Poor Centurions given a Cup thrashing

THE sight of disgruntled fans streaming for the Hilton Park exits before full time isn't a common occurrence. But many more displays as poor as this one and it will be.

It wasn't losing the Buddies National League Cup quarter-final to Rovers that prompted the supporters to make their early getaway, it was the manner of the defeat that hurt the most.

A third home defeat of the season will have damaged confidence, both in the dressing room and on the terraces.

Some of Leigh's big names are not producing the goods consistently. That's the bottom line. They need to remedy that quickly if Leigh's season of high expectation isn't to end in another major disappointment.

Coach Paul Terzis held his hands up and admitted his side had been beaten by the better team. One alarming statistic showed that Leigh managed to complete just four sets of six tackles in the entire 80 minutes!

"Statistics can be made to say anything." Terzis said. "But this figure doesn't lie. No football team can hope to win a game with a completion rate as bad as that."

As Leigh went through the horrors, Rovers could hardly believe their luck.

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obins' coach Gary Wilkinson said: "I couldn't believe how poor Leigh were today. We didn't have to perform to our best to get the result."

Wilkinson's words should be pinned on the Leigh dressing room wall.

But talk is cheap. Leigh quickly need to let their actions on the field to do their talking. And pronto.

January's abandoned league game at Craven Park has clearly left some bad feeling between the clubs and referee Ben Thaler had his work cut out keeping the lid on several explosive situations that brought four sin-binnings and an on-report.

Paul Rowley and Dane Dorahy were yellow carded in the first half after a touchline bust-up; Dave Bradbury and Adrian Rainey followed in the second half after a bit of sparring while Paul Anderson was put on report for an alleged off the ball forearm on Mark Cain in the dying seconds.

While their was an under-current of needle all afternoon, the quality of Rovers play was plain. They carved Leigh up all over the field and won the game probably more comprehensively than the scoreline would indicate.

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he danger signs for Leigh were evident as early as the third minute when Neil Turley's low pass was coughed up by Chris Irwin. Rovers didn't waste the opportunity and on the sixth tackle Cain drilled a low ball behind Leigh's line, the defence standing transfixed as Chris Charles swept through for the touchdown. Charles added the extras and Leigh were behind 6-0.

Charles stretched Rovers lead with a seventh minute penalty before Leigh showed what they are capable of when they stretched Rovers' defence on both flanks before Anderson ploughed over for a try converted by Turley.

But Leigh couldn't kick on. They forced a number of repeat sets on the Rovers line but came up with nothing and it clearly wasn't going to be their day when a Simon Baldwin break produced a try for Rovers. As the second rower strode clear his attempted inside pass was picked off by Lynton Stott had sailed 60 metres untouched to the Leigh posts. Charles converted and Leigh were 14-6 down.

Things went from bad to worse just before the break when Whetu Taewa's face pass was collected by winger Alasdair McClarron who had the size to stretch through Mark McCully's tackle to score in the corner.

Rovers' half time lead of 18-6 became one of 22-6 just three minutes into the second half when Dorahy's chip over the top was collected by Cain who went away for another Rovers try.

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here was no way back after that for Leigh, especially with the way they kept turning possession over.

Cain added a field goal and moments later Cain's pass sent sub Paul Fletcher romping 20 metres for another six-pointer.

Scrum half John Duffy, one of the few to emerge with reputation intact, showed what he could do with a perfect long ball that got Bradbury galloping over wide out. Turley's touchline goal made it 12-29.

But ex-York scrum-half Cain was having a field day. Again he carved open Leigh's defences for Stott to get outside Jon Roper and sprint away for a touchdown.

Leigh gave a flash of what they are capable of in the 76th minute when a 50-metre movement involving Duffy, Phil Kendrick and Rob Ball ended with Turley going over for his 19th of the season.

Rovers quickly put Leigh in their place when McClarron broke up the left, cutting inside a stranded Turley, to finish under the posts. To add insult to injury Jon Wilkin popped over an injury time field goal.

Match Facts

Scorers: Leigh - Tries: Anderson (10), Bradbury (67), Turley (76). Gls: Turley 3/3.

Rovers: Charles (3), Stott (18, 70), McClarron (35, 79), Cain (43), Fletcher (61). Gls: Charles 4/7, Cain 0/1, fg Cain, fg Wilkin.

Leigh: Turley; Irwin, Anderson, Roper, McCully; Svabic, Duffy; Ball, Rowley, Bradbury, Baldwin, Price, Bristow. Subs: Kendrick (for Anderson 56), Morley (for Ball 32), Hamilton (for Price 49), Matautia (for Bradbury 27 BB, BBR 49), Price (for Morley 68), Matautia (for Rowley 65), Ball (for Baldwin 59), Anderson (for Bristow 71).

Rovers: Everitt; Godfrey, Stott, Taewa, McClarron; Cain, Dorahy; Hayes, Dixon, Wilson, Shultz, Rainey, Charles. Subs: Walker (for Dorahy 60), Wilkin (for Charles 74), Fletcher (for Shultz 31), Luckwell (for Wilson 31), Wilson (for Luckwell BB 32, BBR 51), Rainey (for Luckwell 74), Shultz (for Rainey 68).

Sin-bin: Dorahy (Rovers), Rowley (Leigh) - fighting 27. Bradbury (Leigh), Rainey (Rovers) - fighting 54.

On report: Anderson (Leigh).

Penalties conceded: Leigh 6, Rovers 10.

Handling errors: Leigh 16, Rovers 13.

Referee: Ben Thaler (Wakefield).

Attendance: 1536.

Star man

rHE might have got himself sin-binned, but front rower Dave Bradbury was one of the few in Leigh colours who didn't take a backward step all afternoon.

Moan

rADRIAN Rainey's ugly reaction to getting himself sin-binned with Bradbury. Rovers should also have done more to defuse a potentially nasty situation.

magic

rREFEREE Ben Thaler's final whistle. It put us all out of our misery.

John Duffy struggles to escape the clutches of two Rovers defenders

Mark McCully gets to grips with Lynton Stott.

Adam Bristow gets a pass away.