While a certain Red-clad side from fifteen miles down the road might look back on the season with a degree of disappointment after failing to reach the Rich Man’s League Final with defeat to AC Milan at the semi-final stage and ‘only’ finish as runners up in the FA Cup, survival in the Conference North was undoubtedly RMI’s holy grail at the start of the campaign, having spent each of the three previous seasons in a relegation spot.

RMI started the summer with victory at St. Helens Town followed by a 2-0 home win over Conference side Altrincham, but a huge dampener was put on that encouraging start with a disappointing 4-0 home defeat to FC United of Manchester in RMI’s final pre-season encounter.

Leigh boss Andy Nelson made arguably one of his finest signings during the pre-season period with the capture of former Altrincham centre back Mark Maddox, who was to impress throughout the season, much of it as captain of the side. Maddox made his debut at Vauxhall Motors on the opening day of the season but, despite Chris Simm’s eleventh minute opener putting RMI in front, his appearance wasn’t enough to prevent a disappointing 2-1 defeat at Rivacre Park.

The first home game of the season also finished in disappointing fashion when, despite Chris Simm again putting RMI in front, Farsley Celtic left Hilton Park with a controversial 3-1 victory under their belts in their first ever Conference North away fixture.

Only a matter of days later, RMI were at home to Redditch in what was already being billed as a potential relegation six pointer, and the hosts were dealt a huge blow, almost on the eve of the game, when manager Andy Nelson resigned from his position with immediate effect, leaving former assistant Stuart Humphreys in sole control, and he ensured his side collected their first point of the season with a 0-0 draw that was quickly followed by a shock 1-0 win at Nuneaton Borough, courtesy of another Simm strike.

The ‘Humphreys effect’ was becoming more and more evident with each game, after a 0-0 draw at Moor Green followed by a 2-0 win over Gainsborough Trinity at Hilton Park, with a first half Gavin Lee-Ellison header being followed by a sublime Scott Willis free kick in the latter stages of the game.

After keeping four clean sheets in succession, RMI’s resurgence in form was ended in the Northumberland rain with a 1-0 defeat at high-flying Blyth Spartans before a last-gasp Rene Howe goal gave pre-season favourites Kettering Town a 2-1 victory at a sun-drenched Hilton Park after Steve Settle had previously put the home side in front.

Stuart Humphreys made his first signings of his managerial reign in early September when midfielder Hugh McAuley, who was to become a hugely influential figure as the season wore on, was joined at the club by Paul Howarth, who didn’t quite make the same impact at McAuley, despite an impressive midfield debut in the defeat at Blyth.

The cruel blow of Kettering’s injury time winner in their previous outing was evident when, only a few days later, Lancaster City took advantage of the sending off of RMI goalkeeper James Mann to secure a 1-0 victory in Leigh’s second home defeat within a week. That disappointment was dispelled in the next game though when Hugh McAuley opened his Leigh scoring account in tremendous fashion with the winning goal in a 2-0 victory over Alfreton Town after Steve Settle had again put his side in front.

Late September saw the end of RMI’s dreams of an FA Cup windfall, almost before they had even began, when lower league Woodley Sports took advantage of a woeful defensive display to claim a prize 2-0 scalp, followed a week later by a dismal 2-0 defeat at Worksop, a side that would have a big say in RMI’s destiny, and indeed vice-versa, come the end of the season.

That particular losing streak was ended with a 1-1 draw at home to fellow strugglers Scarborough, with Leigh goalscorer Chris Simm becoming the villain of the piece when he was sent off for a second bookable offence with almost an hour of the game remaining, though Humphreys’ options were boosted with the signing of former Bury defender Lee Unsworth before the game. A 3-1 Monday night defeat at Hinckley was preceded by the departure of Rossendale United-bound midfielder Mark Drew, whilst Paul Howarth also left the club, barely a matter of months since arriving at Hilton Park.

Big-spending Droylsden only managed to escape from Hilton Park with a point, with Steve Settle and Dan Owen the scorers in a 2-2 draw, with the thrilling encounter somewhat dispelling the disappointment of the previous week’s 2-0 defeat to Barrow, before a virtual second-string were knocked out of the Lancashire FA Challenge Cup with a 1-0 defeat after extra time North West Counties League opponents at a freezing Nelson.

Mid-November saw RMI travel over the Pennines to Harrogate when, despite leading for nearly fifty minutes of the game after Eddie Hussin’s first goal for the club, RMI fell to a 2-1 defeat at play-off chasing Town, before league action was put aside for a 1-0 victory over Cammell Laird in the Third Qualifying Round of the FA Trophy. Although RMI’s ten men were rather lucky to escape with that particular knock-out victory, it was enough to spark the season in to a life and proved to be the catalyst for a memorable run of results that put RMI almost on the brink of the play-offs.

RMI’s first league victims since September were high-flying Hyde United, who were condemned to a 2-0 defeat at Hilton Park thanks to a lightning opener from Chris Simm in the opening exchanges, before substitute Kieran Lugsden secured victory in stoppage time.

Arguably the most exciting game of the season was to follow only a few days later when a Mark Jackson hat trick, along with a Dan Owen strike on the brink of half-time secured a heart-stopping 4-3 victory over Hucknall Town before an impressive victory at Worcester City, where RMI recovered from a goal down to grab a 2-1 victory thanks to a Gavin Lee-Ellison header and a Goal of the Season contender from on-loan midfielder John Dillon.

Not for the first time in the season, RMI goalkeeper John Lamb proved to be the hero when he played a large part in ensuring Harrogate Town had to visit Hilton Park in an FA Trophy First Round replay after his heroics, coupled with a Steve Settle tap-in, secured a 1-1 draw at Wetherby Road. The replay proved to be another thrilling encounter where, despite the loss of John Dillon to a suspected fractured ankle, a Steve Porter opener and a typically emphatic Hugh McAuley goal gave RMI a 2-1 victory that secured an exciting trip to Conference side Stevenage Borough in the next round of the competition.

Porter found himself again on the scoresheet on Boxing Day when the traditional ‘holiday derby’ went out of the window with a long trip to Cumbrian side Workington, with that particular 1-0 victory being followed by a 2-0 win over the same opponents at New Year, with McAuley and Kieran Lugsden scoring the goals that secured RMI’s fifth league win in succession.

After such an amazing turnaround in form, Leigh boss Stuart Humphreys was deservedly given the Manager of the Month award for December, but the so-called ‘curse’ that is reputed to accompany it was again evident in the next encounter when all previous solid defending went straight out of the window in a 4-0 defeat at promotion-chasing Kettering Town in an encounter that saw RMI outclassed from start to finish, leaving their nine game unbeaten run in tatters.

The following weekend saw RMI’s FA Trophy adventure come to an end, but the fans and players were able to bow out of the competition with their heads held high after a valiant performance in a 3-1 defeat at eventual Trophy winners Stevenage. The defeat was witnessed by a tremendously vocal away support, RMI’s largest following of the season, while Hugh McAuley was to be rewarded later in the season with the ‘Goal of the Season’ award for his thirty yard screamer that afternoon.

After such a grand day out, reliving past Conference glories, it was almost inevitable that the side’s league form would suffer as a result, though few would have expected it to crash to earth as resoundingly as it did in the following Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at home to fellow strugglers Stalybridge Celtic, with Chris Simm’s goal doing little to cancel out a dreadful first half performance, a week before the 1-0 defeat at Alfreton. Although making his debut in a losing side at Alfreton, left-sided man Owen Roberts proved to be an inspired signing from Unibond League side Clitheroe, and he retained his place in the side for a 2-2 draw at eventual champions Droylsden, a point which was secured with a superb Chris Simm equaliser in the dying stages of the game.

A rare Dan Owen header wasn’t enough to prevent a 3-1 home defeat to Harrogate Town in the fourth meeting of the season between the sides, and it prompted Humphreys in to action with the signing of former Colchester United and Chester City striker Kevin Rapley. Although the new signing from Droylsden failed to prevent a 2-0 defeat at Hyde, his invaluable experience was there for all to see, and he promptly scored his first goal for the club on his home debut, a 3-2 defeat to Hinckley United that left RMI in the relegation zone for the first time in several months.

The shock of finding themselves back in the drop zone seemed to spur RMI back in to action and they finally got themselves back in the winning habit, coming from a goal down to complete a league double over Worcester City, with Owen Roberts scoring his first goal for the club before Kevin Rapley again found himself on the scoresheet, securing a 2-1 with a delightful lob over the goalkeeper.

The following week saw RMI once again come from behind to claim all three points, with Chris Simm scoring two of the goals in a 3-1 victory over Hucknall Town that completed their second ‘double’ of the week, despite the loss of Hugh McAuley to injury.

Although the next encounter saw RMI fail to collect any points, they could certainly claim a moral victory that said everything for their new-found guts and determination, conceding the winning goal with the last kick of the game in a 2-1 defeat that saw RMI striker Chris Simm play in goal for a substantial period of time following the sending off of John Lamb after Kevin Rapley had previously given the visitors the lead.

RMI’s inconsistency throughout the season was almost completely summed up in the next game when, after such an heroic performance in the defeat at Bower Fold, the Railwaymen meekly surrendered to a horrendous 3-0 defeat at home to fellow strugglers Barrow, who couldn’t believe their ease in sending RMI deeper in to the relegation mire. That particular Saturday afternoon seemed to spell the end of RMI’s Conference North tenure, a matter of days later saw hope restored when Blyth Spartans fell to a 3-1 defeat to a revitalised Leigh side at a buoyant Hilton Park, with Rapley again a major influence, creating Chris Simm’s opener and having a major hand in his second of the evening, before the former Leigh Athletic striker later claimed his hat trick. A renewed sense of confidence swept through the Hilton Park faithful, but the delight of the Tuesday night’s victory was quickly dashed with a 2-1 defeat at Redditch providing a hammer blow to the club’s survival ambitions, before a similarly devastating defeat left RMI back in the relegation zone after a lacklustre 3-0 defeat at home to Vauxhall Motors.

West Yorkshire outfit Farsley Celtic had only joined the Conference North at the start of the season, but come the end of the campaign they would find themselves joining Droylsden at the non-league top table with a dramatic play-off final victory over Hinckley United, but that night in Burton seemed a long way away at the end of March when it seemed RMI were destined for all three points at the Throstle Nest, only for Chris Simm’s goal to be cancelled out in heartbreaking fashion by Damian Reeves’ stoppage time equaliser.

The following Tuesday saw RMI make the short trip to already relegated Lancaster City in a vital encounter. The Dolly Blues, at that point still on minus points for the season after a previous ten point deduction, showed that their lack of points was compensated by a terrific determination in defence, with the visitors denied on countless occasions, whilst at times lucky to escape at the other end, as Stuart Humphreys’ side found themselves deeper in trouble as the season’s end drew ever nearer.

A vital Bank Holiday weekend saw Kevin Rapley again emerge as the RMI hero, scoring the equaliser in a 2-2 draw at home to Moor Green, before a 0-0 draw at Gainsborough on the Monday afternoon left RMI two points adrift of safety with three games remaining, two of which were to come against relegation rivals Scarborough and Worksop Town.

The week prior to making the trip to the McCain Stadium in a game that would ultimately confirm Scarborough’s second successive relegation, RMI were thrown a lifeline when a Kevin Rapley penalty on the stroke of half-time was enough to give his side a priceless 1-0 home victory over Nuneaton Borough, lifting Leigh out of the relegation zone with only two games of the season left to play.

Rapley was once again ‘on the spot’ in RMI’s final away fixture of the season when his eighty-second minute penalty was enough to claim a point from Scarborough, leaving RMI a point clear of safety whilst condemning the Seadogs to the UniBond League.

Such were the quirks of the season’s fixtures, the final game of the season couldn’t have been poised any better, with third bottom Worksop visiting a sweltering Hilton Park, knowing that only a win would be enough to keep themselves in the Conference North and relegate their hosts in the process.

In front of RMI’s largest home crowd of the season, it was the visitors that caused much of the game’s most nervy moments in the opening stages, only for the Tigers to fall behind shortly before the half hour mark when Leigh striker Dan Owen put his body on the line to bravely challenge for a long ball, winning the foot race with the Worksop goalkeeper to put his side in front, only to find himself requiring a lengthy period of treatment from the resultant collision. It was Owen, ironically criticised for much of the season for his lack of aerial ability, who headed his side in to a two goal lead before the interval when glancing a McAuley cross in to the net, sparking mass delirium on the terraces and providing a huge amount of relief to all those concerned with the club.

The second half saw RMI stroke the ball around with a degree of composure and quality that had been seen on all too-few occasions since the magical unbeaten run of December and, despite Ben Saunders pulling a goal back to spark a nervy finish, RMI’s day in the sun was not to be spoiled, and the ‘Great Escape’ was complete. Although the club are rumoured to be aiming for something close to a play-off challenge next season, survival is certainly a success in the eyes of the supporters, mindful of the club trying to compete on limited resources that are hardly helped by the league’s lowest average attendance. 

No matter what the future holds, the rollercoaster ride of the 2006/07 season is certainly one that won’t be forgotten for many years to come, not least because survival was achieved on the field, rather than in the courtroom.

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