Martyn's final touch

WHEN Leigh needed a cool head they turned to an old head.

With defeat staring them in the face, Leigh required something special from a special player. And Tommy Martyn provided it.

His 77th minute try might not go down as the most spectacular of his career but it's one he'll remember well into his dotage - the touchdown that took his hometown team into a major final.

It was a fitting finale to an Arriva Trains Cup semi-final heart-stopper that ebbed and flowed one way and then the other. For tension and torment, it doesn't get much better than this.

The two best teams in the division put on the best game. What a spectacle it would have been had it been the final itself. The Centurions and Hull KR will be hard pressed to conjure a repeat at Spotland on July 18.

While Martyn was the centre of attention, the contributions of Neil Turley and Danny Halliwell in particular can't be ignored.

Both Martyn and Turley were only declared fit five hours before the game and it's likely that neither was completely 100 per cent with Turley playing with his right thigh heavily strapped.

But the time and effort Leigh had spent on getting their two key men on the park was clearly worthwhile. As well as his match-winning try, Martyn helped set up three more and his tactical know-how got Leigh out of a few sticky situations.

Halliwell's contribution might have been less obvious to the casual on-looker but wasn't missed by his team-mates. The centre's defensive display was awesome, cutting down everything in sight and marking the dangerous Mick Nanyn out of the game. And add to all that a vital first half try.

Coach Darren Abram, who will now lead Leigh out for the first major final of his career, said: "For the neutral that most have been helluva game. For the coaches and fans of either side it was heart-attack stuff.

"We had the resilience to come back from 30-28 down after leading for most of the game. It took a special team to get over that disappointment and still come up with the victory. I'm proud of them all.

"Tommy and Neil have struggled all week but they've looked after themselves and worked hard to got out on the field. I'm delighted they got their rewards.

"And what about that following," he said in reference to the several hundred supporters who had made the long trek. "We couldn't let them down again, could we? This win was as much for them as it was for us."

Leigh and Whitehaven produced 80-odd minutes of the most fluctuating football fortunes you could ever imagine with more twists and turns than a game of snakes and ladders.

The tone was set immediately from the kick off when Neil Turley's hanging start was collected by Matt Sturm and Leigh won a penalty in the first set. Although wide out on the right, Turley had enough confidence to take a pot-shot at goal which fell short.

Everyone was still struggling to catch their breath as Nanyn failed with a penalty shot at the other end before kicking Whitehaven into an eighth minute lead.

We didn't have to wait long for the first try, but when it did come it was in bizarre circumstances. While Turley and 'Haven prop Dean Vaughan were involved in a half-way line scuffle, Martyn hacked the ball on, Dave Larder was the first to react and force his way under the posts. After consultation with his touchjudges, referee Ashley Klein allowed the try to stand and Turley's conversion made it 6-2.

The London-based whistler went on to infuriate and baffle both teams and sets of fans with a performance that should have given the watching RL hierarchy of Kath and Gary Hetherington and Neil Wood plenty of food for thought.

Thankfully Mr Klein played no part in Leigh stretching their lead to 18-2.

When 'Haven's livewire scrum-half Sam Obst chipped over the top, Turley collected without breaking stride and picked his way through the defence before racing away to score from 60 metres.

Ten minutes later Turley was in again. Running the ball on the sixth tackle, Ben Cooper broke inside and Martyn perfectly weighted a kick for Turley to win the race. Turley's two conversions had Leigh well in front and in control.

But Whitehaven are too good a side to roll over completely and their anticipated fightback began just before half time when Rowley's attempted wide pass was picked off by Jamie Marshall who went almost the entire length to score. Nanyn converted.

Rowley damaged a knee in the same incident and limped off not to return. While they were still re-grouping, Leigh's defence went AWOL as Leroy Joe's inside pass sent Wesley Wilson in untouched to cut Leigh's lead to four points.

Importantly Leigh stretched their advantage top 10 points deep into first half stoppage time. John Duffy's toe-poke to the line was snapped up by Halliwell and Turley thumped over the touchline conversion.

If Leigh had any ideas of sitting back on their lead, they were give a rude awakening when Lester and McDermott unlocked the defence for Marshall to get his second try at the start of the second half. Another Nanyn conversion made it 24-20.

Marshall the hero soon became Marshall the villain as he spilled Turley's re-start to give Leigh excellent field position. They defended the first set well enough but when Leigh forced another six Martyn's long pass gave Copper the chance to send Damian Munro in at the corner.

Having been given a helping hand by Whitehaven, Leigh returned the compliment when Turley put the re-start out on the full. Within a couple of plays Obst had cashed in on a Carl Sice break to round Turley and sprint in under the posts to cut Leigh's lead to 28-26.

Two Nanyn penalties put Whitehaven in the lead for the first time since the eighth minute and they looked to be heading for their first major final.

Leigh had the 'Haven defence scrambling all over the place as they tried to protect their lead. Halliwell was denied by a three-man cover tackle on the right before Leigh whipped the ball left where Martyn slipped his man and stretched over through a two more defenders to win it.

Even then the drama wasn't over. Turley was penalised for a voluntary tackle after leaping high to catch the re-start. Whitehaven threw everything at Leigh in a final desperate raid but the red wall held firm just when it needed to.

SCORERS: Leigh - Tries: Larder (11), Turley (17, 27), Halliwell (40), Munro (52), Martyn (78). Gls: Turley 5/7.

Whitehaven - Tries: Marshall (34, 48), Wilson (36), Obst (57). Gls: Nanyn 7/8.

Whitehaven: Broadbent; Marshall, Wilson, Nanyn, O'Neil; Joe, Obst; Vaughan, Lester, Fatialofa, McDermott, Hill, Walsh. Subs (all used): McKinney, Sice, Morton, Jackson.

Leigh: Turley; Maden, Halliwell, Cooper, Munro; Duffy, Martyn; Knox, Rowley, Sturm, Larder, Potter, Knott. Subs (all used): Swann, Cruckshank, Marshall, Wilkes.

Handling errors: Leigh 7, Whitehaven 7.

Penalties conceded: Leigh 17, Whitehaven 11.

Half time: 24-14

Full time: 34-30

Referee: Ashley Klein (London).

Attendance: 2449

Man

rGOLDEN oldie Tommy Martyn did more than most to book Leigh's final passage but for my money it was Danny Halliwell's performance on the right that deserves most recognition.

Moan

rROWLEY'S nasty-looking knee injury which appeared to have been done deliberately by a Whitehaven player.

Magic

rWHAT else but Martyn's late, late winner. Just when Leigh needed a cool head he came up with the goods.