Bliss start for Magpies but Moors share the spoils
Maidenhead United FC
Solihull Moors 1, Maidenhead Utd 1 Maidenhead United were left to rue a series of missed chances as Solihull Moors fought back to equalise late on and secure a 1-1 draw on Saturday.
Alan Devonshire’s side were forced to weather an early storm, with a series of Moors chances cleared off the line, however, they took the lead in the 29th minute when Nathan Blissett capitalised on an error by Moors keeper
Ryan Boot to hook the ball home.
James Comley’s corner should have been a routine take for the experienced keeper, but the ball slipped through his fingers under pressure and Blissett reacted quickest to slot the ball into the corner of the net.
Blissett thought that he had scored a spectacular second with a long-range strike in the 36th minute, but the goal was ruled out for a handball by Blissett in the build-up.
It looked a harsh call from the sidelines, with the Magpies bench feeling the striker unintentionally handled the ball before blasting it into the net.
Maidenhead improved in the second half but failed to take several chances which would surely have killed off the contest. Leftback George Wells went the closest with a shot that deflected onto the crossbar, and they were left to rue those chances when Jamie Ward was afford enough space to drill the ball past Taye Ashby-Hammond with around seven minutes to play.
The hosts flew out of the blocks on Saturday, keen to avenge their 3-1 defeat to the Magpies earlier in the season. On that day Sammy Barratt scored a hattrick for the home side, netting twice from the spot, but he was unavailable for the Magpies due to injury, so manager Alan Devonshire opted to partner the in-form Danilo Orsi-Dadomo with Blissett in attack.
Moors went close on a few occasions early on with defender Tyrone Williams seeing his effort cleared off the line before James Ball’s shot was blocked. In their most recent matches Maidenhead have been guilty of defensive lapses but they showed their resolve as Moors set up camp in their 18-yard box in the early stages. The home side continued to press even after falling behind, but fortunately Manny Parry was in the right place at the right time to clear another attempt off the line in the 40th minute.
With Josh Coley replacing
Ryan Upward at the interval, the Magpies looked much sharper in attack throughout the second half. After Gleeson swung a shot wide for the home side, Remy Clerima went close on his return to the side from injury, with a shot that rolled just wide of the post before Wells’ effort cannoned back off the crossbar. OrsiDadomo rolled another shot narrowly wide of Boot’s post on the hour mark and Blissett headed Wells’ free-kick off target nine minutes later.
A speculative effort from Wells very nearly caught Boot off his line, but the ball cleared the crossbar. Dan Sparkes also thumped a shot wide and, on another day, Maidenhead would have won this game with something to spare, however, in the 83rd minute Ward equalised with a low strike into the bottom corner. Blissett might have restored the Magpies lead late on but his shot from Sparkes’ pass could only find the side-netting.