Chester 1 Leigh RMI 1 by Martyn Hindley

LEIGH RMI had a superb solo effort from Michael Twiss to thank for rescuing a point from their relegation clash with Chester City at the Deva Stadium.

Twiss picked the ball up on the right-hand side three minutes from half time and after out-pacing Bolland, lashed an unstoppable shot past Wayne Brown in the home goal.

It was just rewards for a brave RMI side that had been under severe pressure for the majority of the half. Dean Spink had the first chance of the game inside two minutes when he failed to convert a ball from McElhatton's tricky ball and the Bluebirds finally punished Leigh four minutes later when they seemingly went through the motions at the back and Gary Brabin powered a header past Mark Westhead.

Chester had the lion's share of possession for the remainder of the half but Leigh gradually hauled themselves back into contention with a gutsy show led by the resilience of Neil Durkin and Gerry Harrison at the back.

Tony Black saw his effort blocked by Woodyatt after good build up play from Dave German and Marcus Hallows - in for the injured Maamria - spurned a superb chance to take the lead on the stroke of half-time when he drilled his shot straight at Brown after watching Twiss do all of the hard work.

When he same combination paired up five minutes after the break only for Hallows to clear the crossbar, the vocal travelling fans behind the goal knew that there would not be a better chance to gain maximum points. In the end they were proved right as Mark Beesley's low thunderbolt was denied only by Westhead's agile stop and that was replicated at the other end when Black produced a similar save from Brown.

Beesley's header drifted inches wide of the goal in the final minute as it seemed that Leigh might suffer deja vu from the previous season when City denied Leigh of all three points by a Darren Wright goal deep into stoppage time. It was not to be though as Steve Waywell's men moved seven points clear of the relegation zone.