Leigh Harriers 14 - Heysham Atoms 22

Trys: Guy Richardson, Andy Garnet, Liam Hall, Simon Ledwick
Goals: Neil Walker, Andy Garnet (2)
Drop Goals:

Men of the Match:
1st Bryan Cambidge
2nd Andy Aldren
3rd Guy Richardson

(Guardian / Visitor match report)

THE ATOMS gained sweet revenge on Leigh Harriers, who had turned them over earlier in the season at Trimpell, to move out of the two relegation places for the first time this season.
Coach Dave Crow was able to field somewhere near his strongest side for the first time this season, and this showed as there was an air of authority about the way they approached the game.
The Atoms' preparation was rushed and it was no coincidence that they found themselves down by two unconverted tries with only 12 minutes played.
Leigh had two opportunities and took them both. The first score was scored wide on the Atoms' left as the defenders were left flat-footed when Leigh elected to run on the last.
The second score again involved their lively backs who simply ran at the defenders, committed the man to the tackle, and passed with accuracy.
The resurgence in form over the last two months has been instigated by the forwards really buckling down and doing the hard work. It is here where the Atoms looked to drag themselves back into contention. Liam Hall again showed a maturity beyond his 18 years to get his team going forward.
The ball wasn't being spread too far away from the rucks but the tactic was working. An attack down the right involving most of the forwards had forced Leigh to scramble back into their line.
Guy Richardson 'chimed' into the line on the fourth tackle, showing great footwork, to jink in and out of two tackles to score close to the posts. Walker converted.
The Atoms were now up to the pace of the game and looked to be taking control of the situation. Cambidge went close before Hall barged his way over from short range showing that nobody was going to stop him that close to the line.
The Atoms had clawed their way back into the lead but it was only short lived as Leigh came up with a successful penalty close to the half-time bell to make it 10-10.
Greg Sykes and Rob Shaw came into the game at the break showing that they too were committed to the cause with both having fine games. Again this shows the importance of having a strong bench so the intensity can be continued as subs are introduced.
The Leigh forwards were being nullified by some no-nonsense defence led superbly by second-rower Andy Aldren. It was when they went wider that they looked more dangerous.
What seemed to be a standard move down the three-quarters was poorly defended, allowing Leigh's centre to squeeze over the line.
Turning points in games usually come from an error or a piece in individual brilliance.
For the Atoms it was the latter in the form of centre Lewis Mills. He chased hard on the kick downfield, caught his man, stripped him of the ball, offloaded to winger Andy Garnett and put the Atoms back on level terms with an inspirational score.
Garnett stepped up to knock over the extras and open up a two-point lead. From here on in there was only one team going to take the two points.
An attacking scrum move involving Cambidge and Hartlebury released winger Simon Ledwick on the short side and he went through two defenders to score.
With six points to the good, the Atoms' tactics were to play to the sticks and look for the field goal which would take them two scores clear.
Hartlebury went close but it was actually a penalty kick from the winger Garnett that got them their reward.
Chris Helme came on to play an important role with a fresh pair of legs to 'cart' the ball up and continue the momentum in defence.
The Atoms played the game out in sensible fashion keeping the ball tight and giving Leigh no further clear cut chances.

Travelling to a Rugby League hotbed like Leigh is never an easy task. Leigh is a town is awash with players from the professional ranks, and as the Harriers trotted out wearing last year's kit handed down from their professional neighbours, one could be forgiven for wondering what other links the team had with the professional outfit, just a punt away from the Harriers pitch.

The Harriers started well scoring an early try down the right flank, before the Atoms even had chance to touch the ball. Things were looking ominous for the Atoms on a heavy pitch, appropriatly named Marsh field, which would clearly favour their bigger opponents.

However, the Atom's fullback Guy Richardson was not being intimidated by the size of the Harriers pack and carved a route to the tryline putting the Atoms right back in the contest.

19-year old Prop Liam Hall was the most aggressive forward on display for the Atoms - time and time again taking the ball up and punching holes in the Harriers' defence.

Hall showed how he has matured as a player over the last couple of years in absorbing a lot of provocation from the Harriers - without giving away a single penalty - as they struggled to contain him. The bigger and older Harriers Prop was clearly unhappy at losing his personal battle to a young lad.

As the Harriers began to lose their grip on the game, their tactics changed accordingly with the rules of the game repeatedly stretched. The Atoms scrum-half Keith Hartlebury encountered Leigh's underhand tactics. Hartlebury broke the line with a step and dummy, and was on his way to the line, only to be tripped - an automatic sending off offence - by the Leigh fullback. Weak reffereeing allowed the player to remain on the field, but the resulting penalty set up a strong field position to allow Liam Hall to go over for a try.

The Atoms went into the break on level terms with their opponents, but after the break, the Atoms were always in control of the match. A clever steal of the ball from Lewis Mills close to the Harriers line brought a try out of nothing as he sent winger Andy Garnet over the line unopposed in the corner. The lack of defenders allowed Garnet the opportunity to touch down near to the posts, making his conversion easier.

The Atoms continued to dominate play, forcing the Harriers into dropping the ball out from behind their posts on numerous occasions. The Atoms were increasingly getting to the last play in their sets of six, with intelligent, planned rugby, whilst their opponents were clearly forced into playing off-the-cuff. One last-tackle option ended with captain Keith Hartlebury attempting a drop goal, but the soft pitch unfortunatly got the better of the bounce.

The last try of the game was scored down the left-hand flank. The football was kept alive, but when it arrived at winger Simon Ledwick it looked like that particular attack would fizzle out with no obvious route to the tryline. However, Ledwick ran on to the ball with such power and pace that he carried three would be tacklers all the way to the line and over it to hammer the final nail into Leigh's coffin.

Once again, Bryan Cambidge was adjudged to be man of the match withanother impressive display in both attack and defence.

ATOMS: G Richardson, S Ledwick, R Batson, L Mills, A Garnett, A Helme, K Hartlebury, D McVernon, N Walker, L Hall, A Aldren, M Allan, B Cambidge. Res: C Helme, M Blessington, R Shaw, G Sykes