Bristol Manor Farm head into Saturday’s clash against Tavistock with a sense of renewed confidence following back-to-back wins against Shaftesbury and Exmouth Town. The side also kept two clean sheets in those games, a feat that vice-captain Mason Winter believes has provided the team with a significant morale boost.
“Back-to-back wins with two clean sheets are a massive confidence booster for everyone involved,” Winter said. “Momentum is huge in football, and that was proven last year. We’ve kept four clean sheets in five games, and we’re the highest, if not one of the highest, scorers in the league. We want to build on that.”
With the busy Christmas period approaching, Winter is keenly aware of its importance, particularly given the lessons of the last three years. Post-Christmas, The Farm transform into a different beast entirely, and it is their dogmatic approach, set out by Manager Lee Lashenko and his team, that has seen them reach three play-off finals in that time—two promotion finals with a relegation play-off sandwiched in the middle. While Lashenko’s side are within touching distance of the play-offs now as December begins, the next few matches could lay the foundations for what to expect in the New Year.
“Everyone knows how important the Christmas period is. There are lots of points to pick up, and it’s always filled with local derbies,” Winter said. “We came into the Christmas period in a similar position last year, and we know from experience that we need to maintain this consistency and keep picking up points.”
“The games are certainly coming thick and fast in the division, so we’ll need to prove how good a squad we have if we want to achieve the targets we set ourselves at the start of the season,” he added.
The age-old saying, ‘there are never any easy games in this division’, couldn’t be more applicable, as was proven when lowly Cribbs ended current leaders Yate Town’s unbeaten home run. The same is true for The Farm, who face a long trip down to West Devon to take on a resilient Tavistock side. The Lambs, themselves navigating a tricky patch, came through at the weekend with a 3-2 away victory over Cinderford.
The Farm and Mason Winter will be hopeful that their upturn in form can propel them to more points in their push for the summit, closing the gap on their promotion rivals.