After running the rule over at least 20 trialists so far this pre-season, manager Paul Cox has finally delivered a verdict, Joe Kendrick is found guilty enough to be handed a one year deal with the stags, after impressing against N-Power Championship side Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday evening.
The 28 year old becomes the latest field mill signing and also the third player to have his wages funded by supporter’s trust, 12th Stag, following in the footsteps of Luke Medley & last year’s second top scorer, Paul Connor.
The 12th Stag have donated £3,400 towards the Dublin born defenders wages; this signing for me completes our back line and leaves us searching for one small piece of the possible promotion jigsaw – a striker.
Joe is a well travelled defender; his former clubs include Newcastle United (Trainee), TSV 1860 Munich, Darlington, Torquay, Tamworth, Workington, Newcastle Blue Star, Drogheda United, PFC Neftchi, Sligo Rovers, Drogheda United & Bray Wonders. Joe, who’s great uncle of the same name played for Everton, turned down a number of BSBP clubs to join Mansfield, initially on trial, before putting pen to paper. One of the clubs in question appears to be relegated Stockport County.
Joe did fairly well on Tuesday evening, it was after he went off that Doncaster really started to trouble us on the far side. I would have liked to have seen Caruthers or Goodall sign shortly after their trials, but footballs football and they’ve both moved on, Joe is an equally good signing and will fit in well the squad, I welcome him to Field Mill in the hope he will be the answer to the problems we’ve had at left back ever since Adam Eaton departed in my opinion.
Things are beginning to slot into place now, I’m hoping the other two trialists from Tuesday will have now moved on (Shaun Pejic & Lewis Horne), as I said in my match report from Tuesday game, we don’t need any more defenders bar a left back which we now have. We are now on the lookout for a striker, presuming Mitchley will not be part of Paul Cox’s first team plans – the case now? Crossing the I’s & dotting the T’s, the foundations are in place, it’s time to make them set over the next few pre-season fixtures.
Make sure you join me for Full Match Commentary on tomorrow’s away friendly with FC Halifax, build up starts at 2PM on 106.9FM or online (see the right hand side for the link).
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)
After the BBC series waterloo road ended its latest Wednesday night run, my Wednesday evenings became blank once more. Not being able to play Football Manager makes it worse, thankfully the beautiful game rescued me from the brink of boredom.
Although it wasn't stags, a game of football is a game of football, and to my delight, I had two to choose from! I really wanted to see the stags youth team in action, but baring in mind I’ll see them on August the 6th at Chasetown before the first team play, last night's destination was Eastwood Town's coronation park.
A few things drew me to Eastwood yesterday evening, mainly the Mansfield connection. Eastwood, managed by ex-stag Craig Armstrong, featured no less than 6 former stags, along with player manager Armstrong, former strikers Lee Morris & Jason Beardsley took their place in the starting line up along with two players from last season, defender Kevin Sandwith & Midfielder Stevie Istead. On the bench, completing the 'Ex-Stags Six' was former Stags trialist Spencer Weir-Daley.
The other factor to last night’s trip to Coronation Park, was having a look at how another BSBP are shaping up during pre-season, and basically trying to get a look at how far in front or behind other teams in our league we are, something I will do again next week when Alfreton take on both Sheffield Clubs.
Eastwood Line Up: Ian Deakin, Alex Troke, Sam Benjamin, Igor, Kevin Sandwith, Craig Armstrong, Stevie Istead (C), Jake Sheridan, Lee Morris, Jason Bradley, Jervais Christie. SUBS: Ben Fairclough, Danny Poole, Josh Ross, Will Mellors-Blair, Spencer Weir-Daley, Paul Riley, Aaron Mitchell.
Wrexham had the brighter start of the two sides as the new look home set up took time to find their feet, Jamie Tolley tested home shot stopper Ian Deakin from distance in the opening minutes, before former stags striker Jake Speight was one of the several bodies attempting to slam home in a goal mouth scramble from a Wrexham corner, Speight’s effort cannoned off an Eastwood leg to allow the home side to clear.
Eastwood then started to find their feet and former stags midfielder, skipper for the night Stevie Istead was at the heart of a neat Eastwood move, a good cross field ball from the far side saw Istead battle well to keep the ball in play, harshly flagged offside.
Eastwood were again denied by the offside flag, this time there were less complaints as a stag-connection thought they’d put Eastwood in front. Good battling in the centre of the park from skipper Istead won possession back, Istead sent Lee Morris on his way forward, Morris was going away from goal but did well to pull the ball back and cross low for Jason Bradley who finished well but was the man standing in an offside position.
Both sides impressed with short spells on and off the ball, Eastwood’s Jervais Christie showed good strength and pace on the left wing but failed to find his required target in the box, whilst Wrexham showed Ariel strength following a corner, virtually playing head tennis in the Eastwood penalty area, the move ended when the welsh side hit the side netting.
Eastwood then had a golden chance of their own, Jason Bradley send Christie on his way wide left, with the tricky winger crossing low for the on rushing Bradley, the former stags forward smashed a shot straight at Chris Maxwell who saved well, conceding a corner which Eastwood failed to work to their advantage.
Wrexham found themselves in front, but it wasn’t a spectacular effort, Steve Tomassen’s long range effort should have been easy to deal with, however the shot somehow squirmed underneath the diving Ian Deakin’s body to open the scoring with 33minutes gone.
Eastwood, who were perhaps the better of the two sides in the first half, grouped together in search of a leveler, first a goal mouth scramble saw Wrexham somehow clear, before some good combination play saw an Istead cross headed away but, to their credit Eastwood picked up the second ball and started to build once more.
At the other end, former stag’s defender Kevin Sandwith, on trial at Eastwood, did well to force a Wrexham shot wide of the target after a powerful break down field.
Just before the half time whistle, Eastwood again showed quality in the final third, Combination between Christie & Morris helped to get Bradley in space, Bradley’s final pass found the feet of former Tamworth midfielder Jake Sheridan who blasted his shot well over the cross bar.
Half Time: Eastwood 0-1 Wrexham.
Substitutions were made by both sides, I must say it made a refreshing change to be able to finish my half time cuppa rather than trying to figure out who’s replaced who, whose playing were and commentate! (I won’t lie, I missed it a little, roll on Saturday). It was a fairly average start as the substitutes looked to settle in, Player manager Craig Armstrong was amongst those departing the pitch, to take his place alongside Jamie Brough in the technical area dishing out the orders.
Ian Deakin made up for his early error throughout the second half, doing well to deny the tricky Mathias Pegba after he found himself 1 vs. 1.
The home side eventually found their feet, the home support impressed by the two touch passing movement which saw Wrexham chasing shadows at times; they also said it made a refreshing chance to the long ball game Paul Cox used to play – should we be worried? I’m not sure but I think the players Cox has at Mansfield differs massively to those he had at Eastwood, our football with be played on the floor – no neck braces will be needed.
Back to last night’s action, Wrexham began to threaten out wide with numerous strong crosses from the left wing, all well dealt with by Sandwith & Deakin. Eastwood themselves continued to test the visiting back four, Stevie Istead sold the Wrexham centre half a great dummy to allow Jervais Christie to blast goal wards, denied by Wrexham’s substitute keeper who made a good low save.
Eastwood substitute Paul Riley impressed with some strong running, but the praise belonged to home shot stopper Ian Deakin, denying Gareth Taylor with a strong save, after Taylor skipped past Kevin Sandwith’s challenge to blast an effort towards goal.
Deakin was again the hero as the game entered its final moments, strong running by Wrexham saw Eastwood’s Igor concede a penalty, Gareth Taylor stepped up with a powerful right footed effort, Ian Deakin pulling off a tremendous save away to his left.
Full Time: Eastwood 0-1 Wrexham; Attendance 237
I went along to see how far away stags’ were to another BSBP side, in the end I couldn’t really find any answers, Eastwood were they side which impressed me the most. Some strong passing and creativity saw the new look badgers knock at Wrexham’s door throughout, had it not been for the first half error, last night’s result could have been a totally different story. Craig Armstrong & Jamie Brough have some good players on their hands, like Mansfield a few more tweaks in certain areas and the badgers will once again have a strong side. If you’re at a loose end on the 28th July, go along to Coronation park and watch the badgers take on Huddersfield, kick off is 7.45PM.
It was nice to watch a game without the radio stuff, but the media bug still bit, which is why you’ve just read a match report! Next up, FC Halifax vs. the beloved – don’t forget full match commentary on Takeover Radio 106.9FM from 2PM, the link to listen online is on the far right hand side. I’m now looking forwards to checking out another BSBP side in a week’s time or so when I watch Alfreton, I’m also looking forwards to watching the stags youth team, who won 11 (yes eleven) – 0 last night! Some great prospects by the sound of it, well done boys!
Good luck to Craig & Jamie for the season ahead, also to all the ex-stags playing for the badgers. Thanks for reading, see you soon.
Often in life people go in search of inspiration, something on someone to look up to, an example to follow. In football it’s no different, and for teams in the BSBP, ex league or not, the team to look to for inspiration, the team to try and be like, is Doncaster Rovers, who were the visitors to Field Mill last night for the latest pre-season friendly.
Doncaster’s story is well known in lower league football, dropping out of the football league 1998, they faced an uncertain future and battled through the unknown quantities of the conference to finally bounce back, better than ever before. A way back into the football league was found at the end of Doncaster’s fourth season in the conference, courtesy of a 100th minute extra time strike in the play off final, to beat Dagenham & Redbridge 3-2. Heavy finical investment mixed with powerful, good quality football saw Doncaster get back to back promotions, more than 10 years after their drop to the unknown harshness of the conference; the south Yorkshire side are now well established in the second tier of English football.
Every team that’s relegated will at some point use the phrase ‘let’s do a Doncaster’ often, they don’t manage it but if you at the similarities between Doncaster’s final season in the conference and the current Mansfield town set up, you feel footballing history could repeat itself and in a few years time, the phrase will be ‘let’s do a Mansfield’ Heavy investment is being made by the owner of our beloved club, both within the playing squad and in the backroom, Mr Radford of course part of the Doncaster set up to achieve the things they did. The signing of John Thompson on Friday evening, well very early Saturday morning, proves we’re not just after diamonds in the rough. Last night was an ideal platform to see how far Doncaster had come, and how far away our beloved stags’ were to matching Doncaster’s promotion feat.
During Monday morning’s press conference we we’re told that Alan Goodall would be given a second shot at left back, however arriving at Field Mill and being handed a team sheet told a different story, with his name nowhere to be seen, rumours suggest that he’s signed for fellow BSBP side Fleetwood. Goodall’s absence saw three fresh names on the team sheet, Joe Kendrick the only one making the starting line up.
A quick check of Google gave me enough information to share with the listeners, Kendrick’s a 28 year old defender, his most recent club was bray wonders, he’s also had spells with Darlington, Tamworth & Torquay. The other new names on the team sheet were also both defenders (Cheers Google!) 20 year old Lewis Horne a product of the Bradford youth set up who has had loan spells with Fleetwood & Barrow, and 28 year old centre half Shaun Pejic, most notably of Wrexham having played 175+ games for the welsh side, he’s also had spells with York City & more recently Vancouver Whitecaps.
Starting Line Up [Squad Numbers In Brackets]:
[1] Alan Marriott
[2] Ritchie Sutton – [5] Martin Riley – [6] John Thompson – [3] Joe Kendrick (Trialist)
[4] Louis Briscoe – [7] Adam Murray (C) – [8] Lee Stevenson – [10] Jon Worthington – [11] Lindon Meikle
[9] Paul Connor
SUBS: Shane Redmond – [19] Ross Dyer – [14] Adam Smith – [15] Lewis Horne (Trialist) – [16] Andy Todd – [17] Matt Bell – [18] Anthony Howell – [12] Luke O’Neill – [20] Shaun Pejic (Trialist) – [21] Danny Mitchley.
The stags began with a 4-5-1, but after around 10 minutes adopted a 4-4-1-1 with Lee Stevenson moving up park playing just behind Paul Connor.
Doncaster brought a strong side to field mill but with an improvement on last season’s finish just above the relegation zone, Donny boss Sean O’Driscoll used the game to cast his eye over a few trailists, some named some not named. With this in mind, the opening exchanges were very testimonial style, lots of slow passing, a few up pace runs but ultimately nobody knew quite what to do whilst on the ball.
Seven minutes in and it was the visitors who created a rare opening, strong passing in the middle of the park managed to help progress Doncaster into the final third, James Hayter suddenly found himself with a sight of goal, Marriott sprung off his line to put the pressure on, Hayter’s chipped effort did enough to beat Marriott, but also beat the bar, landing high & wide for a stags goal kick.
Doncaster’s Chris Brown headed straight at Marriott following a neat ball in from George Friend with 14 on the clock but it was around 15 minutes later, after a spell of dull passing & slow movement which saw the Field Mill crowd begin to nod off, that the game sprung to life. Louis Briscoe, playing in his natural wide right role, broke free following Thompson’s over the top cross park ball, Briscoe shrugged off two challenges, bursting into the box and eventually squaring for the on rushing Connor & Stevenson, stopped only by the linesman who judged Briscoe to have fouled his marker during his power mazy run.
The best chance of the game without doubt fell on 34 minutes, Martin Riley the creator, chipping a fine ball over the top for Paul Connor to latch onto, Connor tried to side heal the bouncing ball into space but his touch was heavy, resulting in his shot being rushed under pressure, firing wide of Neil Sullivan’s goal.
On 36 minutes it was Doncaster’s turn to threaten, James Baxendale volleyed well over from distance after some short, sharp 2 touch passes saw the visitors move neatly up the pitch, Baxendale’s miss was nearly a costly error, from the resulting goal kick Mansfield regrouped and Louis Briscoe once again showed why he’s need on the right wing, powering his way past 3 defenders following good work from skipper Murray, Stevenson & Worthington, Briscoe’s final drilled cross flashed across the face of goal but the only boot connecting was one belonging to a Doncaster Rovers player, hoofing clear the danger whilst the Field Mill crowd applauded Briscoe’s excellent work rate.
Half Time: Stags 0-0 Doncaster Rovers.
Paul Cox seemed pleased with what he’d seen from Mansfield in the first period and sent the same 11 back out for the second half, Sean O’Driscoll did the exact opposite making around 10 changes to the Doncaster side, including powerful striker Billy Sharp.
4 minutes into the second half, Paul Connor had a similar opportunity to his first half chance, Alan Marriott this time providing the long ball down field, a hefty bounce after the Doncaster back four missed the ball entirely saw Connor begin to pounce, denied only by Doncaster sub keeper Gary Woods who spared his defence’s blushes.
Mansfield then made their first substitution of the evening, Lee Stevenson was replaced by Anthony Howell who slotted onto the left wing as Lindon Meikle moved up front making it a solid 4-4-2 formation, The formation seemed to rub of well to begin with, a good spell of passing involving Adam Murray covering every blade of grass saw the stags skipper chip a cross park ball to Anthony Howell, his flick of found the grateful hands of the keeper rather than the lurking Paul Connor.
Billy Sharp, Doncaster’s record signing was then at the heart of the action as the clock hit the hour mark, Sharp spreading the ball wide right to James Coppinger who in turn pinged a lovely cross towards the far post which Sharp powerfully headed wide of Marriott’s goal.
Moments later a good demonstration of Mansfield’s passing movement earned the stags a corner, Adam Murray’s deep delivery was headed away by Doncaster but only as far as Louis Briscoe who thundered a volley goal wards, however the trophy semi-final hero couldn’t keep his effort down and as the ball was retrieved from row Z, he along with 2 others made way.
Briscoe was replaced Adam Smith who slotted onto the right, Lindon Meikle was replaced by Ross Dyer who moved up front whilst Howell moved wide left, Trialist left back Joe Kendrick was replaced by another Trialist, former Barrow loanee, Louis Horne who also slotted in at left back.
James Coppinger was eager to test the latest in a long line of Trialist lest backs, skipping past Horne and powering an effort towards Marriott’s goal with 69minutes of the encounter gone. The stags saw it as a little wake up and threw together some football of their own, Smith, Murray & Howell combining to win a corner over on the far side. Drilled in by Murray looking for Thompson at the back post, Doncaster again headed away, Jon Worthington picked up the ball around 30 yards out, earning Mansfield a free kick after being bundled down. Worthington stood over the free kick but eventually left it for Murray, who’s blast from 30 yards beat the wall but kept rising, landing wide of the target.
John Thompson received a very warm round of applause as he made way for Trialist Shaun Pejic, as the ball boys retrieved Murray’s free kick from the stands. The former Notts County captain put in an excellent performance alongside Martin Riley, anyone watching who didn’t know Mansfield’s transfer dealings would never have guessed last night was the first time Thompson & Riley have played together.
The game fizzled out into testimonial passing once again, but with 78 on the clock Mansfield were made to pay for slopping passing, Worthington gave it away in the centre and Billy Sharp powered his way past Riley, arriving in the area to slam powerfully past Marriott left footed to open the scoring.
Stags 0-1 Doncaster
With the game entering its last ten minutes, the final three substitutions were made by Paul Cox, first Danny Mitchley & Luke O’Neill replaced Paul Connor & the impressive Ritchie Sutton respectively, before Adam Murray was taken off for Matt Bell, receiving a warm send off from the stag’s faithful, rightfully named man of the match.
Mansfield looked to create late opportunities, great link up play between Adam Smith & Luke O’Neill saw the latter cut inside to curl a left foot cross into the box, Ross Dyer came close to connecting but Doncaster recovered to clear, a late O’Neill corner was also scrambled clear as the stags looked for a leveller, however with time against them, it was Doncaster Rovers who ended the game victorious.
Full Time: Stags 0-1 Doncaster Rovers.
A good performance from Mansfield will perhaps be over shadowed by the sloppiness which saw us concede, however the shirt flashes of what could be are becoming longer & longer. Mansfield enjoyed great spells on the ball, Adam Murray covered every blade of grass to offer options and deliver pinpoint passes. Louis Briscoe looked at home on the right hand side, battling well to beat his markers, with only his final ball letting him down. If the rumours are true about Goodall, we should take another look at Kendrick, I know there’s a long way to go before the season starts but we need to be gelling soon, these constant trialists won’t help the foundations to properly set. I don’t quite see why we’re looking at other centre backs; unless it’s a stop gap and a way of reducing the possibility of injuries to those who can play centre half. We certainly don’t need to be signing any other central defenders, Ritchie Sutton, Matt Bell, Martin Riley, John Thompson can all play there plus you’ve got Tom Naylor & Rhys Day to return to the fold sooner rather than later. All we need is a left back & a little more fire power upfront and then we’re set, I can feel a Mansfield win brewing, watch out FC Halifax!
Thanks for reading, see you Saturday on Takeover 106.9FM for full match commentary on FC Halifax vs. Stags, build up starts at 2PM with the link to listen online on the right hand side.
After two friendly’s on the road, there was only one place we all wanted to go – home! I’m lucky in some ways as I get to visit our beloved Field Mill virtually every week for the press conferences, I get to look out of the control room / press meeting room window to a beautiful field mill pitch, however it’s not the same as being there on a match day, it’s not even close if I’m totally honest.
There’s just something about match day’s which make visiting Field Mill that extra bit special. The press meetings have a work feeling to them, formal and depending on the circumstances, nervy / awkward, and although match days are also work for me now, it’s less formal, less awkward & nervy – it’s more routine, it feels more right.
Why? Because I’m not there with a couple of other journalists (top guys by the way), I’m there with you, 2,000+ stags fans, all watching on hoping for the same, a win, a moment of magic, a memory to savour, a story to share in years to come. We all head for our church every other week and meet up with others, we smile, we laugh, we have a drink and a bite to eat. We read the award winning programme (well done Stevo!), chat to opposition fans, sing songs, cheer, celebrate and embrace the beautiful game. For 90minutes, we’re away from the toil and trouble that life away from football can bring, during the close season, those tiny 2hours or so of life are greatly missed, which is why it was great to be back last night as we played host to old foes, Notts County.
After buying my programme and getting a waft of that fresh print paper, I stood at the Gates of Quarry Lane for a second watching stags fans go in different directions, some heading for the club shop, some heading for the turnstiles and others heading for the bar. It was great to see so many familiar faces, the memories came flooding back. I then got on with my ‘routine’ fetch the kit from the car, and head into the ground. Signing my name on the press sheet is my alternative to tearing the voucher from the season ticket book, as I put my ticket & information sheet in my pocket, I looked up at the flight of stairs I was about to climb for the millionth time and said ‘here goes the first climb of many’ I wonder how many people said or thought this, standing at the turnstile opening. A long journey in the hunt for success and we’re all on it together, weather we go through the turnstiles or climb the winding stairs to the press box – we’re all heading in the same direction.
As I walked out the door to the press area, housed above the director’s box, I stood for a second to admire the pitch. It looked beautiful as ever, the perfect carpet for the football we hope to put on show. For a split second, I had the vision of fans storming onto the pitch at the final whistle, 21st April. We’ve beaten Wrexham 2-1 in a nervous end to end encounter, we’ve heard news that Luton have lost crowning us league champions, I don’t see myself down there though, I stop, turn around and look at the press area, ah there I am, microphone in hand tears of pride running down my face, all is good.
Day dreaming over, I climbed the steep side steps to the press box, unpacked my kit and got set up, once I’d done so, I sat back in my chair (number 103), slightly to the right of the half way line (looking down onto the pitch from the back of the WSU), the sun was shining still, there was a cool evening breeze – I was home at last.
Fans filtered into the ground slowly but surely, the click of the turnstiles low but evident in my mind, the PA system providing background music. The players completed their warm up, kick off was upon us – the first team sheet of many arrived.
1st Half line up [Players shirt numbers in brackets]
[1] Alan Marriott
[2] Ritchie Sutton – [6] Martin Riley – [5] Steven Watt (Trialist) – [3] Alan Goodall (Trialist)
[11] Lindon Meikle – [20] Adam Murray (C) – [8] Jon Worthington – [7] Adam Smith
[9] Paul Connor – [10] Louis Briscoe
Subs: [1] Shane Redmond – [12] Steven Kinniburgh (Trialist) – [14] Lee Stevenson – [15] Andy Todd – [16] Anthony Howell – [4] Ross Dyer – [18] Oliver Nicholas (Trialist) – [19] Rhema Obed (Trialist) – [20] Luke O’Neill – [21] Matt Bell – [22] Danny Mitchley.
Although dubbed as a friendly, everyone inside Field Mill knew the game was everything but! When these two sides meet, there is no such thing as a friendly, there is always some controversy, and at the final whistle, the winning side takes away more than points or the satisfaction of winning. The last time the sides met at Field Mill, it was in league action during our heartbreaking relegation season, the previous game Mansfield had managed a solitary point away at Barnet to put an end to a dismal consecutive 7 game losing run, however the point meant Mansfield we’re without a win in eight games, Micky Boulding put a stop to that with a brace, sending County home empty handed giving the stags the bragging rights. The return game at Meadow Lane ended goalless meaning the stags still had the bragging rights as last night’s game got underway.
Notts County have risen up the league ladder whilst Mansfield have fallen, the away fans were keen to remind the home faithful of that fact with constant taunting throughout. The start was timid, a tad slow with both sides trying to find the right rhythm.
After county made a substitution for an early injury, it was them who build and created the first real chance of the encounter, Julian Kelly’s 16th minute cross after an initial corner was headed clear fell kindly for Neilson, his effort smashed against the bar and created an epic goal mouth scramble with saw about 6 players fighting for the same ball, a county boot got on the end of it but the ever reliable Alan Marriott was on hand to block and happily give county a second corner.
The corner was headed clear and Mansfield managed to get their first break of the game, the impressive Lindon Meikle linked up well with Worthington in the centre, Meikle getting the ball back and quickly pushed it wide to Briscoe, last season’s top scorer started up top but once more found himself magnetized to the wing, pushed it back to Meikle who again showed quick feet and would have been 1 vs. 1 had it not been for Kelly’s recovery.
Mansfield continued to throw some good passing football together, Briscoe again pulled off from a forward role switching with Meikle who adopted a much more central role. It was Meikle’s running which earned the stags a free kick with 18 on the clock, Skipper Murray’s delivery was too deep and quick for the on rushing Alan Goodall up from the back giving county an easy let off.
A good phase of play for the stags followed, Smith, Murray, Worthington & Meikle all combining in and around the box to earn the stags a corner, Murray’s right footed in swinger nearly ran for Briscoe at the far post but county managed to scramble clear. Adam Smith picked up the loose ball on the edge of the box, a quick burst of pace saw him leave his defender chasing shadows, he was brought down by Neal Bishop and Russell Booth pointed to the spot shortly after the advantage through Briscoe didn’t come. Adam Smith dusted himself down and stepped up, his 21st minute spot kick saved by County shot stopper Stuart Nelson down to his right, it was a tame hit by Smith who didn’t look to be moving well as the game progressed – clearly injury, confirmed later by my Adam Smith spy! His ankle, not a pretty picture.
With 26 minutes on the clock, an excellent break saw Mansfield break the dead lock, Lindon Meikle’s fine run left was just enough to allow Paul Connor to make a run, Meikle found Connor with a defence splitting ball with last season’s second top scorer making no mistake 1 vs. 1 with Nelson just inside the area, firing low into the bottom corner to put the stags ahead.
Mansfield 1-0 Notts County
Mansfield’s enjoyment of the County silence lasted a mere 2 minutes, failure to pick up the second ball saw Craig Westcarr ping in an easy to deal with curling cross, Trialist Steven Watt seemed to react slowly, a costly error as Neal Bishop connected with a swooping header to nod past Marriott to level the game with 28 on the clock.
Mansfield 1-1 Notts County
The Mansfield-Notts derby has thrown up many incident over the years, whether it be Christies blatant offside (love it!) or Chris Beardsley’s broken leg inflicted by former stag’s hero Kevin Pilkington, it was a matter of time before this encounter created another. Hard & late tackles on the far side of the pitch in front of the dugouts saw Martin Allen show why he’s called ‘Mad Dog’ furiously reacting to a stags challenge, Louis Briscoe’s challenge on Charlie Allen saw the Notts managers son receive lengthy treatment before departing Field Mill by ambulance. He may be a Notts player but having seen the photos from photo man Dan (whose work is on show in this blog) he looked in a lot of pain, I wish him all the best.
Mansfield had a golden chance to take the lead as the game moved into first half stoppage time, Paul Connor was judged to be offside after rounding the keeper and slotting home following another Meikle pass.
Half Time: Mansfield 1-1 Notts County
Mansfield made just two changes at the start of the second half, Shane Redmond replacing Alan Marriott between the sticks, whilst Andy Todd replaced Briscoe on the right wing. I’d write down how they lined up for the second half but after the 3rd sub around 10 minutes in, all sense of shape disappeared as with every move, it seemed to change!
The visitors started the brighter and would have been ahead just 2 minutes into the second period had it not been for Ritchie Sutton’s last ditch intervention. A county cross was flicked on by Edwards and Krystian Pearce let fly only to be denied by a flying Sutton who took the ball full power in the chest leaving the impressive ex-port vale man winded.
It was soon substitution time which saw the stags become shape shifters formation wise, Ross Dyer, trialist Steve Kinniburgh & goal machine midfielder Lee Stevenson came off, Paul Connor, impressive trialist Alan Goodall & a clearly injured Adam Smith all departed the action.
Shane Redmond was soon called into action as County attempted to use there weaponry to maximum effect Alex Wall heading an extremely long throw goal wards, the ex forest shot stopper flew across to his left to push the goal bound header away for a corner.
Stags made two more changes, introducing trialist right back Rhema Obed to the action for Ritchie Sutton, with Anthony Howell replacing Jon Worthington. The home side then showed another flash of what could be, Skipper Murray thread Ross Dyer into the area with a fine pass, the ex forest green rovers man was about to pull the trigger but was denied the final bullet by a perfectly timed challenge from Mike Edwards, the resulting corner saw Mansfield briefly pen county in, ex stag Alan Sheehan ending that phase of play with a powerful boot down field.
The visitors threatened throughout the second period with snap shots and those lethal long throws, it was a matter of time before they grabbed the advantage. Sheehan’s deep cross field ball was headed on into the area by Alex Wall, Hamza Bencherif latched onto the loose ball and pulled the trigger, Redmond made himself big and denied Bencherif but could do nothing about the rebound which the 6ft 3 Algerian slotted into the back of the net to give County a 75th minute lead.
Mansfield 1-2 Notts County
Former Arsenal trainee Oliver Nicholas saw the remainder of the game replacing Martin Riley whilst Danny Mitchley came on up front replacing the impressive Meikle. Chances for both sides in the final 15 minutes we’re few and far between, a few crosses from Stevenson who seemed to slot onto the left wing were cleared, whilst Ross Dyer & Mitchley were easily dealt with by the county defence.
The final whistle blew to signal the end of the stags bragging rights and more County fans taunts, the result meaningless in the history books as it’s a friendly yet still slightly painful losing to your rivals.
Full Time: Mansfield 1-2 Notts County.
Some encouraging signs came from the Mansfield Town set up, but again they were balanced with evident weakness too. The centre of defence looked loose throughout, however I think that weakness has been addressed with the capture of John Thompson (see previous blog post). I was impressed with Ritchie Sutton who played as well at right back as his did at centre half of Tuesday, both him & Luke O’Neill who was an unused sub last night will be fighting it out week in week out for a starting place, both as solid as each other. Trialist Rhema Obed didn’t get enough minutes for me again, but showed flashed of quick feet, strong passing and off the ball movement going forward, the question you have to ask yourself is, do we need another right back with Sutton, O’Neill, Riley & now Thompson in the squad? I don’t think so. I’d like to see him given a shot, but this season is not one for experiments, we need to be the finished article throughout the side now in order to get back were we belong.
With this in mind, I don’t wish to see any more trialists pulling on the Amber & Blue, we need to be finding a rhythm now, we need to get that combination right for the opening game against Bath City. We’re still some way off the finished article, we need a left back the three guys on trial over the last two games have been good enough, the question is who? Chris Caruthers may be out of the picture after not featuring last night, that said he may have been left out for the stag’s management to have a look at the others. Alan Goodall comes with good pedigree and did well before being replaced by Kinniburgh who also did ok. I’d personally like to see Caruthers sign as I feel he can offer us options at centre half, left back & left midfield. If we need to give all three another look as well as look at the other striker I feel we need to add, The FC Halifax game would be the cut off for trialists for me, giving us 4 games against 4 varying standards of oppositions to get things perfect.
We may have lost once more, but remember, it’s not about the fall, it’s all about the climb back up. Thanks for reading, see you soon.
I’ve said many times before how much I love my job as a sports journalist, especially when you’re covering your local team. You get to go behind the scenes, work with the management & players and get strong hints from interviews about which player might be next to sign on the dotted line.
As John Thompson arrives, I can now smile with the rest of you and release the excitement I’ve had for a few days now, it’s pleasing to actually sign him & now relish the moment he pulls on a stag’s kit, rather than to be checking every clubs website worrying he may have a change of heart – it happens after all, need I say the name Leon Knight!?
This is quite possibly the best capture by any club in the BSBP so far this transfer window, it says a lot about the way the club have presented & sold themselves to attract a player who played regular football in league one last season.
The 29 year old centre half, who can also slot in at right back, pens a 2 year deal with the stags, becoming only the 3rd player that Paul Cox’s has signed to do so, Lee Stevenson & Paul Bolland are the others. Mansfield have fought off several clubs, including interest from a few MLS sides to make this signing, the deciding factor being his enjoyment of the fans, stadium & general look at the boys during last night’s 2-1 defeat to the side Thompson left a month or so ago, Notts County.
Thompson began his career in his native Dublin, playing for local sides Rivervalley Rangers & Home Farm respectively, its during his time at the latter which saw John progress to the national youth set up & win the EUFA European U17 Championship in 1998. A move across to England followed, linking up with the Forest academy; he skippered their Under 19 side to the Premier Academy League Title glory in 2000.
The U19 captaincy glory, along with glowing recommendations from coaches, saw Thompson sign pro forms with Forest, he went onto play 129 games for them, scoring 7 goals before departing in 2007. His time at Forest saw him sent out on loan to gain more experience, with two separate short spells at Tranmere Rovers.
His release from Forest saw him sign for Oldham Athletic, however an injury saw his Oldham chances limited, a move back to Nottingham came during the 2008-09 season as he linked up with Notts County, initially on loan in October 2008, before signing permanently during the January 2009 transfer window.
After finding his feet in the county set up, Thompson established himself as a fan’s favourite and soon gained the captains armband, leading the side to the league 2 title during the 2009-10 campaign, he was also part of the side which kept a record 26 clean sheets. With county manager Martin Allen seemingly reluctant to offer Thompson a new deal, Thompson began to look else were and as I mentioned earlier, after a short spell in the MLS, settled with Mansfield Town. It’s an excellent capture for the stags, it’s been clear to see over the last two games that our defence needs tweaking, Thompsons the ideal man for the job, I can’t wait to see him in action & to see how he works with Tom Naylor when he recovers from his injury.
I still feel we need another left back, Chris Caruthers is the ideal man for the job for me but Alan Goodall had a fairly decent game last night so could also be worth another look – that said, I think it’s time to forget trialists and begin to let the side gel, the foundations to success need time to set now. We also need another striker, Louis Briscoe up top will not work, whilst he’ll give his all, he seems attracted to the wing and should stay there and help stags penetrate the other side’s weakness – I’ll cover all this later on with the match report from last night, plus a commentary podcast, so stay tuned.
John put pen to paper shortly before midnight last night, with the first interview taking place bang on midnight, credit to office & media staff who stayed awake & working until the early hours to see this deal, perhaps the best deal MTFC have made for years, signed, sealed & delivered – the world of football simply never sleeps.
Welcome to Field Mill John, all that’s left to say is good luck & please do not turn out like the last Thompson we had at the club, I want fans of Mansfield Town FC to love you, not fans of Hayes & Yeading!
Updated Squad & Management List.
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)
