Pre-Season Friendly: Boston Vs Mansfield

‘A New Look’

Trips to Boston hold many a good memory for Mansfield Town fans down the years perhaps not always on the pitch though. When it used to be a league fixture, it was one of the first to be looked for by the eagle eyed fans, who always hoped it was penned in for a Saturday afternoon, in the warmer months, why? So they could make a short stop off at nearby Skeg-Vegas of course!

I’m sure many people took up the option of a weekend in Skeg, stopping off at the football yesterday afternoon, looking back – I wish I was one of them, yesterday result aside, was an utter nightmare. According to the Sat-Nav, yesterday’s trip should have taken roughly 1 hour 20 minutes, as it happens it took us 2 hours 30minutes!

Being sat in a slow line of crawling traffic was frustrating, it brought back memories of Newport last season, when we arrived at the ground with 2minutes to spare. This time, we arrived with 34 minutes to spare before kickoff; however I was late having been due on air at 2PM.  

After roaming randomly around the Boston car park, we stumbled across the media ticket collection point and endured another frustrating wait as Barbra & Jean chatted about which coffee was better, instant or machine made? My lip was being bitten so hard I could have pierced it, trying desperately not to shout out ‘who cares, drink tea – now give me my f*****g tickets!’ Eventually the debate was solved and it was time for hurdle number two – the turnstile. After attempting to tear our tickets in half perfectly, the turnstile operator finally let us through and we headed for were press boxes are normally situated – the half way line, however after a quick look around the ground, we noticed the press box was situated else were – behind the goal, how the bloody hell did we get over there?! A quick run over the corner of the pitch into the other stand, didn’t seem to please the Boston squad as we temporally disrupted their warm up! Eventually we arrived in the press box and set up in record speed (2 minutes 43 seconds!), made a rough guess at the team news and as a scheduled song took over; I slumped back in my seat, wondering what other surprises the afternoon would bring!

Paul Cox said at the ‘Meet the Manager’ event on Thursday evening that the side he put out against Boston & Chasetown next Saturday would be close to the one he starts the season with, looking at the names on the team sheet, I could do nothing but agree.

Stags lined up in a 4-4-2 formation, with the shirt numbers worn on the day in brackets.

[1] Alan Marriott

[2] Tom Naylor – [5] John Thompson – [6] Martin Riley – [3] Joe Kendrick

[7] Louis Briscoe – [21] Adam Murray (C) – [8] Jon Worthington – [11] Andy Todd

[10] Matt Green – [9] Paul Connor

SUBS: Shane Redmond, Ritchie Sutton [16], Matt Bell [17], Luke O’Neill [18], Lee Stevenson [12], Anthony Howell [14], Ross Dyer [15]

As if the press box behind the goal wasn’t enough to put a strange twist on the afternoon, the fact the players lined up for the pre-match handshakes on the edge of the penalty box rather than either side of the half way line was another. Add to that the fact the home side wore their away shirt; allowing Mansfield to wear all yellow once again was enough to send me near the edge of insanity.

Usually, when I start a commentary I say ‘Mansfield will be kicking from left to right in the first half’ because it helps to give listeners a clearer picture of the action, but with a press box behind a goal, what the hell was I meant to say?! I settled on ‘Up or Down’ the stags kicked off; kicking ‘Down’ the pitch towards the goal we were seated behind.

We didn’t have to wait long for a goal either, Tom Naylor showed playing left side of the back three on Tuesday evening at Hednesford he can be handy with throw ins, playing in a new role of right back yesterday, it certainly proved to be the case a minute in. Naylor’s throw looked to go down the line to Briscoe, however a cleaver spin drew the Boston markers all over the shop, the ball was launched long inside to Adam Murray who lurked outside the penalty box. The ball set up nicely and Murray pulled the trigger, the ball dipping powerfully with only one final destination – the back of the net, home keeper Paul Bastock got a hand to it, but nothing would have kept that strike out.

Boston 0-1 Stags

Straight from the re-start, stags nearly added a second. Tom Naylor won back possession well and played a neat cross park ball to Joe Kendrick, The former Bray Wonders man headed onto Andy Todd who was then fouled as he looked to progress forward, Kendrick’s resulting free kick lurked around the box and the home side eventually cleared through ex-stag Gareth Jellyman.

Mansfield continued to pile on the pressure, imprisoning the hosts into their own half – Matt Green’s header on from a right wing cross fell for Paul Connor, forcing a smart save from Bastock earning the stags a corner with barley 5 minutes on the clock.

Heading to the sea-side, everyone always says ‘Bring me back a gift’ with around 7 minutes gone, Adam Murray’s cross park chip to Louis Briscoe saw the wing man combine well with Paul Connor, The stags front man headed on to return Briscoe inside the area with last year’s leading scorer powering a lot low towards goal, Bastock seemed to be equal to it but the ball squirmed underneath the experienced keeper, who threw himself on top of the loose ball to deny Mansfield a second.

Boston finally broke free from own half jail, Jellyman burst free wide left and eventually chipped the ball forwards, he found Liam Ogden on the edge of the box who shot high – Alan Marriott more than equal too it.

Tom Naylor impressed at right back defensively but should have done better on the attack, Louis Briscoe dropped central to pick up Thompson’s pass before feeding the stags youngster into the box, Naylor opted for the shot which hit the side netting, a quick look up he would have spotted Paul Connor unmarked in a better shooting position, still a great Mansfield move.     

With 22 gone, Boston really should have made Mansfield pay for standing off a little too much, the home side allowed to come forward as Ex-Stags youngster Danny Sleath fed Marc Newsham into the area, Alan Marriott springing off his line to deny the pilgrims front man.

Mansfield soon woke up and attacked once more, Adam Murray spraying a pass wide to Andy Todd who did well to beat ex-stags trialist Jordan Fairclough at right back, Todd’s cross was just a little too deep, Matt Green inches away from connecting but to Mansfield’s credit they applied pressure well and looked to regain possession. Jon Worthington was then replaced by Lee Stevenson on 27 minutes after picking up a little knock, manager Paul Cox confirmed after it was a precautionary substitution.

Mansfield ended the half firmly in control, Lee Stevenson stole the ball from Danny Sleath before Adam Murray took over, Murray’s chipped ball onto Matt Green saw the oxford loanee move away from goal but keep the ball in play, the stags kept the ball but were forced back to the half way line, This before Mansfield had claims from a penalty waved away on the stroke of half time. Louis Briscoe fed Stevenson into the area, as the goal machine midfielder let fly, the ball stuck Jellyman on the arm but the referee said no and soon ended the half.

Half Time: Boston 0-1 Stags

The hosts started the second half and made 7 changes at the start of the half, stags made none at it was them who started the brightest once more, Louis Briscoe crossing from the right, Paul Connor beating his man headed the ball down towards the bottom corner, forcing a smart save from sub keeper, Ricky Drury.

Moments later, it was Drury who was the pilgrims saviour, great combination play saw Lee Stevenson push the ball wide left for Joe Kendrick to cross in for Paul Connor, his flick on landed at the feet of Briscoe who struck with venom left footed, Drury pushing the ball behind for a corner – a top draw save.

Danny Sleath let a shot fly from the edge of the box which was well held by Marriott, the only real scare Mansfield faced before the stags had a prime opportunity to double their lead. Matt Green laid the ball inside to Stevenson, his left footed effort was palmed away by the keeper but only as far as Briscoe half a yard from goal, and somehow his shot was wide of the target.

Ross Dyer came on to replace Paul Connor just past the hour mark however following Briscoe’s miss, Mansfield’s finishing touch was soon made to pay as the hosts drew level on 67 minutes. Ryan Semple’s corner drew a sharp save from Marriott from Parker, however the stags didn’t deal with the second ball and Liam Parker tapped home to level the scores.

Boston 1-1 Stags

Mansfield were back in the driving seat in under two minutes, a long ball up park from the back was headed on by Dyer, Matt Green made his way into the box and as he took the ball around the keeper, he was brought down with the referee pointing to the spot. At first, it looked like Matt Green was going to take the spot kick, but as Kendrick received some treatment, Louis Briscoe used the stoppage to receive instructions from the bench – he was to take the penalty, not Matt Green. Briscoe stepped up and fired low underneath Drury who guessed correctly diving to his right – however Briscoe’s kick was too powerful and he bagged his third goal in as many pre-season games to put the stags back in front.

Boston 1-2 Stags

Greens displeasure of not taking the spot kick was got a response from the bench, he was withdrawn for Anthony Howell, but not before Naylor’s deep free kick nearly saw Briscoe double his tally, the stags number 7 firing low but straight at the diving Drury.

Adam Murray made it 3-1 with a sublime effort with around 10minutes left, Murray started the move with a quick free kick, switched to Kendrick who chipped in a ball looking for Howell, Parker’s headed away fell kindly for the stags skipper who smashed a shot goal wards left footed, dipping underneath the keeper who stood no chance.

Boston 1-3 Stags

Ross Dyer had the chance to make it 4 minutes later, Murray played Stevenson into space wide left, his ball forward was perfect to Dyer who rounded the keeper and hit the side netting, had he found the back if the net, joy would have been short lived as the flag was up for offside.

Former Aston Villa star Julian Joachim had a great chance to reduce the score line with around 6 minutes to go, a neat pass into the box saw the experienced front man draw a smart save from Marriott, Joachim picked up the second ball but his pass was intercepted by Stevenson, then Kendrick.

The whistle for full time was getting increasingly closer to the referee’s lips however there was still time to add a fourth, Joe Kendrick’s left footed in swinging corner caught the home defence out, Anthony Howell tapped home from half a yard to seal the victory for the stags.

Boston 1-4 Stags

A crowd of 637 saw just one more piece of action, the ball had barley rolled out of the centre circled before the game ended and Paul Cox’s side sealed their third consecutive victory.

Full Time: Boston 1-4 Stags

The man of the match was undoubtedly Adam Murray, two sublime finishes plus some excellent passing showed what a talent Murray is, for me he’s an ideal captain and although Paul Cox will not name his captain until after the Chasetown game, Murray remains firm favourite in both myself & Paul Cox’s eyes as he admits in the post match interview.

Mansfield looked good yesterday afternoon but there clean canvas painting was still disrupted by a few blotches. At times I felt we stood off a little too more, quicker teams would have hurt us. Also for the goal, we had three chances to stop that happening and failed to do so every time, something we need to work on, we’ve two more games to do so before the serious stuff starts.

Paul Cox is a perfectionist and once more, he, Micky Moore and the boys had a lengthy discussion post match, however I didn’t mind waiting for the interview – the sunshine and cool breeze a refreshing end to what for some parts, was a hellish day. Paul Cox spoke to me very honestly & openly after the game, the interview you can here along with the podcast below. I’m usually a string judge of character, so far I’ve seen barley nothing on & off the pitch to suggest this year will not be our year – I plan to write a special season preview piece after the Chasetown game which will hopefully let you into Paul’s management style & mindset a little more.

Next up for the stags, it’s Ilkeston on Wednesday evening at the new manor ground – the very same ground were our FA Trophy escapades started – bring on the memories. If you can’t make it, Full match commentary on Takeover 106.9FM (link on the right), despite our finical problems, we will keep going until the very end. Thanks so much for your kind messages of support – there really appreciated by both me personally and the station as a whole.

Thanks for reading.

Pre-Season Friendly: Hednesford Vs Mansfield

‘The weighing scales’

I’ve said before how much I enjoy the work I do, it’s not just going to watch & report about stags every week, there’s another part of my job which I’m really enjoying at the moment – the weekly press meetings.

Monday’s was perhaps the most enjoyable one I’ve been too yet, not because I got the first interview with the gaffer, but because I got a real insight into the type of manager we have at the helm of our club. Paul Cox is the type of manager that will watch and study players’ body language, he will use physiological tactics to help his side achieve and get the best of them. He uses the science of the game and strikes me as the type of manager who see’s mental & physiological strength on an equal playing field to physical & technical ability. He strikes me as the type of guy would say that winning doesn’t always come in finishing first, but achieving something within.

Paul admitted his side we’re yet to be properly tested mentally & physiologically, which is why he introduced last night’s trip to Hednesford to the pre-season calendar, his focus was less on the outcome of the score, but how his squad would react to pitch conditioning, certain phases of play, battles against varying types of players – without sounding to nerdy, you get the picture!

The journey down to Hednesford was a pleasant one, good company; good laughs from good jokes made the journey down seem rather short – arriving at Keys Park in plenty of time to get set up ahead of another night on the radio.

With the ground belonging to a team in the lower realms of the football pyramid, I didn’t expect much and so was pleasantly surprised to see the standard of the keys park facilities, despite the fact the press box not having any permanent power access, the staff were very helpful, offering me a plug socket in the board room and 1^st aid room underneath the stand – it’s a good job I took along the big 50M extension cable though!

As the players warmed up on a bright & calmly breezy evening, I stood pitch side chatting to Paul Cox once more – he seemed confident the test the stags were set to face would be the toughest yet, describing the pitch as long, spongy and like a freshly cut farmers field were the cut grass lays scattered on the roughly cut surface. The stag’s boss spoke openly about why he’d chosen the fixture and how it would help, the only disappointment from my point of view was that time was against me; it was 7.28PM as we chatted away - I was on air in 2 minutes! Paul gladly gave me the team and we wished each other well for the evening.

Paul explained to me that with a mixture of illness, injury and what players could offer, were the main factors behind a first half experimental formation; he would line up his side to face Hednesford in a 4-3-1-2 formation. [Shirt Numbers in brackets]

[1] Alan Marriott

[6] Ritchie Sutton – [5] Martin Riley – [2] Tom Naylor

[7] Andy Todd – [12] Adam Murray (C) – [11] Paul Bolland – [3] Matt Bell

[8] Lee Stevenson

[9] Ross Dyer – [10] Matt Green

SUBS: Shane Redmond, [4] Louis Briscoe, [17] Nick Wood (Trialist), [14] Adam Smith, [15] Anthony Howell, [16] Luke O’Neill, [18] Danny Mitchley.  

It was a rather sloppy to start to last night’s encounter, the spongy & rough pitch was a difficult stage for the teams to come up with an opening act, naturally it was the side most suited to playing the venue that create the first chance. Ross Dyer flicked the ball onto Lee Stevenson but the home defence hoofed clear and nearly hurt Mansfield on the counter, Marvin Robinson doing well to hold off the challenge of Tom Naylor, but was foiled by Alan Marriott who was quick to come off his line to collect.

Alan Marriott had to be alert again as the game became 5 minutes old, a through ball over the top saw the ball hold up on the tricky pitch, Marriott racing off his line smashing clear and averting the danger.

With 7 minutes on the clock, Mansfield were a hairs with away from opening the scoring, Matt Bells left sided throw in found its way to Ross Dyer, who managed to play Bolland on the edge of the box despite a heavy first touch, Bollands snap snot thunderous drive from distance crashed just wide.

A minute later the hosts had their first real effort, Chris Clements right footed delivery from wide left was deep towards the far post, a missed header saw the ball spring up and bounce towards Cheyenne Dunkley who headed the loose ball towards goal, denied by a fine save from Alan Marriott who, diving backwards through a mêlée of players, scooped the ball away to safety allowing Andy Todd to hammer clear.    

The scare was enough to spark Mansfield into their own attacks, aided by Tom Naylor’s long throws to get Mansfield out of their own half, the stags found their feet by a combination of chipped cross field balls and powerful passing. Lee Stevenson cushioned down a cross park ball from Sutton, Matt Bell was first too it, beating his marker before crossing into the box for Ross Dyer, his turn inside the box saw him go away from goal and the ex forest green man opted to shoot rather than pass to Stevenson who lurked around the edge of the box – the home keeper, brother of former stags defender Luke Jones, Zak, gathered the loose ball.

With 25 minutes gone, Lee Stevenson had the perfect opportunity to prove his worth playing just behind the front two, Martin Riley’s lofted central ball was controlled well by Matt Green just to the right of the area, spotting Stevenson, Green played a perfect inside pass which Stevenson latched onto, striking with venom crashing a shot against the post – the home side cleared but Mansfield quickly built once more, Ross Dyer found himself inside the area just left of the goal, pulling back for Stevenson who ballooned his final curling shot over the bar and out of the ground.

Ritchie Sutton powered his way forward as the game became half an hour old, despite having Todd on the overlap and Skipper Murray inside, Sutton gambled and powered a right footed effort at goal from 30 yards, Jones saw it late but got down well, a good effort from Sutton.

The first half took a disappointing turn for Mansfield 5 minutes later, Paul Bolland recently back from a shoulder injury took the brunt of a forceful challenge, limping off for treatment – two minutes later he was replaced by Anthony Howell, Bollands injury a big blow looking in pain as he limped back towards the dressing room during the break, his ankle twice the size it was when he first arrived at Keys Park.

Half Time: Hednesford 0-0 Stags

Paul Cox made two changes at the break; Luke O’Neill replaced Ritchie Sutton whilst Louis Briscoe came on for Lee Stevenson as Mansfield opted for a 4-4-2:

[1] Alan Marriott

[16] Luke O’Neill – [5] Martin Riley – [2] Tom Naylor – [3] Matt Bell

[7] Andy Todd – [12] Adam Murray (C) – [15] Anthony Howell – [4] Louis Briscoe

[10] Matt Green – [9] Ross Dyer

With the second half underway, it took less than 60 seconds for the hosts to create the first opportunity, Matt Green was beaten at left back by Cliff Moyo who cut a decent ball back inside for Nick Wellecomme, Tom Naylor getting in a vital block as the Hednesford front man was about to pull the trigger.

Five minutes later, the hosts, who put on a decent performance throughout on their own stage, temporarily lapsed into comedy of errors – Anthony Howell pushed the ball wide left to Briscoe, whose chipped ball looking for Green should have been easy to defend. However, miss communication between Jones & Gomes saw the pair collide and the ball sneak through – Matt Green taking full advantage tapping into the empty net to grab his first Mansfield goal since joining on loan from Oxford

Hednesford 0-1 Stags

The home side had the perfect chance to respond as a long ball once again stretched Mansfield’s defence, Marvin Robinson found himself 1 Vs 1 with Marriott but ballooned his effort miles wide, Marriott pressuring well springing off his line to narrow the angles.

Mansfield continued to search for a second goal, Tom Naylor played an excellent high cross pitch ball to Andy Todd from the left side of defence, Todd’s header into space found the on rushing Luke O’Neill, the former foxes man drilled in a low cross which Ross Dyer latched onto, blasting powerfully towards goal, only to be denied by an excellent save by Jones.

So far under Paul Cox, the stags have failed to score more than once in a game this trend ended with 64 minutes gone. Good work from Matt Green wide left saw Briscoe come inside and advance into the area, Briscoe was fouled and the referee Danny Gratton pointed to the spot, Briscoe stepped up and fired low underneath Jones who guessed correctly diving to his right. A powerful effort, finally Mansfield (& Briscoe) net from the spot!

Hednesford 0-2 Stags

Paul Cox wanted the players mentality testing, what better way to do so than by seeing your lead cut, Danny Quinn headed home from close range after Alex Melbourne got the better of Bell to whip in a cross, Cox then withdrew Todd & Green with 20 to go – Adam smith & Danny Mitchley the respective replacements.

Hednesford 1-2 Stags

A couple of minutes later, Mansfield restored their two goal cushion following string set piece play. A corner on the near side was floated in left footed by Bell, The home defence failed to clear and Louis Briscoe smashed the ball towards goal, a fine save from Jones saw another corner. Bell again delivered from the same side, the ball landed in the same place and after Jones had dropped his attempted collection of the ball, Tom Naylor was left with the simple task of tapping home to net his second ever stags goal.

Hednesford 1-3 Stags

Mansfield made their final change on 75, Trialist Nick Wood replaced Martin Riley at centre half, a change which didn’t disrupt the flow of the game as Mansfield attacked once more. Ross Dyer, returning to his first ever club, found his way into the area but ran into trouble, the former Hednesford hit man did well to turn and find Howell on the edge of the box, Howells left footed effort saved well by Zak Jones.

It was a nervy end for Mansfield though proving another test of mentality – Danny Quinn’s 85^th minute goal saw the stags’ lead reduced once more. Marvin Robinson headed on another long ball from the back, Quinn first to the loose ball powerfully beating Marriott with a neat left footed finish.

Hednesford 2-3 Stags

The home side pushed Mansfield to the end, Alan Marriott the savoir as he held on to Chris Clements 90^th minute 25 yard blast, before Marriott could boot the ball down field, the final whistle blew giving Mansfield another victory but seeing the scales on negative & positives still worryingly well balanced as the big kick off approaches.

Full Time: Hednesford 2-3 Mansfield.

It wasn’t the most convincing of wins but it’s a win all the same, as the ground descended into darkness I had a feeling Paul Cox would have got exactly what he wanted from the encounter – however it was clear from the shout from the tunnel he wasn’t entirely happy! Packing up in the darkest of darkness was an experience I wasn’t expecting until mid November, however I classed it as my own pre-season training! My worries about how Paul would react to questions in the post interview were silly; it was another insightful and honest interview.

I have utter confidence that when a few players return, these errors will be banished and the cogs will begin to smoothly turn. Yes last night raised many question marks, but on balance, it was a weaker side, and there was one massive positive we should consider before moving on. We took advantage of three separate phrases of play and worked them extremely well, the first goal a perfect example of closing down and pressuring opponents – the second, a perfect example of good combination play and positional awareness – the third, something we’ve not done for a long time: scored from a corner.

In other news, Paul Cox revealed to me after the game that goalkeeper Neil Collett has joined Nuneaton on a month’s loan. Neil is one of two players not to have been given a squad number for the forthcoming season, will Danny Mitchley be on the move soon? The 2011/12 Squad list now looks as follows.

1.      Alan Marriott

2.      Tom Naylor

3.      Joe Kendrick

4.      Jon Worthington

5.      John Thompson

6.      Martin Riley

7.      Louis Briscoe

8.      Lee Stevenson

9.      Paul Connor

10.  Matt Green (Loan – Oxford United)

11.  Adam Murray

12.   

13.   

14.  Paul Bolland

15.  Ross Dyer

16.  Luke O’Neill

17.  Ritchie Sutton

18.  Matt Bell

19.  Adam Smith

20.  Andy Todd (Player Coach)

21.  Anthony Howell

22.  Rhys Day

23.  Shane Redmond

24.  Lindon Meikle

Manager: Paul Cox

Assistant Manager: Micky Moore

Chief Scout: Paul Ogden

Neil Collett (Loaned out – Nuneaton)

Danny Mitchley (No number given)

Next up, Boston United – Full match commentary on Takeover Radio 106.9FM & online, see link on the right, build up starts from 2PM. Thanks for reading. 

Podcast & Post Match Interview With Paul Cox:

Pre-Season Friendly: FC Halifax Vs Stags.

‘Lucky 7’

Each morning when you wake up, you get a different feeling. Yesterday, I was awoken to the sound of bird song, followed by a calming silence, rare for my street, as I pulled back the curtains to reveal a nice blue sky with the sun beginning to shine. Ironically as my radio alarm sounded (I’m always up before it) I caught the end of Michael Buble signing ‘Feeling Good’ “it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life, for me.... and I’m feeling good” I knew then, that I was in for a good day.

We’ve seen flashes of what could be during the last few games, however flashes of what could be don’t bring the same satisfaction of winning – so yesterday we headed off up the motorway from junction 29, towards Halifax to take on the team we’d beaten in last year’s FA Cup 4^th Round qualifier – newly promoted to the BSBN: FC Halifax Town.

A pleasant and quick journey soon saw us arrive at our destination, and after a quick detour for food, I headed off for the press box (a new one on my list of press boxes too!) as everyone else headed for a refreshing pint in the warm summer sun – the sods!

 

After setting up the kit and attempting to make it a neat wiring job, it was time to go on air as team news arrived – the side to take on FC Halifax saw a few changes and introduced the latest trialist to the set up, central defender Nick Wood. The 20 year old started his career with Sheffield Wednesday, progressing through their youth system, including a loan spell at Sheffield FC. Last season Nick made 12 appearances for Tranmere Rovers, before being released at the end of the season. Even before watching him play, I was pretty certain there was no danger of him getting a deal at stags with plenty of players ahead of him. So why was he playing? Martin Riley (Food Poisoning), John Thompson (Hip – not serious) & Rhys Day were all injured, meaning the gaffer Paul Cox was low on natural centre half’s, not wanting to risk other members of the squad who can play centre half, mainly Matt Bell & Ritchie Sutton.

Line up [Shirt numbers in brackets]

[1] Shane Redmond

[2] Luke O’Neill – [6] Tom Naylor – [5] Nick Wood – [3] Joe Kendrick

[7] Louis Briscoe – [4] Jon Worthington (C) – [8] Paul Bolland – [11] Adam Smith

[9] Paul Connor – [10] Matt Green

SUBS: [1] Alan Marriott – [12] Adam Murray – [14] Anthony Howell – [15] Lindon Meikle – [16] Lee Stevenson – [17] Ritchie Sutton – [18] Matt Bell – [19] Ross Dyer – [20] Danny Mitchley – [21] Andy Todd

Its maybe worth noting that yesterday’s game was the first time during pre-season that the squad numbers have matched the names given on the team sheet, it’s just a shame FC Halifax chose to rename Shane Redmond ‘Steve’ and Louis Briscoe ‘Lewis’ ah well, nobody’s perfect – just ask Tyrone Thompson what he’d say about his defence skills (low blow, sorry Tyrone!)

Back to yesterday’s action and it was the stags who enjoyed the brighter start, just a minute into the game, Luke O’Neill chipped a lovely ball forward after some neat passing in the centre, loan signing Matt Green was the recipient and after turning his man, laid a cleaver ball off to stand in skipper Worthington who blasted an effort towards goal, his right footed effort ballooned back off Scott McManus and Mansfield began to build again.    

Seven minutes later it was the stags who nearly took advantage of a defensive error, Louis Briscoe’s deep cross park ball wasn’t fully headed away by Liam Hogan, Paul Connor was first to the loose ball and delivered a telling cross left footed from the left hand side of the penalty box. Connor’s cross flashed across the face of goal and Matt Green was inches away from a connecting header, Louis Briscoe tried to keep the move alive but the spin of the ball saw it go out for a goal kick.

Mansfield continued to look lively, a minute after Greens near header he managed to finally connect from a corner. Joe Kendrick’s deep left footed in-swinger was headed back central by Adam Smith, Matt Green heading the high loose ball straight into the grateful hands of Simon Eastwood.

The game was stopped temporarily as Shane Redmond & Tom Naylor both required treatment after a clash of heads attempting to clear a loose ball, Redmond looked for a moment like his Mansfield debut maybe cut short as Alan Marriott began to warm up, however a quick jog saw Redmond ok and he return to action, with Marriott sitting back down to catch 40 winks, see Mazza’s twitter for more details!

Mansfield’s early running and hard work was nearly undone as the game became 10 minutes old, a break down the left wing saw Liam Needham fouled as he cut inside. The resulting free kick saw the hosts come a whisker away from opening the scoring, Liam Hogan heading Tom Baker’s free kick just wide after creeping in at the near post.

Mansfield looked comfortable on the ball in the FC Halifax half, fine passing movement between debutant Bolland, skipper Worthington & wingers Briscoe & Smith had the hosts chasing the ball quite often, however as the home side won it back, they began to look a threat themselves. A miscommunication between Naylor & Trialist Wood saw Nick Gray through 1 vs. 1, Shane Redmond sparred the stags blushes though stealing the ball from the feet of the lively Gray.

Louis Briscoe, finally wearing the number 7 shirt once again, reminded the travelling support of how magnificent our number 7 is as the game passed the 20 minute mark, Paul Connor’s fine lay off after showing good strength to hold up play saw Briscoe powerfully strike right footed, forcing a fine saw from Eastwood to earn the stags a corner.

Briscoe then turned provider moments later as new striker Matt Green had a chance to shine, Briscoe powerful run down the right flank saw him release Green who lingered on the edge of the penalty box, with the flag down Green pulled the trigger but unfortunately wasted his chance and dragged the shot wide or the target.

FC Halifax continued to put moves together and had a golden opportunity on 32 minutes, Shane Redmond batted away a left wing free kick but the ball ran loose for David Haggerty, who from close range blasted over the top of the bar.

Two minutes later at the other end it was Mansfield’s chance to shoot as the pendulum continued to swing back and forth, Joe Kendrick’s deep left footed corner delivery was headed down by Tom Naylor, the ball landed about a yard from goal, Matt Green swung his boot at it and smashed his effort straight at Eastwood, had he put it anywhere else Mansfield would have taken the lead for sure.

End to end action began to unfold as the game neared the break, Ryan Toulson, who impressed throughout, delivered a pin point cross in search of Nick Gray, Gray headed straight at the grateful & alert Redmond who quickly bowled the ball out to spark a Mansfield counter attack. Louis Briscoe thundered down the right and with Paul Connor & Green racing forward in support, opted to chip a ball into the area, Paul Connor connected but headed wide, applauding Briscoe’s work rate before cursing his luck.

Half Time: FC Halifax 0-0 Mansfield

Paul Cox made two changes at the break, winger Adam Smith & central midfielder Paul Bolland gave way for Lindon Meikle & Adam Murray, who came out without the captains armband on, but shortly before the whistle, stripped it off Jon Worthington’s arm to regain control!

2^nd Half Starting Line Up [Numbers in brackets]  

[1] Shane Redmond

[2] Luke O’Neill – [6] Tom Naylor – [5] Nick Wood – [3] Joe Kendrick

[7] Louis Briscoe – [4] Jon Worthington – [12] Adam Murray (C) – [15] Lindon Meikle

[9] Paul Connor – [10] Matt Green

Remaining Subs: [1] Alan Marriott - [14] Anthony Howell – [16] Lee Stevenson – [17] Ritchie Sutton – [18] Matt Bell – [19] Ross Dyer – [20] Danny Mitchley – [21] Andy Todd

With the half just two minutes old, it was a combination of two players who played for Mansfield the last time the sides met, that saw the arrival of the game’s opening goal. Louis Briscoe battled well down the right hand side, passing the ball low for Paul Connor, Connor held up play well and after a neat turn, returned the ball to Briscoe, last season’s top scorer progressed into the area and fired past the keeper to put Mansfield ahead.

FC Halifax 0-1 Mansfield

Four minutes later, Mansfield had the chance to double their lead, Adam Murray & Paul Connor involved in a silky passing move which saw the ball run to the impressive Lindon Meikle, the former Eastwood man cut in from the flank and fired powerfully towards goal from 30 yards, Simon Eastwood held on well.

Lindon Meikle then became one of several players involved in creating the next Mansfield opportunity, Meikle’s pass to Paul Connor saw the hit man ping in a left footed cross in search of Green, The Oxford United loan man headed down to Briscoe who looked to return a cross for Connor, the cross headed away only as far as Joe Kendrick who belted an effort towards goal, firing narrowly over.

The home side had efforts of their own and should have drawn level on 68; Nick Wood’s headed clearance from a corner fell kindly for substitute James Dean who fired wide from 16 yards. Two minutes later, Paul Connor’s game was over as he was replaced by Ross Dyer. Dyer had a 5 minute spell with Matt Green, which was spent waiting for a clearance as the midfield did battle, before Lee Stevenson replaced Green and Paul Cox made a tweak to the formation. Stevenson slotting in just behind Dyer as 4-4-2 became 4-4-1-1.

With 77minutes on the clock, it was Stevenson that nearly grabbed a second, fantastic on the ball work from Briscoe, Stevenson, O’Neill and Dyer saw the latter play a neat 1-2 with Stevenson who fired over, left footed, from the edge of the box.

A late FC Halifax free kick cannoned back off the wall and came to nothing as stags made more changes, Ritchie Sutton & Andy Todd replaced Luke O’Neill and goal scorer Briscoe, before Lindon Meikle was taken off after pulling up bursting down the left, Matt Bell replaced him but no sooner had Bell had taken to the field, he headed back off as the full time whistle blew to signal Mansfield’s first win of pre-season and the first win under Paul Cox.  

Full Time: FC Halifax 0-1 Stags

After the game, Paul Cox explained the trialist situation to me, and as I predicted beforehand it was to do with injuries. He seemed pleased with the win but felt Mansfield have a lot more to offer and a lot more to learn – I agree. I look forwards to Tuesday evening’s game at Hednesford, we’ve set the bar it’s time to jump over it and raise it a little higher as the season’s starting line comes closer. You can hear his full interview & yesterday’s audio highlights below.

If you can’t get to Hednesford on Tuesday evening, fear not because once again there’s full match commentary on Takeover Radio. Locally on 106.9FM & around the world online     http://www.takeoverradio.net/Media/Media_Player.html if you have trouble getting that link to work, simply open Windows Media Player – FILE – OPEN URL – paste this: http://live.canstream.co.uk:8000/suttonyouth.mp3 - PRESS OK and after a minute of buffering, you’ll hear my voice (providing you tune in at 7.30PM!)

Thanks for reading, see you soon.

Green Arrives On Loan

Following the earlier capture of defender Joe Kendrick, the 12^th Stag have stepped in once more to help secure the capture of 6ft striker Matt Green, until the end of December on loan from Oxford United. The supporter’s trust, who aided in the capture of Paul Connor & Luke Medley last season, have donated £2,000 to the capture of the former Bristol City trainee.

I said earlier on today that the ‘missing piece of the jigsaw’ would be a striker, now we have one the metaphorical jigsaw has all its pieces, the question is, are they the right ones? I guess we’ll find out tomorrow & beyond.

After Green’s release from Bristol City, he moved on to Newport County bagging 8 goals in 48 appearances between 2005-07, sticking with Wales Green then went onto play half a dozen or so games for Cardiff City 2007-08 season, during which time he headed out on loan on three occasions – a 4 game spell at Darlington and two separate spells at Oxford averaging a goal every two games (10 goals in 20 appearances). A two season stint at Torquay followed, bagging just 4 goals in 29 games, with the second season seeing Green head back to Oxford on loan for a third time, bagging a further 10 goals in 41 games. The loan move was made permanent in 2010, a further 17 appearances for Oxford followed, finding the net just once. In January of this year he joined Cheltenham on loan until the end of the season, playing 19 games – failing to score. On his travels, Green has played with Rhys Day & Adam Murray at Oxford – and presumably Martin Riley at Cheltenham, although I can’t be sure on that one, I can’t be right all of the time surely!  

Is this the end for Danny Mitchley? Is this the end of the Louis Briscoe striker experiment? Time will tell.

Updated Squad & Management List (Last Known Club)

Alan Marriott

Adam Murray

Adam Smith

Tom Naylor

Louis Briscoe

Paul Connor

Rhys Day

Danny Mitchley

Neil Collett

Lee Stevenson (New signing – Eastwood)

Lindon Mikele (New signing – Eastwood)

Paul Bolland (New signing – Macclesfield)

Matt Bell (New signing – Port Vale [Reserves])

Anthony Howell (New signing – Alfreton) 

Ross Dyer (New signing – Forest Green Rovers)

Jon Worthington (New Signing – Bradford City)

Micky Moore (Assistant Manager – Joins from Solihull Moors)

Andy Todd (Player Coach)

Ritchie Sutton (New Signing – Port Vale)

Paul Ogden (Chief Scout)

Luke O’Neill (New Signing – Leicester City)

Shane Redmond (New Signing – Chesterfield)

Martin Riley (New Signing – Cheltenham)

John Thompson (New Signing – Notts County)

Joe Kendrick (New Signing – Bray Wonders) 

Matt Green (Loan Signing – Oxford United)