In a superb two weeks for Hednesford Town, manager Rob Smith has gone from looking and sounding abject with disappointment following his side’s third defeat on the spin against North Ferriby, to lauding one of the most unbelievable goals ever scored by a Pitmen player ahead of Saturday’s game versus Solihull Moors.

Elliott Durrell watched with frustration as his team conceded a 93rd minute equaliser at Bradford Park Avenue last week but then the striker, scorer of 22 goals already this season, took the matter into his own hands and, from the resulting kick off, proceeded to dribble past five players and score an incredible winner which secured his team a four point cushion in second place in the Skrill North table.

Smith admitted the whole team couldn’t quite believe what they had seen but stressed that his side deserved the three points due to the hard work put in throughout the game.

‘Well, I think we were all left a bit numb by what we had just witnessed, I’ve never seen anything like it. It was a special goal. To be honest only Elliott would have the character and ability combined to do something like that.

‘However, I think the general feeling was that we got what we deserved for the work rate that was put in and it was a vital three points for us.’

The result against Bradford was Hednesford’s third straight win, a run that has been the exact opposite of their opponents on Saturday as The Moors, top of the league just three weeks ago, have lost 4-1 and 3-0 in their last two matches and have dropped out of the play off places due to their blip.

Such is the closeness of the top seven this year though, Solihull have lost only four games in 25 all season and Smith, having seen their most recent defeat against Guiseley, is under no illusions about the test his team face.

‘We are really looking forward to the game; however we must guard against thinking anything other than that this will be a very difficult fixture. I watched Solihull on Tuesday night and the game was very much nip and tuck until Guiseley scored their second. Solihull are one of the most organised teams in this division.’

The Pitmen supporters making the short 30 mile trip on Saturday afternoon will, like the manager, be under no illusions as to the difficulty of the match, not helped by a mini injury crisis which has beset the Hednesford squad.

Neil Harvey and Jamey Osborne are both out with hamstring trouble, Wayne Riley and Nathan Blissett are also doubtful with Durrell and Robbie Thompson-Brown both carrying knocks into the weekend.

As proved against Bradford however, Rob Smith’s side are never fearful of a challenging away trip and, with their opponents struggling for form, Hednesford’s quest for promotion to the Skrill Conference will continue apace with a positive result at Damson Lane.

Hednesford Town Form – LLLWWW
Previous Result – Bradford Park Avenue 1-2 Hednesford Town – The Skrill North – Saturday 18th January 2014
Next Fixture – Altrincham (H) – The Skrill North – Saturday 1st February 2014
League Position – 2nd

Solihull Moors Form – DWDDLL
Previous Result – Solihull Moors 0-3 Guiseley – The Skrill North – Tuesday 21st January 2014
Next Fixture – Worcester City (A) – The Skrill North – Tuesday 28th January 2014
League Position – 7th

KO – 3pm
Address of Ground – Damson Park, Damson Parkway, Solihull, West Midlands B91 2PP