Oldham 26 Leigh Centurions 31 by Mike Hulme: NEIL Turley's golden boot came to Leigh's rescue as they took a step nearer qualification for the last eight of the Arriva Trains National Cup.

The Centurions' full-back weighed in with seven goals and a field goal, as well as a try for good measure, as Leigh tried hard to lose a game they should have won hands down.

Three times Leigh had the opportunity to put the game to bed but their awful defending allowed Oldham back into the game, snapping at their heels right to the final hooter.

Oldham outscored Leigh five tries to four but, while Gareth Barber could only manage four goals, Turley potted seven from eight shots and then knocked over a vital field goal.

Leigh's vulnerability in defence was never more exposed than at Boundary Park. Oldham, blizted by Salford the previous week, found Leigh a soft touch and had they finished more clinically would undoubtedly sent Leigh to their first defeat in the competition.

The pattern was set early on when John Hough burrowed through some soft Leigh tryline defence to give Oldham the lead.

By the 26th minute Leigh looked on their way. Tries from Pat Weisner and Paul Rowley and couple of Turley goals made it 12-4 but by half time Leigh's leaked another try to Barber and two goals locked the scores at 12-12.

At the start of the second half Leigh appeared to be building up another commanding lead with Turley scoring 10 points in the first 17 minutes from a try and three goals to give his side a 22-12 lead.

Leigh's defensive jitters struck again to put the match back in the balance. Neil Roden's kick behind the line saw three defenders hesitate and ex-Leigh winger Chris Irwin pounced.

Leigh needed something special to calm their nerves and it was substitute Dave Alstead who provided it. Intercepting a Barber pass deep inside his own '22', Alstead sprinted clean through to the posts for a crucial six-pointer.

When Turley put over a 73rd minute field goal, Leigh again looked home and dry.

Not quite. Two tries in four minutes, one from Keith Brennan after Leigh again failed to deal with a kick behind their own line, and a second by Gavin Dodd, slashed Leigh's advantage to just three points.

Turley took the sting out of the game with an injury time penalty to take Leigh to the brink of the last eight.