Birmingham Moseley | Match Report | A Bitter Night With a Sweet Ending

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A Bitterly Cold & Windy Thursday Night Lights
Sale Triumph over Birmingham Moseley in a thriller

 

 

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Sale FC Starting XV

A cold and windy night at Heywood Rd as Chris Johnson Kicks-off long, Sale initiating a period of heavy pressure as Johnson crafted a kick towards the corner, Jeremy To’a chasing hard but unfortunately beaten by the covering defender.

Another lineout on the opposite side saw Sale dominate in a lovely rolling Maul as The Dogs crash over the whitewash- penalty try awarded, after just three minutes.

The game begins to expand optimistically through a series of ambitious kicks for territory.

Moseley worked themselves down field as they mounted a series of grubbers, gaining territory deep into the Sale half. The pressure was on as Birmingham shaped to the corner from a penalty.

Another infringement resulted in a penalty which fly-half Ben Palmer converted. In a terrific contest, physicality came into play with some big hits as both teams fight for possession and territory.

There was a close call when the ball was charged down by Stone Priestley-Nangle, recovered terrifically by Moseley’s Palmer who hacked it into touch. From a 5m lineout heading into the final 10 of the first half, the pressure told as Patrick Ah Van made an break from a poorly placed kick, offloading to Johnson who stormed towards the line. The ball was quickly shifted wide as Stone Priestley-Nangle touched down in the corner, with a good conversion from Johnson.

 

Sale completely dominated possession as they continued to put some fine play together. Fergus Mulchrone evaded a couple tackles as he darted in from the 22, as Johnson converted for a 21-3 scoreline at half-time

 

The rain lashed down heavily towards the end of the first half, but cleared as the players came back out for the second. The second 40 began with the same intensity as the first, with a Moseley player down injured after a huge hit from Sale captain Andy Hughes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Penalty after penalty came for Sale before the referee awarded a yellow to Morgan Dawes of Moseley, Sale able to finally gain yardage into opposition territory on the hour-mark. Sale got complacent as a penalty awarded to Moseley was taken quickly by replacement scrum half Sam Pointon who darted in uncontested from the 22. Palmer converted to make it 21-10 after 70 minutes.

Sale moved deep into enemy territory after a splendid offload from Jake Pope on halfway, and Jeremy To’a accelerated down the touchline before being brought down in the Moseley 22. Play was shifted quickly along the line with Mulchrone forcing his way over the line for an unconverted try to finish the game.

 

Matchday Photos Courtesy of Gareth Lyons

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