MIDFIELDER Darren Carter says the Moors can be a better team for their struggles over the Bank Holiday weekend, after Solihull followed up Saturday’s 2-0 loss at leaders Woking with a 2-1 home defeat to Eastleigh.
Danny Hollands was the difference for the visitors on Bank Holiday Monday, firing past goalkeeper Ryan Boot either side of the break to hand Tim Flowers’ side a second defeat in a row and a first home loss this season.
Moors pulled a goal back through Mitch Hancox in the 69th minute and almost snatched a point when Alex Gudger’s stoppage-time header was cleared off the line – though Carter believes the result was a fair one.
“Over the 90 minutes, I think Eastleigh deserved it,” he said.
“For an hour they dominated the tempo of the game, their shape worked a lot better than ours even though it was similar – they played it a lot better than we did.”
He remains optimistic despite the first blip of the campaign, and says the downturn in form can help Solihull in the long term.
“We started really well and were flying high and we’ve been brought back down to earth a little bit – sometimes that can be a blessing in disguise,” said Carter.
“I know that this group will meet the challenges head on and sometimes a bit of adversity can do you good in the long run.”
Eastleigh made their intentions clear from the first whistle and looked threatening, first testing Boot with a powerful drive by Rob Atkinson.
After a couple more chances fell the way of The Spitfires, Hollands sent them in front when going through on goal before dispatching on 18 minutes.
A golden chance fell to wing-back Jamie Reckord, but he was the wrong man to take on the opportunity and dragged his shot wide.
Hollands doubled Moors’ misery moments after the restart when drifting a shot inside the post, though the lead was almost halved immediately when substitute Alex Nicholls looped a shot narrowly over the bar with Eastleigh goalkeeper Max Stryjek stranded.
With 20 minutes remaining, Hancox slammed home a cross from Nathan Blissett, lifting Moors’ spirits once more.
Gudger’s goalbound header that was hacked off the line summed up a hit and miss night for Solihull, one which they look to bounce back from when visiting Halifax Town on Saturday (3pm).
