Leigh go down at home to Glossop.

Leigh welcomed their good friends, Glossop, to Hand Lane yesterday and knew that it was going to be a hard day at the office, against their big and powerful forward pack. Glossop did not disappoint and to be honest they seemed bigger, man for man, than Leigh across their whole squad. There must be something in the water in those hills.

Leigh took to the pitch without several of their regulars again and it was Glossop who hit the accelerator early on. It looked like a repeat of the previous week was on the cards, when Aspull took hold of the game but this week Leigh weathered the storm and kept their visitors out with some heroic scrambling defence.

Glossop’s persistence, however, paid off and they got over for an unconverted try, in the twelfth minute, which they quickly added to when they slotted a penalty, eight minutes later.

Leigh picked themselves up and worked their way up the pitch where they were awarded a penalty. Quick thinking saw Jimmy Wilkinson take a tap penalty to put Eliot Liku over for a well taken, unconverted try, ten minutes before half time, to take the sides off, at the break, with Glossop leading by eight points to five.

The sides emerged after half time with neither team yielding an inch and the only additions to the score in the first thirty minutes of the half were a well struck penalty by Eliot Liku, for Leigh, and one by Glossop, to keep them three points in front.

The deadlock, however, was sensationally broken by a moment of individual brilliance from Leigh’s debutant in the back row, Olatumylara Onasanya – known affectionately as ‘Tumy’ by his team mates.

‘Tumy’ took a flat pass thirty-five metres out, from where he just hit the gas and stepped and accelerated his way over the Glossop line, for an unbelievable finish. Everyone was amazed at what they had witnessed. It came from nothing and for such a big man, his footwork and his pace were remarkable. Eliot Liku stepped up to add the conversion, which put Leigh in front by fifteen points to eleven, with ten minutes to play.

Glossop, however, responded quickly with an unconverted try to recapture the lead and Leigh nearly got in front again when an excellent penalty attempt by Eliot Liku, from forty metres out, unfortunately bounced back off the upright.

A final try by Glossop from a five-metre scrum, in the last minute, sealed the victory for them and they went off worthy winners by twenty-one points to fifteen.

This was an excellent game of rugby, played in the very best spirit by both sides, who really gave it their all yesterday and truly entertained the crowd.

Next week, Leigh travel to Cheadle Hulme, to face second placed Manchester, who are nine points in front of them in the League. This again will be another Team that Leigh have not played at First Team Level for many seasons. Kick off 2.15 p.m.