CONFIDENCE is sky high around the Bees’ camp at present, as they return to league action with a trip to Bitton on Saturday (3pm).

Goalkeeper Ashley Weeks could be back in the Bridport squad depending on whether he can recover in time from a shoulder injury, but Dan Wise is still unavailable for the clash with the south Gloucestershire-based outfit, who currently sit fifth in the Western League pile.

“Everybody is looking forward to the game, we did well up there last year but it is always a difficult place to go, they are always strong at home,” manager Trevor Senior said.

“We are three points behind them with a game in hand so it would be good to get the three points if we can.”

Senior admitted he had never been involved in a result like it after seeing his Bridport side produce an 11-goal mauling of East Cowes Victoria at St Mary’s Field at the weekend.

Four goals for Warren Byerley, along with two from Shane Evans, two for Tom Richardson and solitary strikes for Ryan Dovell, Jamie Filkins and Matt Morley saw the Bees run rampage over their Wessex League Division One counterparts with the 11-0 win.

And they made every other team in the FA Vase stand up and take notice.

Staggeringly, it took the home side 25 minutes to open the scoring and they were only 2-0 up at the interval, but Senior believed his side’s second-half showing was something to savour.

“To score nine goals in the second half is good by any standard, irrespective of who you are playing,” he told the Bridport News.

“I’ve never had a scoreline like that as a manager or a player.

“All the lads were saying after the game that they had not been involved in a score like that since they played youth football.

“We could have had a few more as well. We scored seven goals with two subs on and I think we scored five with all three on so it was good, everybody got a run and everyone felt a part of it.

“In the second half in particular we played some really good stuff. I think Jamie Fry in our goal touched the ball twice.”

But with his side rampant throughout, Senior also took the time to pay a compliment to their Isle of Wight opponents.

He added: “Fair play to them, they never lost their heads, there were no bookings in the game and no animosity.

“They stuck to their guns and we did what we had to do.”

Bees: Fry, Condliffe, Clarke, Evans, Stewart (C Senior 55), Ry Hayter, Filkins (Richardson 55), J Symes, Byerley, Dovell (Anstey 65), Morley.

Man of the match: Shane Evans Attendance: 75 Looking ahead to the first round proper in the Vase, Bridport will face a trip to Western League Division One outfit Calne Town, and the Bees’ boss is once again content with the draw.

“I am more than happy with it, it could have been a lot worse,” he added.

“The draw has been kind to us in the first two rounds, and with an away tie now against lower league opposition, we will take that as well.

“The way we are playing at the moment we should go into it with a lot of confidence, there was a bit of a buzz going around when the draw was made. I am not going to take anything lightly though.”