Bradford 16-20 Leigh: Chamberlain wins it late for Leigh- talking points
Leigh booked a trip to Hull KR in the sixth round in the Challenge Cup after a late win at Bradford in the fifth round.
The Centurions trailed by eight points late on, but tries from Nene MacDonald and Ed Chamberlain turned the game around and earned the win for Leigh.
Bradford made four changes from the side that beat Batley last week. Liam Tindall, Steve Crossley, Jarrod O’Connor all dropped out. They were replaced by Matty Dawson-Jones, Ben Evans and Jordan Baldwinson came in to start, while Samy Kibula returned to the bench.
Meanwhile, Leigh made two changes to the side that beat Newcastle last time out. James McDonnell drops out in order to avoid him being cup-tied as he is on loan from Wigan. Jy Hitchcox also makes way, with Keiran Dixon coming back in on the wing and Edwin Ipape also came in on the bench.
Match Report
It was a far from ideal start for Bradford, who allowed Leigh’s kick-off to bounce into touch. The result saw Leigh get a full set in the Bradford half, but they were able to defend their line well.
It was an even start to the half, but eventually it was Bradford who drew first blood. Dec Patton kicked a penalty after Leigh were caught offside 13 minutes in.
Five minutes later, Bradford scored the first try of the game. Ryan Millar got free down the left-hand side and passed inside for top scorer Kieran Gill to score. Patton added the conversion to open up an eight-point lead.
Just past the half-hour, Leigh got themselves back in it. Adam Sidlow came onto a short ball, and was able to crash over by the posts. Ben Reynolds converted to bring Leigh back within two points.
Leigh then started seeing more of the ball up in the Bradford half of the pitch. However, a penalty close to the line for offside gave the Centurions a chance to level up the scores. Reynolds took the two and scored.
HT- Bradford 8-8 Leigh
Leigh almost took the lead three minutes into the second half. Nene Macdonald rose highest from a kick, but was judged to have attacked the ball from an offside position.
After another even start of the second half, Leigh found themselves down to 12 men. Matty Dawson-Jones chipped the ball over the top, and seemed to be in, but was blocked off the ball by Caleb Aekins, who was sent to the sin bin as a result.
Straight away, Bradford made the extra man count. They worked the ball back out to Dawson-Jones’s side, and he scored in a tight angle in the corner. Patton scored the conversion to put the Bulls back ahead by six points.
The Bulls soon had their eight-point lead back on the hour. After Joe Wardle took out Jordan Lilley off the ball, the referee gave a penalty, and Patton would maintain his perfect record with the boot.
Despite being a man light, it was Leigh’s turn to crank up the pressure, and they scored with 14 minutes left. Nene Macdonald got the ball and barged his way over the line. Reynolds converted to make it just a two-point game once again.
With four minutes to go, Leigh took the lead for the first time. Keanan Brand rose highest from a kick by Reynolds, and offloaded to Ed Chamberlain, who went over out wide. Reynolds added the conversion to put them ahead by four points.
That meant the Centurions booked their place in the sixth round of the Challenge Cup, and have also confirmed their place in the last five of the 1895 Cup.
FT- Bradford 16-20 Leigh
Team News
Bradford: Kear, Dawson-Jones, Murphy, Gill, Millar, Lilley, Patton, B.Evans, Doyle, Walker, Scott, Butler, Baldwinson. Subs: Flanagan, Scurr, R.Evans, Kibula
Tries: Gill, Dawson-Jones. Goals: Patton 4/4
Leigh: Aekins, Dixon, Macdonald, Chamberlain, Brand, Reynolds, Mellor, Sidlow, Smith, Amone, Wardle, Stone, Asiata. Subs: Ioane, Hingano, Jones, Ipape.
Tries: Sidlow, Macdonald, Chamberlain. Goals: Reynolds 4/4
Talking Points
Late drama for Leigh at Odsal
Leigh had not led for the entire game, until the 76th minute, when Ed Chamberlain went over out wide to book their place in the fifth round. They had just done enough to keep themselves in the game prior to that, but they took their chance to go ahead brilliantly.
Two top try-scorers get on the scoresheet
Coming into the game, two of the top try-scorers in the Championship, in Kieran Gill and Nene Macdonald, would come onto the pitch. Both players would score and Macdonald had another effort disallowed for an offside.
Positives for Bradford
For long periods of that game, it looked like it was going in Bradford’s favour. Particularly given they had been hit by a sickness bug in the week that saw them without a few players. They were winning the battle in the middle, but started to tire late on. Whilst they will be disappointed with the result, there was plenty to admire about the performance.
Challenge Cup draw: Draw made for Sixth Round of Challenge Cup
