LEIGH are ready to concede defeat in the Division Two promotion race. A second successive defeat, and a fourth in 11 games, leaves Leigh six points off the lead - a margin coach Keith Latham can't see his team pulling back.
"The 12-4 defeat at Barrow confirms we won't get promotion this season," he said. "To pull back Rochdale's lead at the top would take a sensational effort or some freak results. I can't see either happening."
Barrow's latest prized scalp - they beat Lancashire Lynx in their last game - came courtesy of another miserable effort by Leigh.
A nightmare start in driving rain saw Leigh 10-0 down inside 18 minutes. Once Barrow had that advantage, they bottled up Leigh with a top class defensive effort.
Apart from one slip when Mark McGughan crossed in the second half, the defence stood as firm as a Lakeland drystone wall.
Latham was in no mood to dodge the issues as he reflected on the Craven Park catastrophe. "Some of those players out there have let me and the club down," he blasted. "They have not done their jobs. And if they aren't prepared to follow instructions I will bring players in who will."
The coach says he will now turn to Leigh's emerging stars to take the club through to the end of the season.
"It's probably time to throw the kids in and give them their head," he added. "If we're not going to get promoted then now would be the ideal time to blood the youngsters and give them some experience."
Only when one of Leigh's crop of top kids, Safraz Patel, was introduced for the last 20 minutes did they look capable of making a breakthrough, and, alongside the likes of Stuart Donlan, Scott Hilton, Mark Burrows, Mark Kay and Dean Conway, could figure against Hunslet next week.
David Hill could also be in line for a recall at full-back as a replacement for Steve Gibson whose nightmare start at Barrow led to the Aussie being unceremoniously withdrawn before half-time.
Poor Gibson couldn't put a foot right in the face of Barrow's whirlwind start. He was sin-binned for obstruction in the 10th minute and while he was absent Barrow grabbed 10 crucial points.
Stand-in full-back Jason O'Loughlin coughed up a bomb and Jeff Luxon sent Phil Atkinson over for a try goaled by Dean Marwood, who also landed two more goals.
Leigh hardly created an opening in the first half. They had more of the game in the second, but didn't have the craft to break down a solid defensive wall until Shaun Brown sent McGughan haring in.
LEIGH: Gibson (O'Loughlin 39); Purtill, Blackburn, Ingram (McGughan 44), Sarsfield; Gunning, O'Loughlin (Brown 24); Street, Bannister, Pucill, Liku, Daniel (Smith 72), Hadcroft (Patel 56). Att: 961.
PARKSIDE of Golborne are hosting the North West Counties ARL matches on Sunday. Kicks-offs are U9s 11am, U10s 12noon, U11s 1pm and U12s 2pm.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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