By Mike Hulme: Carlisle Raiders 12, Leigh Centurions 24 LEIGH Centurions have set themselves a six-game promotion and championship double target.

They believe that yesterday's sensational victory at second placed Carlisle now gives them the inside running to Division One.

Coach Keith Latham revealed that before kick off the Leigh squad had set themselves a six wins from six run-in to the end of the season.

"That's one down," beamed Latham after seeing his side become only the second team to win at Gillford Park this season.

"Five more wins and we're guaranteed promotion. And if we do win all five, then I'm convinced we'll go up as champions."

It was a resounding victory for a Leigh side that's now won four in a row. Built on the back of a tremendous defensive stint and rounded off with some exceptional finishing, Leigh now move into third place, level on points with Carlisle and two behind leaders Rochdale with a game in hand on both.

And they had to do it the hard way. There was no Pucill, Jukes or McGughan - but you would have hardly noticed as David Hill, Tim Street, Matt Nixon and Andy Fairclough all responded with big games.

And of course there was the irrepressible Safraz Patel, Latham's super sub who again stepped off the bench to play a key role.

The youngster refused to be intimidated by some strong-arm stuff from Gary Charlton and was quite happy to stand toe-to-toe and slug it out with the Carlisle hard man in a 40th minute punch-up that put both players in the sin-bin and the incident on report.

Chris Wilkinson was another who refused to take a backward step as Carlisle hammered at the Leigh line early in the second half and he joined the others on report when he flattened Charlton.

At the time Carlisle were already seething after seeing a Jonathan Hughes try between the posts ruled out by the in-goal touchjudge - ironically an official from Carlisle!

Leigh were trailing 8-6 at the time but within three minutes they'd struck twice at the other end to effectively decided the game.

Wingers Darryl Menzies and Gary Ruddy crossed at opposite corners to give Carlisle the early initiative but a Dean Purtill penalty and the first of two tries from David Hill created by a John Gunning kick, had Leigh just two points adrift at the break.

When Patel put a kick through for Stuart Donlan to touchdown and David Ingram supplying the final pass for Hill's second, Leigh were virtually home and dry.

Wilkinson's kick and chase brought Ingram a try and a 22-8 lead before Hughes pulled a coverted try back and Purtill rounding things off with his fourth goal in stoppage time.

Leigh: O'Loughlin; Purtill, Donlan, Hill, Sarsfield (Wilkinson 47); Gunning, Wilkinson (Ingram 39); Street (Liku 75), Jenkins (Patel 24BB), Liku (Costello 47), Nixon (Daniel 72), Daniel (Hudspith 16) (Jenkins 70), Fairclough. Attendance: 706.

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