Manor Farm return to last season’s league champions, Plymouth Parkway, for the First Round Proper of the Isuzu FA Trophy at Bolitho Park. Jack Davies is on-hand to preview all the action between the two sides below.
Manor Farm will be looking for back-to-back wins for the first time this season when they go south to Lymington on Saturday.
Bristol Manor Farm Football Club has announced today that Player/Coach Stuart Tovey has departed for Western League Premier Division side Bitton AFC.
Manor Farm travel to the Forest of Dean to face Cinderford in their search for three points.
Manor Farm returns to league action as they host Bishop’s Cleeve at The BS3 Services Stadium in a crucial fixture. Come on down and show your full support for Lee and the team as we look to back up Saturday’s fantastic result against Gosport Borough.
For their inaugural match at The BS3 Services Stadium, Manor Farm’s journey into the Isuzu FA Trophy continues with a home tie against higher-league opposition, Gosport Borough.
A 95th-minute Lee Wort strike condemned Manor Farm to an agonising defeat away to table toppers Sholing on Saturday, writes William Ledbury.
No matter how long the coach journeyed south, the Farm’s spirits did not dim as they faced high-flying Sholing after their three hugely improved performances against Wimborne, Frome, and Bideford in recent weeks.
Jayden Nielsen was re-introduced into the Farm’s starting lineup on a warm and sunny afternoon at the Imperial Homes Stadium, hoping he could play a part in Farm’s quest for three points on their travels.
The afternoon didn’t start in Farm’s favor, as Lee Wort calmly slotted the ball past Ben John after beating the offside trap.
Despite the Boatmen’s goal, Farm had their hosts pinned back for the remainder of the first-half and were duly rewarded two goals by the illistrious Marcus Day.
Day exposed Sholing’s slopiness and inability to clear their lines and expertly struck the ball into the bottom left corner after a mazy run.
The Farm and Day’s second highlighted just how good they can be on their day as the wideman struck the ball fiercesly past Ryan Gosney to go 2-1 up.
Sholing would be reduced to 10 men on 33 minutes when defender Rob Flooks was given his marching orders. With Howe standing over the dead ball, Flooks struck the Farm’s forward to the floor leaving referee Paul Barner no choice but to raise the red card.
Against the run of play and to Farm’s bemusement, Sholing FC equalised moments before the interval when Jake Cope crept a ball into the right corner of the net.
In spite of being down a man, the Boatmen emerged in a completely different manner from the first half and snatched all three points in dramatic fashion.
Two clearances off the line seemingly indicated that the Farm defence had done enough to keep Sholing out, but Lee Wort had the final say when he made it seven wins from seven this season. Immediately after Howe’s header was saved at point blank range, the Boatmen passed the ball to Wort, who chipped it beyond the Farm. With the victory, wild scenes broke out as the hosts racked up all three points.
Bristol Manor Farm host Step 3 Gosport Borough at The BS3 Services Stadium on Saturday 8 October in the FA Trophy. Ticket information can be found HERE.
We are pleased to announce the winners of the Bristol Manor Farm 300 Club Raffle for September.
Sholing v Manor Farm 01/10/22 3pm
Manor Farm travels to table-topping Sholing as they look for that elusive first league win.
Nickname – The Boatmen
Stadium – The Imperial Homes Stadium (35 miles)
Founded – 1960
Manager – Dave Diaper
Star man – Lee Wort
Last season – 7th
Last result – 2-0 win against Bishops Cleeve
Fun fact – They won the Fa Vase at Wembley in 2014
The Boatmen
Sholing have responded perfectly to last year’s disappointing late decline, winning 6 from 6 so far this season. Brothers Dan and Byron Mason are constant threats whilst forward Lee Wort has hit double figures in all competitions already this season. Goalkeeper Ryan Gosney is also in solid early season form.
The Farm
Farm reaped the rewards of the returning Owen Howe with his brace last week and he will be looking to add to his 6 this term. Right back Mason Winter earned plaudits for his impressive performance last week whilst teenager Evander Grubb looks to be going from strength to strength.
The Form
As mentioned, the hosts are a perfect 6 from 6 in the league this season. Their only defeat so far this year was to higher league opposition in the FA Cup. Farm are still searching for a maximum in the league but are buoyed by a big cup win last week. The performances are ever improving, so this is far harder to call than the league table would suggest.
It will be Bristol Manor Farm’s second match at The Creek against Sean Joyce’s Bideford, but the stakes are different now, as the Farmers will seek to reach the third round of the Isuzu FA Trophy.
Recent weeks have seen a shift in the atmosphere at The Creek, and with attacking, free-flowing football on display, performances have started showing the Farmy Army that there’s plenty to look forward to this season. The past seven days were almost ‘perfect’ as described by Manager Lee Lashenko, with the Farm defeating a strong Wimborne side away from home in the previous FA Trophy round and leading 1-0 for 89 minutes against one of the league’s favourites in Frome Town.
Speaking to the club, Manager Lashenko expressed his confidence in his players and is hopeful for what’s to come this year.
“The last couple of displays have been excellent. The Wimborne match’s result backed up our display, and against Frome, we were very very close to making it two impressive consecutive victories,” Lashenko began.
“Our goal in every match, regardless if it’s in the Southern League or Trophy, we want to show respect to our opponents and ensure that we have that positive feeling at the end of the match. Saturday was almost the perfect day, but understandably we left the afternoon feeling slightly frustrated that we didn’t take all three points.”
Bideford will be no stranger to Manor Farm, with the Robins making their second trip north to Bristol already this year. Despite an onslaught of chances for Farm, Bideford’s backline showed extreme discipline and determination to play out a goalless draw. Having that ‘homework’ on Saturday’s opponents, Lashenko knows that his side needs to be ruthless in their approach if they are to progress in the competition.
“They look like they’ve improved massively since last and have become a much better side since we played them. It shows that the standard of the division has gone up again this year, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I think a lot of points will be shared with good teams, which will make it a more competitive division for lots of teams,” Lashenko expressed.
With kick-off at 3pm, Come on down to The Creek and show your full support once again. Ticket information can be found HERE.
