10 man Vauxhall Motors too good for Solihull Moors

Oct 3 2012 by Our Correspondent, Birkenhead News

MOTORS gained three well earned points at home to Solihull Moors after conceding a second half goal from the visitors.

Vauxhall forward Dan Parkinson made several good runs in the opening minutes but struggled to beat Solihull keeper Singh.

After a couple of early Solihull chances, Vauxhalls seemed to settle and held the ball up well in the centre of midfield. Midway through the first half James Gray found himself a good striking opportunity but rushed his effort and saw the ball slice wide of the goal.

On 27 minutes Gray was unnecessarily sent off by referee for what appeared to be a flailing arm when trying to win a header. A very poor decision from the referee, which would have seemed harsh even if a yellow card was produced.

Towards the end of the first half pacey winger Craig Mahon broke forward and skipped passed four opponents which left Dan Parkinson in plenty of space to take the lead, but a good save from Singh prevented Parkinson from gaining a lead for the Motors.

On the hour mark a long ball was played from the Motors backline which managed to find Parkinson. The Motors striker then took on the last two Solihull defenders but was unfairly taken down in the box without a penalty being awarded.

Solihull eventually took the lead against the run of play after a close range shot was unsuccessfully cleared by the Motors only as far as Reece Fleet who struck the ball from 18 yards well into the far left corner.

Mahon came close to equalising shortly after with a shot being pushed wide again by Singh. The corner dropped well for Tom Hannigan who managed to score a trademark header to make it 1-1.

Motors kept the pressure up and were awarded a penalty when Parkinson was clearly fouled inside the Solihull box. This resulted in a sending off for Solihull and an accurate finish from Michael Burns to give Motors the lead on 85 minutes.