It was snowing again, leaving a picturesque dusting of icing sugar on the already frosted roads and pavements. Another adventure, another challenge, we never set off with an expectation of three points, regardless of what the form tables say. Solihull is a funny place to go, sometimes we win, sometimes we lose, occasionally we come away with a point. Even the positive Shayman wasn’t too sure about this one, his usual crew had all given their excuses, so with no other option, he was in with us. Our 129-mile journey south would again contain memories of the glories of the Shaymen, almost promoted from the old third division with Derek Bell et al.
With a bit of research, we located perhaps the best chippy in England. It was in a quiet village alongside the A42. With only four customers in front of us, we considered the menu, anything from a giant fish to a battered burger. It was almost 45 minutes before we escaped, the owners, father and daughter, didn’t just ask what customers wanted, they wanted to know who it was for, and how were they doing, and did they have a nice Christmas. They have clearly been running the chippy for decades, real pillars of the community, even gifting Caroline at the front of the queue a free sausage for her dog Jess. Apparently, the dog’s not been too well…just give us the flipping chips, we all thought….
Solihull Moors have an excellent community engagement strategy. Once upon a time you could park at the ground for a nominal fee and not see any of the surrounding area. Now, with the new strategy, the prohibitive parking cost directs you to the local residential cul-de-sacs. Those residents would perhaps never previously have known about the local football team, now every driveway, junction and available space is occupied with football traffic. Poor old Margaret at Number 3 looked quite interested as we pulled up, she soon retreated to the shadows of her front room as Tesco Pete and the Positive Shayman emerged from the car. I guess she thought the bailiffs had arrived…
Without segregation we were free to watch the first half amongst the home fans behind the goal at the top end of the ground. We tested their friendliness within the first couple of minutes instinctively celebrating Town’s opener scored with a well taken shot that went in off the foot of the post. From then on Solihull held much of the possession with most of the play happening at the far end. There were a few blocks and shots that ended up in the woods behind the far goal, but nothing too serious.
At half time we exchanged ends, meeting up with the rest of the 137 travelling Shaymen. It’s probably the most central ground in the country with familiar faces from Bishop Stortford, Chesham, Luton and Worcester making the Journey, all accompanied by a bus load of Town fans from Halifax. Tesco Pete was in conversation with his mates from Nottingham University, promising that Sean, Matt, George, and Mark would get a mention. Some of them were cheering on the Shaymen for the very first time. Tesco Pete is always chatting to people at games, trouble is, he rarely knows the names of the people he’s talking to. I often ask him, and he says he’s no idea, test him next time you see him…
Town doubled their lead soon after the restart with a goal from the edge of the box. It was the first real attempt since the opener, two decent chances, two goals. Although Solihull had much of the possession, we felt relaxed in the away end, aware that the team looked solid and never likely to concede. A far cry from the tense play-off defeat last season.
With three points in the bag for a solid but unspectacular performance, we headed back home content with another great result.
Next up and we’re back down to the same area with a visit to Tamworth. On our last visit we scored six. A good reason for another decent away following. C’mon Shaymen.
Miles on the road: 4762. Goals on the road: 21. Points on the road: 26.
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