Heysham Atoms 24 - Leigh Harriers 26

FOR the third time this season the Atoms lost by a two point margin at home. They have now been drawn into the relegation battle that is sure to go down to the wire.
The Atoms' lack of confidence was evident throughout this topsy-turvy game. At times they looked in total control but were unable to ram this advantage home.
Coach Dave Crow juggled his resources, making a few subtle changes, bringing captain Keith Hartlebury into the hooking role and Brian Cambidge back into his favoured full-back position.

The team on paper looked to be the strongest for some time but unfortunately they did not live up to this top billing.
As in so many games this season the Atoms fell behind to an early score. Leigh Harriers have recruited two Australians since the Atoms played them earlier in the season.
They were very influential in the final outcome of the game, and with Leigh's hooker, they were central to most attacks.
Leigh's centre was difficult to nail down in the tackle and he skipped away from the first up tackle. He made a well timed pass and the move was completed with a touchdown under the post. A penalty followed the converted try giving Leigh a healthy 8-0 lead.
The Atoms weren't doing themselves any favours, getting in good field position and then coughing the ball up or giving away a needless penalty, and this was the pattern for the remainder of the game.
Dave McVernon came on for the hard working Ryan Weed, instantly making an impact, as was his instructions from the sidelines.
He made two clean breaks only to be stopped on both occasions by Leigh's full-back.
A period of sustained Atoms' pressure followed with Brian Gregory getting over the line only to lose control of the ball before the try could be scored.
Then Hope, Brooks and Richardson worked the narrow side well, with Richardson getting away from his marker and charging for the line. A good scrambling tackle just forced him onto the corner flag as he was denied a try as well.
If the pressure could be maintained then a try was in the offing. A penalty close to the posts was taken quickly and in-form second rower Rob Shaw crashed over for his first try of the season. Hope successfully converted and moments later brought the scores level with a penalty.
The second half was a tense, mistake ridden affair with neither side able to get more than one score ahead.
Keith Hartlebury gave the Atoms a boost when he picked up a loose pass and sprinted 20 metres to score.
Leigh's lively scrum-half engineered the score of the game with an outstanding pass out of the tackle when it looked as though his progress had been stopped.
In the Atoms' centre, Andy Downey was having a fine game. He produced the tackle of the match with a bone crunching hit on Leigh's dangerous second row. This hard, but fair, tackle saw him take no further part in the game.
Full-back Brian Cambidge was beginning to hit the line with pace and he forced his way over, when cutting back to the narrow side.
Two Leigh tries in quick succession took them into a six point lead with 15 minutes remaining. The Atoms had to try and get their strike runners into some space, which they had found difficult to do all afternoon.
They forced two goal line drop outs after two good kicks gave the Leigh defenders no option but to force the ball dead. Steve Bowman returned the drop outs with some interest drawing three defenders to him to bring him down.
This created just enough space out wide for the Atoms to attack. Dave McVernon again provided the cutting edge finding a hole to blast through. Hope converted the try bringing the scores level for the fourth time in the game.
A frantic last 10 minutes was full of controversy.
Firstly Mike Hope was red-carded after an altercation in a tackle. Then Dave McVernon joined him after questioning Leigh's tactics with injured players going down every time the Atoms regained possession.
Finally, Leigh were awarded a penalty with two minutes remaining after Helme was adjudged to have infringed in a tackle on Leigh's winger. Leigh's hooker held his nerve to slot over the penalty and gain a valuable victory for his team.

Heysham Atoms: Cambidge, Richardson, Downey, Brooks, Goodfellow, Hope, Helme, McVernon, Weed, Aldred, Hartlebury, Bowman, Shaw, Gregory, Pike, Simpson, Allan.