By Matt Lawton
March 30 2010

A night of driving rain wasn't enough to spoil an enthralling encounter at Moor Lane that saw struggling hosts Salford score a late equaliser to claim a deserved share of the spoils after it had seemed that Tom Ince would seal all three points for Garry Flitcroft's Genesis.

The clocks may have gone forward at the weekend to signal the start of British summertime, but the weather hardly matched a thrilling game that saw the lead change hands three times, a point each is probably a fair reflection on a foul night that saw Salford enjoy the lion's share of possession, while Leigh created slightly more goalscoring opportunities, particularly in the second half.

Having gone 3-2 ahead with only ten minutes remaining, Leigh might have staked a fair claim for all three points, but postponements elsewhere on the night meant that Genesis finally achieved what seemed to be the impossible only a few weeks ago and overtook Curzon Ashton to move in to the final play-off position.

The evening started brightly for Genesis, taking the lead within four minutes when Andy Heald, restored to the starting line up after a goalscoring substitute appearance in Saturday's 5-0 win at Garforth Town, drilled the ball in to the corner of Andrew Robertson's net from outside of the penalty area.

With the heavy rain ensuring that the ball zipped around the playing surface, neither side managed to retain possession for any sort of dominating period, though Leigh certainly looked the more threatening in front of goal as Jack Dorney saw a stinging strike deflected over the bar on twenty six minutes before Matt Jansen forced a smart save from Robertson on forty three minutes, the ex-Blackburn striker seeing his low shot blocked by the legs of the goalkeeper.

Prior to the game, Genesis goalkeeper Steven Drench had clocked up 450 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal, and he ensured that that total climbed to 495 with a brave low save from Dean Cooper on the stroke of half-time.

However, that record was broken agonisingly short of the 500 minute mark when Salford levelled the scores within two minutes of the second half restarting, Matthew Cross improvising to clear the ball with an overhead kick that caused confusion between Drench and defender Lee Woodyatt, allowing Lee Neville to seize the ball from between the two of them and slide the ball home from a tight angle.

Salford came close to a second on 52 minutes when Robertson's long free kick found Gareth Thomas, who's shot flashed just wide of the target.

The hosts didn't have to wait long to take the lead though, going in front of fifty seven minutes when a counter attack left Neville as a spare man on the left hand side, with the winger drilling the ball in to Drench's bottom left hand corner after being spotted by Steve Foster.

Leigh were able to breathe a huge sigh of relief just a couple of minutes later when Salford had the ball in the net for a third time, only for their celebrations to be cut short by the referee adjuding that a foul had been committed on Chris Page when challenging for the header.

With debutant Leroy Chinthengah replaced by Chris Dykes, Tom Ince moved forward to partner Matt Jansen in attack, and the switch paid off when Leigh finally hauled themselves level on 70 minutes with Lee Woodyatt's cross being knocked in by Ince at the far post.

Jansen came within a whisker of putting Genesis in front just two minutes later after being sent clear on goal by an excellent Ince ball, but Jansen's dinked effort over the goalkeeper dropped agonisingly wide of the target.

The in-form Ince thought that he had grabbed the winner for Leigh with just ten minutes left when a huge Drench boot upfield caught out the Salford defence, and Ince didn't need a second invitation to race on to the ball and round Robertson before sliding the ball in to an empty net. Indeed, there was a moment of confusion when the ball actually slid beneath the netting and hit the perimeter fence, but the goal stood and Leigh were back in front.

Any thoughts of taking all three points back down the East Lancashire Road were dispelled with just five minutes remaining when a right wing cross was diverted back towards the centre for Steve Foster to volley past Drench and level the scores at 3-3.

There was still time for Robertson to make a terrific save to tip a Jansen effort round the post, but the two sides take a point apiece from a thoroughly entertaining game that belied the heavy conditions.

Genesis face a huge test of their play-off credentials on Good Friday (2nd April, 3pm) when leaders Lancaster City are the visitors to the Leigh Sports Village Stadium, before a short trip to fourth-placed Skelmersdale United on Easter Monday (5th April, 3pm) as the season nears it's conclusion.

Leigh Genesis; Steven Drench, Lee Woodyatt, Kris King, Mark Ross, Chris Page, Andy Heald, Jack Dorney, Steven Flitcroft, Leroy Chinthengah (Chris Dykes), Matt Jansen, Tom Ince