STAFFORD 1st XV vs MOSELEY OAK 1st XV. 19th September 2015.

Stafford 12 – 70 Moseley Oak

Stafford welcomed Moseley Oak to the county ground for the opening home league encounter of the season. The Moseley team had always been strong contenders in previous seasons and during warm up this team looked just as capable.

A strong Moseley side dominated the first half of the game with brutal efficiency and a flurry of tries created an unassailable lead. The home side never stopped scrapping and their reward came through a loose ball pounced on by Stu Lewis to score the try, converted by Dean Ainger and there was a brief glimmer of hope amongst the home side supporters. Stafford went into half time trailing 7 -42 and looking for a new plan to combat the dominance being exerted by the visitors.

Stafford started the second half by reducing their squad to fourteen players courtesy of an early yellow card. Injuries to Tom Hamplett and Carl Williams helped to further disrupt any continuity which the home side could produce. Moseley took full advantage to add a further three tries to their tally. Stafford continued to compete but a clash of heads saw Dean Ainger side-lined to add to the frustration. In their brightest period of play, the home side managed to work the ball across the pitch releasing Api Apimeleki to score the second Stafford try of the afternoon. Moseley had the last word in the game, a final try taking their tally to 70.