Chorley 3 Leigh Genesis 1

After Rick Gleave's last minute equaliser sealed a point at Chester last weekend, Genesis were put to the sword with each of the goals coming from an ex-Leigh player in front of a crowd of over 1,100 at Victory Park.

With Chorley goalkeeper Aaron Grundy pulling up with an injury in the warm-up, Dean Porter took his place in the Chorley goal to take the figure up to eight ex-Leigh players in the Chorley starting line up, with only Tom Walker, Andy Russell and new signing Aaron Rey having never played for Leigh. In addition to that, ex-Genesis men Matt Jansen, Jonathan Smith and Mark Ross were on the Chorley substitute's bench, with ex-Genesis boss Garry Flitcroft and his former Leigh assistant Mike Quigley in the home dugout.

The visitors, meanwhile, were hit heavily with suspensions, with youngster Denis Barlow replacing Adam Judge in goal as the Genesis number one serves a one game ban, while Paul Williams, Joe Evans and Danny Lyons were also absent through suspension, with Maddox's selection problems not helped by a broken nose suffered by winger Paul Hopkins.

As would be expected of the side currently leading the division, Flitcroft's hosts began brightly and were in front within ten minutes when Dale Whitham, inevitably a former Leigh player who made his debut as a sixteen year old and appeared in over fifty Genesis games, took advantage of an assist from debutant Rey who swooped on an error in the Leigh defence.

The lead was doubled in the twenty second minute when Jordan Stepien, another former Genesis half-centurion, sent the ball looping over Barlow and in to the net via the aid of an Adam Farley deflection.

Leigh's day wasn't improved minutes later when Joe McKane, who has been impressive performer since joining the club last month, pulled up with a nasty-looking injury and had to be replaced by Steve Brockley to prompt a degree of reorganisation in the Leigh side.

Chorley added a third goal in the sixty fifth minute when Barlow upended Stepien in the area, with Jack Dorney, needless to say a former Leigh man, converting the resultant spot kick, remarkably the eighth penalty he has converted already this season.

Genesis went in search of pulling a goal back and went close late on when Brockley was denied by Porter, but they did manage a consolation strike on eighty nine minutes with arguably the goal of the game when John Lawless deftly chipped the ball over Porter for his sixth goal of the campaign.

The defeat leaves Chorley still two points clear at the top of the table, while Leigh are a point clear of bottom-placed Harrogate Railway Athletic ahead of a vital Crilly Park header over the next week. First, Cammell Laird are the visitors on Wednesday night (27th October) for a 7.45pm kick off before Durham City make the long trip on Saturday (30th October, 3pm), with both sides only marginally ahead of Leigh in the league table.

Leigh Genesis; Denis Barlow, Gary Scott, Andy Heald, Tony Rendell, Adam Farley, Rowan Garnett, Brodie Kearns (Jack Burke 69), Joe McKane (Steve Brockley 27), John Lawless, Rick Gleave, Adam Strode (Nick Eastham 69). Subs (not used); Scott Sephton, Mark Maddox