With striker James Dunn unable to face his former club after failing to shake off an injury picked up in Saturday's 0-0 draw with Tamworth, Richard Chetcuti was partnered in the RMI attack by the hardworking Gavin Salmon, while a late change saw Robin Gibson replace Andy Wright on the left side of midfield, his first appearance since serving a suspension, with Leigh manager Steve Bleasdale keeping faith with the impressive centre back partnership of Paul Booth and skipper Rob Marsh-Evans.

With visitors Burscough still seeming to be suffering a hangover from their 2-0 home defeat to Redditch United at the weekend, RMI took the lead with just twelve minutes on the clock when Gibson struck a left footed shot across the face of the goal, in to the path of centre back Rob Marsh-Evans, who made no mistake in slamming home his first goal for the club.

With the two previous meetings between the sides so far this season producing no less than twelve goals in FA Trophy and Blue Square North encounters, drama was guaranteed at a somewhat boisterous Hilton Park, with the home crowd getting behind their side throughout a tempestuous encounter.

RMI were indebted to goalkeeper Tim Dittmer for keeping the scores level on thirty nine minutes when he was called upon to make a terrific point blank save that was almost reminiscent of one Gordon Banks, hurling himself to the ground to tip away a seemingly goalbound Matt Parry effort.

A minute later, and the game was turned on it's head when Richard Chetcuti raced towards goal, attempting to chip the ball over the advancing McMillan when clean through just outside of the Burscough penalty area, only for the Linnets goalkeeper to tip the ball away with his hand and prevent an almost certain goal, leaving referee Mr. Simpson no option but to send the goalkeeper from the field, with Parry withdrawn from the action to allow substitute goalkeeper Zak Hibbert to take over between the posts.

Although RMI failed to take advantage of the resultant free kick and as such remain only a goal in front at the break, it would be fair to say that the hosts were certainly the better of the two sides and in control of the game.

That said, it took Burscough only four minutes of the second half to get back on level terms, Chris Price dinking the ball over Dittmer after racing on to a through ball.

Despite that setback, RMI largely remained in control, almost regaining their goal advantage shortly after the equaliser when a flowing move down the right hand side saw Gavin Salmon's header superbly saved by Hibbert after a pinpoint Chetcuti cross.
With an hour of the game gone, Burscough were reduced to nine men when midfielder Alan Moogan was sent off for an off-the-field incident that was spotted by the eagle-eyed referee, if not the majority of the crowd.

Three minutes after the sending off and RMI regained the lead as the head of substitute Cayne Hanley met Owen Roberts' left wing corner at the near post and thumped it past Hibbert, prompting delirium on the terraces.

With RMI's slick passing play emphasising their numerical advantage, they tore apart their opponents at will, particularly down the right hand side, and they could have scored a third goal when, after an excellent break, Brad Maylett's low cross flew agonisingly just in front of Salmon, any decisive touch undoubtedly sending the ball in to the net.

Maylett was finding himself at the hub of much of Leigh's attacking play, but he might have done better to spot the unmarked Hanley at the far post when again breaking clear, instead choosing to switch the ball to his favoured right foot and fire the ball towards goal, forcing an admittedly excellent save from Hibbert.

Burscough's former RMI man Neil Fitzhenry wasn't exactly enjoying a memorable return to Hilton Park and, after being targeted by the home support after an incident which saw the centre back kick the ball in to the face of a female spectator following the award of a free kick against him, he was given his marching orders, incredibly reducing his side to just eight players, when he finally cracked under the growing pressure and threw a punch at Chetcuti in full view of the officials, Fitzhenry returning to the changing rooms that were once so familiar to him.

With Leigh enjoying the acres of space on the field and the adulation of the crowd, they played an attacking brand of football that delighted their supporters and even being afforded the chance to hand a debut for the final few minutes to midfielder David Prout, a recent signing from Southport.

As the final whistle blew, Burscough's players beat a hasty retreat to the changing rooms, while RMI's players stayed on the field for a lengthy team talk from boss Bleasdale, before lapping up the applause of a crowd that had remained on the terraces for a long while after full time to show their appreciation on a particularly satisfying evening for the Railwaymen.

The only remaining challenge belongs to the watching Setanta Sports filming crew, who will somehow have to manage to fit all of the evening's events in to their allotted time period!

Leigh RMI; Tim Dittmer, Scott Metcalfe, Robin Gibson (Cayne Hanley), Andy Heald, Paul Booth, Rob Marsh-Evans, Brad Maylett, Jonathan Goulding, Gavin Salmon (Andy Wright), Richard Chetcuti (David Prout), Owen Roberts

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