Table topping County welcome fellow promotion hopefuls Solihull Moors to Edgeley Park this weekend looking for a fifth straight National League win in what is arguably our toughest game of the campaign so far.
Despite bowing out of the FA Cup on penalties to Chesterfield on Saturday, our League win over the Spireites seven days earlier means County currently sit top of the National League table on goal difference five games in.
Like County, Solihull suffered defeat on opening day, falling to a 2-1 defeat away at Woking, but have since won every League game without conceding a goal. A 1-0 win over Boreham Wood in their last league outing leaving them fifth in the League table, three points behind County with a game in hand.
You can buy your streaming pass for this big game by clicking here.
Our Opponents:
A second place finish under manager (and former County ‘keeper) Tim Flowers in 2018/19, the Club’s highest ever league position, saw optimism high at Damson Park going into last season, despite missing out in the play-off semi-final to AFC Fylde.
Bolstered by the signing of striker Paul McCallum, who had scored 26 goals for Eastleigh the previous season, Moors got off to an impressive start with four wins and a draw from their first five games, which included a 6-1 win away at Chorley.
A 2-0 defeat at Woking, however, sparked a run of six games without a win, with just two goals scored in that time as they slipped into the bottom half – although that run did come to an end with a 2-0 win over County at Damson Park.
Blowing hot and cold quickly became a fixture of the Moors season. Another strong run in October and November meant that, after running out comfortable 4-1 winners at Edgeley Park, they had soared back up to 2nd at the half-way point of the season, just one point shy of leaders Barrow.
An impressive run to the second round of the FA Cup saw them meet Rotherham United for a place in round three, taking an extraordinary 3-0 lead over the League One side, before an astonishing late fightback from The Millers saw them go through 4-3 – a result that seemed to knock Tim Flower’s men off their stride.
A lack of goalscoring had become a real issue for the side – their final tally of 48 was the lowest in the top 14 of the table – and a run of five games without a goal in January proved to be the final straw for Flowers, who departed the Club by mutual consent after a 0-0 draw with Barrow left them ninth, one point off the play-offs.
Former West Brom coach and Kidderminster manager Jimmy Shan was brought in as his replacement, although there was little time for the ‘new manager bounce’ to take effect, with the season cancelled just four games into his reign, with a record of one win, one draw and two defeats leaving the side in ninth, three points behind County.
Transfer Activity:
It’s been a big summer of change for Solihull as Shan looks to put his own stamp on the team. With goalscoring being their Achilles heel last season – their joint top scorer was McCallum, who departed on loan to Barnet in January, with seven – the Moors have looked to revamp their forward line.
Five strikers have left over the Summer, with McCallum, Nathan Blisset, Matthew Stenson, Danny Wright and Jake Beesley all departing for pastures new, whilst first-choice left-back Jamie Reckford has joined Wrexham.
The most notable incoming actually came days before last season’s cancellation, as former Aberdeen and Salford City striker Adam Rooney joined on a two-year deal. The striker had to wait seven months to make his debut, but marked it by scoring the winning goal against Boreham Wood in their last league game, before adding another in their 4-0 Cup win over Wrexham on Saturday.
There will be some familiar faces lining up for the opposition on Tuesday, with 2008 play-off winner Stephen Gleeson signing from Aberdeen in the Summer, joining fellow former Hatters Jimmy Ball and Northern Ireland international Jamie Ward, who had a loan spell at Edgeley Park in 2006.
Match Stats:
- County will be looking to improve on a poor record against Solihull – of our eight league games against the Moors, we have won just once, with five defeats.
- Despite winning 4-1 at Edgeley Park last season, Solihull had one of the divisions worst away records last season, with just 18 points from 19 games on the road.
- Despite last season’s goalscoring issues, Solihull had the best defensive record in the National League last season, conceding 37 goals in their 38 games, whilst County are the top scorers in the National League so far this season.
- 12 points from the first five games is County’s best start to a League campaign since 1993/94, when County picked up 13 points under Danny Bergara in the Second Division.
In association with LV Bet.
