Username
Password
Hinckley United 3 Leigh RMI 1

By Matt Lawton March 8 2008
Three goals in twenty second half minutes earned a vital victory for hosts Hinckley United in their fight against relegation, with Bradley Maylett’s first goal for RMI proving little consolation as the Leythers fell to their fourth league defeat in a row.

With Hinckley going in to the game just three points adrift of fourth bottom Hucknall Town, RMI braced themselves for an early onslaught from their hosts, but it was the visitors that provided a lot of the early running, having the ball in the net within fifteen minutes of play, only for Luke Prosser to have his attempt correctly chalked off for handball after he had connected with a Mark Smyth cross.

With particularly blustery conditions being added to a Marston's Stadium pitch that had enough sand to resemble somewhere a tad nearer to the coast than the Leicestershire town, neither side created much in the way of goalscoring opportunities, with RMI keeping the game scoreless in the break, just as they did in Tuesday evening's Co-Operative Challenge Trophy semi final at Southport.

However, as occurred in what was to be an eventual 4-0 defeat at Haig Avenue, Leigh were particularly sluggish at the start of the second period and fell behind ten minutes after the break when a free kick from Hinckley's left hand side drifted in to the area, with Tom Birch getting a vital touch to deflect the ball past RMI goalkeeper Richard Mottram.

Seven minutes later and that lead was doubled when centre back Rob Marsh-Evans was guilty of bundling over Hinckley striker Leon Kelly inches inside the penalty area, with Adam Webster blasting the resultant spot kick past Mottram to score his first goal for Hinckley.

With fifteen minutes remaining, Mottram was again caught out by an inswinging cross that drifted from the left hand side, with the luckless goalkeeper beaten by a vital Webster touch to divert Callum Lloyd's cross in to the net.

Leigh pulled a goal back with ten minutes remaining on the counter attack when striker Mark Smyth broke swiftly down the left flank, his cross being coolly converted at the back post by substitute Bradley Maylett, but the former Northwich star's first goal for the Railwaymen proved to be too little, too late.

Leigh RMI; Richard Mottram, Paul Booth, Andy Wright, Matt Lawlor (Stuart Whittaker), Rob Marsh-Evans, Luke Prosser, Steve Settle (Bradley Maylett), Robin Gibson, Gavin Salmon (Richard Chetcuti), Jonathan Goulding, Mark Smyth

Bookmark or share this story with: