Leigh East 26 Blackbrook 4 WHAT a game of missed opportunities this National Conference first division encounter was!

Blackbrook in particular, failed to capitalise upon their first half territorial dominance by missing opportunities which would surely have stitched up their third consecutive victory of the season.

But in 15 frustrating minutes midway through the first half, excellent midfield breaks by Brooks man of the match Ian Buckley and loose forward Dave Ryan quickly fizzled out in front of the home posts through lack of immediate support.

Then Ian Buckley failed to ground the ball properly over the line and minutes later, with the Leigh defence at it's flimsiest John Riley chose the wrong option and held on, with two unmarked colleagues out wide on the right with a clear path to the corner.

As it was, Leigh East were able to hang on to their early six-point lead, courtesy of a Gary Fletcher try and a Tim Fletcher conversion. The Fletchers repeated the performance again on 38 minutes to put Leigh East 12-0 ahead at the interval.

Tim Fletcher extended the homesters lead with a penalty goal early in the second half.

The strong winds and driving rain created difficult playing conditions throughout the second period and on a slippery surface both sets of players continually spilled the greasy ball which gave rise to a disjointed second half. Midway through the second 40 minute period the homesters began to showd the importance of supporting the man in possession as substitutes Kevin Johnson and Phil Denman added further tries following good approach play. Tim Fletcher added both conversions.

Blackbrook eventually opened their account on 70 minutes when Mark Dickinson rounded off a rare crossfield handling movement with a try near the corner.

Best for Blackbrook Ian Buckley, Phil Smith and Steve Molyneux in the forwards, while Gareth Hill caught the eye with some sound defensive work in the back division.

On Saturday Blackbrook face an extremely tough encounter when they entertain St Judes (Wigan) at Boardmans Lane. KO 2.30pm.

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