SPOT-ON MOORS SO CLOSE TO WEMBLEY
SOLIHULL Moors held their nerve from the penalty spot to reach the semi-finals of the Isuzu FA Trophy for the first time ever.
The Stones took the lead courtesy of Max Kretzschmar on 14 minutes but Moors were level 11 minutes later through Callum Maycock.
Both goalkeepers played their part in ensuring parity and taking the game to penalties with Solihull winning through after new signing Manny Duku – who only arrived this week from FA Cup kings Maidstone United – blasted his spot-kick onto the crossbar.
Solihull assistant manager Craig Pead revealed the team had prepared for the likelihood of a penalty shootout.
“We always had penalties in our minds. We wrote down a list of takers and then when it actually comes down to it - you kind of want to look the players in the eyes a little bit and see who comes out and says ‘I’m ready to take one’.
“To be fair, pretty much all of them said they wanted to take a penalty. It shows you their character, shattered but they all wanted to take one.”
A competitive and feisty affair saw Moors threaten largely on the counter attack with Joe Sbarra, Jack Stevens, and the towering hold up play of striker Mark Beck causing plenty of problems.
David Noble’s men, however, absorbed the pressure well and took the lead with a counter of their own.
Duku capitalised on a slipping Solihull defence to control a long ball forward and coolly played in Kretzschmar, who coolly rounded keeper Nick Hayes and slotted into an open goal.
Moors, however, seemed relatively unfazed by the goal and after Matty Warburton forced a fine stop from Marcus Dewhurst , they found reprieve when Maycock converted from a tight front post angle following Sbarra’s right wing centre.
Both goalkeepers were proving difficult to beat.
On 74 minutes, Hayes tipped a Duku effort smartly round the post and with five minutes left to play, Dewhurst emphatically returned the favour with a brilliant sequence – stopping Warburton not once, but twice, much to the striker’s despair.
Warburton did find the target with the first kick of the shootout before Hayes denied Kretzschmar in agile fashion.
Solihull’s Tyrese Shade and Wealdstone’s Sam Bowen both scored their kicks. Sbarra, Aaron Henry and Beck all notched for Moors but the Stones were handed a lifeline when Dewhurst kept out James Clarke’s kick.
But with Duku eyeing immediate hero status, he blasted his penalty on to the crossba, breaking Wealdstone hearts and sending Solihull back to the West Midlands with Wembley firmly in their sights.