Birmingham Moseley 22 – Sedgley Park Tigers 20
On Saturday the Tigers travelled to face old rivals Birmingham Moseley in another crucial National League 1 fixture. Having narrowly beaten Moseley earlier in the season and with both sides positioned towards the lower end of the table, this was always going to be an important encounter in the battle to avoid relegation.
The Tigers arrived determined to build on their previous performance against Tonbridge Juddians, where they had been narrowly beaten. Despite continuing to be without nine key players through injury, the squad remained positive and focused, preparing well during the week for what they knew would be a difficult challenge.
Moseley are a well-organised side with a powerful pack of forwards and they started the game strongly, applying pressure deep inside the Tigers’ half. Their early possession eventually paid off as a patient build-up of phases created space on the left, allowing full-back Freddie Painter to cross in the corner for the opening try.
The Tigers responded almost immediately. Sustained pressure and a sweeping move through the backline created space out wide, and full-back Sam Thorpe finished well in the right-hand corner to level the score at 5–5 after just ten minutes.
The next twenty minutes saw a tightly contested battle, with both sides defending strongly and refusing to concede territory easily. Sedgley’s set piece functioned well throughout this period, with a solid scrum and accurate line-out providing a strong platform for attacking play.
On thirty minutes Moseley conceded a penalty and centre Oli Glasse stepped up to convert, giving the Tigers an 8–5 lead at half-time after a composed and disciplined first half performance.
The second half began with the Tigers playing up the slight slope, into a breeze and with the sun in their eyes. Moseley began to build pressure and were rewarded on 56 minutes when scrum-half Jack Jolly converted a penalty to bring the scores level at 8–8.
With both teams aware of the importance of the result, the game became increasingly tense as each side searched for the decisive moment while trying to avoid costly mistakes.
The home side regained the lead on the hour mark when centre Anthony Egodo broke through the defensive line to score Moseley’s second try. Whiteley Maxwell added the conversion to give Moseley a 15–8 advantage.
Once again the Tigers showed great character to respond. A well-worked attacking play saw Sam Thorpe enter the line, beat the covering defender and release right winger Rhys Henderson, who finished well for Sedgley’s second try. The conversion narrowly missed, but the Tigers had reduced the deficit to 13–15 with twenty minutes remaining.
Sedgley Park continued to push forward, looking to keep play inside the Moseley half. However, a deep territorial kick into the Moseley 22 was fielded by the home defence and sparked a superb counter-attack. The ball moved swiftly through several pairs of hands before left winger Aquile Smith finished in the corner. Maxwell converted to extend Moseley’s lead to 22–13 with ten minutes remaining.
Despite the setback, the Tigers refused to give in. Sustained pressure eventually forced a line-out deep inside the Moseley 22, and a series of powerful forward drives resulted in tight-head prop Danny Rylance crashing over for Sedgley’s third try. Oli Glasse converted to narrow the gap to 22–20 with eight minutes to play.
The Tigers pushed hard for a winning score in the closing stages, applying pressure whenever they gained possession, but the Moseley defence held firm and the match finished 22–20 in favour of the home side.
The result secured a valuable four points for Moseley, lifting them just above the Tigers in the table. Sedgley Park did take a losing bonus point, but it was another heartbreaking result for a side that had shown tremendous effort and commitment throughout the contest.
The Tigers now find themselves in the bottom three, though only a few points separate them from the teams above. The spirit and determination of the squad cannot be questioned, and they will continue to fight hard in the remaining fixtures of the season.
Next up for the Tigers is a home fixture against high-flying London side Blackheath at Park Lane. With Blackheath pushing for promotion, this will be another huge challenge and the team would greatly appreciate the support of the Park Lane crowd.
Please come down and get behind the Tigers.
Cheers,
Steve Hazz