Leigh RMI 1 Morecambe 0 by David Magilton

IT was less than a month ago that a missed penalty from Dino Maamria put paid to any hopes Leigh had of an FA Cup run.

The Tunisian striker saw his well struck shot against Moor Green cannon off the upright and RMI's leading striker must have thought he had blown it again when he repeated the feat against Morecambe.

The Railwaymen had done well to keep a blank sheet at half time but the introduction of Neil Tolson at the interval swiftly changed Leigh's fortunes.

It was his header into the path of Maamria that caught out a static defence and as Leigh's frontman tried to round the keeper he was upended from behind by Keith Hill and not even the Morecambe players could complain when he was shown the red card.

There was some doubt whether Maamria was onside, however, and RMI boss Steve Waywell's honest assessment was that he thought the linesman had got it wrong.

The scoreline remained blank as Maamria's powerfully struck shot hit the upright, but Leigh continued to dominate and - happily for Maamria and RMI - did not miss when he was handed a second chance in the 72nd minute.

Ian Monk pulled back Neil Fitzhenry's cross and Maamria bundled home his 13th goal of the season, again off the upright but this time into the back of the net.

Maamria and Tolson should have struck a second soon after but were denied by two outstanding saves from Craig Mawson.

The victory was vital as Leigh's fourth win in six games pulls them further away from the relegation zone and sweet revenge for an injury time defeat at Morecambe earlier in the season.

"The lads gave a nightmare display last week but they responded in the right way with a hard fought win against one of the top sides in the Conference," said Waywell.

"Morecambe are a quality side but we showed again we can beat anybody, it is just that we need to find more consistency."