A hat-trick from Akwasi Asante and a goal from Omari Sterling-James helped Solihull Moors complete a well-deserved 4-2 away win at Maidstone United. The win was our first for eight games and the first away win for us since the opening day.
The Moors made two changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Boreham Wood the previous week, with Omari Sterling-James and Akwasi Asante coming into the starting line-up in place of Darryl Knights and Harry White. Andy Brown remains out injured, while Jean Yves Koue-Niate was serving the final game of his three-match suspension.
The first-half saw a very lively affair, with both sides having chances early on. Jamey Osbourne and Liam Daly both missed good chances for the Moors, while Jordan Fagbola and Nathan Vaughan both had to be on hand to deny Maidstone an early lead.
But it was Maidstone who opened the scoring on the 20-minute mark. Stones winger Ben Greenhalgh crossed from the left and it found striker Liam Enver-Marum, who converted at the second attempt, with Vaughan having initially saved his first effort.
The lead didn`t last long though, as six minutes later Solihull found an equaliser. Shepherd Murombedzi won the ball down the middle of the pitch and then found Osbourne free on the right hand side, he then crossed to the far post, finding Omari Sterling-James, who volleyed superbly past Lee Worgan in the Maidstone goal. This was his second goal of the season, and his first since the opening day win at Sutton United.
The Moors continued to crank up the pressure, and in the 34th minute that pressure paid off. Akwasi Asante nicked the ball away from Maidstone`s Dan Sweeney in his own box, Sweeney then challenged and brought Asante down, resulting in a penalty. Asante picked himself up and coolly slotted the penalty past Worgan, sending the Stones keeper the wrong way in the process.
Soon after it was 3-1 to the Moors. Sweeney lost the ball once again, this time to Osbourne in the middle of the park, Osbourne then played a beautiful ball through to Asante who managed to beat the keeper with a low left-footed strike.
Maidstone pushed for a goal before half-time, and they were rewarded, with Greenhalgh once again assisting. His free-kick from the right corner of the pitch found Dan Sweeney, who somewhat atoned for his previous errors by powerfully heading the ball into the top corner of the net. This goal halved the deficit and saw us go into half-time with a 3-2 lead.
The second-half started as the first had ended, with both teams looking to push for that all important next goal, chances were created by both teams, but it was the Moors who got the sixth goal of the game in the 64th minute. Ryan Beswick won the ball from Jack Evans and his superb ball from the left found Asante through on goal and he once again slotted home past Worgan to make it 4-2. This was Asante and Solihull Moors` first National League hat-trick and it took Asante`s total to four league goals for the season, making him the Moors` joint top scorer with Andy Brown.
Maidstone tried to push for more goals to bring the game back, with Nathan Vaughan being forced into a couple of strong saves, but it wasn`t enough, as the Moors held on to a well-deserved and well-battled victory and took those all-important three points back to Damson Park.
The win puts us into 16th place in the league on 16 points, ahead of Tuesday night`s important home clash with 23rd place Southport. The game kicks-off at 19:45 and will also be a first in Solihull Moors` history, as we compete live on TV for the first time in our history, with the game being shown on BT Sport.
Solihull Moors Team: Vaughan, Murombedzi, Franklin, Daly, Gough, Asante (White 82), Byrne, Beswick, Fagbola, Osbourne, Sterling-James (Knights 85).
Were you at the game? What did you make of Solihull Moors’ performance? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Share this article
Related Articles
