The big news of the month happened to occur on the eve of the season when the UniBond Premier League inspection commitee ruled that the Hilton Park pitch was unfit to host fixtures at this level, with Steve Bleasdale's side instead having to surrender home advantage and play fixtures against Ashton United and Ilkeston Town at Victory Park in Chorley.

Happily, the required pitch repairs have been carried out and Leigh can now look forward to starting September with a return to Hilton Park when they face local rivals Prescot Cables in a long-awaited derby fixture.

On the field, August started with disappointment when, despite being backed by a large travelling support in Nottinghamshire, Leigh suffered a 2-0 opening day defeat to Eastwood Town despite the visitors dominating the second half, eventually succumbing to a killer second goal in stoppage time.

The disappointment of that defeat was completely swept away just three days later when Ashton United, who since that point have proven to be the division's surprise package, with the venue of Victory Park being particularly apt as Leigh ran out 3-0 winners thanks to goals from Darren Mansaram, his first for the club, Richard Chetcuti and Brad Maylett.

Only a couple of days following that victory, Leigh supporters bid farewell to one of it's most popular players, club stalwart Andy Heald departing the club for more regular first team football at Radcliffe Borough after spending two spells at Hilton Park since making his Conference debut against Hayes in August 2001.

Leigh's second, and ultimately final, game to take place at Victory Park promised so much yet ended only in a second defeat of the season for Genesis when, despite leading 1-0 at half-time through a Paul Booth header, strikes in a dramatic final five minutes from John Douglas and Chris Adam saw visitors Ilkeston Town claim a 2-1 victory.

Just two days later, Leigh were back in action and back to winning ways on the August Bank Holiday Monday when a terrific early strike from Mansaram set the tone for a 2-0 victory away to Ossett Town, Brad Maylett sealing the win in West Yorkshire fourteen minutes from time.

While Leigh were handed a boost two days later when it was confirmed that they could once again host fixtures at Hilton Park, the penultimate day of the month saw Genesis lose for third time in August when, despite a terrific Mansaram equaliser, his third goal in five games, an under-par Genesis performance saw them lose 2-1 to Worksop Town at their temporary home in Hucknall.

The verdict for the month would certainly be around the C+ mark, with two promising victories being overshadowed by disappointing defeats, with Leigh's inability to defend set-pieces being a particular concern ahead of the visit of strugglers Prescot Cables to Hilton Park, possibly a must-win game, even at this stage of the season, even if it is for bragging rights alone.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

SPORTNETWORK SPECIALS