LLOYD Kelly marked his injury comeback with a goal, while Simon Francis also came through an hour as Cherries cruised past Basingstoke Town 8-0 in the second round of the Hampshire Senior Cup.

Gavin Kilkenny stole the show on the pitch at Vitality Stadium with an impressive hat-trick while Jake Scrimshaw added a brace and Jaidon Anthony also netted in the rout before Kelly’s strike.

Anthony then completed the scoring two minutes from time with a sumptuous 30-yard lob.

The big pre-match news was the inclusions of both Kelly and Francis with the two stars from the senior squad making their first appearances as they stepped up the recoveries from their respective injuries.

Kelly is yet to make his competitive debut having not featured since suffering ankle ligament damage during a pre-season training session following his £13million summer move from Bristol City.

He lined up at left-back for his first Cherries appearance on English soil while club captain Francis began in the heart of the defence after recovering from the anterior cruciate knee ligament injury sustained against Tottenham on Boxing Day.

Basingstoke arrived in wretched form with just one draw to their name in all competitions this season, currently sitting bottom of Southern League Division One South.

And they found themselves behind at Vitality Stadium in just the seventh minute. Irish ace Kilkenny was the man to break the deadlock, lashing a low effort into the bottom corner from 20 yards.

Martin Kuhl’s side responded with Cherries goalkeeper Will Dennis called into a smart stop to parry away Dean Stow’s strike, before the hosts got on the front foot again.

Tyrell Hamilton and Kelly both shot wide with the contest being played almost exclusively in the Dragons half.

A rare foray forwards drew another stop from Dennis, this time to deny Zach Robinson, before a moment of magic from Kilkenny doubled the advantage.

The midfielder collected the ball around 40 yards from goal, spotted young goalkeeper Albert White off his line and lofted it over his head with a stunning effort.

Alex Dobre quickly looked to add a third but was denied by White. But there was time for a third before the break with Scrimshaw lashing into the bottom corner on the rebound after his initial effort had cannoned back off the post.

Hamilton fired wide shortly afterwards as Shaun Cooper’s side went in 3-0 ahead at the break.

And Cherries wasted little time in adding to their tally after the restart. Kelly was the provider, bombing down the left wing and fizzing a low cross in for Scrimshaw to turn in at the near post.

Five minutes into the second half, Cherries added their fifth and it was another impressive finish as Anthony assessed his options before a classy clip into the top corner from just inside the box.

The goals did not stop there with Kilkenny completing his hat-trick, collecting possession from Kelly and drilling in, via a deflection.

Kelly then went from provider to scorer as the hosts notched a fourth goal inside 12 second-half minutes to make it 7-0, the full-back drilling hard and low into the far corner.

That was his final meaningful action before being withdrawn just past the hour mark alongside Francis.

Scrimshaw went in search of his hat-trick as the game ticked towards its final 10 minutes but was denied by a good White stop.

Cherries added an eighth in the dying minutes as Anthony looped a long-range effort over the head of White for his second of the evening.

Cherries: Dennis; Camp (Gillela, 71), Francis (Glover, 62), Rossi, Kelly (Zemura, 62); Dobre, Kilkenny, Jordan, Anthony; Hamilton, Scrimshaw.

Unused subs: Saydee, Terrell (g/k).

Referee: Gary Parsons

Attendance: 355