MANAGER Tim Flowers was left thrilled after Adi Yussuf’s stoppage-time winner took Solihull Moors joint-top of the league on Saturday, level with Leyton Orient – ahead of welcoming AFC Fylde this weekend.
Yussuf’s intervention in the 93rd minute gave Moors a priceless three points in their promotion push, with a glance at the league table suddenly hitting home for fans just how much progress has been made this season, leaving Solihull to dare to dream at the summit of the National League.
An Adrian Clifton penalty levelled the scores before the break, after Liam Daly’s header on the half-hour mark had given the visitors a lead days after committing his future to the Moors, leaving for the dramatic finish at York Road.
Flowers was full of praise for his side’s ability to constantly grind out results, but does not think that it is by any means a fluke that the Moors sit where they are at present in the league standings.
“I couldn’t be happier with where we are. I think we’ve certainly surprised a lot of people,” he said.
“There’s a lot of people who say a lot of things about the way we play, but it doesn’t really matter to me. I’m not bothered.
“I look at a team that churn results out. When the going’s good, we can play football as well as any other team in this division.
“When it’s not there to play, we can also play the other side.”
The Solihull boss even went on to draw comparison to his playing day’s as part of Blackburn’s Premier League title winning side in 1994/95.
“The best team that I ever played in in my career as a player could do that. They could mix it if they had to and they could play football if they had to.
“There’s nothing ever handed out in the middle of January. There’s a long way to go and a lot of people will want to tread over the top of us.”
Moors and Maidenhead exchanged chances in the opening minutes of the game, Nathan Blissett heading from a promising position from Jamie Reckord’s cross, whilst Alan Massey clashed a shot against the post for the hosts.
A corner which saw Alex Gudger flick the ball on fell for Daly, and he sent his shot through a number of players in the congested penalty area for the opening goal.
Darren Carter’s foul brought a Maidenhead leveller through Clifton’s penalty, and it led the Moors to chase hard for the win after the interval.
Jermaine Hylton went closest for the visitors when blasting against the frame of goal, Luke Maxwell having his rebound blocked for a corner, whilst Blissett spurned a couple of chances with time running out for a decider.
However, when Jamey Osborne’s effort was tipped away into Yussuf’s path, he was never going to pass up the opportunity, converting the rebound to send Moors fans into raptures right at the death.
Flowers was expectedly enthused by Yussuf’s late winner and the impact that any of his squad can have on the game.
“We hit the woodwork ourselves, possibly could’ve had a penalty and, in the end, it just took a super strike from the edge of the box and Yussuf did what a number nine should do – follow in and expect something to drop, and it did drop.
“I’ve got full trust in anything that I need to put on – that was proved today. Jermaine (Hylton) came on and he’s blistering quick and he causes another sort of problem for defenders.
“We’ve got to make sure that we concentrate fully on Fylde at home next week, work hard during the week and see if we can go and get a result.”
AFC Fylde currently sit in fourth place, and visit The Automated Technology Group Stadium on Saturday (3pm), with a huge three points up for grabs for both sides.
