Solihull Moors v Aldershot Town Match Preview – Tuesday 12th February 2019
High-flying Solihull Moors visit the EBB Stadium on Tuesday night for our rearranged fixture. The Moors are currently sitting pretty in second place with the Shots at the opposite end of the table in 22nd place. Both sides fortunes showed this weekend with Solihull picking up a 1-0 win at Ebbsfleet United in a fiery game that saw four red cards and the Shots were beaten 3-1 at home by Eastleigh. Can the fortunes be overturned at the EBB Stadium tomorrow night? Chris Woods previews the action…
Shots Squad:
The Shots squad saw the return of Jake Cole and Scott Rendell as they were named on the bench against Eastleigh last Saturday, however Lewis Kinsella looks to be a further addition to the injury list after injuring his knee ligaments in the defeat. George Fowler and James Rowe remain on the long-term absentee list and Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong is also still injured. Shamir Fenelon is nearing a comeback and Reece Grant could also be included after missing the last two games with an infection.
Opposition:
Name: Solihull Moors FC
Founded: 2007
Nickname: The Moors
Manager: Tim Flowers
Stadium: Damson Park (Capacity: 3050)
2017-18 National League position: 18th
2018-19 National League position: 2nd
Brief History:
Solihull Moors FC were founded in 2007 following the merger of Moor Green and Solihull Borough and they took Moor Green’s place in the Conference North. Solihull were promoted from the National League North as champions in 2016. They finished 16th in the first season in the National League and 18th last season but under the management of Tim Flowers they have become promotion contenders and currently sit in second place.
The Gaffer:
Tim Flowers took over as Solihull boss in June 2018 after Mark Yates left the side to join National League champions Macclesfield Town. Flowers had previously been part of the backroom staff at Leicester City, Manchester City, Northampton Town, Nottingham Forest and Fulham as Goalkeeping Coach. Before joining Solihull, Flowers was Assistant Manager at Coventry City, QPR, Hull City and most recently Kidderminster Harriers. This is Flowers’ second managerial role after managing Stafford Rangers back in 2010-11.
Outgoings:
Moors released nine players at the end of last season, including Yates’ Player of the Year, right-back Kristian Green who joined Tamworth along with Paul Green, Chris Lait and Joel Kettle. Luke Benbow, Sheridan Martinez and Charlie Bannister all moved on, as did Simeon Maye and Ashley Sammons who both joined Rushall Olympic.
Incomings:
Flowers has brought nine players into the Damson Park over the summer, including 23-year-old goalkeeper Ryan Boot from Port Vale, defender Alex Gudger from Brackley Town, striker Kwame Thomas (Coventry City) and experienced striker Danny Wright from Cheltenham Town. During the season, Nathan Blissett joined just before Christmas from League Two side Macclesfield Town and Luke Maxwell made his loan move from Birmingham City a permanent one in January.
Referee:
Saturday’s referee is Carl Brook who has refereed two Aldershot games this season, both 2-1 victories over Sutton United and Eastleigh. In the home win over Sutton he sent off the U’s captain Jamie Collins. In the 17 games he has refereed this season he has issued 58 yellow cards and 7 red cards.
Commentary:
BBC Surrey Sport’s Rob Worrall and Shots legend Nikki Bull will be covering the game live on Tuesday night. Tune in to the BBC Sport website or BBC Sport App from 7.35pm for full match commentary. To interact with them, tweet @RobShot66.
Match Sponsors:
Tomorrow night’s Match Sponsor is Last of the Summer Wine and Ball Sponsor is Spedeworth Racing.
