Scunthorpe claimed a 3-1 victory over Solihull Moors at Attis Arena on Thursday evening, moving them off the bottom of the National League table. The result came in the fourth round of the regular season, with the hosts finally finding their rhythm after a difficult start to the campaign. By then, you'd have noticed the difference in how each side approached the game.
Wakeling opened the scoring in the twenty-sixth minute, and Butterfield doubled the lead four minutes later. Solihull had no answer to the pressure, and Denton picked up a yellow card in the thirty-third as frustration mounted. And here's the thing — the hosts had already put the game beyond doubt before the break.
Gale restored Solihull's hopes with a goal in the fifty-sixth minute, but Beestin restored the two-goal cushion in the seventy-sixth. The substitutions came thick and fast after that — Green and McFarlane off together in the sixty-second, Parker following three minutes later, and then several others as both managers tried to manage the final quarter.
Scunthorpe enjoyed 55 per cent possession and registered 98 attacks compared to 93 for the visitors, but the shot accuracy tells a different story. They managed only four shots on target from seven attempts off target, while Solihull hit the target on half their attempts. To be fair, the visitors had more to do and consequently took more risks.
The win moves Scunthorpe to five points from five matches, while Solihull remain on zero from five. Both sides had lost their previous encounter — Scunthorpe 2-3 at Ipswich, Solihull 1-3 at Southend — so this result finally gives the hosts something to build on. The gap between them is now one point, and the table suggests this was a match Solihull simply could not afford to lose.