Burton Albion 0 Leigh RMI 0 by Martyn Hindley: SUCH team spirit, dedication and togetherness have rarely been in evidence at RMI since the days of Graham Hill and Dave Ridings during the Steve Waywell era.

But reduced to ten men after just four minutes following Gareth Stoker's red card, Leigh's scoreless draw at Burton on Tuesday provides hope and inspiration to players and fans alike, as well as the first Conference point of the season.

Stoker's dismissal was an instance of strict adherence to the laws of the

game clashing hopelessly with common sense. Aaron Webster burst free down the left hand side for Burton and Stoker's foul to curtail his run was deemed a professional foul despite the lack of a clear goalscoring opportunity.

RMI seldom looked inconvenienced by their one man disadvantage though with Ian Martin having just two saves to make in the first half.

The Railwaymen almost defied the odds to take the lead. Warren Peyton swung a free kick to the back post, where Barry Miller's header arced over the goalkeeper.

Karl Rose gave the travelling fans late hope of victory. But after Craig Mitchell had created space with a superb final pass, Rose couldn't find the target with his angled right-footed shot.

Leigh RMI 1

Crawley Town 2

THE curse of the opening day struck again for RMI as they lost their

Conference curtain raiser for the third time in five seasons.

This time, newly promoted Crawley Town were the benefactors, taking three points away from Hilton Park despite trailing 1-0 at the break.

Leigh took the lead when Chris Lane headed across the penalty area for Craig Gaunt to score.

Charlie MacDonald equalised with a controversial penalty and then went on to give Crawley all three points.