Match Reports
Highridge United
Saturday 4th August 2007
Going into this game Bristol Manor Farm had a completely different squad to that of last season. This was a unique friendly in that both teams were technically at home, as Highridge Utd share the ground with Bristol Manor Farm.
The game started off brightly with both teams passing the ball well. On four minutes John Pugsley hit a lashing shot from outside the box but it was straight at the keeper who fumbled the ball but managed to gather it before any Farm player could get there.
The breakthrough came in the sixth minute as Dean Maggs capitalised to score for Highridge.
A couple of minutes later, Jack Szurs for the Farm looked to be through on goal but Szurs went down and no foul was given.
Leon Simpson then had some time and space inside the six yard box but his shot went over the bar.
Played continued with both teams make few chances when after 29 minutes Jack Szurs headed the ball only to see it hit the ground and the defender was able to clear for a corner. A period of goalmouth activity then followed the corner with Leon Simpson’s shot cleared off the line as were a volley of other shots from the Farm.
Just after the half-hour Scott Felfer had to be substituted due to injury.
Play resumed and Leon Simpson yet again sent a shot flying over the bar. From the goal kick an awkward cross from Highridge was well caught by Ashley Bryan. With the clock ticking down, Luke Bryan went on a run, passing a number of players but unfortunately his shot was straight at the Highridge keeper.
Then came the Farm’s best chance of the half, a cross from Jack Szurs fell to Leon Simpson who was about six yards out but somehow the ball went just wide of the keeper’s left hand post. The first half ended with Highridge leading one-nil.
At the start of the second half, Ashley Bryan was substituted with Glenn Callaghan in goal.
The match resumed with neither side making much impact and after ten minutes Highridge substituted their keeper. The game continued with little action at either end with much of the play concentrated in midfield. Play continued like this until on the hour Dean Maggs for Highridge just put the ball wide of the Farm goal.
Highridge made a couple more substitutions as did the Farm, bringing on Luke Bryan to replace Jack Szurs.
With only seven minutes remaining a good cross from Leon Simpson fell straight to the keeper. A few minutes later, the Farm were awarded a free kick just outside the area. Kye Thomas passed the ball to Benjy Tricker who shot just wide. Within a minute of play resuming, Leon Simpson looked like he was through on goal but the Highridge keeper was quicker to the ball. Play continued and Highridge headed for the Farm end of the pitch with a header just going over the Farm goalmouth. On 88 minutes, Highridge went two up when a shot deceived the Farm keeper.
At the final whistle the score was two-nil to Highridge United. It was a good game with Highridge showing just what a good team they are and belying their status in a lower league. The Farm played the game with some nice touches and with so many young players on the field it shows great promise for the future.
Philip Burnett, Match Reporter
Dawlish Town
Saturday 15th September 2007
Dawlish started out of the blocks quicker (surprising considering their journey up the M5 and late arrival) putting in several good crosses but Shaun Bowden and Radley Veale both wasted good opportunities to open up the scoring. The Farm slowly got into the match and Twaine Plummer was unlucky not to score when he picked up the ball in the box but was forced to the dead ball line and could only cut the ball back across the box which was cleared away. Dawlish continued to whip in the crosses and Gary Head found himself on the end of one but his shot was straight to new Farm keeper Amin Jones. Matt Thorne had a really good game as he put in some great balls and on fifteen minutes he showed his defensive capabilities when he intercepted a cross from Richard Lammacroft. However, Radley Veale picked up the loose ball only to shoot wide. Minutes later Shaun Bowden wasted another chance for the visitors as he was unmarked in the box only to head the ball over. On 19 minutes Matt Thorne hit a great ball up field which was met by Twaine Plummer who shrugged off the defender and he saw his shot deflected into the keeper’s bottom left hand corner to give Manor Farm the lead 1-0. Minutes later another good ball from Matt Thorne to the outnumbered Twaine Plummer ended in the ball being lost to Dawlish. On 23 minutes a series of corners from Darren Vickery were well defended by Matt Thorne and Aaron Anderson who both headed the balls away from danger. However on 25 minutes an attempted clearance by Manor Farm appeared to be obstructed by a Dawlish arm. The referee gave nothing and Radley Veale crossed the ball into the box which found Anthony Lynch unmarked at the far post and he coolly put the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-1. Just after the half hour mark Manor Farm started to pile the pressure on again with Anderson hitting in a magnificent cross which was parried away by Mark Rock before Twaine Plummer could get there. Minutes later a great volley from Aaron Anderson was just wide after Chris Ashcroft’s cross was not dealt with by Dawlish Town. Yet again it was the visitors who showed Manor Farm how to finish when on 38 minutes a cross found Richard Lammacroft unmarked at the keeper’s left hand post and he put the ball into the net past the diving Jones. This was a blow to Manor Farm as in truth they did not deserve to be trailing at this point in time. They were very lucky to go into half time only 2-1 down as on 42 minutes a great pass from Anthony Lynch found Radley Veale whose shot hit the woodwork.
Bristol Manor Farm started the second half brightly and from a Benjie Tricker corner they almost equalised but Matt Thorne’s low driven shot was somehow blocked on the line. On 49 minutes Anthony Lynch picked up a loose ball and played it into Radley Veale who put his shot high into the keeper’s left hand corner to extend their lead to 3-1. Just before the hour Aaron Anderson was replaced by John Pugsley. Moments later the visitors nearly made it 4-1 when Gary Head met Radley Veale’s cross only to shoot just wide. This sprung The Farm into life as two minutes later a cross from James Stephens was turned into the net by Leon Simpson to reduce the score to 3-2 to the visitors. A couple of substitutions followed as The Farm made more changes and brought off Twaine Plummer for Ben Hiscocks, and James Stephens for Scott Feltham. Dawlish also made a change bringing on Dean Stewart to replace Adam Shearer. Manor Farm pushed and pushed for the equaliser but as they did so they were vulnerable to the counter attack and on 82 minutes were punished as a through ball found Anthony Lynch who overpowered defender Chris Kite and took the ball around keeper Amin Jones to put the ball in the back of the net and give Dawlish a 4-2 lead. This inevitably killed off the game. Manor Farm continued to press but could not find a breakthrough and the game ended Manor Farm 2 Dawlish Town 4.
Philip Burnett, Match Reporter
Elmore AFC
Saturday 10th November 2007
Going into this game Manor Farm would have been viewed as favourites to win this tie and those who thought that were not wrong. Manor Farm’s line up was too strong for the visitors who could not cope with the attacking threat The Farm posed. Every time The Farm attacked they looked like they would score. Two minutes into the game a good cross from Scott Feltham fell to Ben Hiscox who saw his shot blocked. On six minutes another good cross from Feltham once again found the path of Ben Hiscox but he seemed to be fouled by the keeper Mike Taylor but nothing was given. On Seven minutes the visitors showed that they were not here just to make up the numbers, as Luke Thomas saw his near post shot saved by Ali Hines. On 10 minutes good pressure from Manor Farm led to a corner, which saw Twaine Plummer head the ball across the goal but just wide. However, three minutes later, Ben Hiscox was put through on goal and he slid the ball past the advancing keeper to make it 1-0 to The Farm. On 22 minutes a good build up from The Farm lead to Aaron Anderson hitting a fiercely low driven shot just wide of Taylor’s far hand post. On 29 minutes Elmore’s Matt Harvey looked to be through on goal but keeper Ali Hines came out and headed the ball away. Three minutes later Brett Worbey was presented with a golden chance to equalise as he found himself in space and he lobbed the keeper only to see the ball go wide. Two minutes later Kevin Rawlings was put through but his shot was well blocked and on the rebound it fell to Matt Thorne who made no mistake and put the ball into an empty net to give The Farm a 2-0 lead. On 34 minutes Elmore’s Matt Harvey was given time to shoot but he could not find the target and his shot went over the bar. On 36 minutes a corner for Manor Farm fell to Ben Murray who somehow headed the ball over the bar. Four minutes later a run into the box from Twaine Plummer came to an abrupt end as he was fumbled over by an Elmore defender. The referee made no hesitation in awarding a penalty to The Farm. Twaine stepped up to take the penalty and put the ball into Taylor’s bottom left hand corner to make it 3-0 at half-time.
Manor Farm started the second half brightly and won an early corner. From the resulting corner Ben Hiscox narrowly missed the target as he headed the ball over. Elmore had little spells of possession and on 55 minutes a chance was presented to Elmore’s Matt Harvey who turned and shot only to see the ball go narrowly over the target. Two minutes later a great cross across the six yard box was intercepted by Kye Thomas. On 59 minutes a mazy run into the box by Twaine Plummer saw him square the ball to Hiscox who tapped the ball into an empty net for his second and The Farm’s fourth. John Black then made three substitutions, bringing on Troy Simpson, Dominic Graffagnino & Leon Simpson for Ben Hiscox, Twaine Plummer & Aaron Anderson. The introduction of fresh legs caused Elmore all sorts of problems and resulted in Manor Farm dominating the final 30 minutes of the game. On 64 minutes Troy Simpson was through on goal only to see his shot blocked by Taylor’s feet. On 70 minutes a great cross from Scott Feltham was headed into the top of the net by Troy Simpson, 5-0. Six minutes later a great build up from The Farm resulted in Graffagnino hitting the post who was unlucky not to score. On 78 minutes the ball fell to Scott Feltham unmarked in the box. His shot went past the keeper at an angle and into the far hand bottom corner of the net to make it 6-0. One minute later Troy Simspon yet again found himself through on goal but his shot went just wide of the net. The Farm continued to pressure the Elmore goal but could not add to their tally of six. On 87 minutes Elmore made a substitution with Shane Tucker coming on for Matt Harvey but it was a case of too little too late for Elmore and the game finished 6-0 to The Farm.
All in all it was a good display by Bristol Manor Farm and it was a fair score line as The Farm produced brilliant football at times and the visitors just couldn’t cope. I would like to take this opportunity to wish Elmore all the best for the season. The Farm will play at home to Weston St. Johns in the next round.
Philip Burnett, Match Reporter
Welton Rovers
Saturday 17th November 2007
This match was always going to be a tough one for the Farm with Welton ‘riding high’ in the league. Welton’s line up consisted of three ex-Farm players and on one minute Rob Dumphy (ex-Farm) hit a shot over the bar. On five minutes Troy Simpson whipped in a good cross which Twaine Plummer slid in for, but he was adjudged to have caught the keeper in the process. On 9 minutes more good work from Troy Simpson resulted in the farm winning a free kick. This was taken by Kye Thomas who shot just wide of Westlake’s right hand post. On 13 minutes the Farm’s inconsistency in keeping the ball nearly cost them as Mark Thomas (another ex-Farm player) got past the back four and put in a good cross which was headed out well by Kye Thomas. Two minutes later the Farm yet again gave the ball away and Matt Thorne committed a foul. The free kick was taken by Pearce and Thorne made amends by heading it out. On 17 minutes a good run and cross from Twaine Plummer found Scott Feltham at the far post who skied the ball high and wide of the goal. One minute later the Farm yet again gave the ball away to Welton and Pearce’s shot was only just over the bar. On 21 minutes the ball was punted up field and nearly found Troy Simpson who was marginally beat to the ball by keeper Westlake. On 23 minutes Chris Kite and Ben Murray lost the ball between them and Dean Evans put the ball through for Pearce but the Farm were saved by the linesman who flagged for offside. On 26 minutes we saw the bad side of football as Giovanni Necco and Troy Simpson squared up to each other. Troy Simpson was booked. There was a spell of about ten minutes when both sides had possession of the ball but neither side really created anything with it. On 40 minutes the Farm won a corner and Ben Murray got his head to the ball but could not direct his header and it went wide of the goal. On 44 minutes a good cross from Kye Thomas was well caught by Tristan Westlake.
The Farm started the second half in good form and more good work from Troy Simpson resulted in him winning the Farm a free kick. Troy took the free kick himself but his shot was over the bar. On 49 minutes a cross from Rob Dumphy was half cleared and found Rowlands at the far post who shot wide but the referee gave a corner so Ali Hines must have got something on the ball. Down the other end Ben Hiscox got past the Welton defence but there were no red shirts in the box so Westlake collected the ball. On 54 minutes Pearce was put through on goal but Hines came out narrowing the angle for Pearce who took the ball around him. He tried to square it back for Dean Evans who shot over the bar. On 56 minutes a good cross from Kye Thomas found Scott Feltham who headed the ball wide. On 59 minutes a corner from Welton saw Jason Hughes head just over the bar. On 62 minutes John Black made a substitution bringing off Matt Thorne to be replaced by Dominic Graffagnino. On 65 minutes a cross shot from Pearce was parried away well by Ali Hines. One minute later poor play from the farm resulted in the ball being given away and Pearce shot just wide of Hine’s far post. On 69 minutes a corner from Welton resulted in Jason Hughes being gifted a free header but it was straight at Hines. On 70 minutes John Black made his final two substitutions bringing off Plummer and Hiscox to be replaced by Leon Simpson and John Pugsley. On 72 minutes clever play from Troy Simpson resulted in him hitting a shot which just went over the bar. Two minutes later the farm won a free kick just outside the box after Kye Thomas was fouled. The free kick was taken by Pugsley whose shot was parried away by Westlake for a corner. On 76 minutes the Farm should have scored when a cross from Pugsley found Leon Simpson six yards out who headed the ball straight at the keeper. One minute later Welton won a free kick just outside the box and Dean Evans narrowly missed the target with the ball going just over the bar. On 78 minutes a cross from Pearce looked to have been handled by a Manor Farm player but nothing was given. On 82 minutes a driven cross from Rowlands was originally cleared but Dumphy kept the ball well and squared it for Kye Mountford whose shot was going wide but John Pugsley appeared to handle the ball as it was going wide and the referee made no hesitation in giving a penalty. Up stepped Rob Dumpy (former Farm player) whose shot was well saved by Hines and the ball was then cleared. Welton continued to mount the pressure and on 91 minutes a good shot from Rob Dumphy was well saved by Hines. The resulting corner was headed on but no Welton player got to it and the ball trickled wide of the post. The Farm were given a free kick on 94 minutes which would surely be the last chance but the free kick was cleared and the referee shortly after blew his whistle to the boos of the Welton fans who felt they should have won the game. This was a tough game for the Farm and Ali Hines’ heroics won the Farm a point. This result was definitely a point gained and not two points dropped.
Philip Burnett, Match Reporter
Truro City
Tuesday 19th February 2008
Bristol Manor Farm signed a new keeper, Lee Ballard, hours before the game to cover for the unavailable Ali Hines. This would be a tough game for The Farm considering Truro came here sitting top in the league.
On 2 minutes a through ball to the edge of the box found Dean Stamp who shot wide but Lee Ballard seemed to have it covered in The Farm goal. Three minutes later another through ball found Andy Watkins who took the ball around Lee Ballard but took too long and Ballard recovered and grabbed the ball. On 11 minutes Dean Stamp attempted to lob Ballard but his shot went wide. On 13 minutes a through ball fell to Twaine Plummer out wide who tried to lob the ball but swung at it and the ball went harmlessly across the box. On 15 minutes Dean Stamp found himself free down the left but his cross was poor and was cleared away. Two minutes later another chance for Dean Stamp whose shot was blocked and fell to the safe hands of Lee Ballard. On 20 minutes a good cross from Dean Stamp was headed out for a corner by Chris Kite. The resulting corner fell to Joe Broad outside the box who blazed his shot well over. The chances count for Truro was really starting to add up. One minute later a Truro cross found Andy Watkins but his shot was well saved by Lee Ballard.
The Farm continued to stay strong and intercepted a number of efforts. On 29 minutes The Farm won a rare corner which fell to Matt Thorne whose header was comfortably saved by Jason Chapman. On 31 minutes Dean Stamp attempted a long range effort but it went well over the bar. One minute later Stamp had yet another shot which yet again went wide. Two minutes later Truro won a free kick just outside the box. It was whipped in and found Mark Vercesi but his header was saved by Ballard even though it was going wide. On 39 minutes a long distance effort from Jordan Hazell fell straight to the hands of Jason Chapman. Two minutes later a good turn and shot was saved by Jason Chapman. It looked like The Farm would be going into the break all square, however, the referee had other ideas. On 43 minutes he adjudged that Matt Thorne had fouled Dean Stamp to the dismay and protest of Farm players, supporters and staff. The penalty was taken and converted by Dean Stamp to give the visitors a 1-0 lead going into the break.
Truro started the second half as they started the first and on 48 minutes Dean Stamp found himself in space and put his shot past Lee Ballard into the back of the net to increase their lead to 2-0. On 53 minutes Chris Reski was about to pull the trigger but Tom Hodge put in a superb tackle. One minute later Mark Vercesi with space on the centre circle managed to shoot wide. On 55 minutes a through ball out wide fell to Scott Feltham but he took a heavy touch and the chance was gone. On 57 minutes The Farm won a free kick just outside the box. This was taken by Troy Simpson and went narrowly wide of Chapman’s right hand post. On 60 minutes another dubious refereeing decision saw Truro awarded a second penalty. Lee Ballard was adjudged to have felled a Truro player in the box. Dean Stamp yet again stepped forward to take the penalty and calmly and coolly put the ball into the back of the net for his hat-trick. On 65 minutes The Farm brought on Steve Mason to replace Tom Hodge. On 68 minutes Truro City managed a double substitution with Andy Watkins and Joe Broad leaving the field being replaced by Stewart Yetton and Kevin Wills. On 69 minutes another chance for Dean Stamp was saved by Lee Ballard. On 73 minutes the farm brought on Leon Simpson who replaced Twaine Plummer. Truro continued to have chances towards the end but as with many of their efforts they could not find the target. On 84 minutes The Farms’ determination paid off with a through ball finding Ben Hiscox who calmly slotted the ball past keeper Jason Chapman. The game ended 3-1 to Truro City. However, two dubious penalty decisions cost The Farm as Truro only scored one goal from open play. Truro did out play us for many stages of the game but they missed golden chances and were given a helping hand by the referee. On the positive side new keeper Lee Ballard played well in goal and The Farm put in a good performance, although we lacked creativity in the final third.
Philip Burnett, Match Reporter
Ilfracombe Town
Saturday 8th March 2008
Bristol Manor Farm went into this game on the back of a poor run of form in search of a win and a desperately needed three points. Given we had only played this team seven days ago in the Les Phillips Cup, which farm lost 4-3 you would have thought we would have been in for something special today but unfortunately not.
The farm had a couple of new players in the squad today due to the departures of both Twaine Plummer and Leon Simpson. The farm started the game brightly created a chance after just 30 seconds but Richard Kerr could not get the power behind his shot which was comfortably saved by Steve Oliver in the Ilfracombe goal. On 4 minutes a through ball from Mike Heddon found Leon Taswell but a good tackle in the farm defence prevented him from scoring. On 8 minutes a through ball found Ben Hiscox who took the ball past the keeper but also past the goal. One minute later a cross from Danny Copeland fell to Richard Kerr just outside the box who saw his shot palmed away by Steve Oliver. On 13 minutes a free kick from Karl Baggaley was punched away by Ali Hines. Three minutes later a mix up in the farm box saw the ball fall to an Ilfracombe’s number 9, Shaun Lewis, who tucked the ball away to give the visitors a one goal lead. All the early pressure from the farm had gone to waste. However, the farm kept going and on 17 minutes a cross from Danny Copeland found Kevin Rawlings but his shot was blocked. Thirty seconds later Rawlings had another chance to score but his shot was well parried by Steve Oliver and Troy Simpson smashed the ball across the face of goal but nobody was there to capitalise. On 25 minutes a long corner from Danny Copeland found Matt Thorne at the far post but he headed the ball into the ground which enabled the defender to clear the it away. Two minutes later sloppy play from the farm resulted in an Ilfracombe free kick. This was taken by Ricky Marinaro who shot just wide. Danny Copeland seemed unhappy with the referee’s decision to give a free-kick and was booked by the referee for dissent. On 29 minutes a cross from Matt Thorne was headed out for a corner. The resulting corner was headed towards goal by Ben Hiscox but he could not find the target. On 43 minutes Troy Simpson went down in the box but the referee was not interested. The farm continued to put the pressure on but the first half finished 1- 0 to the visitors.
The farm started the second half as they did the first half and within a minute of kicking off they created a chance. The ball fell to Richard Kerr whose shot was blocked by the keeper and Troy Simpson followed the shot up only to see keeper Oliver block his effort on goal. On 52 minutes another dangerous free kick for Ilfracombe was put just wide by Ricky Marinaro. Six minutes later sloppy defending by the farm resulting in them giving the ball away in their own six yard box and this was put away by Ilfracombe to increase the visitors lead to 2-0. The farm were well and truly on the back foot now but that didn’t stop them putting pressure on the Ilfracombe goal. On 67 minutes a double substitution by John Black saw Chris Ashcroft and Tom Hodge come on to replace Ben Hiscox and Steve Mason. Two minutes later a through ball nearly found Danny Copeland but keeper Oliver beat him to the ball. On 72 minutes Ilfracombe brought on James Davey (no.14) who replaced Leon Taswell. On 79 minutes a cross from Danny Copeland found Troy Simpson who shot high and wide. On 83 minutes Ilfracombe made another substitution bringing on Stuart Hutchings to replace Liam Beades. The farm still put on pressure but failed to create clear cut chances. On 87 minutes a through ball found Danny Copeland and the ball was parried away by Steve Oliver but fell to Chris Ashcroft who saw his shot headed away on the line. This was to be the last chance and the game ended 2-0 to Ilfracombe Town. The farm looked very disappointing for long stages of the game. However, there were some positives being the performances of the new signings Richard Kerr and Danny Copeland. The farm need to get some points from somewhere soon as this result was our seventh league loss in a row.
Philip Burnett, Match Reporter