Leigh RMI 0 Scarborough 2 by David Magilton: EVERY manager has to gamble at some stage but Mark Patterson's decision to go ahead with a game on a waterlogged pitch backfired when his side failed to deliver.

RMI have battled their way out of the bottom three over the past five games and another win would have eased the pressure with tough away trips to Yeovil and Telford looming.

Unfortunately they never adapted to the conditions and with their inability to threaten the visitors goal, were always second best, something the RMI manager accepted.

"It was a bad result and a bad performance all round," was Patterson's honest interpretation of the game.

"We were second to the ball all over the pitch, didn't adapt to the conditions and deserved to get beat.

"Tactically they were better. They came to defend and hit us on the break and that is what they did. I was disappointed with both goals, particularly the second, but can't complain at the defeat.

"It was bad game for us. We have had a couple of good results and now a setback, but we have to react to this."

With Leigh having to travel to runaway leaders Yeovil tomorrow, Patterson has a huge task to lift his players.

It was disappointing that strikers Keith Scott and Neil Campbell, who joined RMI from Scarborough only two weeks ago and had been so effective in the midweek win against Farnborough, did not produce a similar performance against their old club.

With that route closed down Leigh had little in the way of penetration and their only clear cut chance to grab a goal came on the hour when Ian Monk's cross was blasted against an upright by Phil Salt.

If that had gone in the outcome may have been different, but it was always the visitors who posed the more serious threat.

Scarborough went ahead in the 24th minute when a flashing cross was tucked home by Gary Cohen, but the killer blow came a minute from the interval when defender Neil Durkin lost the ball in the area and David Pounder darted onto it and crossed for Cleveland Taylor to touch it home.

Stuart Coburn was by far the busier of the keepers and deserved a bit of luck when Taylor's shot squirted under his body but got stuck in the mud, while in the dying minutes he palmed Paul Dempsey's powerful volley onto the woodwork.