Turton 1 Leigh Genesis 2

In their penultimate pre-season friendly before the start of the UniBond League Division One North season, Leigh Genesis overcame a stern test from West Lancashire League side Turton to run out victors, high in the moors between Bolton and Blackburn.

In the absence of floodlights at the picturesque Thomason Fold ground, this friendly fixture kicked off an hour earlier to avoid an Ashes-esque early finish due to bad light, and it was the visitors who started brightly when Steve Settle and Tom Ince linked well on the Genesis left wing, the former sending the latter scampering down the flank before delivering a cross that saw Settle's shot blocked, with Ince sending the rebound flashing over the crossbar.

Settle was again in the thick of the action on ten minutes when he saw a fierce twenty five yard strike tipped superbly over the crossbar, before Genesis took the lead almost immediately afterwards when Chris Page met an Ince corner and managed to bundle the ball over the line with his left foot after his original headed effort had been blocked.

The hosts came within a whisker of levelling the scores barely a couple of minutes after falling behind when a free kick from the left hand side of the penalty area was headed against the crossbar by the Turton centre back, before Settle dragged a shot wide of the target at the other end after racing on to a pinpoint Ince through ball.

With ten minutes before the interval, Matt Jansen was agonisingly denied a first goal for Leigh when his header from a Chris Dykes corner was cleared off the line at the back post with the goalkeeper beaten.

Turton hit the woodwork for the second time in the game after just four minutes of the second half when their impressive left winger burst between the challenges of Kris King and Chris Page to fire a low strike that clipped the outside of Dean Porter's right hand post, before Dykes fired straight at the Turton goalkeeper having cut inside on his left foot after receiving a precise Jansen through ball.

Genesis doubled their lead on fifty three minutes when a smart Settle back heel sent substitute Lee Green scampering down the left wing, and his first touch of the game after replacing Tom Ince saw his intended cross become a shot that deceived the Turton goalkeeper at his near post and fly in to the back of the net.

With Jordan Stepien and Jack Dorney replacing Settle and Jansen, Leigh had fresh legs up front and it almost paid off immediately when the impressive Dale Whitham dispossessed the left back and sent a low cross to Stepien, who's first-time shot was expertly blocked at point blank range by the goalkeeper.

Stepien came close soon afterwards when, after a frustrating period that saw Leigh frequently punished for offside, Stepien finally beat the Turton offside trap and hared through on goal, only for his low strike to thump the goalkeeper's right hand post.
With the last kick of the game, Turton pulled a goal back when a free kick was deflected in to the path of a midfielder on the edge of the Leigh six yard box, who swept the ball past substitute goalkeeper Danny Morton and in to the net. Although the strike appeared to take place from an offside position, it was the least that Turton deserved for providing such a stern test and more than playing their part in what turned out to be a particularly entertaining friendly.

Leigh's final friendly game of the summer comes next Tuesday (11th August, 7:45pm) when neighbours Wigan Athletic make the short trip from the USA (Uther Side of Abram) in a ‘Battle of the Borough' at the Leigh Sports Village Stadium, with tickets on sale from the LSV Ticket Office.