First Team
National League Sat 16 March Meadowbank Stadium
Dorking Wanderers
  • Prior (64')
1
Solihull Moors
  • Campbell (60')
1
1-1

With just one defeat in their last ten and an FA Trophy quarter final triumph a week ago, The Moors have the play-offs in their sights as they look to make the 2023/24 season a memorable one.

Andy Whing’s side, who sit in 4th going into the weekend’s round of fixtures, will arrive in Surrey on the back of a midweek triumph over Boreham Wood. Late goals from Callum Maycock and Tahvon Campbell made it back-to-back wins in the league The Moors – the latter netting his fifth goal in seven games for Solihull since singing from Rochdale last month.

Wanderers will be hoping to end a barren run of form which has seen them pick up zero points from a possible nine since their win over Chesterfield a fortnight ago. A trip to Southend on Tuesday concluded the last of three away trips in seven days for Marc White’s men, Gus Scott-Morris’ free-kick and a late Harry Cardwell strike consigning Dorking to defeat.

Keen to take positives from the performance, Marc White stated he believed his sides shape was good, particularly in the first half where they limited Southend to few chances. The boss did however concede that his side were inferior in the second half, as The Shrimpers went on to make it eight games unbeaten.

We welcome a Solihull side who haven’t been too strong defensively of late, The Moors have conceded nine goals in their last five league games. The boys will be hoping to replicate their goalscoring prowess displayed in their last outing at Meadowbank, where they put four past runaway leaders Chesterfield.

Team News

Josh Taylor, who this week signed a three-year contract with the club, is available for selection again after serving a two match suspension.

Joe Cook, Matt Briggs and Dan Gallagher remain unavailable with respective injuries. Harry Ottaway is said to need a minor operation on his knee, while George Francomb is adjudged to be “50/50” for Solihull’s visit.

“We’ll be glad for the rest after Saturday, it’s been a busy period”, stated White in his weekly update.

While emphasising his satisfaction about Taylor’s new deal, the boss also provided further contractual updates on key players ahead of next season – click here to watch his full interview.

Opposition Focus – The Shrimpers

After finishing 15th last season, The Moors are on course for their third play-off place finish since their promotion to the fifth tier eight years ago. Their progression this season is a sign of the job which Whing has overseen since his arrival in July last year.

Consistency and togetherness has been at the heart of a successful Moors campaign, the club have bounced back from a few heavy defeats to the likes of Southend and Altrincham and their strong recent form puts them in a strong position for the run-in.

Solihull have had multiple reliable goalscorer’s this campaign, Mark Beck and Maycock sit on eight for the season, Josh Kelly currently stands as Moors’ top scorer with 13. Jamey Osborne also represents a considerable threat from midfield, the 31-year-old has 10 assists so far this campaign.

Speaking after his sides victory over Boreham Wood in midweek, Whing stated: “I’m really, really pleased tonight, only lost one in ten now which is unbelievable, we keep going we, keep fighting”.

Last Time We Met

The Moors’ last trip to Meadowbank came in January 2023, where an Andrew Dallas brace helped Solihull to a 0-3 win.

The Scotsman opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a headed effort. Dallas had the opportunity to make it two on the stroke of half-time from the penalty spot after being fouled by Joe Cook – a challenge which saw the defender receive a red card and reduce Wanderers to 10-men. Dan Lincoln saved the spot kick to keep the hosts in the contest, but Dallas was awarded another opportunity on the hour mark, this time Isaac Philpot the guilty party and Dallas made no mistake with his second attempt from the spot.

Dallas then completed his eventful afternoon with an assist to Joe Sbarra who added a third with just shy of 20 minutes to play.

 

Tickets

Priced at Adults £18, Cons £16, U18s £9 & U8s £5, click here to secure your tickets online now!

Don’t forget our Family Ticket, where two adults and two children are able to watch the Wanderers take on The Moors for just £45!

Match Updates

Not able to attend Meadowbank on Saturday?

LIVE COMMENTARY: Tom Rogers has got you covered with live commentary of the game via Mixlr! Stay tuned to our social media channels for more information.

LIVE UPDATES: We will be providing action and score updates throughout the afternoon via Twitter, give us a follow @DorkingWDRS