Centurions win, but it's a grim struggle

Respective coaches Darren Shaw and Darren Abram were both candid in their post-match analysis when they said it had been a dour, uninspiring contest.

If the coaches hadn't been stirred by the happenings on the pitch, just imagine how the paying patrons felt. It was hardly an afternoon when they would have felt it was money well spent.

The only consolation for Leigh was they won comfortably and collected three league points to move them into fourth spot in the National League One table. But as a performance it goes into the must do better' category.

Leigh can point to having to field a youthful and inexperienced team as a reason for their up and down performance. Rochdale, on the other hand, with a virtual full-strength team available, have no excuse for the insipid effort they put up.

Even coach Abram was at a loss to explain it. "We were flat and didn't perform from the first minute until the last," he said.

"No matter what I said I couldn't get them out of that mind-set. We were poor in attack and defence and completely lacked enthusiasm."

It's hard to disagree with Abram's assessment that Hornets were poor and Leigh marginally better. That just about sums up the sort of game it was.

The uninspiring action on the pitch washed across the terraces were Leigh's dwindling support watched in almost total silence. There's more atmosphere on the moon than there is at Hilton Park on match days.

Despite Leigh's youthful enthusiasm, they didn't give the paying punters too much to shout about but the performances of the likes of Adam Rudd, John Cookson, Adam Thomas and Matt Astley showed that the club's development system is flourishing.

But with an average age of just 23, it's little wonder that Leigh's performance blew hot and cold.

When everything clicked into place the team looked the business; but far too often they were guilty of poor decision making and sloppy handling. They turned possession over 15 times - a statistic that went unpunished as Rochdale themselves failed to complete 17 sets.

Rochdale dominated the early exchanges but got no reward, so it must have been a body blow for them to concede a try on Leigh's first attack. Leroy Rivett's long break out of his own half did the initial damage before Sam Butterworth fired a cut-out pass wide to his left where Damien Couturier scored close to the flag.

Leigh went 10 points up not long afterwards when skipper Aaron Heremaia picked up from the base of a scrum and ghosted his way through a static defence for a try goaled by Couturier.

Leigh might have dominated possession and territory for the remainder of the half but could only add two more points to their tally before the break. A midfield break from full-back Miles Greenwood had the Hornets defence in a panic and when they concede a penalty for a high shot, Couturier had no trouble in making it 12-0.

Shaw gave young Aussie Chad Isles his first taste of action at the start of the second half before a stirring last-ditch tackle by Heremaia stopped Hornets' winger Baoulu Fagborun scoring at the corner.

The decisive try came just before the hour when Butterworth chipped ahead, regathered, stumbled and just about made the line to give Leigh an 18-0 lead.

Dave Alstead, on his 50th appearance for the club, had a try disallowed for a forward pass just before Couturier knocked over another penalty to make it 20-0 with just eight minutes left.

Impressive prop John Cookson collected a deserved try when he steamed onto a short ball and scattered the Hornets' goal-line defence.

Leigh looked racing certainties to nil the opposition until the 78th minute when ex-Leigh back rower Simon Baldwin grabbed a scrappy consolation effort.

But it was the Centurions who had the last laugh when impressive centre Anthony Stewart ran an excellent inside line to beat four defenders and sail over to give Couturier his sixth goal of the game.