Leigh RMI vs. Southport preview

By Matt Lawton
September 5 2007

Leigh boss Stuart Humphreys will be hoping that his side can bounce back from their run of three consecutive defeats when they face Southport on Friday evening, the first league meeting at Hilton Park between the Lancashire rivals in more than four years.

Although the last visit of the Sandgrounders to Hilton Park was for a crushing 5-1 Marsden Trophy victory in January 2005, they haven't travelled down the East Lancashire Road for a league fixture since Ian Monk scored the RMI equaliser in a Conference fixture in front of a crowd of 565 in February 2003.

While RMI have recently been struggling for form, with Saturday's 4-1 hammering at the hands of Kettering being preceeded by defeats to Harrogate and Stalybridge, Southport go in to the fixture in bouyant mood after last weekend's impressive 4-0 win over Hinckley moved them up to third place in the table.

The options available for Stuart Humphreys' team selection have been greatly improved with Owen Roberts and Steve Settle both pushing for a starting spot after making their return from injury against Kettering, while centre half Mark Maddox will again be on the fringes of the side as he continues his injury rehabilitation, although striker Dan Owen is likely to still be missing for several weeks with a fractured cheekbone.

Visiting manager Peter Davenport have only one serious injury worry, with striker Tony Gray receiving intensive treatment throughout the week on a hip injury.

With Southport likely to bring a large support from the Lancashire coast, vocal support from the Leigh public will be more important than ever for this local derby as the Leythers look to start climbing the Blue Square North table once again - kick off on Friday evening is at 7:45pm.