Leigh Genesis 0 Wakefield 1

An early Patrick McGuire goal might have seen Wakefield run out victors in this Evo-Stik League First Division North basement battle, but the visitors will have been relieved to go back over the Pennines with all three points after a second half Leigh Genesis onslaught.

In Leigh's first home game for almost a month and only a third game in charge for new boss Alan Kershaw, the hosts went for a different system as they set up with a 3-5-2 system for a first half playing up the Crilly Park slope.

The visitors took the lead on thirteen minutes when Genesis goalkeeper Adam Judge, under pressure from a posse of six-foot plus Wakefield players, could punch the ball away from a corner as far away as the edge of the area with the follow up shot being rebounded in to the path of Patrick McGuire who fired the ball home.

Controversy followed three minutes later when Wakefield front man Danny South appeared to be fortunate to get away with only a yellow card after launching in to a two-footed lunge at Dale McDonald, who also found his way in to the referee's notebook for his reaction to the foul on Leigh's right-hand touchline.

As the first half wore on, Alan Kershaw's young Leigh side began to show more and more glimpses of their football quality as they mounted several well-crafted moves that just lacked a killer final ball, or in the case of a golden chance on forty three minutes, a final finish as James Kelly scooped the ball over Jan Zolna's bar when a sliderule through ball put the left winger clear on goal.

Leigh had the first chance of the second half when Zolna came up with a smart save to keep out a strike from lively home debutant Ali Asgari as Leigh mounted more and more pressure on the Wakefield goal without managing to create many clear-cut chances.

Davison Banda and David Webb were introduced from the Leigh bench with the visitors effectively playing with ten men behind the ball as they tried desperately to maintain their one goal lead, with the home side furious with the referee in the dying stages of stoppage time for failing to award a Leigh penalty. Banda was bundled over by Zolna on the very edge of the area, with the man in the middle deciding that the offence took place inches outside of the penalty area rather than inside the box, and with it dashed Leigh's hope of earning what would have been a deserved equaliser.

Leigh's next outing is another Roses battle as this time they travel across the Pennines to take on Leeds-based Garforth Town this Saturday (8th January, 3pm) before welcoming Witton Albion to Crilly Park the following Tuesday (11th January) for a 7.45pm kick off.

Leigh Genesis; Adam Judge, Dale McDonald (David Webb 81), James Kelly, Steve Brockley, Alex Grisedale, Bernard Williams, Sam Fairhurst, Rowan Garnett, Ali Asgari (Davison Banda 79), James Carey, Steve Ferrigan. Subs (not used); Jack Burke, Chris Dykes, Phil Priestley