Kingstonian 0, Leigh RMI 2

LEIGH RMI emerged from their third successive journey to the capital with a well deserved victory at Kingstonian - a legacy of a dominant second half performance from the Railwaymen. The FA Cup giant-killers from Kingston have struggled desperately with their league form to date, languishing in the relegation zone after having won the FA Trophy for the past two seasons.

It was visible though from the early stages that to stop the influential Gary Patterson and Geoff Pitcher would be the key to victory for the Hilton Park outfit, and so it emerged after a scrappy first period.

Felgate's alertness was tested by Pitcher on three occasions - only a left-footed volley really seeming to cause consternation among the travelling support, but the lack of chances from either side could be attributed to an uneven surface as well as the baffling tactics of aerial football when both seemed more accomplished with the ball at their feet.

The effectiveness of winger Steve Jones was negated in the first half by this tactic, yet it was he who registered the first effort for RMI, his curling 20-yard attempt beating Adrian Blake, but unfortunately for Steve Waywell's men, the crossbar too.

It signified the start of Northern dominance as the 'K's' central defenders went AWOL with alarming frequency. Substitute Ian Monk evaded the offside trap but could only fire his shot at the legs of angular goalkeeper Blake, and with another slick move the ex-Morecambe flanker squared for Tony Black who sliced his effort with the goal at his mercy.

After upsetting Third Division Brentford in the FA Cup two weeks ago, it looked for all the world that the Londoners' had their second round tie at Southport in mind, and half-time could not come quickly enough for them.

However, worse was to follow when Leigh compounded their unquestionable superiority with build-up and execution that oused simplicity. Only 90 seconds of the half had elapsed when Black's looping centre committed the goalkeeper, and Jones nodded into the empty net.

The Leigh fans treated the Kingsmeadow stadium with the volume of chorus that has almost become expected of them, but the joy could have been short-lived as Kingstonian enjoyed a spell of sustained pressure. Derek Allan's shot crashed into the side-netting, Pitcher's drive was miscued when the midfield maestro was well set, and his corner two minutes later was headed onto the bar by Mark Harris.

The manner in which the Railwaymen hit back to close the match was nothing short of professional, but the decisive second goal was borne out of a wild goalkeeping error rather than creativity. Having received a back pass from Colin Luckett, Blake was caught in posession by Black, who slid the ball into the unguarded net. If anything, it showed the RMI fans what they would miss during Black's injury lay-off, as for the next seven weeks he will be recovering from a forthcoming hernia operation.

Steve Waywell was elated with the performance of his team: " I think that Pitcher run the game in the opening 20 minutes, but our game plan was to stop him in the midfield and we did that effectively. We planned to hit Kingstonian on the break, we did that successfully and deserved the three points."

More heartening from the Leigh point of view was the terrific individual performances of Robert Trees, Nicky Spooner and Neil Durkin - the latter being by far the best player on the field. In Trees, Waywell looks to have unearthed an excellent full back, while the dedication of Spooner was exemplified through his brave diving header late on to clear off the threatening head of Saunders.

Waywell added: "The discipline was good today apart from in one instance when I had to bring a player off." He was referring to midfielder Ged Kielty , who was substituted after just 33 minutes.

RMI: Felgate, Spooner, German, Durkin, Farrell, Swan, Trees, Ridings, Kielty (Monk 33), Black, Jones. Subs not used: Harris, Morrell, Critchley, Matthews. Referee: N.Perkin (Kent)

Attendance: 929