SLICK Lancaster City put one over on Conference boys Leigh RMI with a high class performance on a wet Tuesday at Giant Axe.

The Railwaymen had stepped in at short notice to replace Morecambe as friendly opponents - and it showed as City took them apart.

The Dolly Blues should have been ahead as early as the eighth minute when Peter Thomson missed from the penalty spot after Ryan Zico-Black was adjudged to have been fouled in the box.

Thomson missed two more chances to put City in front but it was Leigh who went ahead against the run of play on 35 minutes as Craig Mitchell pounced when Martin Clark's attempted header back to keeper Jamie Speare ran loose.

The striker had little trouble rounding Speare and slotting the ball into the empty net - but it was his last real action before he was forcibly substituted' on the orders of referee Paul Kettlewell following a 43rd minute dust-up with Jamie Murphy.

He was not alone in the sin-bin' for long, though. Mr Kettlewell asked for the substitution of three more players before the evening's action was over.

Lancaster came out determined to put matters right after the break, and with the newly introduced Ian Dawes adding extra bite to the midfield it looked only a matter of time before the breakthrough came.

Chris Lane became the second Leigh player to get his marching orders from the referee on 48 minutes and Jamie Murphy followed on 55.

Thomson pulled City level on 68 as a corner was cleared to Dawes near the edge of the penalty area and his volleyed shot was blocked - but fell at Thomson's feet.

Five minutes later Thomson notched his second - and this time there was no element of fortune.

He received the ball with his back to goal and three defenders around him, but spun and shot in one quick movement which saw the ball arrow into Ian Martin's goal.

That was before Thomson, too, incurred the wrath of the official and left the arena.

Dawes was again in the thick of it on 80 minutes, setting up Tony Sullivan to make it 3-1 as Lancaster took total control.