Leigh Centurions 28, West Hull5

LEIGH, the only side left in the Northern Ford Premiership with a 100 per cent record, reached round four of the Silk Cut Challenge Cup but not as comfortably as they'd hoped writes Mike Hulme

Stubborn resistance from the country's leading amateur side, West Hull, made sure Leigh had to work overtime to book their passage into tonight's draw.

But while Leigh struggled to kill off the National Conference Premier Division leaders, they never looked like conceding a try themselves. Yet they managed to restrict Leigh's usually free-scoring attack to four tries until the final couple of minutes when the Centurions ran in two further touchdowns.

Handling errors

With so many changes to their side, it's little wonder that Leigh found it difficult to find any fluency. Their handling wasn't as secure as it should have been and they got drawn into some niggly contests that brought West Hull a string of relieving penalties.

Wests loose-forward Wayne Harris, the eventual man of the match, was an influential figure alongside his brother and scrum-half, Mark. Wayne scored all Wests points from two penalties and a field goal.

Harris put Wests into a 3-0 lead - the first time Leigh have trailed at Hilton Park this season - but after Andy Fairclough had made the breakthrough with the Centurions' first try, others quickly followed from Dave Whittle and Paul Anderson to give the home side some breathing space at 14-3 at half time.

If Leigh thought that Wests would run out of steam in the second half they were mistaken as the Humbersiders continued to make life difficult for the NFP high-flyers.

Defending tenaciously, they made sure that it was never going to be a rout but on the other hand they didn't have the penetration to over-worry a sound Leigh defence who made sure their would be no repeat of 1996 when Wests knocked out to pro sides on their way to the last 16.

Just after the hour another of Leigh's several debutants, centre Jason Johnson, swooped for the first of two tries after Harris had landed his second goal to narrow the gap.

It was only in the last few minutes that Leigh punished tiring legs when the outstanding Fairclough put Johnson in for his second and in the closing minute teenage substitute Lee Sanderson capped his debut with a try and goal.

Leigh: Ingram, Watts, Anderson, Johnson, Jones, Svabic, Swann, Gass, Roden, Whittle, Fairclough, Kendrick, Purtill. Subs: Norman, Duffy, Bretherton, Sanderson.