Moseley 27

Doncaster Knights 15

Anthony Carter would not have chosen to wait until November to enjoy a first home victory with his new club but having been made to do so it could not have come in better fashion.

A fifth try of the season and a thumping victory over his former team-mates from Doncaster were about as good as the Welshman could have hoped for - particularly in light of recent happenings.

But the recovery that begun at Rotherham last Saturday, stepped up a notch at a dimly-lit Billesley Common as Moseley built up a 21-5 half-time lead and then did just enough to protect it during the inevitable Knights' comeback came.

They managed to do so thanks to a resolute second-half defensive performance and a cack-handed display from Doncaster, whose error-count was through the roof.

Lynn Howells' visitors really pushed out the boat when it came to ways in which to waste attacking positions, with fumbles, poor passes and a whole variety of infringements scuppering their attempts to reduce the deficit.

But this match was not about Doncaster, it wouldn't have been in victory and nor was it in defeat. It was about the direction of Moseley's season and Carter knew it.

"For Moseley this was a big game," the 29-year-old said. "We are in the second half of the season and we don't want to be in the bottom four. If we keep playing like that we will keep moving up the league.

"We have always believed in the boys in our changing room every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and every single one of them stood up.

"The support from outside the 22 this week has been tremendous and the result looked after itself with the performance and effort the boys put in.

"We wanted to gain some respect not just from Doncaster but we have been letting ourselves down and we wanted to respect each other, so we couldn't have asked for more," the centre said.

"The coaches have had a hard couple of weeks, we have been working hard behind the scenes and you have seen the result tonight. It doesn't matter who it was against we needed the win."

And now it has come and Moseley are just two points from the Championship Plimsoll Line, the confidence appears to be coursing through Ian Smith's squad.

Indeed they have such a spring in their step that they are not only viewing the future with more optimism, they are even having a go at re-writing the past too.

Viewed in the warm after glow of beating his former employers the pitiful offerings against Plymouth and London Welsh seemed a world away to Carter.

"There was no crisis," he insisted. "We knew what we had in the bank and if we kept working hard we knew we would produce it. Which is what we did tonight.

"We all know the talent within the room, it is just applying it on a Friday night or a Saturday. The boys did that, we believe in ourselves.

"Everyone worked hard for each other, that was a big win against a Doncaster team that is really on form and I am sure everyone around the league will sit up and notice that result."

MOSELEY: Thomas; Pons J, Carter, Reay, Gillick; Davies, Taylor; Voisey, Caves, Sigley (Williams N 64), Lyons (Stott 61), Spivey, Pons B (Mason 53), Maltman, Ellery. Replacements: Warner, De La Harpe, Borgen, MacBurnie

DONCASTER: McColl; Wright, Goss, Gidlow, Williams M; Roberts (Davey 60), Hallam; Frazier, Boden, Cusack (Thiede 61), Challinor, Kenworthy, Farivarz, Cochrane, Boyde (Walker 53). Replacements: Lawrie, Parsons, Flockhart, Briers

Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)