It’s a third consecutive loss for former FC Halifax Town boss Chris Millington against his former side and an excellent away performance from the Shaymen, which was topped off by an outstanding free kick from Tommy McDermott, who found the back of the net for the first time since joining Town.
The first chance of the afternoon fell for Solihull Moors in the 2nd minute, and it was Joe Sbarra with a well-hit volley from the edge of the 6-yard box, but it was equally met by True Grant, who turned the ball out for a corner.
The next opportunity of the game went to the Shaymen in the 12th minute when Raheem Conte found acres of space on the left-hand side and whipped an excellent cross that found Tommy McDermott just inside the penalty area, but McDermott’s effort crashed against the crossbar and out for a goal kick.
The Shaymen found the back of the net in the 16th minute when Ben Tollitt put Connor Carty through with a brilliant through ball; Carty then found the bottom left corner, only to be disappointed when he turned to find the linesman who had raised his flag moments prior, which was a rather controversial decision amongst the Town supporters in the away stand.
An early substitution unfortunately arrived for Solihull Moors in the 19th minute due to an injury issue: Chey Dunkley was replaced by Alex Whitmore.
A huge chance came for the Shaymen in the 29th minute when Tollitt put a perfect cross along the six-yard box and found McDermott on his own at the back post with a free shot on goal, but he failed to hit the target.
The Shaymen continued to dominate the chances on goal when Tollitt once again found space on the left-hand side in the 33rd minute and placed his shot to the keeper’s right but failed to produce any power behind his effort to trouble the Solihull number one.
The last chance of the game once again went in favour of FC Halifax Town, and it was Max Bardell who met a Cody Johnson corner, but his headed effort lacked any real direction or power to beat Max Metcalfe
The Shaymen carried on in the second half the way they ended the first, creating a big opportunity in the first few minutes after the restart; the ball bundled its way through the 6-yard box and found McDermott free once again, but again he couldn’t beat the goalkeeper.
Town then had a free kick opportunity in the 50th minute, and it was Tollitt who hit the set piece to the goalkeeper’s left with a decent amount of power, but it was an excellent save from solid shot-stopper Max Metcalfe.
John McGrath’s side then broke the deadlock in the 55th minute when Cruz Allen picked up a loose ball after a mix-up in the Solihull back line and broke through one-on-one with the goalkeeper, only to place the ball with ease past Metcalfe and into the bottom left corner.
Tommy McDermott then struck a beautiful free kick into the top left corner a few minutes later for the Shaymen’s second of the game and McDermott’s first goal since he signed for the Shaymen, just after he won the free kick himself moments prior.
Another opportunity went to FC Halifax Town in the 66th minute, but Connor Carty’s effort left the crossbar reverberating and away from danger.
Solihull captain found lots of space on the left-hand side in the 75th minute but stuck high and wide, which left True Grant comfortable.
Town goalscorer Cruz Allen then left the field in the 79th minute for David Kawa, along with Tollitt for Owen Bray and Carty for Amari Morgan Smith, to make a Shaymen triple substitution.
Both sides received a yellow card for the first time in the 87th minute after an altercation in the centre of the pitch between Tyler French of Solihull and Connor Douglas of FC Halifax Town, who both found their way into the referee’s book.
The referee then blew his whistle to end an excellent away display from the Shaymen to delight the 149 away supporters.
Onto next Saturday now for the Shaymen, with a tough home fixture against Gateshead on John McGrath’s calendar.
Solihull Moors:
1 Max Metcalfe, 4 Jamie Andrews, 5 Jevon Mills, 7 Joe Sbarra, 8 Scott High (c), 9 Jacob Wakeling, 15 Matty Carson (21 Oscar Rutherford 69), 24 Carter Pinnington (29 Junior Tiensia 46), 25 Florent Hoti (20 Rio Shipston 69), 26 Tyler French, 33 Chey Dunkley (6 Alex Whitmore 20)
Subs: 12 Nat Ford, 18 Ryan Woods, 30 Flynn Coffey
FC Halifax Town
33 True Grant, 2 Max Bardell, 8 Will Flint, 5 Shaun Hobson, 3 Raheem Conte, 4 Will Hugill (21 Theo Wainman 90 +2), 30 Cody Johnson (c), 24 Tommy McDermott (11 Connor Douglas 65), 27 Cruz Allen (22 David Kawa 78) 17 Ben Tollitt (7 Owen Bray 78), 9 Conor Carty (14 Amari Morgan-Smith 79)
Subs: 1 Sam Johnson, 23 Dylan Crowe
Referee: Callum Jones
Goals: Allen 55, McDermott 60
Yellow Cards: Douglas 88, French 86
Red Cards: None
Attendance: 966 (149 away)
Solihull Moors 0 FC Halifax Town 2
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