Leigh RMI 1 Telford United 1
By Matt Lawton March 20 2004
Martyn Lancaster's last minute goal may have been enough to give Leigh RMI a hugely deserved point but ultimately it may not be enough in their quest for Nationwide Conference survival.
Martyn Lancaster's last minute goal may have been enough to give Leigh RMI a hugely deserved point but ultimately it may not be enough in their quest for Nationwide Conference survival.
With many much more high-profile games falling victim to the weather it was amazing the game went ahead in the first place, with the Hilton Park floodlights shaking in the gale force winds, and the sheer force of the winds meant that a good footballing game was never really on the cards, but the crowd were thoroughly entertained regardless.
RMI had the first chance of the game when Wayne Maden broke in to the Telford box, only to scuff his shot with the wind behind him, before Tony Naylor had the first chance for the visitors with an ambitious strike from thirty five yards out.
Former Port Vale striker Naylor came close to opening the scoring on twenty six minutes when he fired a superb wind-assisted strike from the edge of the area, only to be met with an equally impressive save from RMI's Australian goalkeeper Ian Martin.
The visitors did take the lead soon after when, with eight minutes of the first half remaining, RMI's former Bury midfielder Steve Gunby fouled Michael Blackwood, and Naylor excellently put the resulting free kick in to the top corner of the RMI net to give his side a one goal half-time lead.
Luck seemed to be on RMI's side when the strong winds seemingly made a complete change in direction, meaning the Telford defence consistently failed to clear the ball much further than outside their penalty area and consequently meaning RMI could exert almost constant pressure on their visitors.
However, it seemed it wasn't going to be RMI's day with Telford goalkeeper Chris Mackenzie in inspired form, superbly denying Gerry Harrison on two occasions, as well as saving well from Gareth Holmes and tipping dangerous shots and crosses from Andy Roscoe over the bar on no less than four occasions.
Neil Howarth and Sam Ricketts blocked shots from Wayne Maden and Steve Gunby respectively as RMI piled on the pressure, while substitute Carl Rezai wasted a golden opportunity before RMI finally got their reward with barely a minute of normal time remaining.
The Telford defence failed to clear yet another Roscoe corner, and via top scorer David McNiven, the ball eventually found it's way to RMI centre back Martyn Lancaster, who somehow managed to scramble the ball home to send the home supporters in to raptures.
Lancaster nearly won it in stoppage time with a header that scraped the visitors crossbar before veteran defender Steve Redmond did likewise in almost identical fashion when the ball seemed destined to go in to the net and give RMI victory.
Although it was an excellently battling performance from the Railwaymen, three points was a must and one point just isn't enough at this stage of the season, especially when you consider that relegation rivals Tamworth managed a vital home victory over Forest Green Rovers to widen the gap between RMI and safety.
RMI had the first chance of the game when Wayne Maden broke in to the Telford box, only to scuff his shot with the wind behind him, before Tony Naylor had the first chance for the visitors with an ambitious strike from thirty five yards out.
Former Port Vale striker Naylor came close to opening the scoring on twenty six minutes when he fired a superb wind-assisted strike from the edge of the area, only to be met with an equally impressive save from RMI's Australian goalkeeper Ian Martin.
The visitors did take the lead soon after when, with eight minutes of the first half remaining, RMI's former Bury midfielder Steve Gunby fouled Michael Blackwood, and Naylor excellently put the resulting free kick in to the top corner of the RMI net to give his side a one goal half-time lead.
Luck seemed to be on RMI's side when the strong winds seemingly made a complete change in direction, meaning the Telford defence consistently failed to clear the ball much further than outside their penalty area and consequently meaning RMI could exert almost constant pressure on their visitors.
However, it seemed it wasn't going to be RMI's day with Telford goalkeeper Chris Mackenzie in inspired form, superbly denying Gerry Harrison on two occasions, as well as saving well from Gareth Holmes and tipping dangerous shots and crosses from Andy Roscoe over the bar on no less than four occasions.
Neil Howarth and Sam Ricketts blocked shots from Wayne Maden and Steve Gunby respectively as RMI piled on the pressure, while substitute Carl Rezai wasted a golden opportunity before RMI finally got their reward with barely a minute of normal time remaining.
The Telford defence failed to clear yet another Roscoe corner, and via top scorer David McNiven, the ball eventually found it's way to RMI centre back Martyn Lancaster, who somehow managed to scramble the ball home to send the home supporters in to raptures.
Lancaster nearly won it in stoppage time with a header that scraped the visitors crossbar before veteran defender Steve Redmond did likewise in almost identical fashion when the ball seemed destined to go in to the net and give RMI victory.
Although it was an excellently battling performance from the Railwaymen, three points was a must and one point just isn't enough at this stage of the season, especially when you consider that relegation rivals Tamworth managed a vital home victory over Forest Green Rovers to widen the gap between RMI and safety.
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