Burn baby burn!

Leigh travelled to Ramsgreave with spirits high following last week’s great win at home to Carlisle but a slow start almost cost them dearly.

Blackburn were fourteen points ahead after ten minutes through two, well worked, converted tries down the left hand flank.

Elliott Ryan pulled three points back for Leigh after thirteen minutes, when he slotted a penalty but Blackburn extended their lead again to fourteen points two minutes later.

Then, a dropped ball by the Leigh back line, after thirty minutes, allowed Blackburn to race away and extend their lead to nineteen points through an unconverted try.

The next ten minutes belonged to Leigh and after several promising phases, Wayne McCabe put his front row partner, Matt Newton, through a hole for him to gallop over for a critical try which was well converted by Elliott Ryan to take the teams off at half time with Blackburn leading twenty two points to ten.

The second half was a completely different story with Leigh dominating proceedings and the big, Blackburn pack tiring as the game went on.

Leigh soon had five more points on the scoreboard, within five minutes of the restart, when they spotted a mismatch on the left and fed the ball to Ollie Shepherd who scorched his way past their helpless winger to burn him off for an unconverted try.

The scores were narrowed again, after fifty-two minutes, when Elliott Ryan stepped up to the plate to convert another penalty.

Leigh’s dominance continued and ten minutes later, Iain Wood, took a ball against the head under the Blackburn sticks and No. 8, Chris Boyle, crashed his way over, for what turned out to be the winning try, converted again by the trusty boot of Elliot Ryan.

Blackburn threw all they had left in their tank at Leigh in the last quarter of an hour and they nearly snatched victory with the last play of the game, but, fortunately for Leigh, the try was disallowed for a forward pass, by the referee Rob Sheard.

This was another gargantuan effort by all of the Leigh lads but special mention must go to Chris Boyle and Oliver Farley who really stood out in this remarkable turnaround.

Next week, Leigh are away to Broughton Park, who are sitting one place and two points below Leigh in the League, in yet another ‘must win’ encounter.