County have the chance to bounce straight back from Friday’s defeat at Grimsby Town, but face a tough test against Neil Ardley’s resilient and in-form Solihull Moors side on Bank Holiday Monday.
That ten-man defeat at Blundell Park was our first in the National League since December 11th, bringing to an end a run of an 18-game unbeaten run consisting of 17 wins.
Thankfully for County, results elsewhere saw Monday’s opponents Solihull held closest challengers Wrexham to a 1-1 draw at The Racecourse, whilst Halifax also drew at Altrincham, meaning the damage to our lead at the top was minimal.
We now sit seven points clear at the top with just seven games remaining, and require a maximum of 14 points to reclaim our place back in the Football League. Three points on Monday would be a big step towards that target.
It won’t be easy against this Solihull side however, whose point at Wrexham saw them extend their unbeaten league run to 16 games – now the longest current run without defeat in the division after our loss on Friday. They currently sit 4th in the National League, and are still in with a shout of securing a top three finish.
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Since we last met:
Paddy Madden’s looping header at Damson Park secured a crucial 1-0 win in our final game of 2021, to move us above Solihull on goal-difference, and up into the play-off places for the first time all season. We certainly haven’t looked back ever since.
That loss for Solihull was soon followed up with a 2-0 defeat away at Bromley, to leave the Midlands side outside the play-off places by two points, having played two games more than the sides above them.
Since that day, however, Neil Ardley’s side have really shown their quality with a run of ten wins, six draws and no defeats – all but securing them a place in the top seven come the end of the season.
Although those draws have kept them out of serious title contention, trailing County by nine points having played a game more, they have proven to be more than a match for many of the sides around them in the league table – in the last few weeks alone they have claimed draws away at both Halifax and Wrexham.
Their form away from home has been impressive throughout the season; only County have picked up more points on their travels than Solihull’s 34 – whilst in the FA Cup they also took League One leaders Wigan Athletic to a replay after claiming a 0-0 draw at the DW Stadium.
In Andrew Dallas, they also have a striker who’s been in lethal form of late. Despite scoring just three times in his first 21 appearances for the club this season, a five-goal haul against Dover in January has sparked a remarkable run of 14 in his last 16 games. Only Paddy Madden, Paul Mullin and Kabongo Tshimanga have scored more than him this season.
With a ten point cushion between themselves and 8th-place Dagenham, their attention can now surely start to turn towards another play-off campaign at the end of the season. With seven games to go though, the side will be desperate to go on and secure a top three finish, and with it home advantage in the play-off semi-finals.
If they can manage to come away from the home of the league leaders having extended their unbeaten run to 17 games, they will have every reason to believe that a first ever promotion to the Football League could be on the cards.
One to watch:
Andrew Dallas leads the way in the goalscoring charts for the Moors this season after his recent goalscoring blitz, but the man just behind him has been in superb form all season long.
Midfielder Joe Sbarra scored his 15th National League goal of the season against Wrexham on Friday, and is a key player in the middle of the park for this Solihull side.
The 23-year-old has experience of playing in League One and the Championship during his time at Burton Albion, making over 50 appearances for the Club, and has really shown his pedigree in the National League this season.
Match Stats:
- Having won only one of the first nine meetings between the two sides, County have now won the last two – both of them coming at Damson Park. We will be looking to secure a first home win against the Moors since March 2015.
- Dave Challinor has yet to lose a home league game during the 2021/22 season, during his time at Hartlepool (six wins and a draw) and at County (ten wins and two draws).
- Paddy Madden’s assist for Scott Quigley’s goal on Friday made it six goals and four assists in the Irishman’s last seven National League games.
