Joe Sbarra: "Moors must be difficult to play against"

Solihull Moors attacking midfielder Joe Sbarra has said they must be a difficult side to play against when they travel to Victoria Park to take on Hartlepool United in the FA Cup.

The Moors twice battled back from behind to earn a first-round replay against the League Two outfit, with the 23-year-old playing his part in the comeback with an assist and the late equalizer.

Sbarra, who has five goals and two assists for this season, hailed the team's character and spirit from Saturday's performance, and believes the side can mount an upset when they meet again with the Pools Monkey Hangers next Tuesday (KO: 7:45pm)

Sbarra said: "I actually thought I was really poor on Saturday, but I managed to get a goal and an assist but that's sometimes how football works.

"We've got a great character and spirit within this group, and we showed it on Saturday, and we're definitely going to need to show it again, the results haven't been going our way of late and our performances are below the standard we set ourselves so we're going to have to dig deep and hopefully a result at Hartlepool can help us push on.

"We know we will have to be clinical with our chances, Hartlepool are a very good side and if we don't take our opportunities when they come, we'll be punished.

"We will also need to be solid off the ball and hard to break down, we know we're the underdogs, and we need to be difficult to play against, we'll put everything we learnt from the first game at home and apply it into the replay."

The former Burton Albion man also expressed his desire to get the club into the third round of the competition, with the chance of playing against some of England's most prestigious clubs, but he insisted the full focus for now is on the first-round replay.

Sbarra added: "It would be brilliant to get to the third round and get one of the big teams away, it would be such a fantastic occasion for everyone connected with the club, but for now we need to focus getting through the first round and getting a positive result at Hartlepool next Tuesday."