Moseley  13 Sedgley Tigers 13 - November 24th 2007

SEDGLEY PARK: Hall, Payne, Craig, Briars, Deventer, Jones, Leck, Gazzola, Roddam, Du Plessis, Fourie ( Norris 68), Crous (Townson 68) Newton, Ponton, Skurr. Replacements not used: Albinson, Birchhall, Keyes, Livesey, Nutt.

SCORERS: Moseley –Tries: Mason, Sharples; penalty: MacDonald. Sedgley Tigers – Try: Skurr; conversion: Jones; penalties: Jones (2).

Birmingham Mail match report

Smith left frustrated as Moseley miss the boat

Birmingham Post
Anyone looking for a silver lining from this error-strewn game could point to the fact that at least Moseley got two points from it and maintained the status quo at the unfashionable end of National One.

Coach Ian Smith was in no doubt about what the result meant though: "This was two points lost, big time.

"Tactically we lost our way. We appreciated where the space was and we knew how to beat them but we just did not have that patience. We did in the first 10-15 minutes and then became a bit naïve.

"There were some positives. Some of the set pieces were good but when we had the ball we left a bit to be desired."

After the start Moseley had though, ten points up in as many minutes, this was surely a chance to heap relegation pressure on a team just below them gone begging.

From Moseley's opening kick Sedgley Tigers were just blown away losing possession in their own half and then finding their defence sliced open like a kipper by full back Ollie Winter who was pulled down inches short.

The ball was recycled quickly and second row and skipper Neil Mason was on hand to force his way over with barely a minute gone. Icy, driving drizzle is not ideal conditions for kicking and fly half Greg MacDonald did not overcome them and he was to fail again from almost the same spot with the second try nine minutes later.

A penalty for not releasing was dropped in the corner for a catch and drive and when progress was halted the ball was worked from left to right for wing Charles Sharples to go over and it had become just a matter of when a fourth try and a bonus point would materialise.

With 24 minutes gone Sedgley Park had been in the Moseley half twice - both times from restarts - but a penalty for offside gave them a chance of their first attacking visit. It lasted only long enough for the Tigers to knock-on in the line-out but the signs were there that Sedgley had not so much weathered the Moseley storm as it was starting to blow itself out.

Six minutes to the break and some ineffective kicking from 22 to 22 saw a loose ball bounce and run free and Tigers' wing Freeman Payne, normally the deadliest of finishers merely had to pick up and he had a clear run.

Fortunately for Moseley he fumbled on but an infringement in the resulting scrum gave the Tigers a penalty turned into points by fly half Philip Jones.

Moseley's game was starting to unravel and Jones was given another kickable chance for pulling down a ruck but was wide to leave it 10-3 at the break.

The second half opened like the first with Moseley pressure bringing a penalty and MacDonald made it 13-3. But whatever platform that created for Moseley fell to earth with a bump as wrong decisions, wrong passes, wrong options, forward passes and knock-ons and lost line-outs took over.

The Tigers had played like a struggling, relegation side from the off but at least had been consistently poor throughout and could not believe their luck as Moseley's game descended into chaos.

Jones missed two more penalty chances before a yellow card for second row Oliver Atkinson just by the posts gave him a kick for 13-6 and a losing bonus. But it was to get worse as Moseley when No 8 Jon Skurr finished off a scrappy move to go over by the posts and Jones levelled the scores three minutes into added time. Moseley huffed and puffed and went close in a frantic final three minutes but time and chances had run out and, on this showing, both sides face a long hard winter.