It was an oxymoronic sort of day.

Whether you love ot hate Paul Terzis, you can't deny that he's got his side very well drilled. On a baking hot afternoon, Leigh edged past Hornets on the back of a clinical, error-free - almost boring - performance. Hornets on the other hand paid the ultimate price for attempting to play expansive football when what was really required was to cherish possession and minimise the errors.

However, it had started so very well - Radney Bowker up the left splitting the defence on half way, Dave Larder in support, short pass and thanks a lot. Larder outpacing dodgy full-back neil Turley to score after a minute.

On ten minutes, Leigh hit back. Good work up the left by Weisner, Turley in support and Rowley scoring by the posts. Turley converting - 4-6.

It didn't take Hornets long to regain the lead - and it came from what was, quite possibly, the best set move seen since we moved to Spotland. Watson fed the scrum, Smithy acting as the fulcrum on an angled run, dragging the defence one way while he slipped the ball back inside to Owen who steamed through a huge hole to score - pausing on the way to show Turley what a good full-back looks like. Genius. Nanyn added the extras - Hornets in front 10-6 and Leigh shellshocked.

But two moments of late first-half madness gave Leigh the lead - and, ultimately, the game.

On 20 minutes Gareth Price drove the ball up in left-centre field around the half-way line. With nothing on and tackles to spare he forced a speculative pass out of the back of a dying tackle. Leigh's Rowley snaffled the ball, fed Kendrick out wide and he sprinted away from 40 metres to score. 10-all. Then, with Ray Myers' finger hovering over the hooter button, Hornets switched off late in the tackle count - backing off Bristow who took full advantage to score under the posts. Turley converted and Hornets trailed 16-10 at the break.

The second half was an enthralling chess-like struggle. Both sides wary that a slip could cost the game; both defences sternly resolute; both attacks moving the ball around in search of an opening that wouldn't come. Leigh took the initiative - Turley and Weisner both hoofing drop goal attempts into the tea bar - and they stretched their lead when Colin Morris penalised Ian Watson with the only offside decision of the afternoon. Turley obliged. 18-10.

Then came Hornets biggest chance to reseize the initiative - and how we cocked it up. Watson dinked a short kick-off into space, raced through the gap and regathered possession 30 metres from the Leigh Line. Instead of taking the tackle and setting up an attack with Leigh scrambling back, he opted to flick a blind pass behind him. With Leigh defenders streaming back, the inevitable happened - Rowley intercepted and set up a counter attack; Southern gave the supporting Turley a nudge; Morris gave Laeigh a penalty and Southern ten minutes. Bizarre, needless and just plain stupid all-round.

With Hornets down to 12, Leigh played their best football of the afternoon. Bradbury broke the line to send Nickle under the posts; Mr Morris was bang in line to rule the last pass forward. Then Leigh had consecutive sets, but the Hornets defence dug deep and withheld the onslaught. From the resulting scrum Roper spotted Turley taking a snooze in the sun and kicked the ball fully 90 metres upfield (which would have pleased Alan Buckley) for Irwin and Nanyn to chase. Turley recovered sufficiently to beat Irwin to the ball by six inches and kick the ball dead.

Back up the other end, yesterday's man Leroy Rivett completed his transition from hero to zero - scooting past a static Hornets defence only to drop the ball trying to put it down. Risible.

With three minutes remaining, Turley settled matters once and for all with a tidy drop-goal. 19-10.

In the final analysis, Hally will know that it was two Leigh tries scored from Hornets' mistakes, combined with an inability to respect possession that cost us this one. In a tryless second half, we proved that we can defend as well as anyone - but cock-ups cost you games and we made too many at crucial times.