Bristol Manor Farm endured a tough afternoon on the road, suffering a heavy seven-goal defeat as a clinical Bemerton Heath Harlequins cruised to victory on Saturday.
In the build-up to the match in Wiltshire, The Farm saw captain Jamie Adams depart for rivals Yate Town, paving the way for George Dowling to take the armband. Jamie Bird was also handed an opportunity, moving into an advanced midfield role behind forwards Evander Grubb, Louis Britton, and Dan Dodimead.
Despite the eventual outcome, the opening exchanges were promising, showing little indication of the heavy defeat to come. Early on, Evander Grubb came close, striking marginally wide of the far post.
Disaster struck in the 14th minute when a misplaced pass allowed Bemerton to break forward. A precise ball out wide found Waters, who beat his marker before squaring for Joe Smith to finish from close range.
The Farm pushed for an equalizer and nearly found one in a goal-mouth scramble. Dodimead couldn’t generate enough power behind his shot, and the clearance fell to Bird, whose volley forced a smart save from Clark.
Bemerton doubled their lead in the 35th minute through Olly Balmer, a player well known to The Farm as a member of Winchester City’s 2021-22 promotion-winning squad. His strike from the edge of the area wrong-footed Seth Locke and nestled into the net, making it 2-0 at Moon Park. Just three minutes later, Smith grabbed his second, rounding off a well-worked team move. The fourth goal followed in fortunate fashion, as Balmer’s direct corner curled into the far corner untouched—not that Bemerton needed any extra help!
The Farm’s largely positive first half-hour was overshadowed as the referee blew for halftime, leaving them with a mountain to climb after the break.
Manager Lee Lashenko responded with changes, introducing Owen Howe for Jacob Spence, followed later by Salhin Abubakar and Ben Bament.
The attacking reinforcements nearly made an impact, with Dodimead missing the target and Britton seeing his header comfortably gathered by Clark.
Bemerton added two more in the final 10 minutes, capping off a dominant performance and a difficult afternoon for The Farm. Attention now quickly shifts to Tuesday night, as Lashenko’s men prepare for their Gloucestershire FA Senior Challenge Cup semi-final against Cinderford Town at The NL Services Stadium.