Nottingham 18 Moseley 9

[coverdale]

Much Much better performance today and in my opinion the catalyst was new boy Ben Evens!
Our scrum was solid and never took a step backwards all game. We reduced them to taking it down at every opportunity. Tackling was very good as was our overall defence. I have to say we didnt really look like penetrating their line but i think this performance will give them a lot of confidence to take forward.
I thought Sam Wilkes carried really well today ...still needs to sort his throw out but he is looking good to take on the hooker role as first choice! Good performances in many areas particularly Glyn hughes who was good again and i think his confidence is growing. Sam Brown was good as his half back partner and Billy Robinson looked good at full back. Id like to see Hunty get more involved and go looking for work more but it looked like a little bit of the pre season juice was dripping through again in the three quarters. We miss Greg King massively and hopefully he and Mike Powel will be returning for the Jersey game. That game is massive now but i think on todays performance we have good reason to be optimistic!

[philhall]

Thank you for that report coverdale. It does lift the heart to read such overall and specific encouragement and bodes well for the Jersey game. I will be there to watch that Moseley v Jersey game and I will be able to make a direct comparisons with the performance having watched the "win" in Jersey.

I say "win" because in that game I felt that Jersey lost it rather than Moseley won it - even though the score suggested otherwise. The potent element of the Jersey performance was in the counter attack, particularly out wide and Moseley will have to snuff that threat out at source. In the process Moseley really need to target that game as a 5 pointer along with at least 4 points at Plymouth on the 26th January.

I could go on but in the absence of solid evidence to support any hopes we may have of improving our league position there needs to remain an air of pragmatic caution. As Bruce Forsythe often said, "points make prizes" and in this scenario the points are for performance, the prize is survival. It is as simple as that.

Come on Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooose.

[Littlemissminx]

Very disappointed we didn't come away with anything yesterday we outplayed Nottingham most of the time, however we need to start going for corners instead of the posts! Come on Mose we want some tries! Great day though and thank you to the MSA for organising the coach it was a great day. Merry Christmas everyone

[John]

Thanks Coverdale. I didn't go to the game, but a positive report helps for Merry Christmas! Met the new guy Ben Evens yesterday though and he seemed like a nice chap.

Merry Christmas all!

[studleyken]

Good rather than great day out yesterday. One of the best performances from the team this season. Ben Evans made a big difference, not a backward step all game, the team seeming to have the confidence it lacked last week for most of the game. BUT!!! we never looked like scoring a try and as Phill comented " Points make prizes" and apart from penalties, and if we had kicked all of ours we would have come back with at least a winning bonus point, we aren't scoring tries. Maybe we will get some answers as to why we have this situation at the chat with Kevin Maggs in January. Get your questions ready and come along. It could be an informative evening.

[welshexile1963]

It would have been nice to have a bonus losing point but sounds like there are positives to take from it, the Jersey game is a must win though so go for it Mose!!!

[coverdale]

.....forgot to say massive thanks to Neil and the Stud (yet again)! for a great trip yesterday! The Bucks Fizz and mince pies went down beautifully and as always lots of great banter and giggles with great friends! .....I think we have found a winner with the new coach firm too...very laid back and willing to let us enjoy the trip without too many un-necessary rules and regs!

Cheers guys....

[Steve@Mose]

Match reports:

Birmingham Post

Birmingham Mail

Nottingham Post

[albrown]

What happened to Anthony Carter yesterday?

[philhall]

If I have read and understood correctly Brian Dicks report about the Nottingham game - and bearing in mind my comments of only a couple of days ago - yet again an opposition three-quarter sliced through OUR backs where, yet again, a great lump of a second row was lurking. Why, oh why, oh why do the second rowers insist in lurking in the backs.

If Maggsy IS coaching them to lurk there he needs to think again because it isn't working - they cant stop a pig in an entry out there. And if he thinks they have the attacking nous to be there as an unsuspecting speedster threat then just think; they are NOT - in any stretch of the imagination - replacements for either Ellis or Rodders. In other words, get out of the backs and stay in the engine room with the forwards, not in the backs. Leave that roll to the chorus girls.

Roll on the Jersey game. Come on Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooose.

[philhall]

Role no roll

[lboromose]

Great Effort from Mose yet again – Ben Evans was a huge presence and a big influence. If he maintains this level of performance his introduction could be very influential in Mose staying up.
One of the better performances of the season – however:
Little penetration and looked unlikely to score a try. It was assumed at the start of the season that the quality backline we have would bring a good supply of tries. This just hasn’t happened. On those limited occasions when the ball is spun out there are always forwards in the line. This has happened all season and I cant remember a move where the ball actually moved along the back line and out to the wing with the backs lined up and able to use their pace. Hunt really hasn’t produced the form for us that he showed against us!
The line out was again poor (fortunately so was Nottingham’s!) This too has been a feature all season and has forced decisions from penalties to go for the posts as a kick to the corner rarely results in possession and 3 points the most secure option.
Big matches coming up and it would be nice to see these two problems sorted out.

[philhall]

I'm glad that someone else - other than the opposition - has noticed that Moseley forwards lurk in the back. I was beginning to get paranoid about it. And it has been mooted to me that Simon Hunt is not the Simon Hunt who used to give us and other teams no end of problems when he played for Birmingham Solihull. Other dangerous wingers like him do not lose their flair when they move to another club. So why should he? There has to be a reason.

Come on Simon and Moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooose

[Gerald the Fish]

Look at it this way. Last season we went there and lost 62 20. What part of 18 9 is not a massive improvement? Secondly last time they were so dominant (besides the scoreline) that we needn't have turned up. We bossed this game for so many reasons it would take at essay to explain. Yes I know we lost AND their two tries came from mistakes from us mainly missed tackles, and being an effective team Nottingham we're able to exploit it. However Mose held the lead for a time in this match and we're always in it and trying to win. The attitude and character was outstanding from each and every player. I was really proud of the guys and NO ONE can tell me, after seeing the reaction of some of the lads when we lost, that there is no pride in playing for Mose. There is with out doubt a huge amount of pride. When Moseley present this level of performance again, and with the return of Mike Powell, we WILL beat Jersey, London Scottish, Doncaster, Plymouth Albion, and possibly Rotherham (away). I feel so much more confident now...as you can tell...having watched this match that I already think we have turned the corner and we are on our way up. LET'S GET BEHIND THE BOYS .......COME ON MOSELEY

[ale]

Gerald, you can forget Powell for the Jersey and Plymouth games, and may be the rest of the season. Evans and Mason have to lead from the front now, and the youngsters have shown they will follow with vigour. What has to change is the backs attitude to attack! Maggsy must be beside himself with the quality, that seems unable to show their true ability. I think we may well give Jersey a right spanking and I mean a thunderous one, which hopefully will give us some momentum in the second half of the season to put the record straight.

[Shy Spa]

Dec 24, 2012 20:46:39 GMT philhall said:

And it has been mooted to me that Simon Hunt is not the Simon Hunt who used to give us no end of problems when he played for Birmingham Solihull. ... There has to be a reason.

Bees strategy was to get the ball to Hunt to run at defences. Our strategy was to clear the ball to the opposition backs.

The best example of this combination was the play-off game at Billesley in 09/10. We kept clearing, they kept scoring tries. Then we kept ball in hand and got into the lead, only for Andy Borgen (as I recall) to chip into Hunt's hands for him to run through and give Bees the winning score. We were already safe, but this kept Bees up (after being well adrift all season) and sent Cov down.

Three seasons on, things are different - trying (and failing) to prevent Rotherham's breakaway try for example.

[philhall]

I'm glad Shy Spa that I am not the only one to comment on Moseley kicking the ball away and yes quite often when we do the opposition run back at us and score. We did that a lot in the jersey game - kicking the ball away. In all fairness to Maggsy, who was right next to me under the stand he was jumping up and down shouting "KEEP THE !"£$%^& BALL IN HAND AND RUN with IT. He probably had a go at the lads at half time but they do not seem to listen because they kept kicking it away after break.

I obviously understand the need for kicking the ball away to clear the line - but not always - and I can understand kicking the ball away for territorial gain.

THE one BIG problem with Moseley is that they DO have a penchant to rarely, if ever, follow up kicks ahead and pressure the receiver into making a mistake. With restart kick off they tend to kick too deep and just amble up the field. Line clearing follows a similar pattern - when I played I always followed up a line kick, even if I knew it was going out, it reduces the option of a quick opposition throw in. With a kick for territory I suspect that there is always a fear of "leaving the line of defence", but as with the SAS, he who dares wins. But to win you have to do something when you get there - like close the player down, dump him on the deck, make him knock on - force a penalty for holding on - anything but allowing him to side step and set off. And goal kicks. Just how often do we follow up goal kicks - just in case of a lucky ricochet off the posts.

Come on Moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooose. DARE and WIN.

[kingsheathlad]

Phil
When we had Rodwell and Ellery , they , if I remember we're ones we had who ran hard at drop outs and kick offs.

[philhall]

Agree. But when THEY didn't play we rarely followed up with any urgency. Opposition do it against us all the time and disrupt our play quite effectively in the process. And besides, there are 14 other players in a team who should consider being up there - not just one - and amongst those should be the second row and other back row forwards.

Peter Buxton in his days before he went to Gloucester was particularly good at supporting a kick off but he was better noted for his ability in loose play - particularly after RECEIVING a kick off or a kick up field. Give him half a yard and he was gone in a wide sweeping arc, ball in one hand, handing off with the other.