SOCCER went ahead in Leigh last weekend when virtually the rest of the North West's playing schedules were wiped out by frost.

Only one game was played in the entire Manchester League four sections and that saw a 3-1 home win for Leigh Athletic over Tintwistle Villa while the Leigh and District League got four games under way.

Are our local lads made of sterner stuff or was the weather kinder to the town than anywhere else?

Whatever the reason Leigh league secretary Malc Blakeley was thankful in this nightmare of a season to see those four matches out of the way.

Football administrators everywhere are currently holding crisis meetings to present all sorts of equations and permutations to fit backlogs of fixtures into weeks left to the end of the season.

Quarts into pint pots in many cases. But Malc and the lads at the Leigh League are just about safe and how thankful they must be that they had the foresight to have three weeks of midweek fixtures right at the start of the season. They are behind, admittedly, but that forward planning has left scope to fit everything in, maybe with a slight pinch or two here and there, but just about. Conditions were far from ideal last Saturday but one player who certainly found them to his liking was Leigh Avenue striker Craig Faulkner. He had a great day and was able to celebrate in grand style having scored all his team's goals in a 5-2 away Carl Brown Memorial Trophy round one win at Leigh Sportsmen.

Craig Costello in the first minute of the second half and Neil Thompson in the last were the consolation scorers for the beaten home side.

In the same competition John France on 20 minutes and Sean Burton on 65 gave Royal Oak the edge to resist a last half an hour fightback by Church Inn. The visitors rallied late on and got a goal back on 85 minutes through Gary Nugent but time ran out and Oak went through into the second round courtesy of a 2-1 win.

In Division One, luck appears to have totally deserted Astley Villa. You can't ask for much more than scoring four goals away from home but it all counts for nothing if the home team nets five. Goals from Mark Broli (2), Mark Bretherton, Dave Shacklady and Ian McKinnon with the clincher on 80 minutes gave Britannia a 5-4 victory.

For hapless bottom placed Villa, with just one point from 11 games, Matt Willan converted twice from the penalty spot with further goals coming from Martin Lomas and Craig Guest. Mark Toothill bagged two and Neil Unsworth and Andy Turner one each in third placed Three Crowns A 5/8s 4-1 home win over Moonraker. Lee Morris netted a 64th minute penalty for the losers.

Tomorrow it's fingers crossed yet again that the weather will hold off and games can be played. Two Sharman Cup round one ties are scheduled with Sir Charles Napier as home to Asda Golborne and Courts B entertaining Mechanics Arms.

Round two ties are taking place on the same day indicating yet again the disruption caused by the elements. Fir Tree Rangers face a difficult away trip to unpredictable Howe Bridge Mills, Division Two table-toppers Atherton C&N at home to Horns Inn and Hag Fold WMC starting as favourites with home advantage over Three Crowns B.

The Division One playing schedule fails to throw up any obvious banana skin for the leading teams. Title holders Higher Folds look to strong for hosts Britannia and second placed Royal Oak look unlikely to lose ground at home to next to bottom Courts A.

LATE NEWS

As we 5/8ve stated in the main story forward planning has set the Leigh League in a position to be envied by others in that the heavy backlog of fixtures, under that rarity this season "normal circumstances" should be able to be completed by May time. Unfortunately Wigan Leisure Services threw a spanner into the works this week. A directive was issued to all hirers of facilities allocating midweek playing nights for the end of the season. Instead of the traditional two, the Leigh League has been told that just one evening will be available, Wednesday, and there can be NO switching of pitches by teams. This has thrown planning into disarray. An angry league secretary Malc Blakeley tells us, "There was no discussion at all on this matter. They just issued is to us as a fait accompli. Normally I 5/8m able to schedule games for a Tuesday and Thursday night and we get everything completed but now with just one night it is going to be even more difficult. We asked for details of what leagues use which pitches so we could all negotiate and sort it out amongst ourselves but they haven 5/8t given us that. They ve just said this is the way it will be and that 5/8s it!

FINNAIR MANCHESTER LEAGUE

Latics go clear

up at the top

ONLY one fixture in the entire Finnair Manchester League programme was played last Saurday and in the voting for the Leigh Athletic vote for the man of the match award surely the groundsman was a leading contender.

Latics' 3-1 home win over Tintwistle Villa puts Andy Pickles' side four points clear at the top of Division One from second placed Bolton outfit Breightmet United with a game in hand.

This division could be a main focus of local interest this term as a point behind Breightmet from one less game than Leigh sit Hindsford.

The important thing as Saturday's match at Madely Park was given the green light was that there should be no slip ups from Latics. Full advantage of being in action when rivals had to sit a weekend out had to be taken. The early signs did not bode well for Pickles' team.

He said: "We missed five or six clear cut chances. It was a tricky surface, soft on top but hard underneath and it was difficult for players to turn. When you're not finishing teams off when the chances are there you don't relieve the pressure on the lads at the back and it can all backfire on you.

"Our ace up the sleeve proved to be Gordon Walker yet again. Set piece play can be vital in games like that and I have seen a better striker of a dead ball than Gordon. We scored two goals from corners and that killed Tintwistle off."

Both those opening goals were converted by former Daisy Hill player Rob Marsden with a third coming late on from the impressive Steve Bevan. With Darren Barclay out Brian Edwards came in for Pickles at full back and did extremely well.