Workington Town...17

Leigh Centurions...18 TWO defining moments underlined just why Leigh are a champion team, even when not playing like champions.

The Centurions were just four minutes away from suffering a major upset when they put together a tryline to tryline match-winning move.

And hot of the heels of the match-winner came a match-saver from Willie Swann.

In a breathless finish, Leigh managed to extend their winning run to 12 games. Whether they deserved it or not is another matter entirely.

You won't get many arguments from the Leigh camp that they were second best for the majority of this game. But they weren't second best when it came down needing the qualities of belief, poise and determination when the chips were down.

Even at 14-0 down in the first half and behind 17-12 with just four minutes on the clock, Leigh always appeared to have the desire to pull the game out of the fire.

And they did. Only Leigh could come up with a match-winning try at the end of a movement that started in the shadow of their own posts - and only Leigh could then contrive to nearly throw it away again!

Leigh were staring down both barrels when Michael Watts fielded a deep kick close to his own line. Co-winger Alan Hadcroft started the move in motion with a forceful run to half way and suddenly they were off and running. Mesmerising handling and support play ended with Paul Anderson cutting inside, knocking off several straggling defenders before planting the ball down behind the posts.

Simon Svabic took an eternity with the conversion, but kicked Leigh into a one point lead - the only time they'd been in front all the game!

They may have been deflated at conceding such a late try, but Town came within millimetres of turning the game on its head again.

Winger Graeme Lewthwaite got on the outside of Watts and headed off for the corner. Although Watts recovered to get back and stop Lewthwaite, the winger popped an overhead pass back inside for Lynton Stott. The former Doncaster man looked a certain scorer until Swann launched himself like an Exocet missile and knocked the scrum-half out over the corner flag. Phew! It was that close.

Other teams might have given up the ghost when faced with similar circumstances. But not Leigh. That's what sets them apart.

It's not often that the Leigh pack gets a bit of a working over from the opposition, so all the more credit should go to the side for hanging in there before finally coming up with the win that extends their lead at the top of the NFP to nine points.

Town made their intentions clear right from the off, clearly believing that their physical pack, with the likes of Matt Sturm, Hitro Okesene and Anthony Samuel in excellent form, could lay the foundations for victory.

They very nearly succeeded. Aussie Strum, greatly admired by Paul Terzis, ran himself into the ground while Okesene and Samuel were a handful both in attack and defence.

Leigh's best response through the middle came from substitute Dave Bradbury who gave the Town defenders a taste of their own medicine. But generally Leigh couldn't get the sort of roll going that they thrive on. It was a real arm-wrestle that wasn't helped by referee Nick Oddy who added to Leigh's problems by dishing out a 14-5 penalty count - most of them borne out of frustration. No wonder Leigh were at their wit's end; how can a referee be so wrong, so often.

But overall Leigh know they under-achieved and used up one of their 'Get Out Of Jail' cards.

Town took the lead inside two minutes when Leigh were pinned for off-side and Kevin Hetherington put over the first of four goals.

Chances were missed at both ends before two tries in five minutes from Town gave Leigh the biggest deficit they've faced all season.

Stott bounced a grubber kick up the middle, made contact again as Neil Turley tried to tidy up; the ball spinning away viciously to the left when centre John Allen pounced for the opening try. Hetherington added the extras from the touchline.

Moments later Leigh were in deep trouble. Gary Charlton's short ball on Leigh's left sent second rower Stuart Hoyles striding through a yawning gap before he crashed through Turley's last-ditch tackle. Hetherington converted again and Leigh were 14-0 down.

The Centurions knew they needed to score next and after a couple of typically strong surges from Bradbury, they managed to set the platform for their second half recovery. Simon Baldwin's dummy and gallop up the left did the damage, Andy Fairclough backing up on the inside to finish off and leave Svabic an easy kick and take Leigh through the 1000 league points barrier.

Leigh had an early scare when Neil Frazer just failed to touchdown from Stott's bomb to the corner but within 60 seconds Leigh had come up with a try of their own. Anderson's speculative grubber bounced all over the place until Hetherington, behind his own line, contrived to cough it up and give Watts the easiest of touchdown. Svabic's goal closed the gap to 14-12.

When Bradbury was wrongly accused of stripping the ball in a tackle, Hetherington put over a penalty to make it 16-12. That lead was increased by a further point with a Stott field goal and when Hetherington missed with a 69th minute penalty, Leigh were still only five points adrift and still close enough to set up their late, late winner.

LEIGH: Turley; Hadcroft, Anderson, Fairclough, Watts; Svabic, Bretherton; Norman, Duffy, Whittle, Baldwin, Morley, Bristow. Subs: Bradbury (for Norman 19), Swann (for Bretherton 59), Hamilton (for Duffy 27), Leathem (for Whittle 31), Whittle (for Leathem 53), Duffy (for Hamilton 73).

WORKINGTON: Wood; Woodcock, Frazer, Allen, Lewthwaite; Hetherington, Stott; Sturm, Williamson, Okesene, Hoyles, Samuel, Charlton. Subs: Chilton (for Lewthwaite 78); Savelio (Okesene 50), Sice (for Williamson 50), Humes (for Hoyles 71 BB), Okesene (for Savelio 74), Hoyles (for Charlton 76).

SCORERS: Leigh - Tries: Anderson, Fairclough, Watts. Gls: Svabic (3). Workington - Tries: Allen, Hoyles. Gls: Hetherington (4), Stott fg.

PENALTIES AWARDED: Leigh 5, Workington 14.

SCRUMS WON: Leigh 7, Workington 8.

REFEREE: Nick Oddy (Halifax).

ATTENDANCE: 1114.