Betfred Super League
Castleford (0) 6
Tries: Cini Goals: Milnes
Leigh (12) 20
Tries: Ipape, McIntosh 2, Hodgson Goals: O'Brien 2
Leigh Leopards ended a run of two Super League losses as they comfortably beat Castleford Tigers at The Jungle.
Edwin Ipape crashed over to put the Leopards in front, with Darnell McIntosh diving in at the corner to pad out their lead just before the break.
Leigh picked up where they left off in the second half as Bailey Hodgson went in and McIntosh pulled off another dash to the line to reach the 20-point mark.
Castleford were reduced to 12 when Sylvester Namo was sin-binned for a high hit on Isaac Liu but they got on the board without him as Zac Cini scored with seven minutes left on the clock.
Victory for Adrian Lam's men moves them up to fifth in the Super League standings as they hit back after defeats by Hull KR and Wakefield, prior to winning in the return fixture against Trinity in the Challenge Cup last week.
Castleford, meanwhile, slipped to a sixth league defeat of the season and offered little to challenge their opponents until a late rally which led to Cini's score.
Ipape's opener came via some quick thinking from Robbie Mulhern in the build-up to gain significant ground, with the Leopards keeping the ball alive to send the hooker through to score.
The visitors went a further two points in front from Gareth O'Brien's penalty kick after George Lawler was shown a yellow card for a tip tackle on Owen Trout in the 10th minute.
In a cagey opening half, Leigh added to their tally in impressive fashion when they fed McIntosh through to crash over with style and send the visitors in at the hooter with an unanswered 12-point lead.
Hodgson prospered from some fantastic quickfire build-up play from Leigh as he was guided through at the corner, but Gareth O'Brien missed his second successive conversion attempt.
O'Brien limped away after McIntosh's second score, leaving the Leigh winger to attempt the kick for his own try, which he missed from a tight angle.
Castleford's task was made harder midway through the second half as Namo was shown yellow for going in high on Liu.
Leigh's Lachlan Lam confronted him in the aftermath, with Namo pushing him away and causing a melee between the two sides shortly before referee Chris Kendall sent him to the bin.
Despite his absence, a depleted Castleford avoided a scoreless evening as Cini collected a high kick before turning and grounding the ball in the latter stages of a night to forget for the Tigers.
Leigh Leopards boss Adrian Lam told BBC Radio Manchester:
"I'm really happy because it's always a tough place to come and play. With a few of the injuries we had, we certainly got through it.
"It was a tough night but I thought we were in control the whole time. That's just consistency and there were a couple of things I was looking for and I certainly got that.
[On conceding a late try] "It's a pretty well-placed kick and hard to defend. The system broke down just for a second. They are the areas we need to keep working hard on.
"Overall, I think we probably left three or four tries out there ...
