War Memorial Athletic Ground Saturday, February 12th, 2022 k/o 15:00   FA Trophy Fifth Round Attendance: 1,762         Stourbridge 0-1 Solihull Moors
2021 /22

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A bobbly pitch and a swirling wind made the conditions a bit of a leveller between teams two levels apart. Moors scored early through Danny Newton and had other chances to score in the first 20 minutes. Stour battled away and kept the margin down to one goal, though they never looked like scoring until the final few minutes when the visitors'' keeper had to make a couple of saves and a goal-line clearance was also required to send Moors through to a quarter final away to Bromley. The ground is unusual, having spectators only on three sides due the adjacent presence of a cricket pitch. Fans could sit back on the benches in front of the pavilion to see the game provided they''d remember to bring their binoculars. Moors took 400 fans to this away cup game. The atmosphere was very lively, perhaps a bit too lively when the home fans launched a live smoke bomb into the away supporters'' section. Happily no-one was hurt either by this flare or by any of the 20p pieces also thrown in their direction - cheap skates! I thought those days were over. The only previous time I''d been nearly hit by a ''missile'' was at Burnden Park Bolton when Bristol City fans decided to throw a brick into the home supporters behind one goal. That was in 1979. Solihull Moors: Boot (GK), Clarke, Storer (c), Osborne (Sbarra 64), Barnett, Boyes, Malcolm (Maycock 64), Dallas, Ellis, Newton (Rooney 82), Maynard. It wasn''t a great game but the prelude to it was magnificent. Two pints of Batham''s Best Bitter at the Royal Exchange accompanied by one of their superb ham cobs. Marvellous!