Lancaster City 1 Leigh RMI 3 - LEIGH RMI rounded off their pre-season with the best performance of the summer but still face midfield dilemmas on the eve of the big Conference kick-off.

Ged Kielty only appeared in the game at the Giant Axe as a late substitute but he will miss the curtain raiser at Dagenham and Redbridge on Saturday after getting sent off on the final day of last season at Farnborough Town. Meanwhile, other prominent midfielders of the summer in Neil Fitzhenry, Phil Salt and James Collins have yet to commit themselves to the club. The Unibond League club missed a number of chances early on including a bizarre moment when Lee Clitheroe lobbed over the bar with Stuart Coburn nowhere and the goal at his mercy. And they were made to pay by Steve Waywell's men when Dino Maamria bundled the ball home from Paul Williams' deflected cross midway through the first half.

The major positive from the summer so far though is the signing of young centre-half Wayne Maden and he showed that he has yet another string to his bow when he powered above the City defence to add a second 10 minutes before half time. Maden looks a class act, and alongside Durkin and Harrison, Leigh look to have their defensive options as strong in depth as at any other time since winning promotion to the Conference.

Maamria was to add a third late on as substitutes dramatically slowed the pace of the game, but nevertheless this was a stern test that had been lacking in many of the other friendly games.