CAMMELL LAIRD cruised through to the third qualifying round of the FA Trophy at Chorley's chilly Victory Park with a resounding win over a decimated Leigh Genesis.

The resignation of the Leigh chairman in midweek and the end of their dream move to their new 10,000-seater stadium saw a mass exodus of players. This left a mix of reserves and youngsters to face the Birkenhead men.

Lairds ran the show and took the makeshift Genesis side apart. Chris Adamson opened the scoring for Lairds with a looping shot after just seven minutes.

The faithful Leigh support were buoyed minutes later when they pulled level through Scott Sefton. Their joy was short-lived, however, as wing wizard Eddie Jebb restored the advantage with a thunderous half-volley.

Leigh’s hopes of another comeback were dashed when the lively Mike Rimmer cut inside to poke the ball past Steve Dickinson.

From then on it was all Lairds. Mark Reed grabbed the fourth, staying vigilant when his shot rebounded off the post to score with the second attempt.The rout was completed two minutes from time by Alex Hay.