Four tries each but Leigh snatch victory in closing minutes.

Leigh resumed their 2019/20 Season away at Sefton earlier today and came away with a bonus point win. However, they were made to work extremely hard for every point and the result hinged on a conversion attempt, with only minutes to go.

Leigh were without their very influential fly half and captain, Rob Drake, through injury and their free scoring full back, Jamie King, who is away on holiday. Therefore, the team had to be shuffled around a bit but they were bolstered by the return of Jimmy Wilkinson to their ranks and his contribution today was immense.

Sefton started strongly and threw all that they had at Leigh, for the first five minutes but Leigh’s defence stood firm and kept them out.

Leigh raised their game and in the next fifteen minutes they were rewarded for their efforts, through a penalty by Elliot Ryan and an excellent try by Joe Harrison, who scored wide out on the left, following a period of pressure near to the Sefton line. Good hands along the line culminated with a lovely, long ball from Matty Rudd, finding Joe in space, for him to step his way over for an unconverted try, to put Leigh eight points in front.

Sefton rallied and after three collapsed scrums close to the Leigh line, were rewarded with a penalty try in the thirty fifth minute, to narrow the deficit to one point.

Leigh countered immediately and after several phases of play, a long flat pass from Jimmy Wilkinson, found winger Kieran Duffy unopposed, for him to dot the ball down close to the right-hand touchline, to take the sides off at the halfway point, with Leigh leading by thirteen points to seven.

Sefton came out of the sheds like a house on fire and after several assaults on the Leigh line, their replacement fly half hurdled over a pile of bodies, to score out wide on the left. The conversion attempt hit the upright and fortunately, for them, bounced over to take Sefton into a one-point lead.

Sefton were quick to add to this, in the forty-seventh minute, when a deft chip through was pounced upon, near to the left-hand corner flag, to add five points to their tally.

Leigh again regrouped and worked hard to get to the Sefton end of the pitch, where after fifteen minutes of constant pressure they forced their way over, when Eliot Liku got the ball down for an unconverted try.

Sefton 19 Leigh 18.

Sefton bounced back again to register an unconverted score of their own, in the seventieth minute, to set up a nail biting last ten minutes, with Leigh requiring a converted try to win.

This they fortunately got, when Chris Boyle crashed over from close range, with only minutes to spare, to the left of the Sefton sticks. The final result hinged on the conversion attempt but Matty Rudd was more than up to the task and calmly stepped up to add the extra two points, which secured both the victory and a bonus point, which has lifted Leigh up into fourth place in the League again.

Final Score Sefton 24 Leigh 25.

This was a hard-earned victory, with everyone throwing themselves into everything and thankfully, in the end, they came out on top.

Next week, Leigh will face Southport at Hand Lane K.O. 2.15 p.m.