NEIL Clayton returned from 16 months of injury hell to smash the winner as Leigh Athletic returned from a tricky trip to East Manchester with three points.
Leigh were strengthened by the return of long term casualties Clayton and Keiron Halliwell and despite appaling pitch and weather conditions, deservedly returned with their top three place intact.
Despite dominating the early stages, Leigh found themselves 2-0 down but struck back through Chris Simm and another precise Gordon Walker penalty.
The second half saw more of the same and Leigh made their superiority count when Walker again converted another penalty before Simm ran 40 yards and smashed home. With time running out East Manchester grabbed a lifeline to make it 4-3 but Clayton came off the bench to mark his long awaited comeback by lashing home a Neil Sumner cross. The hosts pulled a goal back in the dying moments but this was a good team performance by Leigh.
The third team won 4-0 in the cup to move into the last eight, with Ian Clough outstanding.
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