Rossendale United 1 Leigh RMI 2

LEIGH RMI eased to their second victory of the pre-season with a hard-earned 2-1 win at Rossendale United.

There was no sign of ex-Bolton Wanderers duo Neil Fisher and Steve Thompson in the side that faced last season's North West Counties champions and followers of the Railwaymen were concerned to see midfield star Dave Ridings hobble off with a hamstring strain after just eleven minutes.

New signing Michael Reynolds also took a knock to the head and was replaced by Troy Hayder before half-time. These blows followed news that Peter Connelly had broken his leg during Saturday's game at Clitheroe and would miss the first six weeks of the season.

However things weren't all bleak in North Lancashire as Leigh's Tony Black and triallist Dino Maamria - who played for Southport last season - scored the goals to earn Leigh victory.

Leigh face the might of Second Division local rivals Wigan Athletic at Hilton Park on Saturday, and also have two further pre-season warm-ups this week.

Steve Waywell's men travel to Unibond Premier League sides Bamber Bridge (Tuesday, 7:30pm) and Marine (Thursday, 7:30pm).

capitalised on a defensive error to round the goalkeeper and notch his first for the club after a quiet debut. He was soon to be replaced by ex-Bolton Wanderer Marcus Hallows whose signature was finalised yesterday, although the striker was unable to make the same impact as he did at Clitheroe when he netted on two occasions. Indeed, the remainder of the game petered out into relative insignificance with the number of substitutions on either side slowing down the tempo of the game. The only blot on Leigh's copybook was Ricky Harris's back-headed own goal which pulled a goal back for the hosts, although it was the most testing moment of the evening for veteran goalkeeper Dave Felgate. Lee Potter spurned an opportunity to add to the tally when his left-foot shot squirmed well wide after great work in the penalty area late on. Leigh face the might of Second Division local rivals Wigan Athletic at Hilton Park on Saturday, and also have two further pre-season warm-ups this week. Steve Waywell's men travel to Unibond Premier League sides Bamber Bridge (Tuesday, 7:30pm) and Marine (Thursday, 7:30pm).