Leigh RMI 2-2 Pilgrims

Conference North

Boston United threw away two valuable points at struggling Leigh as defensive blunders allowed the home side to score two second half goals to cancel out the Pilgrims' first half advantage. In the beginning it all looked as if it was going according to plan. Boston were putting together good attacking moves down the flanks - with Bloomer and Leabon on the right and Smith and Medine on the left. Leigh were defending grimly and it seemed that it would only be a matter of time before the Boston breakthrough. The opening goal duly came on the half hour. MEDINE broke down the left and fired in a cross only to see the Leigh 'keeper misjudge the trajectory allowing it to creep in at the near post. Ten minutes later and Boston cruised into a two goal advantage. Shots rained in on the Leigh goal and the ball eventually found its way across to unmarked Jon ROWAN on the right side of the goal and he confidently side footed the ball into the gaping net. That should have ended matters, but Leigh took advantage of some very poor Boston defending in the second half.

The first Leigh goal came from a quick break forward. The ball was crossed to Owen ROBERTS who put the ball in the net from eighteen yards out. Seven minutes later a slip by Paul Ellender and another by Lee Crockett allowed Richard CHETCUTI to fire in a shot to level the scores with the softest of goals. Boston were given a glimmer of hope for the last quarter of an hour when Leigh's Andy Heald was sent off following a bad challenge on Alex Notman. Despite injecting some extra pace by bringing on all three allowed substitutes Boston were unable to capitalise. The closest they came to settling the result was a shot by Rowan that just failed to curl into the top right corner and a header by Tony Crane that clipped the bar.

Boston United: Lee Crockett, Adam Smith, Matt Bloomer, Paul Ellender, Tony Crane, Alex Notman (Liam Green 78), Mbiyeye Medine, Ashley Nicholls (Jon Stevenson 82), Jon Froggatt, Kieran Leabon (Matt O'Halloran 86), Jon Rowan. Subs not used: Tom Matthews, Lee Thompson.