Moseley 22 Worcester 15

WOEFUL Worcester put huge question marks over their ability to sustain their title challenge with a sloppy display on Saturday as they went down 22-15 at Moseley.

Adrian Skeggs' men were never at the races at Bournbrook and their first National One defeat of the season blew the title race wide open with second-placed Leeds Tykes winning 35-12 at London Welsh to cut the gap to just six points at the top.

The Sixways stars, who have just been awarded a mid-February break in Spain, looked as if they were still in mid siesta when they went behind as early as the second minute.

Skipper Ian Patten ghosted in on the left-hand side, evading a couple of tackles, before touching down to send the Moseley faithful wild. The try set the tone for the afternoon with Moseley looking likely to add to their tally every time they had possession.

Leigh Hinton converted to give the home side the perfect start as the rain lashed down on Birmingham University's ground. Sateki Tuipulotu had a chance three minutes later to narrow the deficit with a penalty but his wretched run of form with the boot continued as his effort sailed wide. The Tongan international redeemed himself two minutes later though with three points as Worcester began to come into the game.

However the league leaders, despite having the bulk of the possession, failed to create any openings and every time they looked remotely like getting through there was always a Moseley tackle waiting for them.

Tuipulotu slotted another penalty to bring the score back to 7-6 and at one stage midway through the first half it looked as if Worcester could spark into life.

However, the spark was extinguished in the 21st minute when Moseley notched their second try as Jason Mellors pounced in the right-hand corner after good work from Bill Drake-Lee. Worcester were slightly unfortunate as the home side had a man over at the time because of Andrew Lamerton's injury. Indeed the hooker had to be replaced soon after by Andrea Moretti who quickly became a favourite with the Moseley crowd for consistently throwing the ball crookedly at line-outs. The Italian international racked up five dreadful throws to sum up Worcester's day.

Hinton extended Moseley's lead just before the break with a penalty before Tuipulotu gave Worcester hope of a second half comeback with his third penalty a minute later as the home side went in 15-12 up.

Sixways' group of internationals looked as if they could turn things around early in the second period with Tuipulotu going close in the corner after a delightful chip. However, once again dogged defending by their hosts showed they were not about to lie down and give up the fight. Indeed, once Worcester's opening surge had been weathered, Moseley simply went up the other end to extend their lead. And once again it was sloppy play from the visitors which allowed the try as Terry Sigley took a quick tap penalty and ran in for the third of the day as Worcester snoozed. The try originated from an awful pass from Chris Simpson-Daniel, on as a second-half sub for Richard Jarman, which put the Worcester backs into a panic.

Hinton converted as Moseley stretched the lead to 22-12 and the home team, after hearing talk of Worcester's bid for bonus points this week, were on the verge of not just victory but an extra point to go with it.

Such was the desperation of Worcester's play that everything they did seemed to go wrong. The usually solid pair of Earl Va'a and Alistair Murdoch both spilled the ball at vital moments while the general passing became rushed as the players saw the sands of time running out.

Tuipulotu slotted home a penalty to bring hopes of a possible draw but soon after he missed another as any thoughts of a last-gasp victory died. As the final whistle went, Moseley erupted as if they had won the championship and the crowd joined them in saluting their heroes. It was a well-deserved victory for their part-time heroes who looked like a team rather the 15 individuals from Sixways.

For Worcester it is now a case of how they react to the setback against London Welsh on Saturday but if they cannot perform week in, week out it could be they who are saying buenas noches to their title hopes come February.

Worcester: Back; Tuipulotu, Murdoch, Keil, McLean, Va'a, Jarman (Simpson-Daniel 50); Windo, Lamerton (Moretti 35), Hartland, Sims, Zaltzman, Evans (Broughton 69), Carter, Fryday.