Match Report: Moors vs AFC Fylde
Solihull Moors suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of AFC Fylde at Damson Park, leaving Chris Millington's side bottom of the National League table after losing each of the first five fixtures in the competition.
An even start to the game saw both sides struggle to create clear-cut chances. The only Moors effort of note in the first was a cheeky attempt from Jacob Wakeling from near the halfway line, his effort going just wide, to the relief of AFC Fylde goalkeeper Zac Jones.
A neat interchange in midfield saw Greg Olley put through on goal, the Fylde man firing well over from distance.
By the 20th minute, Fylde had ready been forced into two substitutions due to injuries, but rather than hamper the away side, it seemed to galvanise them.
A flurry of chances fell to Craig Mahon's men, Max Metcalfe dealing with a couple of efforts from outside the box, aswell as the Coasters hitting the woodwork on three occasions as they caught The Moors backline out several times with long diagonals and through-balls.
The first effort came from a cross-field pass, and landed at the feet of a Fylde winger. The Fylde man cut inside and unleashed a terrific curling effort that hit the crossbar.
The second was Adam Lewis, who found himself in space on the right and poked a shot goalwards, beating Metcalfe, but seeing the ball come back off the post before been cleared for a corner. The resulting corner was played short and laid back to the taker, who took a touch inside, and bent an incredible curling effort off the bar yet again.
Jamie Andrews was busy in the midfield, coming out on top of a number of committed challenges, his tireless workrate allowing High and Sbarra to focus more on creating openings for their side.
It was a crunching Andrews tackle that led to a decent chance for Jacob Wakeling, the ball got played out to Joe Sbarra who, after some nice footwork, sent the striker through on the left, only for his powerful shot to hit the side-netting.
GOAL - 34' Fylde. A corner at the other end of the pitch fell nicely for Rio Shipston, the midfielders attempt was blocked well and collected by Fylde keeper Jones, who then launched a long ball over the top of The Moors defence. Metcalfe raced out of his box and attempted to head the ball clear, but was undone by an awkward bounce, the ball glancing off his head and Fylde's Harvey Broad was more than happy to run past and roll the ball into an empty net. It was very harsh on Solihull's number 1, who has been one of the bright sparks of the season so far. 0-1
GOAL - 42' Fylde. Jack Morris was played through one-on-one with Metcalfe and made no mistake as he calmly slotted into the bottom corner to put his side two goals ahead. 0-2
Scott High sent a free-kick inches over the post as we looked to halve the deficit just before half-time.
GOAL - 51' Moors. The second half kicked off with Solihull knowing they needed something special to turn the game around, and as he has so many times already this season, Wakeling was the man to produce it. The forward headed in from close-range following a flick-on from a corner.
The home crowd, who unfortunately haven't had too much to cheer about so far this season, began to believe the comeback was on, turning the volume up as The Moors drove forward. Wakeling in particular, playing like a man possessed, pressed the Fylde defence and started to get some joy and force mistakes. Whatever Millington had said at half-time clearly worked wonders as his side were transformed.
A superbly timed challenge by Andrews in the box denied a great Fylde chance about 10 yards out, the ball then finding its way to Wakeling, who charged up the pitch on a one-man mission, before cutting in and unleashing a fierce low drive that was well held by the keeper.
Wakeling was at the heart of everything, forcing a mistake from the central defender before racing down the left and having a powerful strike well saved by Jones. High then had the goal at his mercy as the save landed at his feet, only to smash over the bar from 8 yards out.
GOAL - 59' Fylde. Luca Thomas scored Fylde's third goal on the counter. They worked the ball into the box, and after failing to be cut out, it fell nicely to Thomas, one of the enforced early substitutes, who thundered home, leaving Metcalfe with no chance. 1-3
With the steam knocked out of the Moors after the goal, Wakeling dropped deeper to get himself on the ball more now that Ben Wodskou and Callum McFarlane were on the pitch, with our goalscorer intent on inflicting more damage on the Fylde defence in another lively performance.
McFarlane created another good chance for Wakeling, the forward attacking the ball at the near post and seeing his shot deflected out, only for the officials to give a goal kick rather than a corner.
Tyrell Warren did well to chip a cross onto the head of Joe Sbarra, who was desperately unlucky to see his header hit the bar. A couple of ferociously whipped in corners from substitute Matty Carson led to scrambles in the box, but the Moors were unable to find a finishing touch.
Jevon Mills had a goal bound effort cleared off the line, the ball then falling to Wodskou who smashed narrowly wide as another good chance went begging.
Justin Hanks came on in the 80th minute to make his Moors debut. His first action of note was a missile of a throw, that was flicked onto Wodskou, the striker heading over the bar when well placed, before another throw-in led to a half chance for High, but the ball bounced awkwardly. Hanks, a summer recruit from Nottingham Forest will surely be looking to put those long-throws to good use after causing so much havoc with them in the oppositions box.
The last Moors attack saw Andrews swing a dangerous cross in from the right that was well dealt with by Jones in the final minute of added time.
Ultimately it was another frustrating afternoon for Solihull, but the second half performance in particular will be hugely encouraging in this tough period. Thank you as always for your unwavering support. We look forward to to welcoming you back to Damson Park💛💙
Sponsors man of the match - Jacob Wakeling
Our next National League fixture is an away game that sees us make the trip up to Gateshead on Saturday 5th September. Kick-off - 3pm.
To purchase coach tickets for this fixture, please visit the link below -
https://solihullmoorsfc.ticketco.events/uk/en/e/gateshead_coach_away_travel_2627?version=m
Coach Prices -
18-21 Coach Travel
£27.00
Adult Coach Travel
£32.00
U18's Coach Travel
£22.00
COYM💛💙
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