Match preview –Old Halesonians v Bees Saturday 20th February
Local derby next up for a rejuvenated Bees
A trip to Old Halesonians is the next challenge for a rejuvenated Birmingham & Solihull side this Saturday (20th February KO 2.15pm).
Four wins on the bounce has given the Bees side and their supporters a much needed fillip recently and they will travel to Wassell Grove in the hope of further extending their recent run of form which has lifted them out of the relegation zone.
Currently sitting in third spot in the league on 70 points – 10 points behind league leaders Hinckley and 7 points shy of second placed Scunthorpe, Old Hales for their part will been keen to keep their promotion hopes alive with a win on Saturday.
They come into the game on the back of two league wins themselves – a 26-45 away win at Sutton Coldfield last weekend, with a 13-3 home victory against Peterborough Lions the week before.
The men from Hagley have lost just five games all season – home and away to Scunthorpe, with defeats also on the road at Old Northamptonians and Hinckley. Their only other home defeat was at the hands of local rivals Bromsgrove
Old Halesonians came out on top when the two sides met in the league back in November.
The visitors ran out 7-25 winners at Portway in a game that was shaped by contrasting performances across two haves and two red cards. For the Bees, they will likely want to focus more on recent history rather than the disappointment of that result,
Certainly last week’s 17-7 defeat of top four side Nuneaton showed that the Bees have got the determination and ‘the dog’ to carve out wins against decent sides in wet and muddy conditions.
With a number of former Bees in the Old Hales squad and the prospect of it being the hors d'oeuvre for the North Midlands Cup Semi Final between the two sides on the 12th March, the game has all the ingredients for another fiercely contended encounter.
Willy & Spanner have made just two changes to the squad for this week’s game. Both the pack and the bench is unchanged, with fit again Jimmy Oliver and Arron Wilson coming in at inside and outside centre respectively.
Birmingham & Solihull team selected v Old Halesonians Saturday 20th February 2.15 pm KO:- Alex O’Malley, Sam Davenport, Arron Wilson, Jimmy Oliver, Nyle Beckett, Mitchell McGahan, Martin Hooker , Matt Tibbatts, Ashley Scriven, Darren Forder, Matt Spink, Chris Goddard ©, Pete Koziot, Zane Raimondi, Dan Toth. Replacements – Kurtis Payne, Michael Stephens and Chris Fensome.