Barrow 20 Leigh Centurions 24: IT might have been the day that marked the 60th anniversary of D-Day, but it was some of the Dunkirk spirit that the Centurions needed to book their Arriva Trains semi-final place.

Leigh went through - but only by the skin of their teeth - and had it been the name of NL Two pacesetters Barrow that went into the botched-up draw, the Centurions could hardly have complained.

Although the Centurions' performance was marginally better than their previous two, it was still way short of the required standard.

One thing they did have though, was the stomach for a fight. With Barrow snapping at their heels all afternoon, Leigh had to defend desperately at times and it needed a high level of commitment to see off such revved-up opponents.

There was more relief than rejoicing in the Leigh camp afterwards. They were just happy to be in the semis - even if it does mean another trek to Whitehaven.

But should it have been that close? Probably not.

Leigh didn't capitalise of a flying start which gave them an early 8-0 lead but they were more handicapped by referee Steve Nicholson than any other element of the game.

Some of his decisions beggard belief and even both coaches agreed he had a shocker.

Abram said: "That was the worst refereeing display I've seen in 25 years. He stopped us in our tracks everytime we seemed to be taking control of things. If he'd have let us play, we'd have won more convincingly."

Opposite number Peter Roe had similar views. "The game was just penalty after penalty. With a different referee we would have nicked it."

Whichever viewpoint you take, the inescapable fact is that Mr Nicholson dished out 32 penalties and sin-binned Andrew Isherwood and Ian Knott for technical offences - making the game more stop than start.

"Mr Nicholson made it a frustrating afternoon for us all but I'm made up for the lads with the way they kept their composure in difficult circumstances. When the going gets tough it proves we can grind a win out."

Early on, though, it looked as though it was going to be plain sailing for Leigh. For the opening 15 minutes Leigh were totally dominant with Paul Rowley making acres of ground from dummy half and Tommy Martyn and Neil Turley linking effectively in another new half-back combination.

The usually accurate Darren Holt had already missed one shot at goal before Turley kicked Leigh into a fourth minute lead with a straightforward penalty.

Turley went on to kick four goals for him to equal the game's all-time record of the fastest 100 goals - a record he now shares with Bobbie Goulding, Andy Farrell and Barry Eaton. In contrast Holt missed with five shots - all crucial in the final analysis.

For a second week running prop Heath Cruckshank took a whack across the head in the opening exchanges and was only to return briefly late on. But with new recruit Matt Sturm driving strongly and sub Simon Knox eager for work, Leigh looked something like their old selves.

When Turley's tricky footwork took him past two defenders Knox was at his shoulder to take the inside pass and race to the posts unchallenged for an 8-0 lead.

Barrow had clearly pin-pointed Leigh's right flank defence as a weak point and three times before half time they came up with the goods.

The first success came in the 15th minute when long passes from Dave Clark and Holt found the supporting Craig Bower and his pass isolated Damien Munro who was beaten on the outside by Adam Pate. Holt converted from the touchline.

When Turley's re-start sailed directly into touch Barrow launched another attack down Leigh's right and second rower James King forced his way over despite a posse of defenders.

From being 8-0 up Leigh found themselves trailing by two points until successive scoots out of dummy half by Rowley broke the Barrow defence. Turley and Knott linked and Knox was through to the posts again for another six-pointer.

When Isherwood was yellow carded for lying on, Holt found the target with the resultant penalty to again cut Leigh's advantage.

Ten minutes from half time Martyn scored the cheekiest try you'll ever see. Taking a tap penalty a metre from Barrow's line, he sold markers Shane Irabor and Paul Jones the most outlandish of dummies to simply walk in at the corner.

Even that didn't deflate Barrow's spirit and right on the bell Holt's inch-perfect kick behind Cooper and Munro was snapped up by Pate who swept in for his second try.

A super cover tackle by Munro and Maden at the start of the second half kept Leigh's noses in front but they again had to struggle with 12 men when Knott was yellow carded for stripping the ball in a tackle.

Instead of conceded while a man short, Leigh came up with a crucial score themselves. When Turley was able to flick out a long reverse pass under pressure, Munro waltzed round Pate to touch down wide on the right. Turley's conversion from the sideline gave Leigh a little breathing space at 24-16.

But they were back on a knife-edge with 13 minutes left when Cook Islander Tama Wakeklin used his Mighty Joe Young-sized frame to hit a short ball from Holt and skittle two defenders to score at the side of the posts. Holt's miserable afternoon with the boot saw his badly miscue and maintain Leigh's four-point winning margin.

Scorers - Barrow: Pate (15, 40), King (18), Wakelin (67). Gls: Holt 2/7.

Leigh: (Knox 7, 22), Martyn (30), Munro (53). Gls: Turley 4/6.

Barrow: Bower; Irabor, Jones, Reed, Pate; Archer, Holt; Dancer, Clark, Lupton, Whitehead, King, Pugh. Subs (all used): Atkinson, Leigh, Wakelin, Wilcock.

Leigh: Maden; Smyth, Potter, Cooper, Munro; Turley, Martyn; Sturm, Rowley, Cruckshank, Larder, Isherwood, Knott. Subs (all used): Knox, Norman, Halliwell, Wilkes.

Handling errors: Leigh 4, Barrow 8

Penalties conceded: Leigh 19, Barrow 13

Sin-binned: Isherwood - Leigh (holding down 26mins); Knott - Leigh (ball stealing 51).

Referee: Steve Nicholson (Whitehaven).

Attendance: 1245.

Magic

rTHE legs may not be as quick as they once were but Tommy Martyn is still quicker than most between the ears. Red faces all round in the Barrow camp after his outrageous tap penalty try.

Moan

rSTEVE Nicholson most have been on a ref's refresher course judging by the number of 'new' interpretations he came up with.

Man

rAFTER a couple of relatively quiet games Paul Rowley was back to something approaching his best. Barrow just couldn't cope with some of his smart dummy half play.