Centurions...29, Hull KR...25

Mike Hulme reports from Hilton Park

THE Centurions kept their nerve to cement second place on the NFP league ladder.

Paul Rowley's 77th minute drop goal was just enough to keep Rovers at arms' length at the end of a game in which Leigh had threatened to win comfortably but never quite managed it.

Although they were never behind, Leigh were pegged back to 6-6 and 12-12 and twice allowed Rovers to come to within four points.

It was that part of Leigh's make-up that upset coach Paul Terzis the most.

"At the end of the day Hull KR were nowhere near as good as Leigh," he said. "I thought we were in control of the match but gave them every chance because we kept letting them back into the game.

"We should have scored far more tries than we did and then at the other end we let them in for some really soft tries which they didn't have to work too hard for."

But despite Leigh's shortcomings, this was one of the better games at Hilton Park this season. Jam-packed with incident and excitement, it's a pity just over 2000 bothered to turn up to see it.

Comprehensively beaten by Rovers at Hilton Park in the Buddies Cup quarter-final, Leigh have clearly improved since then.

The majority of Leigh's impact players made big contributions. The 'spine' of the team played particularly well with Simon Svabic, John Duffy, Paul Rowley and Adam Bristow lively and inventive with the destructive running and punishing defence of Simon Baldwin another key feature.

One of quickest sin-binnings on record helped Leigh snatch a third minute lead. Rovers' second rower Adam Sullivan was yellow-carded for deliberate obstruction as Rowley took a quick tap penalty. Leigh didn't need asking twice to make the extra man tell, Vila Matautia finally breaking his Leigh scoring duck by scattering the Rovers defence to plunge in under the posts. Neil Turley's 100th goal of the season made it 6-0.

But Leigh's lead only lasted six minutes when Whetu Taewa committed Phil Kendrick before sending Alasdair McClarron in at the corner. Chris Charles tied things up at 6-6 with the conversion.

In keeping with the tit-for-tat first half scoring, Leigh moved ahead again on 16 minutes when they ran the ball on the last tackle, Duffy foxing David Luckwell with a dummy before plunging in. Turley made it 12-6 with a kick that found it's target off both post and crossbar.

Again the lead was short-lived as Rovers came back again, Craig Murdock wriggling out of a Baldwin-Matautia tackle to plonk the ball under the posts.

When Leigh got it right, they were irresistible. Turley's beautifully timed pass sent Andy Isherwood galloping clear, the second rower cleverly drawing the cover before sending Adam Bristow away for his 16th try of the season. Turley's goal made it 18-12.

Leigh would have been out of sight had they not had three tries disallowed either side of half time. Simon Knox had one wiped out for a double movement, Jon Roper was adjudged to have fumbled as he touched down and Oli Marns was just edged out at the corner by Alex Godfrey.

But in the 46th minute they did make the pressure count. Svabic, a growing influence on the game, produced some excellent footwork to set up a flowing crossfield move that ended with Kendrick putting Chris Irwin over at the corner to lead 22-12.

McClarron bombed one good chance for Rovers but Leigh gifted them six points when Jon Wilkin picked off a David Bradbury pass and went through unchallenged.

On the hour Leigh again opened up a 10 point gap with the best try of the game. Duffy's nippy footwork starting things off, Rowley held off one challenge and poacher Turley beat the last Rovers defender to glide under the posts.

Not for the first time in the game Leigh allowed Rovers to get back up off the canvas, the defence melting away as Wilkin flicked a pass off the floor to get Murdock in for his second try.

When Roper was stretchered off with serious knee damage just six minutes from the end, Leigh could have panicked. But Rowley kept his cool and clipped over the 77th minute field goal that gave them a match-winning five-point cushion.

Match Facts

SCORERS: Leigh - Tries: Matautia (3), Duffy (16), Bristow (25), Irwin (46), Turley (60). Gls: Turley 4/5. FG: Rowley.

Rovers - Tries: McClarron (9), Murdock (22, 66), Wilkin (52). Gls: Charles 4/4.

Leigh: Turley; Irwin, Kendrick, Roper, Marns; Svabic, Duffy; Matautia, Rowley, Whittle, Baldwin, Isherwood, Bristow. Subs: Anderson (for Kendrick 65), Knox (for Whittle 29), Highton (for Knox 62), Bradbury (for Matautia 27), Matautia (for Bradbury 60), Whittle (for Isherwood 69).

Rovers: Everitt; Godfrey, Pinkney, Taewa, McClarron; Dorahy, Cain; Luckwell, Murdock, Bovill, Sullivan, Wilkin, Charles. Subs: Walker (for Murdock 69), Wilson (for Luckwell 20), Fletcher (for Sullivan 27), Hayes (for Bovill 18BB), Luckwell (for Wilson 46 BB, BBR 62), Sullivan (for Fletcher 66), Fletcher (for Wilkin 74).

Penalties conceded: Leigh 10, Hull KR 9.

Handling errors: Leigh 8, Hull KR 7.

Sin-bin: Sullivan (HKR) - deliberate obstruction 2 mins.

Referee: Ben Thaler (Wakefield).

Attendance: 2001.

Man of the match

rA WHOLE host to choose from. Duffy, Baldwin, Bristow, Svabic were all leading lights but it was Rowley's constant sniping from dummy half that always had Rovers on the back foot.

Magic Moment

rCHRIS Irwin's 46th minute try showed Leigh at their best. Started by Svabic on the left, Rovers were ripped apart before Irwin swept in at the right corner.

Moan of the match

rJUST when is Leigh's injury pile-up going to end? The sight of Jon Roper being stretchered off must have had Terzis thinking he's killed a black cat.