Trafford 0 Leigh Genesis 2
By Matt Lawton
March 6 2010
A commanding performance from Leigh Genesis saw Garry Flitcroft's sixth-placed side secure their second away victory in a week to maintain a five point lead over seventh-placed Clitheroe.
March 6 2010
A commanding performance from Leigh Genesis saw Garry Flitcroft's sixth-placed side secure their second away victory in a week to maintain a five point lead over seventh-placed Clitheroe.
Fresh from scoring a hat trick in last weekend's resounding 5-1 win at Chorley, Jordan Stepien was amongst the goals once again at Shawe View, scoring twice in the final twenty one minutes to take his tally to eighteen goals in a highly productive season.
In a first half that saw Genesis completely dominate in terms of possession and territory, Trafford were thankful for the performance of goalkeeper Tom Read in keeping the scores level at half time.
Read was first called upon on twenty minutes when making a terrific save to palm a Richard Radcliffe snapshot over the crossbar, though Read was relieved to see Dale Whitham place the ball agonisingly on the wrong side of the post on twenty minutes after a Steven Drench free kick close to the halfway line was flicked inside the area by Jordan Stepien.
The Trafford goalkeeper was called upon to make a smart save on twenty three minutes to come to the rescue of his half-asleep defence with centre back Chris Lawton needlessly giving the ball away to Tom Ince to race through on goal, though ex-Leigh man Nia Bayunu did well to force Ince away from goal, though not enough to prevent the winger getting his shot away that was saved by Read's legs.
The hapless Lawton was again at fault for Leigh's next chance on twenty nine minutes, misplacing a header that gave Jordan Stepien a golden chance with the goalkeeper caught in no man's land, only for the Leigh striker to place his first time shot wide of the target, leaving Trafford to breathe a sigh of relief at remaining level at the break.
Half-time saw linesman Mr. O'Rourke withdraw from the game with a knee injury and, after a desperate half-time tannoy appeal, saw him bizarrely replaced by Genesis kitman Jonathan Gains, though in the circumstances it was decided that any offside decisions on Gains' side of the field were to be made by the referee.
In a similar vein to the first half, Leigh started the brighter and were a coat of paint from taking the lead on fifty two minutes when Dale Whitham's deflected strike from the edge of the area cracked against the crossbar.
Trafford had run out 8-1 winners at Rossendale United the previous week but were finding the Leigh defence to be a much harder nut to crack and had to wait until fifty five minutes before they had their first meaningful attempt on goal when Drench was called upon to tip Scott Metcalfe's strike wide of the target.
Prolific Leigh front man Stepien gave a warning shot to the hosts on sixty five minutes when he turned smartly in the penalty area and forced an excellent low save from Read, but it was a warning that Trafford failed to heed as Stepien gave Leigh the lead four minutes later. Tom Ince guided a free kick in to the penalty area and the ball found Stepien at the back post, who made no mistake in slotting home.
Finally getting a goal in front gave Leigh something to defend, and they did so admirably against a Trafford side that finally began to show some attacking intent with the introduction of Marvin McDonald from the substitute's bench seeing the hosts switch to a 3-4-3 formation, though Stepien came close to a cheeky second goal on eighty four minutes with a clipped corner that nearly caught Read out low down at his near post.
Trafford had a huge chance to equalise on eighty nine minutes when skipper Melford Knight was left unmarked from a Metcalfe free kick, only to head over Drench's crossbar. With Trafford pushing forward as the game entered stoppage time, Leigh posed a huge threat on the counter attack with Tom Ince breaking clear and laying the ball off for Whitham to see a shot deflected wide of the target.
With barely seconds left on the clock, Leigh's victory was sealed when a huge clearance upfield sent Stepien racing through on goal, only to be brought down in the area by Lawton. Stepien dusted himself off and sent Read the wrong way from the resultant penalty to claim his eighteenth goal in thirty one starting appearances this season and secure all three points for his side.
For the second successive week, Genesis have no midweek fixture so will have seven days rest ahead of welcoming mid-table Woodley Sports to the Leigh Sports Village Stadium next Saturday (13th March) at 3pm.
Leigh Genesis; Steven Drench, Lee Woodyatt, Kris King, Mark Ross, Chris Page, Dale Whitham, Jack Dorney (Chris Dykes), Steve Flitcroft, Richard Ratcliffe (Andy Heald), Jordan Stepien, Tom Ince
| TRAFFORD 0 LEIGH GENESIS 2 | |
| Date | Saturday 6th March 2010 |
| Venue | Shawe View, Flixton, Manchester |
| Attendance | 124 |
| Half time | Trafford 0 Leigh Genesis 0 |
| Competition | UniBond League First Division North |
| Scorers | |
| Leigh Genesis | Jordan Stepien (69, 90 pen) |
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StumbleuponTrafford 0 Leigh Genesis 2
Posted by: LG-SA.co.uk (IP Logged)
Date: 06/03/2010 17:48
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Re: Trafford 0 Leigh Genesis 2
Posted by: andy sw (IP Logged)
Date: 06/03/2010 17:55
gutted at missing this one 
Re: Trafford 0 Leigh Genesis 2
Posted by: Leyther_Matt (IP Logged)
Date: 06/03/2010 18:18
Missed a top notch all round performance Andy, looked really safe at the back and always looked a threat going forward. Well done lads.
LG-SA.co.uk
LG-SA.co.uk
Re: Trafford 0 Leigh Genesis 2
Posted by: andy sw (IP Logged)
Date: 06/03/2010 19:23
just read the report and im more @#$%& off than before , lewis finished playing just after 3 , i said we`d get there for the 2nd half , i bloody knew i should have gone
Re: Trafford 0 Leigh Genesis 2
Posted by: Nick_Astra_Army (IP Logged)
Date: 07/03/2010 00:39
beltin day when looking at other teams results lancaster, skem , curzon and wire all lost.
great game today mom performance for me was jono doing line lol
great game today mom performance for me was jono doing line lol
Re: Trafford 0 Leigh Genesis 2
Posted by: Leyther_Matt (IP Logged)
Date: 07/03/2010 00:52
No bad performers, once again. With Ross and Page in this sort of form at the back, I think Munroe will have a job getting back in to the side after his suspension.
LG-SA.co.uk
LG-SA.co.uk
Re: Trafford 0 Leigh Genesis 2
Posted by: Leyther T (IP Logged)
Date: 07/03/2010 00:54
very true, i would change this starting line up, only if it where for injuries or suspensions
Re: Trafford 0 Leigh Genesis 2
Posted by: Leyther_Matt (IP Logged)
Date: 07/03/2010 00:56
Think you're right there, they've all earned their spots. Dorney and Ince back to their best as well, certainly look a lot better going forward with those two in the side, and Ratcliffe offers something up front that neither Stepien or Jansen can in terms of his strength.
LG-SA.co.uk
LG-SA.co.uk
Re: Trafford 0 Leigh Genesis 2
Posted by: Leyther T (IP Logged)
Date: 07/03/2010 00:58
fingers crossed that players stay fit, ready for our push at a play off spot
Re: Trafford 0 Leigh Genesis 2
Posted by: Leyther_Matt (IP Logged)
Date: 07/03/2010 01:01
I'd be happy at just carrying on the sort of football that we have in the past two games, the league placings will sort itself out.
LG-SA.co.uk
LG-SA.co.uk
Re: Trafford 0 Leigh Genesis 2
Posted by: Jono Gains (IP Logged)
Date: 07/03/2010 16:41
Thanks lads, did my best but i didn't get the champagne for being mom......
Re: Trafford 0 Leigh Genesis 2
Posted by: Leyther T (IP Logged)
Date: 07/03/2010 21:47
thats out of order
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