By Matt Lawton
August 26 2007

Leigh RMI manager Stuart Humphreys has a major injury crisis to contend with as his side look to bounce back from their first defeat of the season, a 2-0 home loss to Harrogate Town on Saturday, when they make the short trip to Stalybridge Celtic on Bank Holiday Monday.

Saturday's defeat to the high-flying visitors from Yorkshire saw Humphreys having to contend with no less than five first team players on the sidelines, with defenders Stephen Hill, Mark Maddox and Owen Roberts being joined in the stands by winger Steve Settle and joint top-scorer Dan Owen.

Such is the short turnaround from Saturday's game, it is unlikely that any of the 'Leyther Five' will be in line for a return, although Humphreys will be hoping that he will at least have enough fit players from which to choose a full complement of substitutes, a luxury that wasn't at his disposal on Saturday afternoon.

While RMI were falling to their first defeat of the campaign on Saturday, Stalybridge managed to only draw 2-2 at home to Barrow, with the visiting Bluebirds, a side that were defeated 2-1 by RMI earlier in the month, scoring an equaliser with barely three minutes remaining of the game.

Last season's visit to Bower Fold saw an epic March encounter, with RMI losing 2-1 after a valiant effort that saw striker Chris Simm, now with Blue Square North rivals Hyde United, play in goal for a substantial period of the second half, conceding Celtic's winning goal deep in to stoppage time in heartbreaking fashion.

With the journey to Tameside being a relatively short, simple trip, any vocal away support is sure to be appreciated by the Leigh team as they look to bounce back from Saturday's disappointment and start climbing the league table once more.