Lashenko backing Manor Farm to deliver in biggest game of club’s history
BRISTOL Manor Farm are preparing for the biggest occasion of their 62-year history as their bold promotion push towards the Southern League’s top flight reaches crunch time.
Farm’s impressive come-frombehind 3-1 midweek play-off semifinal success at Frome Town courtesy of on-song Owen Howe’s double and Kye Simpson’s initial quickfire equaliser propelled Lee Lashenko’s team into Monday’s final act (3pm).
There they will face once more Winchester City on the Hampshirebased club’s Charters Community Stadium pitch, scene of an emphatic 5-1 Winchester win when the sides last clashed there in mid November for a Division One South encounter.
The Citizens and Manor Farm shared the spoils in the return fixture on the final day of the regular campaign at Farm’s own HQ last Saturday, Howe’s late equaliser in a gripping 2-2 draw dramatically confirming his team’s place in the play-offs at the expense of AFC Totton just missing out.
A coach has been laid on for Manor Farm supporters wishing to lend backing to their team at Winchester on Monday (call 07767 633549 for details and booking).
Lashenko said: “We know what’s in store for us and what Winchester are about after what they did to us down there earlier in the season. It will be incredibly tough; we have a two-and-a-half hour drive to face before a ball’s even been kicked.
“But I like watching my team when they have a bit of siege mentality about them, when they’re a bit angry. They showed all of that character and steel on Tuesday to
bounce straight back from a Frome opener and equalise through Kye.
“All the lads delivered sevens and eights out of ten individual performances-wise; no one was carried through the game. I believe we have momentum on our side and I back us to deliver again on Monday.”
Of that Frome thriller in front of a 1,000-plus Badgers Hill turnout, the Farm supremo smiled: “It was just brilliant. It was a proper oldschool football match which had everything, watched by a big and partisan crowd. We wanted, at the start of the season, to be in with a chance of promotion at the end of it and we’ve given ourselves that chance.”
Meanwhile, Paul Michael says the “increased cost of living” was a key factor in his decision to leave Yate Town in order to become relegated Merthyr Town’s new manager, located much closer to his Newbridge home in South Wales. The former Cinderford Town supremo steered the Bluebells to a commendable seventh-place conclusion in Premier South, as they fought to keep pace with rival playoff contenders virtually until the last whistle.
In the second and last of his two seasons in charge, Yate also reached the FA Cup first round proper for only the second time in their history while also being crowned Gloucestershire Senior Cup champions.
Michael stunned Yate fans by announcing he would be stepping down “with immediate effect” following Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat by Gosport Borough, witnessed by a 300-plus Lodge Road turnout.
He said: “I went there under no illusions about the modest resources myself and my management team would be working with in respect of the high level of nonLeague football we were performing at.
“Naturally, the increased cost of living has come into my thinking, along with the commute taking time away from work and family.
“Although Merthyr have been relegated from our division, I feel it makes sense for me to join them. There’s the potential and infrastructure there for them to become a really big fish at this level. You only have to look at the crowd of 711 that turned out to watch them play Swindon Supermarine on Easter Monday, despite being in the bottom two, to see the fan base is there.
“They have a top-notch stadium with a state-of-the-art community 3G pitch which will allow for high quality preparation of the team.”
Michael emphasised: “If Yate continue to carry on in the direction they are going, they have it in them to build on this season’s successes, too.”
He added: “Perhaps there’s a feeling with myself and my assistant Andy Smith, who is coming with me to Merthyr, that we maybe took Yate as far as we could.”
Paulton Rovers wound up a commendable ninth on the Division One South ladder, as they signed off from their helter-skelter 2021-22 commitments with a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of promotion-chasing Cirencester Town.
“We’ve had a good season given the fact we had so much inexperience in the ranks,” Rovers boss John Rendell acknowledged. “Many of them were performing at this level for the first time having been blooded by our academy.
“We actually enjoyed a period of time in the play-off positions, always aware that we were punching above our weight a bit and maybe be in for a reality check over the winter months. Still, what we’ve done in the main sends us into the summer with positivity and eagerness to improve next time around if we can keep the majority of the squad intact and strengthen areas where possible.”
Rendell knows he will inevitably be linked with the sudden Yate Town managerial vacancy, although he wouldn’t be drawn on whether he intended to apply or not.
“I played for Yate as a youngster for a season after leaving school when they were in the same top division they are in now,” he recalled. Many years later I joined the management team for a season under Paul Britton’s leadership immediately ahead of becoming Paulton’s new manager in 2017.
“Yate is a club that’s long been close to my heart, not least because I live in the town as my parents do too along with my young family.
“I’ve no idea who Yate will turn to next as their manager; but I hope they appoint the best man for it after the fantastic job Paul Michael did.”
Glyn Ashton, meanwhile, has declared a firm intention to stay on at relegated Mangotsfield United next season.
“We’re not entirely sure whether we’ll be plying our trade in the Hellenic or Toolstation League next season,” the 50-year-old said. “What we do feel is that whichever of those Step 5 leagues we’re in, we’ll be in a healthy position to bounce back relatively quickly.”
Ashton admitted: “Whether I continue to run the first team, I’ve no idea at this time. One thing I do know is that I’ll be involved in some capacity playing my part in driving the club forward.”