Ian Smith calls on Moseley to end the first half of Championship season on a high note
Nov 13 2009 by Brian Dick, Birmingham Mail
IAN Smith has called on his Moseley men to end the first half of their Championship season on a high note ahead of this evening’s trip to Goldington Road.
The Mose head coach takes his team to face fifth-placed Bedford having been victorious in five of their last seven matches, including the last two.
And with British & Irish Cup action due to kick in for the next fortnight, Smith – whose team stand seventh with a 50 per cent win record – wants his side to reach the midway juncture with a fiery display.
“We have never won down there, it’s a tremendous challenge for us,” he said.
“But it’s the last round of the Championship for a while so let’s make sure we finish off the opening sequence with a really good, emotionally-charged performance.”
In fact, the former Scotland international also wants the visitors to make up for last season’s gut-wrenching loss when an inexperienced Moseley side led from first minute until last only for Rory McKay to snatch an injury-time try and a 17-15 victory. It was the fifth time that season Mose had let slip a potentially decisive advantage, something they have done just once this term following the appointment of a specialist conditioning coach.
“Maybe it was a fitness issue but it was probably down to experience too,” Smith said.
“We had a scrum on our ball in the last few seconds but Bedford got hold of it.
“The players have discussed it this week. They know they worked very hard and didn’t see through what would have been a magnificent achievement.”
If anything, it has been Moseley providing the late drama this season. Against Coventry, Bees and Rotherham on Saturday they have come from behind to steal the points.
They bridged a 14-point deficit at home to the Titans last weekend, although Smith warns they will not be able to be so generous tonight.
“Defensively we lacked a bit of an edge, we were let down by certain individuals missing tackles and we can’t afford that against Bedford.
“We need to make sure we’re in the right mindset this week.”
