Hereford United 0, Leigh RMI 1

THIS game was never going to be a classic. Far from it. Leigh's past two visits to Edgar Street had seen just two goals and little chance for many more.

With both teams rooted in the wrong half of the table, odds on an entertaining game were lengthy. But when you have been staring relegation in the face for two-thirds of the season, its results that count and RMI know that.

Their 'smash and grab' victory at Hereford on Saturday was a victory for persistence over a former Football League club and was the third league win in as many league games for the Railwaymen. Furthermore, it has been four hours of football since they last conceded a goal.

Opportunities were scarce in the first half but the hosts had the best chances in the ninth minute. Gavin Williams found himself in enough space to volley at Mark Westhead and after John Snape's cross put the ball back into the danger zone, Phil Robinson emerged in the middle to power a header against the crossbar.

Failure to detect Robinson's presence in the penalty area was one of the few errors of a near-perfect match from Iain Swan, Neil Durkin and Gerry Harrison at the back -the latter in particular, who returned to the squad after missing the trip to Margate last week with concussion.

Dangerous

Durkin was instrumental in clearing the danger from one of the most dangerous moves of the second half as Paul Parry looked to have got clear of the Leigh defence and the impressive defender produced an excellently timed challenge to clear the danger.

A crowd in excess of 1400 were getting increasingly frustrated as Leigh started to marshal the midfield in the last third of the match and the situation was worsened for the home side when Neil Fisher replaced Dave Ridings with 18 minutes to play. Fisher afforded himself plenty of time on the ball and when he found an otherwise anonymous Ian Monk on the right-hand side soon after taking the field, the winning goal was not long in coming. Monk raced down the right hand side and shrugged aside the attentions of John Shirley to cut inside into the penalty area. Monk's cross was tentatively stabbed at by a Hereford defender whose touch took the ball onto the post and Michael Twiss displayed his goal-poachers' instincts by following up to score with the rebound.

Leigh closed out the game in confident manner from that moment onwards but were given a huge scare four minutes before the end when substitute Rob Elmes directed a powerful header towards the far corner but Westhead produced a fine save to deny him.

RMI: Westhead, Harrison, German, Durkin, Swan, Kielty, Monk, Ridings (Fisher 72), Maamria, Black, Twiss. Subs unused: Dootson, Hallows, Heald, Thompson. Booked: German, Monk. Attendance: 1,443.