Lancaster City vs. Leigh Genesis preview

Fresh from Saturday’s nail-biting 2-1 win over Garforth Town at the Leigh Sports Village Stadium, Garry Flitcroft’s Leigh Genesis side travel up the M6 on Tuesday evening for a stern test against joint league leaders Lancaster City.

Hosts Lancaster are in fine form, having collected maximum points, conceding just one goal, from their opening three games with a 5-0 home victory over Prescot Cables on the opening day being followed by 2-1 and 2-0 away victories at Salford City and Mossley respectively.

Leigh, meanwhile, have had a mixed start to the season, with an encouraging opening day 3-1 win at Rossendale United being followed by a disappointing 2-1 away defeat to Curzon Ashton just two days later, though Genesis were back on track with a win over Garforth at the weekend, a victory that featured a goal-of-the-season contender from Chris Baguley, a third goal in three games for ex-FC United of Manchester man.

Managed by Tony Hesketh, Lancaster boast a large contingent of ex-Leigh players, with centre back Andrew Teague, who made twelve appearances for Genesis last season, on target twice in City's aforementioned victory over Prescot, while Guy Heffernan, Mark Jackson and Chris Ward have all represented Leigh in previous years.

Leigh's last visit to the Giant Axe came a little over a year ago when a Darren Mansaram strike sealed a 1-0 victory in a pre-season friendly, while the last competitive meeting between the two was a 0-0 Conference North draw in April 2007.

Lancaster's Giant Axe home can be easily reached within 45 minutes from Leigh via the M6 from Haydock or the M61 at Westhoughton. Exit the M6 at junction 33 and travel through Galgate on the M6, passing Lancaster University on the right hand side. Follow the signs for Lancaster railway station, and follow the road past the station, which will lead you to the ground. The Giant Axe is only a few hundred yards from the railway station and is actually visible from the railway platform, with Lancaster being served by regular services from Wigan North Western and Bolton.

If you unable to attend the game, full match commentary is proved by Lancaster-based Bailrigg FM from 7:30pm on 87.7FM or online at www.bailriggfm.co.uk.

Admission at the Giant Axe costs £7 for adults, £5 for concessions, while under 16's are admitted free of charge if accompanied by a full paying adult, with kick off at 7:45pm.