IN military terms Leigh might have lost the battle - but they can still go on and win the war.

But the injury-ravaged squad must now re-group and go forward again with tough games against Hull KR and Hunslet just around the corner.

Their 25-16 defeat at Batley's Mount Pleasant wasn't a disaster. But it was a setback, and not altogether unexpected given the mounting injury crisis at Hilton Park.

Coach Ian Millward found himself stripped of seven front-line troops with late withdrawals Jamie Kennedy and Tau Liku ripping the heart out of the pack.

It's not hard to see, therefore, why Leigh were below their best. Yet it was almost good enough to take them two points clear at the top of the Northern Ford Premiership.

They wasted the benefit of two early tries and saw an 8-0 lead turned into an 18-8 half-time deficit. They clawed their way back to trail by only two points going into the last five minutes, but Batley had the bit between their teeth and finished Leigh off with a late try and drop goal.

"Perhaps scoring those two early tries backfired on us," Millward reflected. "They perhaps made us a little complacent.

"When Batley got a roll-on going downhill in the first half we couldn't handle the pressure. They game was won and lost in those few minutes when they broke us three times."

Paul Wingfield missed three presentable goal chances in the first 15 minutes and Leigh should have been better placed than 8-0 up.

The first try came inside 90 seconds with Tim Street and Heath Cruickshank punching holes in the Batley defence for Andy Fairclough to dive in for a four-pointer. Within three minutes Leigh had doubled their advantage when Cruickshank's thumping tackle won possession back and Kieron Purtill's long ball sent Chris Parr over.

But Leigh's first defeat in six games was confirmed in a 19-minute spell just before half-time when Batley cut loose and reproduced the kind of form that saw them topple Widnes the previous week.

Leigh began to repair the damage within three minutes of the restart when Cruickshank's thundering charge created the opening for Anthony Murray to race up in support and steam under the posts to give Wingfield his first kicking success.

Just after the hour Wingfield potted a penalty that took Leigh to within two points.

But Batley's dogged defence carried them through again as Leigh failed to find a knockout punch.

LEIGH: Donlan; P Wingfield, Hadcroft, Ingram, Arkwright; Fairclough, Purtill; Street, Murray, Whittle, Parr, Cruickshank, Hilton. Subs: Patel, Costello, C Wingfield C, Jenkins. Attendance: 1,023.

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