Stepien double hands Genesis three points (From Leigh Journal)

Stepien double hands Genesis three points

10:07am Monday 8th March 2010 in

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A commanding performance from Leigh Genesis saw Garry Flitcroft's side secure their second away victory in a week to maintain a five point lead over seventh-placed Clitheroe.

Fresh from scoring a hat trick in last weekend's resounding 5-1 win at Chorley, Jordan Stepien again provided the goals at Shawe View, scoring twice in the final twenty one minutes to take his tally to eighteen goals.

In a first half that saw Genesis completely dominate in terms of possession and territory, Trafford were thankful for the performance of goalkeeper Tom Read in keeping the scores level at half time.

Read was first called upon on twenty minutes when making a terrific save to palm a Richard Radcliffe snapshot over the crossbar.

Read was then relieved to see Dale Whitham place the ball agonisingly wide on twenty minutes after a Stephen Drench free kick close to the halfway line was flicked inside the area by Jordan Stepien.

The Trafford goalkeeper was called upon to make a smart save on twenty three minutes to rescue his defence, after centre back Chris Lawton needlessly gave the ball away to Tom Ince, who raced through on goal.

The hapless Lawton was again at fault for Leigh's next chance on twenty nine minutes, misplacing a header that gave Jordan Stepien a golden chance with the goalkeeper caught in no man's land, only for the Leigh striker to place his first time shot wide of the target.

Half-time saw linesman Mr. O'Rourke withdraw from the game with a knee injury and after a desperate half-time tannoy appeal, he was bizarrely replaced by Genesis kitman Jonathan Gains.

In the circumstances it was decided that any offside decisions on Gains' side of the field were to be made by the referee.

In a similar vein to the first half, Leigh started the brighter and were a coat of paint from taking the lead on fifty two minutes when Dale Whitham's deflected strike from the edge of the area cracked against the crossbar.

Trafford had run out 8-1 winners at Rossendale United the previous week but were finding the Leigh defence to be a much harder nut to crack, waiting until fifty five minutes before they had their first meaningful attempt on goal.

Prolific Leigh front man Stepien gave a warning shot to the hosts on sixty five minutes when he turned smartly in the penalty area and forced an excellent low save from Read but it was a warning that Trafford failed to heed as Stepien gave Leigh the lead four minutes later. Tom Ince guided a free kick in to the penalty area and the ball found Stepien at the back post, who made no mistake in slotting home.

Going a goal in front gave Leigh something to defend and they did so admirably against a Trafford side that finally began to show some attacking intent with the introduction of Marvin McDonald from the substitute's bench, the hosts switching to a 3-4-3 formation.

Trafford had a huge chance to equalise on eighty nine minutes when skipper Melford Knight was left unmarked from a Metcalfe free kick, only to head over Drench's crossbar. With Trafford pushing forward as the game entered stoppage time, Leigh posed a huge threat on the counter attack with Tom Ince breaking clear and laying the ball off for Whitham to see a shot deflected wide of the target.

With barely seconds left on the clock, Leigh's victory was sealed when a huge clearance upfield sent Stepien racing through on goal, only to be brought down in the area by Lawton. Stepien dusted himself off and sent Read the wrong way from the resultant penalty to claim his eighteenth goal in thirty one starting appearances and secure all three points for his side.

For the second successive week, Genesis have no midweek fixture so will have seven days rest ahead of welcoming mid-table Woodley Sports to the Leigh Sports Village Stadium next Saturday (13th March) at 3pm.

Leigh Genesis; Stephen Drench, Lee Woodyatt, Kris King, Mark Ross, Chris Page, Dale Whitham, Jack Dorney (Chris Dykes), Steve Flitcroft, Richard Ratcliffe (Andy Heald), Jordan Stepien, Tom Ince