Leigh East 40 Millom 16 MILLOM'S 10 injury time points may have made East's National Conference defeat of the Cumbrian side to look a little less convincing than it really was.

From start to finish, third-placed East controlled and commanded this fixture over strugglers Millom. The backs provided the flair and finish with centre Lee Penkywicz scoring four and winger Mark Kay three. Hooker Paul Hayes was the solitary forward on the scoresheet.

But it was in the forwards where man of the match Gary Fletcher, second rowers Mick German and Rob Bowdler, prop Tony Sanderson, Nick Addi and Hayes all ran Millom ragged and laid the foundations for a comfortable win.

By the 12th minute Penkywicz had scored his first and Kay had touched down twice, John Gunning adding a goal for a 14-0 lead.

Full-back Paul Evans gave Millom some hope with a 20th minute try and goal but by half time East were out of sight with a 32-6 lead with two more tries from Penkywicz, one from Hayes and three more goals from Gunning.

East had a lot less possession in the second half with Millom winning six of the seven scrums but the home side still managed further tries from Penkywicz and Kay.

The scoreline looked like finishing at 40-6 but in the first minute of stoppage time second rower Geoff Carr raced in at the corner. As East re-grouped for the re-start they were ruled offside and caught napping as Evans raced in for his second try.

Tomorrow East are at home again when the face Heworth in the BARLA National Cup, kick off 2pm.

East's second team showed that the slip-up at Mayfield was only a temporary hitch as they bounced back with an impressive 36-4 win over Rose Bridge.

A strong defence and a balanced attack produced six good tries from Andy Mather, Roger Hansen, David Blinkhorn, Mark Greensmith, Paul Taylor and Chris Penkywicz. Austin Monks added six goals.

Penkywicz, Whiteside, Braterski, Blinkhorn and Mather all stood out but man of the match was Tongan loose-forward Hansen who was playing his last game in this country for some time.

East should consolidate their position at the top of Division Five when they meet Piklingtons at Marsh Playing Fields tomorrow, kick off 2pm.