Barwell dominate ten man Solihull Moors to book their place in the 4th qualifying round away at Droylesden.

In front of a crowd of 343, Barwell were never second best as they soaked up all that the visitors had to offer and themselves put the ball in the net on three occasions.

Barwell made a positive start and Scott Hadland, at his creative best, chipped the ball forward for Kev Charley to run onto within the first two minutes. However, as on many occasions, the defensive pair at the back for Solihull were to prove effective.

A number of free kicks at either end were well dealt with by the defensive pairs at both ends. After five minutes, Liam McDonald went close as he tried to side foot a ball that had been expertly fed through to him by Richard Blythe, dummied by Nigel Julien but his effort went narrowly over the bar.

As Ryan Beswick fed the ball to Simon Johnson, deputising for the injured Adam Cunnington, Liam Castle was able to gather his shot and rapidly played a long ball forward for Jamie Towers. Spotting the Solihull keeper, Jasbir Singh off his line he chipped but his attempt was just wide of the right post.

Castle was proving himself to be an excellent shot stopper as he coped well with a point blank shot from Matt West. His two armed save on seven minutes was well timed and he only conceded a corner.

Though both teams were making attempts forward, the two sets of defenders were equal to the task until the 18th minute. Jamie Towers crossed from the right as so many times before, the keeper made a half hearted attempt to gather the ball but it went through his hands and left Richard Blythe with the easiest of tap ins to open the scoring for Barwell.

With the home crowd in. rapture and the visitors in disbelief, Solihull responded strongly and just three minutes later, Junior English received the ball in the inside right position. His drive from eighteen yards sped firmly to into the net beating Castle’s left hand.

After 24 minutes, Jamie Towers was brought down on the edge of the box by Charlie O’Loughlin who was adjudged by the referee to be the last man. He therefore had no option but to send off the Solihull central defender. From the resultant free kick, Liam McDonald’s trusty left foot did not let him down and he played the ball into the top left hand corner of the net to regain the lead for Barwell.

Solihull looked visibly shaken by events and Barwell seemed to take control of the game for the rest of the half. With 37 minutes on the clock, Towers put the ball to McDonald who drilled it across the box. The ball ricocheted off Kev Charley’s head and it sped up and over the keeper to extend Barwell’s lead.

For the rest of the half, Solihull tried to break down the Barwell defence but Francino Francis and Nick Green were impenetrable.

Solihull changed their formation in the second half, playing three centrally at the back and reinforcing their midfield but Barwell were equal to this and were never really troubled throughout the second period.

From a McDonald free kick on the right hand side, the ball came in at pace but Singh only parried it. Fortunately, a defensive header was able to put the ball out for the corner after 48 minutes.

Solihull were riding their luck at times and an effort from Richard Blythe was headed away by Junior English with Scott Hadland bearing down on him. From the resultant corner, Francino Francis went close as he headed goalwards only to have his effort headed off the line by Phil Midworth.

With an hour elapsed, Joel Grandison combined well with Simon Johnson who had a snap shot from close range. His best however was not good enough and Liam Castle dealt well with the threat.

Following a foul by Simon Johnson on Francis, the referee had words with the visiting attacker. However, as he walked away, Johnson dissented and the referee showed him the first yellow card of the match after 64 minutes.

As the game entered its final quarter hour, Barwell increased the pressure on the Solihull goal with Charley and Julien both going close. Efforts by the Solihull forwards were quickly stamped out by the Barwell defence and Barwell showed that the best way to defend was by attacking.

After 79 minutes, Junior English brought down Liam McDonald for which he received a yellow card. Solihull did not give up and Henry Eze had a good attempt which was well saved by Castle. The keeper was called upon soon after to keep out a firm effort from English which he punched out from eight yards for the corner.

Following a goalmouth scramble, Castle had to be at the top of his game to quell an effort from English again as he dived at the forward’s feet and gathered at the second attempt with seven minutes left to play.

Solihull made a last ditch attempt two minutes into stoppage time as desperate defending by Francis kept the visitors’ attack at bay.

This was typical of his efforts which earned him Man of the Match.

In an action packed game with incidents at both ends, the efforts of the home side in the first half showed that Barwell are a force to be reckoned with as they progress to face Droylesden in the next round.

Team: Liam Castle, Scott Lower, Adam Wykes, Nick Green, Richard Blythe (Craig Dutton 90), Jamie Towers (Matt Bailey 70), Scott Hadland, Nigel Julien, Kev Charley (Lewis Dodd 80), Liam McDonald.
Subs not used: Wane Dyer, Tom Giddings, Ash Malhotra.
Goals: Blythe 18, McDonald 24, Charley 37.
Attendance: 343
Man of the Match: Francino Francis.