Moseley 27

Esher 15

Three times now this season Moseley have run hard, straight and right over Esher, once more and the job will be done.

But once more it must be. As much as everyone would like to believe Kevin Maggs's men have assured themselves of their rightful place in the Championship, there are still dots and crosses to be added.

Mose will try to administer those at Molesey Road next Saturday, where they have won on their last two visits and for all the talk about big pitches, large in-goal areas and last chance saloons, Moseley know what they need to do.

Exactly what they did here, which was send their ball-carriers hard, low and route one towards the Esher try line and wait for the door to cave in.

This was not an occasion for picked locks, though David Lyons and Paul Spivey were undoubtedly the pick of the locks, it was abrasive, confrontational and direct. The door had to be kicked in.

And so it was, for the first 60 minutes the Red and Black hordes came wave after wave and basically pummelled Esher into submission.

If it wasn't Neil Mason charging on, it was Colin Quigley, or Ben Pons, or Mike Ellery or Lyons or Spivey and in truth Moseley could, nay should have been out of sight by half time.

As it was they worked tries for Greg King and Lyons but they had plenty of opportunities for more as either their set-piece or handling wobbled at a decisive juncture.

No matter, this match was always going to be about who started the better. Had it been Esher they would have been just 40 minutes from dragging Moseley back into a relegation dog-fight.

But it was Kevin Maggs's side and their physicality subdued Esher and made sure it was a comfortable afternoon and that the only team that finished the day embroiled in a relegation dog fight left on a bus back down the M40.

Indeed the first hour, in which Mose built a 27-10 lead, meant they could take their foot off the pedal in the final quarter as their supporters were spared an anxious finish.

To be fair to Esher they actually fought back well in the closing stages and strangely might have nicked a loss bonus had Anthony Carter not knocked down a last-minute scoring pass.

But that would have been a travesty because the visitors had long since lost the battle even if Moseley frustratingly didn't go on and secure their own bonus point.

They will perhaps reflect that they might have gone for the corner instead of goal on the hour as the visitors had a man in the sin bin and had already conceded one catch and drive try to Adam Caves.

But such things are niceties. This was a match for winning, be it by three points or 30 and in doing just that Moseley are within grasp of safety.

MOSELEY: Carter; Thomas, King, Reay, Hunt (Robinson 68); Davies, Glynn (Brown 72); Gadd (Fairbrother 69), Caves, Quigley (ODonnell 74), Lyons, Spivey (Sanderson 43), Mason (Maltman 68), Pons, Ellery (Tyas 26-32 62)

ESHER: Daniels (Hylton 57); Stegmann, Cheeseman, Cruickshanks, MacKenzie P; Atkinson (Little 63), MacKenzie J (Stuart-Smith 57); Millard (Mayhew 54), Campbell (Corrigan 54), Elosu (Millard 57-61), Kench, Inglis, Alexander (Synnott 61), Stitcher, MacFarlane (Barker 63)

Referee: Ross Campbell (RFU)