Leigh RMI 3 Farnborough Town 2 by David Magilton

LEIGH took another step towards relegation safety with a nailbiting victory that has helped them rack up ten vital points from their last five Conference games.

Keith Scott powered home Andy Heald's cross to open the scoring after eight minutes and it took Town until the 69th minute to level through Geoff Pitcher.

Wayne Maden then restored Leigh's lead before Phil Salt volleyed home their third in the 78th minute.

Lenny Piper grabbed a consolation goal for the visitors in the dying seconds.

The Railwaymen have hauled themselves out of the bottom three and are now looking for a cushion to ease the pressure as the season draws to a close.

They had to show true grit, however, to overcome a Farnborough side who performed much better than one who has not won since Boxing Day and the battling display left manager Mark Patterson delighted with the outcome.

"It is a great three points for us because to be fair to Farnborough they had the lion's share of possession, but we defended our box ever so well," he said. "We started strongly and got the goal we needed, but they got a grip on the game and played the better football without creating too many chances. They forced us back without really hurting us.

"We conceded a goal from a free-kick and the keeper has admitted he didn't line the wall up properly. But it shows the resilience of the team and when they scored we bounced back and grabbed two quick goals. In the short term it is all about getting points, however we get them and we did that."

RMI's veteran striker Keith Scott soon made his presence felt when he powered home Andy Heald's cross after eight minutes.

It took Town until the 69th minute to crack Leigh's solid defence, when Pitcher blasted home a 20-yard free-kick.

Their joy lasted just five minutes before big centre-half Wayne Maden thundered home a header from Phil Salt's corner and RMI grabbed a third in the 78th minute when Heald darted in and his cross was volleyed home by Salt.

Piper drilled home a 20-yard shot in the 90th minute to ensure a nail-biting finale, but Leigh hung on to take home those three precious points.