Leigh RMI vs. Workington preview

By Matt Lawton
December 13 2007

Leigh RMI continue on the long road to Wembley this coming Saturday when Blue Square North rivals Workington are the visitors to Hilton Park for a First Round tie in the FA Trophy, with the home side hoping to emulate the eventual victory over Harrogate Town at the same stage of last season's competition.

After a fielding a largely inexperienced side for Tuesday night's 3-1 victory at Ashton Athletic, a win that put RMI in to the Semi Final of the Lancashire FA Co-Operative Challenge Trophy, Leigh boss Steve Bleasdale will restore the majority of his first team as the club look to progress to the Second Round of the competition and earn a much-needed windfall of £4,000 in the process.

With goalkeeper Tim Dittmer cup-tied after representing Radcliffe Borough in the same competition earlier in the season, on-loan Bradford City goalkeeper Ben Saynor is likely to keep his place in goal after making his debut in the previous round's pulsating 3-2 win at league rivals Burscough, while an impressive performance on Tuesday evening has put youngster Sam Fairhurst in contention for a midfield spot.

At this stage of the competition last season, RMI needed a replay to eventually emerge as 2-1 victors over Harrogate Town, earning a trip to Conference big boys Stevenage Borough, while the league visit of the Reds to Hilton Park early in the New Year saw RMI claim a 2-0 victory with goals from Hugh McAuley and Kieran Lugsden.

Workington's league form has been somewhat inconsistent so far this season and as such they find themselves in mid-table obscurity, with a run to the First Round of the FA Cup that included an amazing 5-0 win at Stalybridge Celtic being offset by defeats to the likes of Hucknall Town and Alfreton Town.

Like RMI, Workington's scheduled league encounter was cancelled due to the poor weather last weekend and they too find themselves in midweek County Cup action with what could be termed as a 'Jam Eating Derby' against Whitehaven Amateurs.

With such financial rewards available to the victors of Saturday's game, not to mention the potential of a timely boost to confidence, support from terraces will be vital at Hilton Park as RMI look to get one step nearer to Wembley.