Post by Communications Team on Feb 22, 2019 12:54:51 GMT
Match preview
by Glyn Barlow
Unbelievably we start another match preview this season reflecting on what might have been, following another narrow defeat.
Last weekend Birmingham Moseley travelled to fellow strugglers Sale FC and went down by seven points, having staged a remarkable comeback after being twenty points to three down within the first quarter to go on to be pushing for a win with ten minutes to go.
One solitary point for the loss saw the team move up one place in the league to fourteenth. Unfortunately, however, their opponents picked up five to move them nine points clear of Birmingham Moseley into twelfth place.
With a seven point gap opening up to Caldy in thirteenth place the team needs to haul in their opponents sooner rather than later.
While Birmingham Moseley were coming up short in Manchester this week’s opponents Rosslyn Park were dispatching Loughborough Students 20-46, the latest in a run of wins including Sale FC 31-26 and Blackheath 28-22.
The Blackheath win saw a turnaround of fortunes with the team having suffered back to back losses in January to Old Elthamians 28-22 and Darlington Mowden Park 31-32.
So far this season Park have looked to wing Ben Marfo for try scoring exploits, having picked up seven to date, along with fellow wing Charlie Amesbury and back row Hugo Ellis with five apiece.
In October, when the two teams met in London, Birmingham Moseley recorded one of their speciality close defeats 27-22, having been drawing the game twenty two all with one minute to go.
There is very little to say about what Birmingham Moseley need to do this week to win that hasn’t already been said before. Don’t let the opposition get a head start, control the game tactically, put away the chances when they come your way. Easy to say, but apparently much more difficult to put into practice.
No excuses, if the team are to rescue the season they need to develop a ruthless streak pretty quickly.
In 2019 the agonisingly narrow losses to top of the table opposition like Blackheath 17-27, Old Elthamians 10-14, Rotherham Titans 21-20 plus the 17-17 draw to Darlington Mowden Park suggest they should not be overawed by facing fourth place Rosslyn Park.
Let’s hope this weekend they reverse the depressing trend of what might have been results and turn potential to performance.
Is James Williams injured? And who is Graham Geldenhuys? (Apologies if I've missed something.) One can hardly overemphasise the importance of this match. Does this selection - and the potential on the bench - bode well - or are we being forced into changes?
RP has run this team to the ground, they don’t want to play for him anymore. He needed to go some time ago but somehow managed to stay within the club. Is it to late now? Maybe but hopefully the boys can put a fight up! Such a shame for such a historic club.
At the end of the day, i want to enjoy a good afternoon out watching the rugby & having a drink or two.
Yesterday, for me was just such an occasion. Beautiful sunny afternnon perfect for watching ....& playing.
Key moments for me (possibly Mose tinted glasses): 0.7 - yard from line with penalty advantage, looked easy to walk in either side for try, Ollie KICKED into touch! 3.10 - 2 on 1, overlap on half way, possibly 7 points under posts. Deliberate slap by RP, should have been penalty & yellow. Ref only gave knock on. Three of RP first half tries came from tackle man off ball; high neck tackle; forward pass.
We had no kicker. Mike Penn took responsibilty, one great touch line conversion, not much else. Fly Half off injured, half time.
Oh what fun the second half. Starting 3.38 down. Ran everything, caused mayhem. Physicality stepped up (RP probably down) Broke gain line at will. Scored 4 unanswered tries. Back to 27.38...surely not! No, ran out of steam last 10 mins & conceded two more tries at death. Lineout excellent throughtout, makes massive difference. Lost one on own throw. I just cannot see "these players are not playing for RP". Appear to be putting everthing in & bodies on line - I am not an expert. I have seen previously Mose sides give up, not these guys. Scoreboard shows a thrashing...but what a fine afternoon out. Cum on U Mose !
Yesterday was reminiscent of Championship games against Bristol/Leeds where visitors got the job done then eased up. The second half at least showed what might be possible against different opposition in the coming weeks.
So four home games left, including the two teams below us and the last game of the season against the team currently just above.
Our defence has improved noticeably since December, yellow cards notwithstanding. Yesterday's proved expensive, including the 'steal' by their 14 for the third try which looked decidedly dodgy.
This improvement has been vital, but has come at the expense of points scored. It will be put to the test next week against a team which is still capable of high scores and hasn't played this weekend.
Aedan Moloney looked good, and well worth his two tries.
And those late tries conceded when RP had hardly threatened in the second half ... after the similar pattern against Bishop's Stortford, I spoke to one of our players who explained "we were shattered".
Commitment and effort is still there, keep it going everyone.
Like Oddsox I thought the lads gave everything yesterday. There were some outstanding performances - probably unfair to name the players. Maybe controversial but I am afraid I don’t see Mike Penn as a fullback, he would be much better on the wing with his pace. Also the experiment putting Ollie as flyhalf hasn’t worked. The coach needs to tell Sam Brown to move the ball quicker there were too many times when slow delivery meant players were catching the ball virtually standing still and Park could regroup. We have signed a Fijian prop who looks every bit a prop!!, I also understand from talking to RP that 2 more players are being/have signed although he didn’t say in what positions. We can stay up if we play a full 80 mins like we played in the second half yesterday.
In our final season in the Championship, I knew deep down that on Boxing Day after the home defeat by Bedford we were gone. Yesterday at half-time, I had that same feeling.
RPs second try. First it was a clear forward pass, but that does not excuse Mike Penn's rush of blood. Assume he would have scored and, yes, it's a tough task, but down to 14 we might as well have had 7, because, quite simply, we fell apart and conceded three tries in what felt like a 3-5 minute period. Game over.
The second half was better, and a try bonus was deserved, but the game and perhaps the season had already gone.
When the club decided that it could no longer afford Kevin Maggs, I wrote on the message board something about making sure the club didn't go into freefall. Well, it's looks to me very much like we are.
It isn't completely gone, but it would mean no more costly individual errors, no more sleeping while the opposition builds a hefty lead, no more stupid yellow cards.
On the evidence of 2018/19 so far that looks beyond us.
Generally speaking I have to support all the comments above be they in one form or the other. I noticed the Sunday Mercury reported Moseley as having a good second half but, is no good having a 'good second half' - or any half for that matter - and one 'poor half', whichever side of half time they might be, when the 'poor half' is so awful that it completely wipes out the benefits of the 'other half'. England got away with it against Ireland and France but the Welsh played England at their own game in the 'other half' and completely wiped out the credit of the England 'other half'.
Whatever happens Pam and I will be there next season though whether we we will travel to grounds anew remains to be seen.
Come on Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooose.
Post by kingsheathlad on Feb 24, 2019 16:17:36 GMT
Depending on the forthcoming games it could end up with our final game v Caldy as a must win. It`s a big blow to have had the injury curse strike again.The program listed seven yesterday with some looking to be season ending. Let us hope we have some good fortune for a change starting with five points on Saturday. Come on Mose.............
With all due respect to to the other teams around us - how have we fallen this far? To be playing sides that start with 'Old' or finish with 'Students' just about sums it up!! Next seasons potential fixtures make for even more depressing reading.............
A combination of poor players ,a coaching staff not up to the job , failure to make changes quickly enough or even not at all and in my opinion failing to see or admit that things have not been going well for several years now.
As for next season, Stourbridge,even possibly Newport,,,Salop not Wales await, Hinckley,etc ,,,I do hope Moseley will review admission charges as it will cost £10 in at Stourbridge but over £20 at Mose ??
Amongst other things jonnoisgod mentions that we have "...a combination of poor players... things have not been going well for several years now..." All are perfectly true.
What jonnoisgod fails to mention is that we also have a combination of good players and excellent players and have done for several years, yet look where we are.
I wish I knew the answer, but I don't.
Come on Moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooose.
Thanks both. How a side once very established in the top bracket and even more recently winning trophies at Twickenham is likely to end up playing junior teams in level 4 would have been unthinkable - even in our darkest of homeless days......................
Players starting slowly then finding their feet and playing to their potential before tiring in the last ten minutes. Having played to a decent level I wonder how much is left on the training ground. Just a thought
