Gary Johnson’s side will be on the road Tuesday, as they head up the M5 to face Solihull Moors.
United face their second away trip in three days when they face Solihull Moors at the ARMCO Arena on Tuesday night, with both sides needing the points for different reasons.
Who’s the Boss?
Having arrived at the ARMCO Arena last summer, Neal Ardley went within a whisker of securing promotion for Solihull at the first time of asking, as his side fell at the final hurdle, with Grimsby coming from behind to seal a 2-1 win, and with it, a place in the EFL at The Moors’ expense.
It is for an eleven-year spell at Wimbledon FC that Ardley the player is perhaps best remembered for, as ‘The Crazy Gang’ made a habit of upsetting their more prestigious Premier League opponents for the best of a decade. After serving Watford, Cardiff and Millwall prior to retirement, he returned to Wimbledon – this time ‘AFC’ of course – to cut his managerial teeth in 2012.
Neal’s six years in the dugout for the new club proved to be just as memorable as the were on the pitch for the old one, initially leading them to League Two safety, before leading them to promotion via the play-offs, courtesy of a 2-0 win over Plymouth Argyle at Wembley in May 2016.
After going their separate ways two years later, it wouldn’t be long before relegation-haunted Notts County came calling, and although he was unable save the Club from dropping out of the Football League for the first time, he came within one match of instantly redressing that balance, with the National League Promotion Final to be his nemesis – not for the last time – as Harrogate pipped County to the final EFL promotion slot following a 3-1 win at a behind-closed-doors Wembley.
With his departure from Meadow Lane coming the following March, Neal will be now be looking to go one step further with his current club this time around.
How have they been doing?
The Moors started the season in good form suffering only one defeat in their first nine games, and that coming at Meadow Lane in a 1-0 defeat to Notts County. Another good run of results followed before Solihull hit November where they only managed to get one point from their four league games, with that being a 0-0 draw at Maidstone.
Two defeats to Wrexham over the Christmas period led the Midlands club onto another bad patch of form, and since the turn of 2023 in their 14 league and cup games played, they have drawn three and won three with the latest win being Saturday’s 2-0 victory at home to Maidstone. Solihull find themselves in 13th place on 45 points with 12 wins, 9 draws and 14 defeats from their 35 games played so far this season.
Player to watch
Joe Sbarra is an attacking midfielder that came through the youth ranks at both West Bromwich Albion and then Burton Albion. It was while at the Brewers that Sbarra signed his first contract with the League One club, where he went on to make nearly 50 appearances and scoring one goal, that being in a 2-2 draw with Portsmouth in the 2019/20 season. It was during the tail end of the 2018/19 season that the midfielder was first on Solihull’s radar, when he had a six match loan spell with the Moors, and it was upon his release from Burton that they signed the 24 year old on a free transfer, giving him a two year deal. In over 100 games for the club he has scored over 30 goals, with the latest being in their 2-0 win at home to Maidstone on Saturday.
Played for Both
Opi Edwards came through the ranks at Bristol City before signing his first professional contract in 2017 and he stayed at Ashton gate until 2021. During his time with the Robins Edwards had loan spells at Bath City (twice) and Solihull Moors, before he came to Plainmoor in his first loan spell scoring three goals in 13 games in the 2018/19 season. A second loan spell the following season brought him another two goals in seven games, before he was released by Bristol City in 2021. The midfielder joined Forest Green Rovers upon his release from Ashton Gate, but injury saw him unable to break into the Forest Green side, which brought Opi back to Plainmoor for a third loan spell in which he made another six appearances for the club. In September 2022 Edwards crossed the Atlantic where he currently plays for MLS Next Pro club Rochester New York F.C.
Previous Encounter
Solihull Moors 1 – 2 Torquay United, Tuesday 23rd February 2021, National League.
United skipper Asa Hall fired home from the spot once again to give his side a first half advantage, before that lead was extended through Billy Waters just past the hour mark. A late red card for Shaun MacDonald, followed by a response from Moors’ Alex Gudger signalled some frayed nerves as the match clock went into three figures, however The Gulls held on to record three crucial points to maintain their lead at the top of the table.