With the teams warming up as normal fifteen minutes before kick off, an electrical fault plunged the entire ground, including the bar area, in to near-complete darkness, with the referee only satisfied with lighting arrangements and starting the game at 8:25pm, forty minutes later than the scheduled kick off.
In a drab first half, neither side managed to create any particularly clear-cut chances, with only Leigh's Chris McCaughtrie going close, skewing his shot wide of the target as the ball bobbled on the pitch, having already done the hard work of breaking clear of the defence to go one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
Half-time saw Matthew Smith replace namesake Nathan, though it did little to spark the encounter.
Part way in to the second half, Sam Parkinson grabbed his second goal of the season to put Leigh in front, although he can count himself lucky as his free kick was horribly misjudged by Colls goalkeeper Gavin Bates, who failed to get his body behind the ball and saw it agonisingly squeeze over the line.
With five minutes remaining, the victory and a Second Round tie away to Radcliffe Borough was sealed when Parkinson was hauled down in the penalty area, dusting himself off to send Bates the wrong way and claim his second goal of the evening.
With a date yet to be confirmed for their tie in the next round, Leigh's next fixture is currently on Boxing Day when Witton Albion are the first visitors to the Leigh Sports Village Stadium for a UniBond Premier League fixture.
Leigh Genesis; Dean Porter, Mark Radcliffe, Chris Rogers, Nathan Smith (Matthew Smith), Chris Page, David Hill, Ike Williams, Scott Sefton, Chris McCaughtrie, Sam Parkinson, Joe Fielding
Date: | Monday 15th December 2008 |
Venue: | Alder House, Atherton |
Attendance: | 62 |
Half time: | Atherton Collieries 0 Leigh Genesis 0 |
Competition: | Lancashire FA Trophy First Round |
Scorers: | |
Leigh Genesis | Sam Parkinson (2, 1 penalty) |
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