Chorley Lynx 31 Leigh Centurions 22 by Mike Hulme

PAUL Terzis called it 'a dark day in my coaching career' as a gang of Leigh old boys came back to ambush him and his team.

Coach Terzis was sensible enough not to look for excuses for Leigh's inexcusable performance and gave credit for being 'out-played' and 'out-coached' by the Victory Park personnel.

Chorley, with five players considered not good enough to wear Leigh's colours, were passionate, incisive and hungry - three qualities Leigh were badly missing. It was a case of one side wanting to win; the other thinking they would win.

In the end the result went to the team that wanted it most - any other outcome would have been a travesty.

Although Leigh's place in the Arriva Trains National Cup quarter-finals was already assured, the fall-out from this miserable performance could be felt for weeks.

While Chorley coach Darren Abram was delighted to put one over on his old boss Terzis, he is also better placed than most to judge his former club.

Had things worked out differently, Abram could have been Leigh's head coach. Instead he plotted their downfall.

"I know Leigh's mentality; they are a Jekyll and Hyde side. I knew the way they were going to play. We targeted certain players and by doing that teams can stop them and score tries against them, as we did."

Then, in a deliberate parting shot, added: "They are also a poor disciplined team."

The stats bear that out. Referee Julian King caned them 13-5 and when the enigmatic Dale Cardoza smacked ex-Leyther Saf Patel off the ball, the official was left with no option but to red card the Leigh centre. In truth, Cardoza's dismissal had been coming for much of the second half. Three times he was penalised when in possession and in recent weeks has been playing on a fuse shorter than a Chinese fire-cracker.

Cardoza's dismissal nine minutes from time just about completed a miserable afternoon for the Centurions who never looked capable of getting anything from this one. They only lead twice in the entire game - once for 90 seconds and once for six minutes.

The warning shots were there to see early on as Leigh's lethargic start was seized on by Chorley who were eight points to the good inside 16 minutes. Sean Richardson's high tackle on Mick Redford gave Mark McCully the first of five goals, his second coming as a conversion to Martin Gambles' try at the end of a move that ripped Leigh wide open.

The expected response from Leigh was a long time coming. And when it did there was more than a touch of controversy about it. Pat Weisner's hanging bomb to the corner was mishandled by Eddie Kilgannon and with Chorley appealing for a knock-on, Adam Bristow scrambled over the line to make it 8-4.

Back-to-back mistakes by Chorley at the start of the second half gave Leigh a toe-hold close to the Lynx line. They didn't waste it as Neil Turley burst through a gap and shot over for a try he converted himself to put his side 10-8 up.

But the lead lasted less than two minutes as scrum-half Gambles picked off a wide pass from Bristow and strolled in unchallenged from 30 metres, McCully added the goal points.

Leigh regained the initiative not long afterwards when Paul Rowley's scamper out of dummy half set up the position to bring Lee Sanderson back on an angled run clean through to the posts, Turley's goal giving Leigh a 16-14 lead.

Undeterred, Chorley came roaring back. Helped by successive penalties conceded by Cardoza, Chorley put Leigh's defence under pressure and livewire hooker Mike Briggs burrowed through a forest of legs and a try.

Six minutes later Leigh defenders fumbled John Braddish's kick to the line and McCully swooped to dive in at the corner.

Cardoza's dismissal in the 71st minute compounded Leigh's misery and they fell further behind when McCully's weaving cross-field run brought Gamble his third try. McCully added the extras.

Weisner's 76th minute try, goaled by Turley, gave Leigh a glimmer of hope but any salvage operation was wrecked just before the end when Braddish opened up a seven point cushion with a field goal and McCully made sure with a last minute penalty.

Match facts

SCORERS

Leigh: Tries - Bristow (28), Turley (44), Sanderson (55), Weisner (76). Gls: Turley 3/4.

Chorley: Tries - Gambles (16, 46, 73), McCully (67), Briggs (61). Gls: McCully 5/8.

TEAMS

Leigh: Turley; Andrews, Munro, Cardoza, Watts; Weisner, Sanderson; Norman, Rowley, Henare, Richardson, Bristow, Swann. Subs used: Nickle, Hadcroft, Rivett, Bradbury.

Chorley: McCully; Kilgannon, Redford, Bretherton, Garcia; Braddish, Gambles; Bloor, Briggs, Whittle, Johnson, McConnell, Hodson. Subs used: Rowley, Parry, Patel, Smith.

Penalties conceded: Leigh 13, Chorley 5

Handling errors: Leigh 8, Chorley 9.

Dismissal: Cardoza - Leigh (71mins, foul).

Referee: Julian King (St Helens).

Attendance: 736.

Man

rNOT many candidates in a shocking Leigh performance. But one who never took a backward step was Dave Bradbury.

Magic

rSPOILED for choice really. But unfortunately they all came from Chorley...

Moan

rCARDOZA'S red card was unnecessary and showed a complete lack of self control.