LEIGH continue to search for their first win after three matches in North One West following a narrow 26-22 defeat at home to league leaders Warrington.

The hosts looked set to claim a notable scalp after going into half time leading 17-6 but could not hold the table-toppers at bay in what was a pulsating game of rugby.

They dominated the early stages as Rob Drake sent Marcus Morris Williams under the posts for Drake to convert.

The visitors hit back with a penalty before the outstanding Steve Millard provided a try for the pacy Jimmy Wilkinson.

Warrington kicked a second penalty before Ryan McKinstry broke though and sent Ryan Elliott over to give Leigh an 11-point advantage at the break.

The home side fell foul of a number of refereeing decisions in the second half, conceding two more penalties before Elliott was sin-binned.

Warrington made the most of the man advantage to score two converted tries, which ultimately sealed victory.

But Leigh refused to buckle and Drake scored a delightful try to earn two bonus points – one for losing by less than seven points and the other for scoring four tries.

It could have been better had the referee not disallowed a try by Chris Morgan.

But after picking up a total of four bonus points from three narrow defeats, Leigh can be encouraged by the quality of their performances, despite sitting third from bottom of the table.