenham Town loanee Adulai Sambu helped the Crusaders make it six Southern Premier League South games without defeat at Bulpit Lane.

There wasn’t much to separate the two sides for the opening quarter-of-an-hour but the hosts went ahead after 18 minutes when De St. Croix, who spent three years playing in New Zealand, produced a smart finish following Joe Shepherd’s incisive ball forward.

Hendon, who had former Hungerford frontman Niko Muir leading their line, forced a smart save from veteran goalkeeper Ryan Clarke minutes later, but the home side began to dominate and could have been further in front before the break.

The Crusaders eventually doubled their lead in the 65th minute when centre-half Jack Wright, who signed in the week from Dorchester Town, swept the ball home after the visitors failed to deal with a long throw from Jack Alexander.

And Hungerford were out of sight just two minutes later when Adulai Sambu, who earlier extended his loan from the Robins by another month, met Rhys Tyler’s cross with a thumping header to complete a comprehensive 3-0 victory.

“I thought we were good. We couldn’t have been much worse than we were on Tuesday night,” boss Danny Robinson said afterwards.

“We controlled the majority of the game and created the better chances. We’re delighted to have kept a clean sheet.”

The Crusaders, who move up to 11th, will be looking to improve their away form on Saturday when they travel to 16th placed Sholing.