Leigh RMI 3 Wrexham 4 (aet) by Martyn Hindley: A DISTRAUGHT Leigh side crashed out of the LDV Vans Trophy kicking and screaming last night as they took Third Division Wrexham to the wire at Hilton Park before losing to a golden goal.

Ged Kielty's super show looked like stealing the game away from Denis Smith's side, who had taken the momentum after fighting back from two down to level shortly before the break.

Kielty volleyed a jubilant RMI ahead inside six minutes and was almost on the mark immediately afterwards as he linked up with Dino Maamria only to chip tamely into the goalkeeper's hands.

The workrate of the midfielder was immense in his best game yet for the Railwaymen, and he was even on hand at the other end to clear Lee Jones' scrambled effort off the line midway through the first period.

And Wrexham were starting to rue their missed opportunities when Maamria sprinted clear down the right hand side, commited Phil Whitfield and calmly slotted into the visiting net.

Two down and an upset on the cards, but Wrexham hadn't merely sat back and absorbed pressure. Stuart Coburn had pulled off high class saves to deny Jones and Trundle, but he couldn't manage another miracle five minutes before the break when Trundle waltzed round him after Durkin's error and side-footed home.

Neil Fitzhenry handled in the box to offer Wrexham the momentum and an equaliser through Jones on the spot in a flash and all square heading into the break, RMI found themselves written off again.

But it's a state that they can only excel from. Kielty arrived at the back post and converted Whittaker's floating cross into a 3-2 RMI lead but Carlos Edwards hit back on the counter when he lashed home the loose ends of a

particularly slick move 12 minutes from time.

RMI resolutely held on to claim extra time which was a moral victory given the statistical and realistic difference between the two sides.

Yet any hopes of a fairytale ending were cruelly ended in the second minute of overtime when Jones bagged a golden goal from eight yards.