Barnet 3 Leigh RMI 2
By Matt Lawton December 5 2004
Whichever footballing philospher first coined the idea of "the teams at the top having all the luck" was certainly proved correct yesterday as RMI's last minute curse struck again as they fell to a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat at runaway leaders Barnet.
Whichever footballing philospher first coined the idea of "the teams at the top having all the luck" was certainly proved correct yesterday as RMI's last minute curse struck again as they fell to a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat at runaway leaders Barnet.
With RMI rooted to the foot of the table and Barnet flying high at the top of the Conference, many feared Leigh would face a cricket score and an embarrassingly heavy defeat, and those doom-mongers looked as though they may be proved right after just two minutes when the hosts took the lead through Conference top scorer Giuliano Grazioli after just two minutes at Underhill.
However, Geoff Lutley's admirably fought back and were back on level terms after fifteen minutes when former Scarborough man Karl Rose prepared for Tuesday's encounter with his former team mates with the equalising goal, six minutes before Gareth Stoker scored his sixth of the season to give the visitors a shock 2-1 lead that they held until the break.
Fired up for the second half and determined to avoid a humiliating home defeat, Barnet set on the attack but it was Leigh who had the best chance with Rose missing a seemingly easy header to grab his second and put some daylight between the sides before Nick Bailey's 25-yarder put the sides on level pegging once again.
RMI were on the backfoot after the hour mark when they were reduced to ten men after Barry Miller was sent off for a second bookable offence. Despite their numerical disadvantage, it looked as though RMI would grab an unlikely point until just ten seconds from the end of the game when Leigh's curse of conceding late goals struck again, with Lee Roache taking his turn to break Railwaymen hearts.
Despite the defeat, Leigh go in to Tuesday's home encounter with Scarborough full of heart and encouragement after a pulsating performance almost denied the champions-elect, with RMI boss Geoff Lutley hoping it will spark an upward spiral for his side.
However, Geoff Lutley's admirably fought back and were back on level terms after fifteen minutes when former Scarborough man Karl Rose prepared for Tuesday's encounter with his former team mates with the equalising goal, six minutes before Gareth Stoker scored his sixth of the season to give the visitors a shock 2-1 lead that they held until the break.
Fired up for the second half and determined to avoid a humiliating home defeat, Barnet set on the attack but it was Leigh who had the best chance with Rose missing a seemingly easy header to grab his second and put some daylight between the sides before Nick Bailey's 25-yarder put the sides on level pegging once again.
RMI were on the backfoot after the hour mark when they were reduced to ten men after Barry Miller was sent off for a second bookable offence. Despite their numerical disadvantage, it looked as though RMI would grab an unlikely point until just ten seconds from the end of the game when Leigh's curse of conceding late goals struck again, with Lee Roache taking his turn to break Railwaymen hearts.
Despite the defeat, Leigh go in to Tuesday's home encounter with Scarborough full of heart and encouragement after a pulsating performance almost denied the champions-elect, with RMI boss Geoff Lutley hoping it will spark an upward spiral for his side.
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