Warrington Wolves edge out Leigh in Challenge Cup thriller
Last Updated: 28/06/15 3:27pm
Warrington survived a scare as they came from behind to claim a 34-24 win over Leigh in a thrilling Ladbrokes Challenge Cup quarter-final.
The Wolves trailed 14-12 after a ferocious first half at the Halliwell Jones Stadium but two quickfire tries from Kevin Penny set them on the way to victory.
Giant-killers Leigh had threatened another upset after two previous victories over top-flight opposition as Greg Worthington, Ryan Brierley and Gregg McNally crossed in the first half.
But Penny touched down twice early in the second half to turn the game and another from George King - adding to earlier Ashton Sims and Ben Currie efforts - put the result out of reach.
The Centurions fought on with further Brierley and Tom Armstrong tries but Currie's second kept them at arm's length.
Leigh were cheered on by a large travelling support and showed little sign of being intimidated during a high-intensity first half.
Warrington were the first side to break through, with former Leigh prop Chris Hill feeding Sims to crash over by the posts.
Leigh responded as Worthington pounced to touch down a Brierley kick but the parity did not last, as a loose carry by Bob Beswick allowed Harrison to steal the ball and Currie ran in a try.
However, another handling error allowed Leigh to hit back as Brierley scooped up a loose ball and sprinted 60 metres to score.
Leigh snatched the lead just before the interval as Liam Kay found space down the left and clipped a well-weighted kick inside for McNally.
The Centurions full-back caught in his stride and powered over to give his side a two-point lead at the break.
Response
Warrington produced just the response they needed after the restart, with Penny's double putting the hosts back in charge.
Brad Dwyer broke from deep and Ratchford carried the attack into Leigh territory with slalom-style run. Leigh were unable to halt his progress and a long pass sent Penny over in the corner.
Penny's second showed wonderful agility and finishing ability. The winger was under pressure out wide but dived for the corner and somehow got the ball down before being barged into touch by Leigh's backpedalling defence.
Leigh retained some hope as Warrington's Gareth O'Brien was sin-binned for tackling Brierley off the ball but they had a let-off when a Currie try was disallowed for a Penny knock on.
The scoreline started to drift beyond the Centurions, however, as substitute King followed up a kick to touch down.
Brierley kept Leigh in the game as he raced onto a good kick from Martyn Ridyard to score under the posts but Currie's second seemed to extinguish any hopes of a late fightback.
Armstrong did cross from a McNally pass with eight minutes remaining but the Wolves held enough of an advantage to scrape through to the last four.
Victory also came at a cost with Laithwaite carried off with a serious-looking ankle injury late in the first half.