Moseley 37 Coventry 5
Apr 26 2010 by Brian Dick, Birmingham Mail
AAAAND breathe out. The perfect performance at the perfect time ensured Moseley can finally forget any tortuous notion of relegation.
Ian Smith’s men secured their second-tier status with a thrilling display that combined the fire in their bellies with the ice in their veins, to which a strangely subdued Coventry had no answer.
It also produced five tries, bringing their total to nine in the last two games, and a vintage effort from a pack that once again demonstrated its status as one of the best in the division – on its day.
Unfortunately for their head coach those days do not come every week and while Smith was left purring about his team’s potential, he must also have been frustrated that it seems able to turn the dynamism evident against the Blue and Whites on or off, almost at will.
But that is a riddle for the summer, for now the Billesley outfit can snuggle into the relief of dodging what would have been a thoroughly undeserved drop.
They can also indulge themselves in a spot of Bee-baiting and truly enjoy the prospect of acting as executioners to their nearest neighbours whom they meet next week.
If Moseley beat Birmingham & Solihull they will condemn the Sharmans Cross side to the community game, a prospect some members would love given the relish with which Bees sent them down in 2003.
And if the evidence of this sun-kissed, happy afternoon is anything to go by, they stand a good chance.
Bees’ most obvious failing is a lack of a power pack, with Nathan Williams, Rupert Harden, Aly Muldowney, Chevvy Pennycook and Neil Mason, Moseley possess that in spades.
All five were rampant against a cowed Coventry team that was a shadow of the side that won in Solihull last time out.
They did themselves no favours, though.
In the opening exchanges, a time when Moseley’s nerves were at their most frayed, Cov haemorrhaged penalties that only served to relieve whatever pressure they were able to mount.
And with the home set-piece ascendant Mose were able to shunt Muldowney and Harden across the line in the opening period. It was the Tristan Roberts show after the restart and now Mose can relax.
MOSELEY: Bressington; May (Borgen 70), MacBurnie, Reay (Keys 71), Thirlby; Roberts, Gasson (Taylor 71); Williams, Caves (Oselton 67), Harden, Muldowney, Stott, Mason, Pennycook, Wilson (Rodwell 54). Reps not used: Davis, Evans
COVENTRY: Russell; Johnson (Grove 54), MacKenzie, Lewis C, Lewis J; Apikotoa (Thomas 50), Jones (Walls 66); Maddocks (Dugard 25), Merrigan (McMillan 50), Hall, Venter (Brenton 53), Deschartres, Carpenter, Askew (Harrop 74), Shaw.
