Leigh Genesis 0 North Ferriby United 3

Ashton United was the furthest venue yet for a Leigh ‘home’ game as visitors North Ferriby United scored two terrific second half goals to eventually see off a spirited challenge from Leigh’s young side in what was the first game in change for new Genesis manger Lee Merricks.

With all but three players in the Leigh starting line up previously members of Merricks' Genesis reserve side, the new manager had a rare familiarity with his squad, whilst he also moved to re-sign former goalkeeper Tim Dittmer after previous incumbent Steve Dickinson left the club in midweek.

However, Dittmer's first task was arguably to pick the ball out of the back of the net as the Leigh custodian misjudged a left winger corner that was nodded back across goal for Steve Torpey put the East Yorkshire side in front after just eight minutes.

Although the rest of the first half saw plenty of effort and toil from the hosts, they struggled to make any particularly clear-cut chances, though North Ferriby goalkeeper Steve Wilson and his defence had to be on his guard to deal with a couple of corners in quick succession shortly before the break.

The second period saw Merricks' young charges show a degree more confidence in going forward, and that was perfectly demonstrated by winger Sam Parkinson as he cleverly dummied his way past United right back Danny Moore before forcing a fine save from Wilson with a low left-footed drive that was heading straight for the bottom corner of the net before the goalkeeper's intervention.

Torpey found himself well-placed on defensive duty on the resultant corner as he blocked Nathan Smith's goal-bound header, with Chris Page's rebound being comfortably held by Wilson.

With a little over twenty five minutes remaining, North Ferriby struck a killer blow, doubling their lead as left back Kevin Larkin took advantage of the reluctant of the Leigh defence to close him down, moving in to space in front of him before firing a fine strike past Dittmer.

As Leigh pushed forward in the hope of pulling a goal back, they won a free kick ten yards outside of the area that was driven in to the area and seemingly blocked by the arm of defender Liam Chapman.

The appeals of Leigh players and supporters alike were ignored by the referee, with North Ferriby promptly taking advantage of Leigh's desire to push forward, with a swift counter-attack ending with Calum Russell lashing a terrific shot past Dittmer.

The defeat leaves Leigh in twelfth position in the UniBond Premier League table ahead of the short visit to neighbours Atherton Collieries for a Lancashire FA Co-Operative Challenge Trophy meeting at Alder House on Monday night (7:45pm).

Leigh Genesis; Tim Dittmer, Scott Sefton, Joe Fielding (Chris Rogers), Chris Page, Nathan Smith, Chris Holland, Chris Dykes (David Hill), Jon Goulding, Chris McCaughtrie, Martin Ormesher, Sam Parkinson (Mark Radcliffe)