A momentous night at the Autotech Stadium saw Solihull Moors home victorious in their first ever televised football match thanks to another four goal haul courtesy of Akwasi Asante’s hat-trick and an Omari Sterling-James finish.
The result left Moors two points from a top half position as they showed the credentials not just to survive relegation back to the Conference North but also the ruthlessness that could ensure their first season in the National League does not become their only in England’s fifth tier.
Marcus Bignot named an unchanged starting XI from the victory on Maidstone United’s artificial surface and was justly rewarded by a performance firstly of grit followed by deserved goals against a talented but youthful Southport side that were forced into wearing the Moors’ old away kit due to the referee deeming their luminous green kit to clash with the home team’s yellow and blue hooped jersey.
Southport were sat second bottom of the division before the game with former Kidderminster Harriers boss Steve Burr looking to turn perennial relegation candidates into an outfit more in tune with that of their 7th place finish in 2011-12. His side possesses plenty of talented youngsters but in what swapped between a 4-2-4 and 4-3-3 system, Southport lacked power and aggression relying on the experience of left-back Neil Ashton and 39 year-old former Bradford City League Cup final midfielder Gary Jones.
The first half was a tighter affair, albeit one that Moors had the better of. Liam Daly was a man mountain in defence while Byrne and Beswick patrolled the midfield with their ever-present qualities, Osborne being the man to drive at the opposition and make things happen. Unfortunately the final ball would not quite fall and when it did, nobody could quite hit the back of the net.
The half became one of frustration as Osborne powered through midfield but could not find a final delivery, Murombedzi regular found his tracks halted by Ashton, Sterling-James was closed down quickly and Asante found little in the way of delivery coming his way, missing one glorious chance when he shot straight at the keeper when the dinked finish may have been the wiser option. Osborne dragged an effort wide and deliveries from set-pieces were not made the most of.
It took just five minutes of the second half for the game to finally come to life. Connor Franklin’s long throw caused more problems for the Southport defence who could not hold on this time, Asante poking home to put the home side one-nil up.
This was followed by a nasty challenge on Osborne that saw bodies surround the referee though nothing much came of it. It appeared that Andrai Jones, the formerly Barnsley youngster, was moved into an attacking quartet as Southport chased the game only for Moors to gain even more control of the midfield, Jones and Lussey simply outnumbered as Beswick and Osborne pushed onto the pairing, Byrne picking up the scraps and moving the ball quickly.
Surprisingly it took until the 70th minute for the home side to finally get a second. Neil Ashton was forced into chasing centrally as the home team countered, Sterling-James was to receive the ball in the hole left and struck home from 20 yards unchallenged.
If the game was not already over by this point, Asante certainly made sure of it when he peeled off the last defender to calmly slot home Ryan Beswick’s through ball. The ever-popular Freed from Desire made for the Moors number 7’s trisyllabic surname. On fire indeed.
Southport had made their three substitutions but Declan Weeks, James Gray nor Bobby Moseley could inspire a comeback of sorts and the game finished off with eight minutes to go, Asante peeling off a tired defence once more to latch onto a glorious pass over the top of the defence from Jack Byrne. Under control, the finish was never in doubt as the former Birmingham City youngster made it consecutive hat-tricks.
As chants of ‘Asante’s on fire’, ‘olay’ and the brilliant ‘you’re not fit to wear our shirts’ filled the air freezing air of the night, referee Thomas Bramall called a halt to proceedings to leave the majority of the 772 crowd heading home delighted by a magnificent showing that lifted Bignot’s men to 13th.
There is no question that Solihull Moors are amongst the smallest clubs to play in the fifth tier of the English game yet under the lights on BT Sport they showed viewers that they showed the ruthlessness that has set them on the path for the most exciting season in the club’s short history.
Moors: Vaughan 6; Fagbola 6, Daly 7, Gough 7, Franklin 7; Byrne 7; Murombedzi 6 (Knights 83), Beswick 7, Osborne 7, Sterling-James 7; Asante 9 (White 86)
Were you at the game? What did you make of Solihull Moors’ performance? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
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