LEIGH Genesis are unbeaten at the Sports Village this season, but want a larger crowd to cheer them home.
The Unibond First Division North side are in a rich vein of form having lost just once in their last nine games. But they face their toughest challenge of the season tomorrow when they entertain struggling Blue Square North side Redditch United in the third qualifying round of the FA Trophy.
The Midlands side may be two divisions higher than Genesis but manager Garry Flitcroft is confident his side have the ability to overcome the visitors.
However, the former Blackburn and Mancherster City midfielder wants to see more faces in the stands supporting his team.
“We are trying to create an atmosphere at Leigh Sports Village and make a bit of noise,” he said.
“I am appealing to Bolton fans to come down and see what we have on offer. It is only about 15 minutes away and Wanderers are not playing tomorrow. I will be at the Reebok on Sunday so it would be nice if they came to Leigh.
“We are trying to generate a fan base through the kids in the area and we are distributing free tickets to the schools and to Leigh academy and, hopefully, they will bring their parents.
“There must be at least 40 teams playing at junior level which are linked to Genesis and we need to have the link between them and the first team. We want the players to come through the community and that is why the stadium was built.”
After a shaky start when they had to play a number of games away from Leigh Sports Village, Genesis have had a good run of results and have banged in an incredible 18 goals in their last five games.
They are now lying sixth in the table after their 5-1 hammering of Harrogate Railway Athletic on Wednesday night when striker Chris Thompson added to his goal tally.
Along with Jordan Stepien the two have been prolific up front for Genesis and forced former Premiership star Matt Jansen to settle for a place on the substitute’s bench.
“We are in good form and not conceding too many goals,” added Flitcroft. “I watched Redditch last week and I think we are a better side. There is not a great deal of difference in the leagues. The top six teams in our league can compete against teams one or two divisions above us.
“It is a great test for my players to see how good they are. There are a lot of lads who have played league football and they have good ability.”
FC United will look to put their FA Cup disappointment behind them when they hit the Wembley trail again.
The Rebels missed out on a glamour televised tie with Charlton after crashing out against Northwich in the previous round.
The UniBond Premier League side have another chance to progress in a cup competition — and a £4,000 pay day — when they take on Harrogate Town from the division above at Gigg Lane tomorrow in their third qualifying round clash.
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