Impressive Leigh secure rare victory at Saints

Leopards prop Joe Ofahengaue scored both tries in their win at St Helens

Betfred Super League

St Helens (0) 4

Try: Robertson

Leigh (4) 16

Tries: Ofahengaue 2 Goals: O'Brien 4

Prop Joe Ofahengaue scored both Leigh Leopards tries as his side pulled off their first victory at St Helens since 1982 and kept up the pressure on Super League's top two.

Ofahengaue crossed midway through the second half to provide the Leopards with some breathing space after two Gareth O'Brien penalties had put them 4-0 up at the break.

Saints, who went into the game on the back of five straight victories, enjoyed plenty of possession but could not break down Leigh's gritty defence.

Ofahengaue capitalised to grab a second try after Kyle Feldt spilled Lachlan Lam's kick and, although Harry Robertson belatedly put Saints on the scoresheet, it was too late to prevent the Leopards moving to within a point of second-placed Wigan.

The two sides traded blows during a lively, yet scoreless opening 20 minutes – although video referee Jack Smith was called to adjudicate three times in quick succession on possible tries.

Saints' Owen Dagnall, stretching to reach Tristan Sailor's kick, was unable to make a clean connection and Leopards full-back Bailey Hodgson's quick thinking to ground the ball denied the home side again, sandwiching a disallowed score for Ofahengaue.

Leigh – who had overcome league leaders Hull KR and Wigan in their two most recent outings – soaked up pressure well but errors going forward, from O'Brien and Edwin Ipape, slowed their progress.

Eventually, it was O'Brien who broke the deadlock, landing a successful kick from 35 yards after Saints scrum-half Moses Mbye had been penalised for interference.

O'Brien put another penalty attempt wide following a foul by Feldt, but his next – a routine kick just before the interval – was successful after St Helens had been rattled by Tesi Niu's barnstorming tackle to drag Sailor out of touch.

Saints looked the sharper side after the turnaround, working the ball from left to right and Alex Walmsley's charge down the middle carried them close to the try-line, only for Leigh's tenacious defence to hold firm again.

Having unsuccessfully challenged a knock-on against Jonny Lomax, the home side conceded a penalty and Leigh broke clear, with O'Brien's short-range pass setting up Ofahengaue to wriggle over between the posts.

Ipape might have wrapped up the victory, racing away on the counter-attack but failing to find Lam – and instead it was Ofahengaue who made the points safe, pouncing on Feldt's fumble and bursting over the line.

Saints at least averted the indignity of a blank scoresheet on their own turf, with Robertson going over in the corner in the final minute, but it was not enough to deny rampant Leigh their sixth win in seven games.

St Helens head coach Paul Wellens told BBC Radio Merseyside:

"It was a tough night. Opportunities were quite limited out there – what I can't fault is the players' effort, that was there in abundance and has been for a number of weeks.

"But it's probably a timely reminder that we need to handle certain moments better on both sides of the ball because they are crucial in big games like that.

"We've got to take our lessons from this. It's been great winning in the last few weeks but when you get beat in a game like that and there hasn't been a lack of effort, there's been a lack of something else.

"Maybe we were a little bit conservative at times. In big games you're going to need to nail opportunities and it took us until the 79th minute to do that."

Leigh head coach Adrian Lam told BBC Radio Manchester:

"That's three in a row for us against some really big clubs. We didn't play the style we wanted to tonight but we adjusted – it was very physical and defence-orientated, but we got through it. That's a real positive sign that we can adjust on the run.

"There were times when we made a few simple, basic errors but the way we rallied defensively was awesome. I didn't think Saints were going to score tonight until that last play.

"We hadn't won here for 43 years and we had to come here and defend and be physical and we did all of that. We're in control of how it ends for us this season and we're still striving to climb that ladder.

"He (Joe Ofahengaue)'s a try-scorer, his effort areas are as good as any in the game and he's there or thereabouts all the time. He's massive for us, he's been a great leader and certainly helped the group."

St Helens: Sailor, Feldt, Robertson, Whitley, Dagnall, Lomax, Mbye, Walmsley, Wingfield, Delaney, Sironen, Lees, Knowles.

Interchanges: Bennison, Paasi, Whitby, Cowen

Leigh: Hodgson, Brand, Niu, Hanley, Charnley, O'Brien, Lam, Trout, Ipape, Ofahengaue, Halton, Hughes, Liu.

Interchanges: McNamara, Tuitavake, Davis, Badrock.

Referee: Chris Kendall.