Manor Farm manager Lashenko still targeting the play-offs
BRISTOL Manor Farm’s defiant boss Lee Lashenko is refusing to throw the towel in over his team’s promotion chances after taking bruising backto-back defeats firmly on the chin.
Straight 4-0 and 5-1 defeats at the hands of Willand Rovers and Melksham Town called a halt to Manor Farm hopes of extending an encouraging three-game victory spree. Instead, Lashenko’s men find themselves fourth from the foot of the Division One South table with 13 points from 13 games, form he admits requires “urgent addressing” if they are to peg back an 11-point gap separating them and a top-five play-off position.
The Manor Farm manager knows, too, that six points from two “huge games” against third-placed Wimborne Town away tomorrow, and fifth-placed AFC Totton at Creek HQ on Wednesday night, could provide the incentive for the sort of recovery they demonstrated over the second half of last season which catapulted Farm all the way to the play-off final.
Lashenko is acutely aware his team’s stuttering form will have “raised eyebrows” across the Southern League and Bristol football scenes.
“Over the years I’ve made a thing of trying to build up ambition and expectations at whichever club I’ve managed,” he said. “It means people can more easily take delight in any difficulties you’re experiencing, and make no mistake, to say these last two results have been frustrating would be an understatement.
“Our first-half performance against Melksham on Saturday was excellent. We took an early lead and should have gone in at halftime two or three goals up.
“Instead, Melksham equalised from a clear offside position and then took the lead with a rightfullyawarded penalty soon into the second half. That, the earlier missed chances and the fact we’d previously lost heavily at Willand seemed to deflate us massively; our second-half showing compared to the first was like night and day.”
The Creek leader emphasised: “We know we need to turn things around quickly. Talk is cheap; actions speak louder than words. But I feel I, and my club, deserve to be respected. I’m proud of how we attract quality players and retain them.
“You get times in your life when things don’t go your way. When your fortunes change, you appreciate it more. Some clubs are just
grateful to be competing at our level. With us, it raises eyebrows when a club like ours is where we are at this moment.
“We’ll need to put in even more effort over coming weeks. While I know we need to do better than we have been, I have no doubts we will do. Some people will inevitably laugh us out of the room for saying it, but we’re still targeting the playoffs, without a doubt.”
Lashenko expressed delight at his latest “quality” acquisition, 34-year-old former Bristol City, Cheltenham Town, Grimsby, Hereford United and, most recently, Bath City midfielder Frankie Artus, who made a full Farm debut in the Melksham defeat.
“Frankie is more defensiveminded and he and Jake Gosling, who is more of an attack-minded midfielder, are two who will be well worth watching,” Lashenko predicted.
“You only had to hear Frankie in the dressing room after Saturday’s game to know he’s a class act, one who can only help our other players,” remarked the Farm chief, who is without suspended right-back Mason Winter tomorrow.
Paulton Rovers face an enormous test of their own Division One South credentials once more at home against leaders Sholing tomorrow, fresh from Saturday’s 1-1 away draw with Hamworthy United and Wednesday night’s 4-1 Winterfield Road defeat by another high-flying opponent in Tavistock.
New manager Craig Loxton warned: “We know we’re in for a tough afternoon again against Sholing. It’s been a hard start all round for us up against a series of top teams.”
That included the midweek collapse against Tavistock when, after a goalless first half, the visitors struck four times inside the first 15 minutes of the second period, before Jack Dancey pulled one back for Paulton ahead of being red carded ten minutes later to cap his and his team’s frustrations.
Speaking ahead of that setback, Loxton reflected on Saturday’s stalemate with Southern League newcomers Hamworthy: “It was a tough game and we knew it would be, as they hadn’t lost a game at home for more than two seasons.
“It helps, of course, that they have an artificial pitch which works to their advantage.
“Joe Morgan, our new signing from Shepton Mallet, put us in front in the first half on the break, which only fuelled Hamworthy’s determination to come back at us hard. We needed half-time to reset, and we really needed to be on our toes defensively in the second half, just sharper and more competitive, in order to pick up a good point in the end.”
Midfielders Chris Peck and David O’Hare are both back after spells out with a hamstring injury and unavailability, respectively.
Yate Town, blitzed 4-0 at home on Tuesday night in Premier South by Weston-super-Mare pacesetters seemingly hell-bent on a return to National League South activity, host fellow strugglers Gosport Borough tomorrow.
Alex Lambert, Khari Allen and Ioan Richards are all poised to return to bolster the Yate ranks.
Manager John Rendell has also snapped up centre-half Callum Wood on loan from Bristol City, and he made his bow in testing circumstances during that midweek Seagulls setback.
“I’m really pleased to have him aboard,” said Rendell. “Callum’s a good player who did really well at Bath City last season before getting injured.
“We have the three long-term injured lads coming back over the next week too along with (suspended) Darren Mullings, who serves the last of his three-game ban on Saturday.”
After a largely positive start to the new management team’s Lodge Road rein, Yate assistant manager Paul Tovey accepted Tuesday’s Weston reverse had been a blow.
“After a solid goalless away draw at Salisbury on Saturday, we’d been looking to keep up the momentum with a good home performance against high-flying Weston,” he said. “Unfortunately, we were far too passive, especially in the first half, and Weston showed everyone what a good team they are.
“The most annoying thing was that despite Weston having the vast majority of possession, they scored through two set-pieces and a couple of other moments we should have prevented.”