COLWYN Bay showed their fighting qualities to secure a hard-fought home draw with Leigh.

Things looked bleak for the Liverpool and District Competition Premier Division side heading into the closing stages of the contest, but they remained resolute to claim a share of the spoils and move to within 18 points of safety.

Sion Morris’ men will look to make it three league games without defeat this Saturday when they travel to Formby, who currently sit in sixth position in the standings.

Overseas player Saliya Jeewantha (3-47) put the new ball to good use with the quick fire wickets of Matty Hibbert (19), Paul Farrar (1) and Danny Lamb (19), but Bay’s momentum was halted soon after thanks to a standout knock from visiting skipper Thomas Foster.

Entering the fray at number four, Foster hit nine boundaries from 114 deliveries to finish the day unbeaten on 82, with Finnegan Hulbert also there at the end to record a score of 46 not out.

Adam Shallcross (24) and Toby Bulcock (20) failed to build on promising starts and were removed by Ryan Holtby and Adam Campion, enabling the away side to declare on 224-5 from 55 overs at the crease.

The hosts got off to a difficult start in the middle as opening pair Zack Gidlow (16) and Mike Littler (17) were both removed cheaply, and their concerns grew deeper when Ryan Westwell (9) and Campion (7) failed to reach double figures.

George Johansen stopped the rot with a knock of 28 from 49 balls, but the wickets continued to fall in the form of Paul Jenkins (12), Luke Russell (1) and Tom Roberts (18).

That left Jeewantha and Morris at the crease to see the game out, with the former ending unbeaten on 44 as the home side ended their time in the middle on 165-8 to secure something from the contest.