Cougars 28 Leigh Centurians 36 - There was a tangible sense of shock after Cougars squandered a 20-point lead against the league leaders.

As the final whistle blew Keighley fans stood transfixed. In the heavy atmosphere of stunned silence, they wandered dazed and confused past the burger vans as they filed out of the ground.

Rarely, if ever, can they have seen their heroes lose such a comprehensive half-time lead.

Ahead 28-8 at the break, everyone thought the game was in the bag -- everyone except the Leigh coach and his players.

The lead should have been big enough to defend, but when Ian Hughes was sin-binned in the 56th minute it was clear the Cougars were going to struggle.

Paul Wingfield had already pulled one back for the visitors, but with Hughes off for a late tackle on Antony Murray, Leigh took control of the game and ran in two quick tries.

Those 10 points changed the whole complexion of the game. The Centurians were suddenly rampant as the Cougar side's bubble was about to burst in spectacular fashion.

Radney Bowker dummied his way over, Wingfield bagged a second and added his second conversion to make it 28-24 and the Cougars were really looking vulnerable.

The visitors were inspired and two tries in 90 seconds finished the Cougars off. Martin Wood fumbled Kieran Purtill's kick, allowing Andy Fairclough to collect the rebound and dive over.

From the restart Paul Anderson broke a tired Cougar tackle to race clear before sending the inspirational Murray away.

Wingfield added his fourth conversion to complete the comeback, the scoring, and the Cougars' abject misery.

It had all been so very different before the break when the Cougars had all the elements in their favour, slope, sun and a massive wind behind them.

Nevertheless they gave Leigh a start with Adam Bristow diving over in the second minute.

That try was the Cougars' wake-up call. For the next 38 minutes they played their best rugby of the season.

Paul Harrison led the charge with two quick tries, the first off Nathan Antonik, the second off a neat inside pass from Steve Pickles.

Leigh always looked dangerous going forward and grabbed a second try to make it 12-8 when Alan Hadcroft went over in the corner.

But three tries in seven minutes put the Cougars in charge.

Richard Smith set up the first with a blistering 60-metre run and a one handed pass to Jason Lee.

From the restart Hughes collected the ball and stumbled through the defence before sending Smith on another 60 metre run. This time he finished it off himself with Wood adding his third conversion to leave the Cougars looking comfortable at 22-8.

Before the break they increased that lead when Wood's long kick was fumbled by Stuart Donlan. Pickles forced his way over from acting half three plays later.

Wood converted and the Cougars looked set for victory.

Leigh had other ideas, and with their positive attitude it is easy to see why they are top of the table.

They finished with 12 men after Hadcroft was dismissed for stamping on Dean Hanger who had come in for some brutal attention from his former team mates from the moment he took the field.

That incident was in the final seconds and, unlike the crucial dismissal of Hughes, was too late to affect the course of the game.

Cougars should have been prepared for Leigh's second half onslaught, they pulled off a similar rescue act the previous week against Hull KR, but the spectacular reverse in fortunes revealed that the team needs to develop a mental toughness if they are to challenge the best.

Cougars: Owen; Horne, K Smith, R Smith, Lee; Pickles, Antonik; Hall, Seal, Boothroyd, Harrison, Hughes, Wood. Subs used: Hanger, Stephenson, Slicker.

Leigh Centurians: Donlon; Wingfield, Cross, Anderson, Hadcroft; Fairclough, Purtill; Street, Higham Whittle, Baldwin, Cruikshank, Bristow. Subs: Murray, Causey, Bowker.

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