DARLINGTON vs SOLIHULL MOORS 
Wednesday 8thJanuary 1945hrs
Football – England FA Trophy
Pick Solihull Moors win
Bookmaker Bet Victor
Odds: 2.15 (odds taken 09:33 GMT, 07 January )
Wednesday night also provides us with a 1st round replay of the FA Trophy (the non-league version of the FA Cup), and a clash between Darlington and Solihull Moors as the betting tips continue at Blackwell Meadows.
Darlington Prediction – Can Darlington progress?
The National League North outfit may hold the slight edge now in terms of home advantage prior to this 1st round replay in the FA Trophy having held National League side, Solihull Moors, to a 2-2 draw in their first encounter back in mid-December.
Darlington have since found winning form as the hosts have won 4 of their subsequent 5 matches overall in the National League North with recent victories over York City, Spennymoor Town, Blyth Spartans and Gloucester City.
The hosts now seem to be heading in the right direction as they sit in 9th place in the northern section of the sixth tier, and they’ve suffered just 3 defeats on home turf in their 13 league matches on home turf to date.
The Quakers were narrowly edged out by League Two side, Walsall, in the 1st round of the FA Cup but Walsall needed a reply to progress, while Darlington have recorded an FA Trophy win over Gainsborough Trinity in the earlier round of the FA Trophy to reach this stage.
Solihull Moors Prediction – Can Solihull’s quality overcome hosts?
The west midlands visitors make their way up to the north-east having suffered just 1 defeat out of their last 5 matches overall in all competitions which was a narrow 1-0 loss at home to Notts County in the National League.
Recent draws with Darlington in the FA Trophy along with stalemates against Chesterfield and Yeovil Town in the non-league top flight along with a 3-0 home win against Chesterfield have shown that Tim Flowers’ side have been hard to beat in recent times.
With just 1 defeat out of their last 7 matches away from home too, Solihull Moors look a solid and compact unit under the former Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and England goalkeeper, and this sequence includes wins gained at Hartlepool United, Oxford City and Stockport County.
The likes of forwards McCallum (8 goals) and Wright (5 goals) will be looking to fire their side into the next round of this competition at Darlington’s expense.
Key-Facts – Darlington vs Solihull Moors
- Darlington have won 4 of their last 5 matches overall in all competitions
- Solihull Moors have lost just 1 of their last 7 away matches
- The only previous meeting between these two sides ended in a 2-2 draw
Betting Tips Verdict
Darlington have made progress recently but they may find Solihull Moors too hot to handle here in the replay.
