Bristol Manor Farm backed up last weekend’s victory against Shaftesbury with an impressive 1-0 win against high flying Exmouth Town at The NL Services Stadium on Saturday, leaving The Farm now just one point off the play off positions.
Captain Jamie Adams returned to the starting lineup after serving a three-match suspension, while The Farm celebrated Evander Grubb’s first home league appearance since his recent re-signing with the club.
It was a fairly even contest between both sides throughout the duration of the match, with both teams having chances to take the lead in the first half. Manor Farm had a good chance to get in front early on, when a shot from Abubacarr Sama outside the box was saved by former Farm goalkeeper, Frankie Phillips. The Portwaymen also had another opportunity to break the deadlock in the first half, this time from a corner, which saw Louis Britton’s header tipped over the bar by the aforementioned Phillips.
Exmouth also had their chances to take the lead during the first half, a shot from Louis Morrison from outside the box went just wide of the Manor Farm goal. Morrison nearly gave Exmouth the lead again, this time from a free kick, which was punched away by The Farm’s goalkeeper Seth Locke just before the interval.
The first half finished 0-0, with Manor Farm having the better goal scoring opportunities. The second half saw more of the same from both sides, with Manor Farm and Exmouth both determined to break the deadlock and open the scoring, with both teams again unable to take advantage of any chances they had created. However Manor Farm didn’t let any of the missed chances they had created get to them, as in the final minute of normal time, Mason Winter delivered a fantastic cross from the right hand side into the centre of the penalty box, which saw Jacob Spence head home from close range, giving Farm the lead, and causing the fans in the stadium to erupt.
Manor Farm managed to see out the remaining few minutes of the match, securing all three points and making it four clean sheets from the last five games. The full time whistle was met with cheers from the fans as Farm managed to get back to back wins in the league, and move within a point of the play off places. Next up for Manor Farm is an away trip to Tavistock, where Farm will be looking to continue their good run of form. Tavistock are currently sat in 15th position following their 3-2 away win at Cinderford Town.
