Leigh Miners 28 Oldham St Annes 26 LEIGH Miners pulled off a thrilling opening day victory in the National Conference Premier Division after surviving a mighty Saints fightback.

The Miners were virtually unstoppable in the first half, running Saints ragged and building up a 20-0 interval lead. But a storming second half comeback by the Oldham side saw them almost snatch victory.

Warren Ayres' boys opened up in blistering fashion. Mick Warburton's clever grubber kick was pounced on for a try by Tommy Goulding, Winston Sarsfield added the conversion to an earlier penalty.

Both sides carved out openings but there was no addition to the score until the 30th minute when a fine move involving Sarsfield and Warburton ended with Matt Irwin scorching in for a another six-pointer.

Two minutes later the Miners stretched their lead when the impressive Chris Lee sprinted through a ragged defence for another converted try. In the dying minutes of an entertaining half both sides had tries disallowed but the Miners were in the driving seat at 20-0.

Appearances proved deceptive, however, as Saints stepped up a few gears and stormed right back. Three minutes in the half Irwin fluffed Badby's bomb and sub Kieron Deakin accepted the gift.

Seven minutes later the deficit was narrowed to eight points when Steve Mills blasted through three tackles to score.

The Miners pulled clear again when Irwin joined the line to add his second but the defence fell apart to allow Saints in again to make it 24-16.

Saints had the momentum and were further boosted when Sarsfield was sin-binned. But the decisive score came when Lee's long pass out wide gave Steve Cawley the chance to open up a 12 point cushion.

In a frantic last four minutes Saints scored tries from Crowther and Schiffilitti to close the gap to just two points. Saints camped out on the Miners line but somehow the home side hung on.

The victory will put the Twist Lane side in good heart ahead of another tough test tomorrow when they travel to West Hull.