CTA #14 Mansfield Vs Grimsby

Blue Square Bet Premier Game #14: Mansfield Town Vs Grimsby Town – Saturday 8^th October 2011, Field Mill Stadium, 3PM

‘Turnaround’

A week ago I found myself writing about the strange feeling of a blistering hot October afternoon in leafy Nailsworth, as ten men stags’ took a point from Forest Green Rovers. It’s no surprise that just a week on I’m sat remembering a truly grim & dull day weather-wise as October and its autumn weathers set in.

I am surprised however to be writing about a performance (In the second half at least) which was the exact opposite of what you’d expect from such a dull setting. In past seasons I’d be sat here writing about how Mansfield were ‘washed away in the freezing rain by a dominant opponent’ or about, ‘as the heavens floodgates opened, so did Mansfield’s sloppy defence’. This year I find myself reflecting on a strong turnaround and a team who, rather than fighting each other & passing the buck of blame round, rallied round, came together as one unit to stand up and be counted – catching three juicy points in the process.

Paul Cox was again forced into a change following Anthony Howells suspension, bringing Lindon Meikle back into the fold and pushing Ross Dyer back up front to partner Matt Green who’s played as the loan striker for the past two away games. The stag’s boss was boosted with his defensive options too and reintroduced last Saturday’s suspended duo Ben Futcher & Tom Naylor for Martin Riley & Joe Kendrick respectively.

Alan Marriott

Tom Naylor (Kendrick) – Ben Futcher (Riley) – Ritchie Sutton – Luke O’Neill

Andy Todd – Adam Murray (C) – Jon Worthington – Lindon Meikle (Howell)

Ross Dyer – Matt Green

SUBS: Shane Redmond – Martin Riley – Lee Stevenson – Paul Connor – Paul Bolland.

Visitors Grimsby included four ex-stags in their 16, Scott Garner, Rob Duffy & legend Craig Disley made the starting 11, whilst much loved Gary Silk, one of the Wembley 15, had to settle for a place on the bench. Duffy left the stags with a massive cloud hanging over his head, a red card against Fleetwood at Field Mill proved to be Duffy’s last outing in the Amber & Blue before Duncan Russell sent him packing, dummy & pram (which were stuck to a previously favoured Duffy during those last few months) included.

Duffy nearly came back to haunt his former employers less than two minutes into the game as the visitors got the fixture underway attacking the Quarry Lane End, Craig Disley’s ball wide to Robert Eagle was crossed in and fell kindly at the far post for Duffy who scuffed his shot straight into the hands of Alan Marriott. Mansfield then put together a spell of pressure aiming to take an early lead, A long ball down field from Grimsby keeper James McKeown was headed away by Luke O’Neill and picked up by Lindon Meikle who then charged forward through the centre, Ross Dyer lurked on the edge of the box but McKeown was first to the ball. The mariners’ shot stopper booted the ball long but the stags again picked up possession through skipper Murray, his chipped through ball then found Green but the visitors stood strong to clear for a stags throw in, again Grimsby stood strong too clear, Alan Marriott alert at the other end to charge out of his box and deny former team mate Duffy a way through.

The visitors then had a decent chance to open the scoring with five minutes on the clock, Craig Disley key to the creating with neat play to earn his side a corner, Robert Eagle’s left footed in-swinger found Darran Kempson at the far post however the Grimsby defenders headers wasn’t strong enough to beat Marriott who was more than equal to it. Five minutes later the stags had a chance of their own, Ross Dyer stealing the ball back as Grimsby moved forward, the burley front man who bagged after 17seconds last Saturday moved the ball wide to Lindon Meikle who in turn cut inside to find Murray. The stag’s captain chipped in a tidy ball towards the far post, Andy Todd was the recipient hitting tamely on the stretch into the keepers hands.

Murray was again at the centre of the action as the half moved on, picking up the ball from Naylor’s throw in before delivering a curling high ball towards Ross Dyer at the back post, Dyer couldn’t connect properly though & the ball ballooned out for a goal kick.

With the rain continuing to fall and the temperature becoming colder, the game adopted the Sunday afternoon armchair sleepy feeling, The stags woke the crowd up with 23 minutes gone, Adam Murray pinched the ball back from Disley before finding Green on the half way line, Green turned well and fed Todd brilliantly down the right wing, Todd showed great pace and persistence to get forward and deliver a low cross in search of Dyer, former stags Scott Garner managed to get a vital foot in to end a fine stags move.

Again the game turned dull with neither side putting together a threatening move, the only thing likely to open the scoring would be a moment of genius or a mistake, as it happens the opening goal just shy of the half hour mark was neither, it was a case of bad luck. Grimsby’s Michael Coulson moved inside unchallenged, shooting tamely from the edge of the box – Alan Marriott got a strong hand to it to push the ball onto the post, on any other day the ball would have gone away for a corner, however the slippery football bobbling of the post and trickled, painfully slowly, over the line to put Grimsby ahead.

Stags 0-1 Grimsby

Mansfield had two golden chances to level the game before the break, Luke O’Neill’s corner shortly after the opening goal found Murray on the edge of the area; the stags skipper did well to find Meikle who saw his left footed shot curl wide at the second attempt. Then with around 8 minutes of the half remaining, O’Neill struck the bar from a free kick on the edge of the ‘D’, Ben Futcher headed the follow up into the keepers hands.

The stags looked the livelier side as the break drew closer, however Paul Cox’s men failed to find the net and headed into the dressing rooms a goal behind at the break.

Half Time: Stags 0-1 Grimsby

It took the stags a while to get going in the second half but as soon as they did, you sensed something had been said and that a comeback was possibly on the cards, nine minutes into the second half it was Lindon Meikle who broke down the right after switching wings with Andy Todd, the stags earned a corner pressuring Grimsby who just about cleared – Paul Connor then replaced Meikle to partner Green up front with Ross Dyer moving to the vacant right hand side.

Paul Connor was in action almost imeditaly as the stags looked to catch the visitors on the break, Andy Todd & Luke O’Neill combined to clear, with the latter’s long ball brought down by Murray who tucked a neat pass through the gap searching for Connor on the wing, last season’s second top scorer was quick but couldn’t keep the zipping ball in play.

The visitors had chances of their own, constantly on the lookout for a second, Liam Hearn cut in from the left channel finding goal scorer Coulson, his shot was charged down by Futcher as the stags refused to buckle.

Mansfield were infuriated throughout the afternoon, mainly by Grimsby keeper McKeown who took every chance he could to waste time, however as the second half moved on it was the referee who moved into the limelight, Adam Murray sent Green on his way through the middle, the Oxford loanee looked sharp as he turned past Garner and into space inside the box, but before he could pull the trigger he was upended by Bradley Wood. It looked a penalty however all Mansfield were given was a corner – Once they’d composed themselves, Luke O’Neill whipped in the ball and found Naylor whose header was held well by McKeown.

With the clock running down, Mansfield needed a moment of Magic to revitalise them, it’s exactly what they got on 71 minutes, Luke O’Neill stepped up to riffle home a 40 yard free kick into the top corner, in all the years of watching Mansfield Town at Field Mill, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a free kick struck so beautifully, a truly phenomenal effort worthy of winning any game, never mind drawing it level.

Stags 1-1 Grimsby

Moments later O’Neill fancied his chances from a free kick again, in more of a crossing position, O’Neill struck for goal anyway, denied by a back peddling shocked Grimsby keeper – Mansfield kept the pressure on and soon completed the comeback.

O’Neill delivered a right footed out swinger which was perhaps too deep too cause any real damage, however Adam Murray was determined to keep the ball alive and sprinted powerfully to the bye-line to keep the ball in play, a neat cross park ball opened up Grimsby finding O’Neill again, his chipped cross was headed behind for a second corner from which Mansfield were rewarded. O’Neill delivered, this time a right footed in-swinger – Paul Connor connected unchallenged nodding into the back of the net to delight the Field Mill crowd.

Stags 2-1 Grimsby

Mansfield were then in the driving seat and should have really finished the game off, Andy Todd defended brilliantly too send Green on his way, Green covered a massive distance finally cutting in and shooting, unfortunate to see his effort deflect away for a corner which Ben Futcher headed against the bar. Ross Dyer then intercepted former stags favourite Gary Silk’s clearance after the right back had been brought on to shore things up, Green charged through with just the keeper to beat, opting for a chip rather than a drilled effort which the keeper palmed away.

Five minutes of additional time saw a nervy end to the game, the Grimsby keeper even ventured forward for a late corner, Alan Marriott collected and despite cries of ‘Shoot’ from the home faithful, stayed down for as long as possible, running down valuable seconds. The final whistle eventually blew, signalling all smiles from the stags camp as they collected all three points.

Full Time: Stags 2-1 Grimsby

The delight on the players’ faces’ was clear for all to see, seeing Adam Murray punch the air in celebration brought a massive smile to my face, the passion, desire and belief in the Mansfield dressing room had been matched and rightfully rewarded. Bring on next Saturday’s game against Southport!

Thanks for reading – sorry for the late post.

Photos: James Williamson
PODCAST

CTA #13 Forest Green Rovers Vs Stags

Blue Square Bet Premier Game #13 – Forest Green Rovers Vs Mansfield Town – The New Lawn – 1/10/11 3PM

‘Delusions of the sun’

As I drew back the curtains at 6.30 yesterday morning, I expected to see brown leaves falling from the trees onto the dewy grass, old Beryl & Barry from number 27 leaving the house for a morning paper watching their breath linger in the cold morning air – basically everything detail you’d expect to see from an October scene as Autumn set in, however strangely I found myself staring out to a mid-summer Scene, the sun beaming down making the grass look crisp & sharp, the leaves still green on the trees, Beryl shaking her head in embarrassment as Barry came out the house wearing a straw hat, a Caribbean style shirt & cream coloured shorts – I checked the calendar a few times, woke myself up with a sharp slap to the face wondering if I was dreaming, however I wasn’t & as reality set in that we we’re faced with a hot summers day at the start of October, I got the feeling the day ahead would be another beautiful entry into our Blue Square Bet Premier story book.

Talking of books, as you all know I enjoy reading to make the journeys pass quicker (don’t judge a book by its cover!). I was recently in WH Smith looking for a new book, this time about football & what other fans experience on a match day. All I could find was autobiographies from top flight players, I browsed a few pages & was instantly put off by mentions of money, fast cars, easily seduced women in posh hotel bars etc, I realised that there was nothing anywhere about the proper beauty of the game – the lower leagues, especially the conference & below. Looking back, yesterday was another story to add to the collection, no not frilly knickers hanging from the bar’s pool table lights with a bottle of champagne wedged into every pocket with £50 notes littering the floor like waste paper, I’m talking Sunshine, autumn leaves, fields of green, a ‘Take That’ CD on loop, buckets of swet & much more – all for the love of Mansfield Town FC...        

The journey down wasn’t so action packed in contrast to the high octane opening chapter of the ‘premier league story however a twist in the tale soon followed as we arrived in Stroud around 11.15. Myself & photo-man James were travelling along nicely until the lack of directions set in, after diverting up & round the steepest hill I’ve ever seen we found country roads which I know you have to follow in parts to reach Forest Green’s New Lawn ground, however something seemed wrong as we went 3 separate ways, all of which led nowhere. Stuck at a cross roads (literally) we decided to head back the way we came & after accidently on purpose stopping at McDonalds – we discovered that we we’re on the right path & did eventually end up at the ground around 12.30.

The sun was beaming down on the New Lawn, fans sat outside the bar and the temptation for a beer was stronger than it’s been for a long time, being the ultimate professional however I thought it best to avoid a cheeky beer! Into the ground & to the press box which has moved from the corner flag to the half way line since my last visit, the views of the surrounding Fields & surrounding landscape more beautiful than I remember, the blazing afternoon sun mixed with a clear blue sky making it one to savour. It’s a tight space in the Forest Green press box and on a hot day, it’s certainly not what you need, I also kindly moved from the back row to allow the senior summariser for the opposition’s radio station a seat, however with things cramped I was left sitting on the concrete steps, something which didn’t go down to well with one local who placed his hand a little too forcefully on the back of my neck whilst walking past me – it’s a good job I was on air at the time, I don’t handle sunshine & angry stress well, especially when the background music is a Take That CD which has been on loop for the last hour & a half!  

On the pitch the players were woken up from their pre-warm up daze as the pitch sprinklers came on, the spray from the water reflected the sunshine well to create an on pitch rainbow. In the distance people kicked a ball around from the fields a far, watching the teams warm up before making the short walk to the ground to the game. The stands began to fill, the away especially – Mansfield flags draped across seats whilst the travelling fans embraced the heat & made the end colourful & noisy – a great image to remove the one which enters your head when the fixture list comes out, you always remember previous trips and find yourself saying ‘Forest Green Away, at the start of October – Wind, Rain, Cold & Misery’ not anymore. The question is, could the stags go & get all three points & match the beautiful setting with a heart-warming show of passion and belief?

Paul Cox was forced into two changes from the side that beat Wrexham midweek, defensive duo Ben Futcher & Tom Naylor were both suspended so Martin Riley & Joe Kendrick came into the starting 11. On paper we we’re defensively stretched and we feared we may not be able to name an out & out defender on the bench, our fears were washed away when the team sheet arrived, as Rhys Day was named amongst the subs.

Alan Marriott

Luke O’Neill – Martin Riley (Futcher) – Ritchie Sutton – Joe Kendrick (Naylor)

Ross Dyer – Anthony Howell – Jon Worthington – Andy Todd

Adam Murray (C)

Matt Green

SUBS: Shane Redmond – Paul Connor – Paul Bolland – Rhys Day – Lindon Meikle.

Mansfield have made many bright starts so far this season, I doubt they’ll make one quicker than they did yesterday though, taking the lead after 17seconds. Forest Green got the game underway & the usual ball over the top was headed away by Martin Riley, Luke O’Neill who moved back to right back picked the ball up & ventured over the half way before finding skipper Adam Murray who celebrated his birthday on Friday, Murray chipped the ball over the onrushing defender to send former Forest Green front man Ross Dyer on his way, Dyer struck perfectly sending the ball past James Bittner into the bottom corner, bagging his third goal of the season and quite possibly writing his name into the stags history books for scoring Mansfield’s quickest ever goal.

Forest Green Rovers 0-1 Mansfield

Dyer’s early striker had sent the scoreboard opposite into meltdown, by the time it recovered 10minutes later the stags could have been further in front as they kept piling on the pressure. With 5 minutes on the clock, Martin Riley sent a strong ball through the centre which Bittner picked up, however stags soon won the ball back from his kick, Anthony Howell found Murray with a neat header, the stags skipper looked to repeat the opening goal by again sending a ball over the top for Dyer, this time Dyer was wide right rather than central and was forced back but kept the ball, chipping it forward in search of Green, the Oxford front man wasn’t the recipient though as O’Neill charged trough into the space, arriving a split second too late as Bittner raced off his line to pick up the loose ball. Mansfield continued to pressure with early high octane play despite the rising temperature, O’Neill intercepted Bittner’s clearance & stags were on the charge again, Murray & Dyer interchanged play before O’Neill was fed down the right channel, his first time cross just a little too deep for Matt Green to connect with, Andy Todd did well to keep the home side penned in from the resulting throw.

The game then turned from open passing to a game of free kicks as the clock crept past the 10 minute mark, first Mansfield threatened as Adam Murray chipped in a dangerous ball which the home side somehow cleared for a corner as a melee of stags body’s arrived. Luke O’Neill’s right footed in swinger was strong & bobbled off Anthony Howell at the far post, he knew nothing about it to get a clear shot away & the hosts cleared around half a yard from the line. Three minutes later it was the home side who were awarded a free kick, taken quickly Jake Thompson found himself in the box and pulled a neat ball back across the face of goal, Charlie Griffin couldn’t connect & a slow responding Mansfield got a let off as the ball trickled out for a stags throw. At the other end the stags were again awarded a free kick just to the right of the area, Joe Kendrick delivered a left footed in swinger, Martin Riley connected at the far post but could only head wide of the target.

Both sides began to have spells on the ball but each move seemed to fizzle out to nothing as the afternoon’s heat took its toll on all involved, credit to the referee for allowing what normally would be short stoppages in play to become slightly longer, allowing players to take fluids on board. The stags still looked comfortable but the home side continued to look for a way back into the game, James Rowe’s free kick was easily dealt with by Anthony Howell in the air but rover’s were first too the second ball, a neat switch from Hodgkiss to Stokes saw the latter drill another ball into the area which was headed away once more, James Norwood then floated another cross in but Martin Riley made sure there was enough power on his header to allow Mansfield to push out & build themselves.

You could sense a goal was coming and it did 5 minutes from time, unfortunately for the stags it went Forest Green’s way. Chris Stokes’ directional ball was controlled well by Griffin who combined with Forbes who eventually hammered home to level the game.

Forest Green 1-1 Mansfield

The stags looked for a response shortly before the break, Matt Green & Ross Dyer worrying former stag Luke Graham & Keiron Forbes with powerful running, with a minute left before the break, it was Green who was stopping in his tracked by Forbes, as the Forest Green made looked to play his way out of trouble, Anthony Howell lunged in with a late challenge and could have no complaints as the referee produced a straight red card, Mansfield’s third in as many games. Howell made his way of the pitch walking past the stags fans holding an apologetic hand up and had barely made it into the visiting dressing room as the half time whistle was blown.

Half Time: Forest Green Rovers 1-1 Mansfield Town

Playing with 10men for the entire second half was always going to be a tough ask, Mansfield were going to have to dig in deep & soak up everything the hosts threw at them, surprisingly Paul Cox made no changes at the break, but a sluggish opening 6 minutes from both sides prompted the stags chief into a change to spark Mansfield into life, Paul Bolland replaced Andy Todd as Mansfield dropped to a 4-3-2 with Bolland joining Murray & Worthington in the middle whilst Dyer joined Green up front. It nearly worked too as Mansfield sensed an opening, Bolland collected the ball in the middle & pushed back to Luke O’Neill, it was his through ball which found Murray who then played a delicate chip in search of Green, however Bittner was first too it & collected well under pressure.

Forest Green then looked to use their one man advantage to full affect with a series of chances, Bittner’s long throw found Hodgkiss on the half way line who turned well & switched to Stokes, his cross was headed away by Riley before Jake Thompson saw his shot charged down by Worthington in the same phase of play. Forest Green were soon on the move again as James Norwood found Stokes on the overlap, James Rowe soon found himself free to shoot but couldn’t beat Marriott who did well to push the ball away for Kendrick to eventually clear.

As the hour mark past it was the stags who threatened once more, Luke O’Neill’s free kick found Ross Dyer at the far post, his header was blocked near the line by Graham but the ball ran perfectly for Murray who struck venomously, denied by a fine save from James Bittner. The resulting corner came to nothing as Martin Riley was judged to have fouled his marker as they jumped for Kendrick’s delivery. At the other end Mansfield had a minor scare of their own, James Norwood cut past O’Neill well but fortunately screwed his shot miles wide.

End to end action followed with 70minutes gone, it the stags enjoying the better of the chances, look-a-like midfielders Worthington & Bolland combined well to feed Murray on the edge of the box, the stags skipper held the ball up long enough for Green to takeover, progressing into the box before seeing his on target left footed effort deflect over for a corner. Kendrick’s left footed in swinger in front of the vocal stags support was headed behind for a second corner on the opposite side, O’Neill delivered it right footed Ross Dyer met it at the back post & saw his header cruelly cannon back of the bar & allow his former club to break, Luke O’Neill & Joe Kendrick raced back to combine & mop up any danger.

Eight minutes later the stags were left confused & annoyed as referee Andy Davies bottled out of awarding Mansfield a seemingly clear cut penalty. Alan Marriott’s save at one end started the attack & Green eventually received the through ball, Green was about to pull the trigger when he was upended by ex-stag Luke Graham. The referee looked to award a penalty bringing his whistle to his mouth to no real complaint from the hosts, however at the last second, changed his mind and awarded the stags a throw. Green & Dyer were then replaced by Paul Connor & Lindon Meikle who caused trouble with a few late bursts, however it was the referee who again took centre stage in the last minute of additional time. Mansfield swept up more Forest Green pressure & the ball ran to Meikle who lurked on the left wing, he collected the ball & nipped it past Jared Hodgkiss, the forest green skipper preventing Meikle from following though with an extremely late challenge which everyone thought would be a straight red, Hodgkiss escaping with a booking for being as it took place it the Mansfield half, however he was the last man & Meikle would have had a clear goal scoring opportunity. The stags didn’t have time to mount a late attack with the resulting free kick as the full time whistle was blown.

Full Time: Forest Green Rovers 1-1 Stags

Playing 46 minutes with 10men in heat like that was a huge challenge & the stags have a right to feel aggrieved with things not going their way, i.e. the penalty & the late challenge – however the stags kept a clean sheet in the second half and really stood up to be counted, they may have been guilty of not taking a few chances as people will say you should be winning at places such as Forest Green if you’re serious about promotion. The thing to remember is that at the start of each game, before a ball is kicked each team has a point – it’s up to you to protect yours and that’s exactly what the stags did. Next up, Grimsby at home, lets grab three points and climb back into those play offs and see if we can get another unbeaten run going. Join me for regular updates on 106.9FM from 2PM on Saturday.

Thanks for reading.

Match Photos: James Williamson

Podcast:      

CTA #12 Wrexham Vs Mansfield

Blue Square Bet Premier Game #12 Wrexham Vs Mansfield Town – The Racecourse Ground, 27/09/11 7.45PM

‘Dragon Slaying'

There are many quotations in the world which people live by & believe in, I myself have many and would find it completely impossible to choose just one, mainly because they all contradict themselves depending on what mood you’re in and how you’re seeing the world, anyway that’s another story my point is that one quote is currently shining through in relation to our beloved Mansfield Town at the moment. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but rising every time we fall” We have fallen so far over the past 6 years or so, going from robbed play off finalists to a mid table conference outfit, however after adding last nights to the list of performances I’ve seen so far, I can honestly say from the bottom of my heart that at last – our Mansfield Town are starting to rise, like a phoenix rising from the ashes of a past life.
After Saturday’s showing against Kidderminster it would have been easy to lose all the hope we’ve built up, not because we don’t believe in our boys but because in previous seasons we’ve been hurt so much the change of mood & expectation after 1 bad result comes as a natural feeling, so as I headed to Wrexham I was surprised to find myself strangely full of hope & optimism, confident that Mansfield could get a response. Confident too, that the result against Kidderminster would prove to be a mere smudge on our beautiful promotion portrait’s canvas.

After raiding Sandbach service station of McVities muffins (the lucky Galaxy & Jaffa Cake for me, encase you were wondering) we continued to follow the road out of England into Wales & soon arrived at our destination. In the car park as we chatted to waste time, Scott spat out his chewing gum and, preparing for today’s youth team game, kicked it into the bushes only to see his trainer fly off at the same time, it’s a good job there was no local walking past as none of us knew the welsh for ‘HEADS!’ Scott’s comedic antics continued throughout the evening, poorly impersonating the local accent and as kick off approached, asked me in all seriousness if the teams would perform the national anthem before the game got underway. As if Scott’s shoe kicking, nation anthem craving company wasn’t enough, he then proceeded to eat all of my Orange Chocolate Chip Muffin, which photo man James had brought me to celebrate two years to the night I made my radio debut! I think I managed to get one tiny crumb of it but Scott assures me the cake was very nice! Oh and thanks to James who actually went to some expense (99p) to buy the cake and candles! Its little things like that which make each game so enjoyable and which make me realise how lucky & privileged I am to work which such great people and to have great people listening & supporting me – I really do appreciate it. 

Back to the action & Paul Cox made three changes to the side which lost to Kidderminster on Saturday, one enforced following Briscoe’s red card. Along with Louis Briscoe, Joe Kendrick & Lindon Meikle also went out as Tom Naylor, Jon Worthington & player coach all came in as the stags switched from 4-4-2 to a 4-4-1-1.

Alan Marriott

Tom Naylor (Kendrick) – Ben Futcher – Ritchie Sutton – Luke O’Neill

Ross Dyer – Jon Worthington (Briscoe) – Anthony Howell – Andy Todd (Meikle)

Adam Murray (C)

Matt Green

SUBS: Shane Redmond – Martin Riley – Paul Connor – Paul Bolland – Lindon Meikle.

Despite his recent trials at Derby & Fulham, plus the ongoing rumours of which club are favourites to sign him, Tom Naylor seemed relatively unfazed last night & looked settled once more pulling on the amber & blue, he was at the centre of the action from the off too, sending a long ball down the right hand side for Matt Green to chase onto, unfortunately for Green, he was flagged offside. Wrexham then had their turn for an early attack, Curtis Obeng’s right sided cross was headed away by Luke O’Neill but only as far as Neil Ashton who in turn whipped another ball into the box. Ashton’s delivery was headed away with ease but as the back tracking Ross Dyer tried to play his team out of trouble he was judged to have fouled his marker and the referee awarded the hosts a free kick. Lee Fowler struck from just outside the area, his effort was heading for the top corner and would have been the opening goal had it not been for Alan Marriot who sprung across to palm the ball away for a corner. Wrexham kept the pressure on from the corner and earned another as Ben Futcher headed away, Mansfield reacted better to the second corner and did well to force Wrexham away.

Mansfield then had a spell of half pressure themselves, with Joe Kendrick missing from the line up, Luke O’Neill took over set piece duty and despite a few miss hit efforts, improved and began to send in testing balls, proved with around 8 minutes gone as O’Neill whipped in a right footed in-swinger, Anthony Howell kept it alive and found Murray who then fed Naylor wide right, the stags’ prise assets cross was met by Futcher who headed wide, not that it mattered as the whistle had already gone with Futcher judged to have fouled Wrexham’s Nat Knight-Percival.

With the game still locked level both sides dug deep to find the opener, Alan Marriott’s directional ball over the top was headed on into the area by Ross Dyer, the ball was a little heavy and ran into the grateful keepers hands despite Matt Green stretching out his boot. From Maxwell’s kick the stags then found themselves on the back foot, Tom Naylor was beaten at right back and Wrexham moved the ball well between Lee Fowler & Jay Harris with the latter finding space central to fire a shot at goal, Ritchie Sutton had other ideas though jumping in to deflect the ball away.

Mansfield were then dealt a body blow on 23 minutes, Dean Keates picked up the ball in the centre and fed former stag Jake Speight into space, Speight saw his run halted by Ben Futcher who was shown a yellow card, his 5^th of the season meaning he misses our trip to Forest Green Rovers on Saturday. Fortunately that was the only blow the stags took as Keates fired the free kick straight against the stags wall who broke well to clear the second ball.

The stags then began to work more chances against the hosts, first Adam Murray, playing in his favoured position just behind the striker, exploited the space to feed Matt Green into the box, the inform hit man fired well and forced Maxwell into a neat scrambling save. Maxwell was stranded moments later though as Murray again exploited the space, this time opting for a shot from the edge of the box, stinging the cross bar but unfortunately seeing the ball bounce the wrong way as it landed out for a goal kick. The stags did finally break the deadlock with 6 minutes of the first half left to play, Matt Green played a major part by using his pace & power to earn the stags a free kick right on the edge of the area. Luke O’Neill delivered a teasing ball which was met by Naylor on its way into the net, photo evidence has since shown Naylor didn’t get the final touch, it was actually an own goal with the ball headed into the Wrexham net by Danny Wright, alas Mansfield had a deserved lead.

Wrexham 0-1 Stags

Mansfield could well have had a second before the break, O’Neill showing he slots in equally well at left back progressing forward allowing Worthington to move into a pocket of space, the former Leicester youngster fed the former Bradford City man who curled a shot harmlessly into the hands of the keeper. Stags kept the pressure on and fought to win the ball back, O’Neill again creating space this time finding Howell inside who did just enough to send Andy Todd on his way wide left, Todd showed good ability and surprising pace to burst into the box & earn stags a corner, however the stags failed to convert the late pressure into a second goal and had to be satisfied with a 1 goal lead as the half time whistle blew.

Half Time: Wrexham 0-1 Stags

Despite losing their manager to Doncaster Rovers in the week, Wrexham still remained top and came out of the traps fighting in the second half, with the whistle barley blow Luke O’Neill was put under pressure at left back and was left chasing a blur as Mathais Pogba cut past him fortunately Pogba’s cross floated harmlessly out of play for a goal kick. Wrexham kept on the pressure & the stags had Ben Futcher to thank moments later, Dean Keates’ through ball found its way to the ever lively Speight, Futcher nipping in just at the right time as the former stag looked to pull the trigger.

Again the hosts pressured and should have been level on the hour mark, Pogba this time switching flanks to torment Naylor, cutting past the stags defender after a neat pass from Neil Ashton who got the better of stags skipper Murray with a cheeky nutmeg, Pogba drove forward and drew Marriott off his line, squaring for Speight who ballooned his effort over from close range. Four minutes later, am increasingly dominative Wrexham found their way back into the game capitalising on a Howell error. Adam Murray looked to get the stags moving following another Wrexham move and passed to Howell, his touch was heavy and he lost the ball in similar fashion to the previous weeks error against AFC Telford United, this time it was Lee Fowler who nipped in and after progressing a few yards, powerfully shot by the impressive Marriott to level the game.

Wrexham 1-1 Stags

Two minutes from the restart the stags were handed a life line, Tom Naylor’s in field ball found Matt Green who skipped past his marker into the area before falling under the challenge of Nat Knight-Percival, the referee immediately pointed to the spot and produced a second yellow card for the Wrexham defender, leaving the home side with 10men. With Mansfield’s designated penalty taker Louis Briscoe suspended, Matt Green dusted himself down and took a fairly long run up, Cooley sending the keeper the wrong way and converting the penalty for his 8^th goal of the campaign.

Wrexham 1-2 Stags

Despite being reduced to ten men, the home side kept on pressuring the stags ensuring it wouldn’t be an easy ride, the stags brought on Paul Bolland for Jon Worthington shortly before Paul Connor replaced Matt Green. Wrexham made a substitution of their own, the delightfully named Adrian Cieslewicz was a real spark to the Wrexham side and played a major part as the dramatic game took another twist with 6 minutes left to play. The lively winger tore off the flank and looked to beat Naylor for pace, however as the stags defender stood strong, the Wrexham winger bundled down Naylor and the referee awarded a free kick. The bemusement came as the referee awarded the kick in the home sides favour, judging Naylor to have committed the foul, a bookable one too and with Naylor already on a yellow, the red followed and stags too were reduced to ten men for the second game running.

A nervy finish followed but Mansfield were outstanding defensively, Andy Todd took the vacant right back slot whilst everyone else got back and plugged gaps, Ross Dyer, Ben Futcher & Adam Murray all made key sliding interventions as the stags clung on to their lead. Wrexham’s Chris Maxwell seized the opportunity for a wonder forward as the stags threw everybody back, delivering a series of deep balls into Mansfield territory which the stags smashed clear allowing fans, players & commentators alike to breathe easy again. Wrexham pushed until the final whistle and the stags finally stood up to be counted as the 4^th official signalled 5 minutes of stoppage time, in the final minute Mansfield broke free as Ross Dyer fed Paul Connor, last season’s second top scorer kept his cool to slot beneath Chris Maxwell for his second goal of the season, wrapping up a beautiful victory for Mansfield as the stags sleighed the dragons on welsh soil for the first time in the league since February 1986.

Wrexham 1-3 Mansfield

The final 30 seconds felt like minutes as Wrexham threw absolutely everything forward, the stags remained composed and the final whistle was the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard – magnificent Mansfield had sent a clear message to their rivals in what may prove to be the most important victory of the season. I can honestly say I’ve never been so proud of Mansfield Town as a group of players, the fight, the believe, the energy and the togetherness on show really highlighted once again why we are going to be champions come the 28^th April.

Full Time: Wrexham 1-3 Mansfield

I don’t think I’ve felt that good after a game for a long time; it dawned on me as we touched down on English soil with the banter in full flow, how lucky I am at the moment. I have a great job doing something I’m passionate about, I work with excellent people who I value as really good close friends, I have really kind people who give wonderful feedback & enjoy listening and best of all, I support a team that’s fallen so far but have finally healed and are rising from the ashes. WOOO!

Up next it’s a trip to one of my favourite BSBP Grounds, Forest Green Rovers – be sure to join myself & Scott for build up followed by full match commentary from 2PM on 106.9FM & online (see link right) I’m sure James will feature too! Thanks for reading!

Match Photos (& pictures of cake) James Williamson

Podcast

CTA #11 Mansfield Vs Kidderminster

Blue Square Bet Premier Game #11 Mansfield Town Vs Kidderminster Harriers – Field Mill 24/09/11 3PM

‘Wrong Turnings’

Football is compared to many things, a roller coaster, a love story, a horror show – just to name a few. Today football is a road is we look not just at one particular game, but the season as a whole. The football season is one big road trip (half of the time literally for Mansfield as we head to places such as Barrow & Wrexham), we’ve put the word ‘promotion’ into our metaphorical SatNav and whilst the modern piece of technology will bellow instructions at us like an over enthusiastic Sunday league manager, it’s actually down to the players to physically drive us in the right direction. There’s never a smooth road and as we’ve experienced in the past there are many stretches of footballing roads which are not just long – but rough. However once you’ve got up & running it’s down to you as to how long you stay on the smooth road & follow the directions for promotion city, the thing is if you take your eye off the ball, you’re likely to take a wrong turning and head straight back onto the rough route – which is exactly what happened yesterday as Kidderminster Harriers were the visitors to Field Mill.

Arriving at Field Mill it was refreshing to see the sunshine make an appearance, for a split second or so it seemed as if it were the start of the season again! Tuesday’s draw came on the back of 5 straight wins and I was a little worried that it may have knocked the confidence in the stands, however all seemed good and the smiles remained present – even more smiles were spread as long term injury victims Rhys Day & summer signing John Thompson both briefly graced the pitch for the warm up. I’m delighted to see them both back in some sort of action, especially Thompson after the whole Ilkeston incident.

Despite Tuesday evenings slight veering off onto the rocky road, we still had the smoothness underneath our feet, with the 1-1 draw stretching our unbeaten run to 9 games. With this in mind, Paul Cox again saw no reason to make changes to the starting line up, but did again make a tiny change to the bench switching Adam Smith for Paul Bolland again.

Alan Marriott

Luke O’Neill – Ben Futcher – Ritchie Sutton – Joe Kendrick

Louis Briscoe – Adam Murray (C) – Anthony Howell – Lindon Meikle

Matt Green – Ross Dyer

SUBS: Shane Redmond – Tom Naylor – Jon Worthington – Paul Connor – Paul Bolland.

The visitors to Field Mill included to familiar faces, fans favourite defender Luke Jones & former 12^TH Stag signing Luke Medley, who departed Field Mill at the end of last season. The latter was reintroduced to the harriers’ line up to face his former club after his new employees we’re beaten 5-2 at Fleetwood midweek. Eager to say sorry to their fans, it was the visitors who started the game the brighter of the two sides, Lee Vaughn’s right sided throw found its way to Jamille Matt who was beaten to the ball by Ritchie Sutton, however the former Port Vale defender’s challenge saw the ball run back to Vaughn who skipped forward before firing narrowly over Alan Marriott’s bar with less than a minute played. At the other end a minute later, Mansfield looked to rekindle their knack for scoring early, Louis Briscoe fed Luke O’Neill who sent a deep cross into the box which unfortunately sailed harmlessly away for a Kidderminster throw as the on rushing Lindon Meikle missed timed his run.

Mansfield had another chance to progress forward but again saw their early effort snuffed out by a tight Kidderminster defence, Adam Murray picked the ball up in the centre before switching wide right for Briscoe & O’Neill to combine, O’Neill was forced to move inside finding Anthony Howell with a short pass before the former Alfreton midfielder completed the move by sending Lindon Meikle on his way wide left. Meikle ran into trouble and Lee Vaughn was able to clear despite Matt Green’s best efforts to close the ball down.

The hosts then began to stumble as a lively Kidderminster began to attack, the visitors making the most of Mansfield’s stumble by grabbing a 5^th minute lead. Callum Gittings worked a short corner with Lee Vaughn, with the latter sending in a neat cross which caught the stags’ off guard, Kyle Storer rose high at the far post to head past Marriott. 

Stags 0-1 Kidderminster


Pretty much straight from the restart Mansfield were dealt another hammer blow, still reeling from the opening goal Mansfield failed to close play down and were again on the back foot, allowing Gittings an unreal amount of space to attack, when Mansfield eventually chose to close down, Gittings slid a neat ball through to Nick Wright who made no mistake in staying onside to tuck the ball beyond Marriott to make it 2-0 with just 7minutes on the clock.

Stags 0-2 Kidderminster

In the space of two minutes the stags had gone from a sturdy unit to a real life example of the game Jenga, the two goals had pulled the sturdy pieces from the stags’ structure and Mansfield were beginning to fall. What the stags needed was a goal to re-address the games balance, Joe Kendrick’s free kick following a foul on Ben Futcher on the half way line looked to provide it, and too the stags credit they fought to keep the ball alive following Futcher’s wayward attacking header with Anthony Howell scooping the ball wide to Briscoe who sent in a left footed cross, Futcher was the target once more and connected slightly better, nodding just wide of the target.

Kidderminster took the half chance and converted it to fuel as they regained control of the ball and the game, Mansfield looked sleepy and lacked responsiveness, something an old stag pairing looked to take full advantage of as Luke Jones delivered a directional ball wide for Luke Medley, the pacey front man who enjoyed an average time at Field Mill cut past Joe Kendrick and let fly left footed, however Alan Marriott got down low to keep out Medley’s effort. Kidderminster continued to attack and freely open up the stags, Ben Futcher managed to get a foot in as Kyle Storer pushed forward, Lindon Meikle picked up the second ball and began a surge left, not getting far though as Lee Vaughn easily took back the ball, cutting inside on a 8 yard run before firing wide from the edge of the box.

Field Mill was yet to see a penalty awarded so far this season, the wait was over on 23 minutes but to the stags disappointment it was the visitors who were awarded the spot kick, Mansfield with no compliments either as they forgot the basics, Mark Williams receiving a Storer pass before ‘kissing the grass’ as Lindon Meikle upended the visiting captain. Lee Vaughn stepped up to face Marriott, with surprisingly no argument from Luke Medley – there’s a first! Joking aside, Vaughn sent Marriott the wrong way to add Kidderminster’s 3^rd of the afternoon.

Stags 0-3 Kidderminster

Briscoe & Meikle swapped wings in an attempt to restore the deficit, Dyer fed Briscoe wide left, his cross causing Daniel Lewis problems with the kiddie shot stopper forced to palm away for a corner, which, to comply with the story of the day, the stags’ wasted.

Kidderminster then broke again with Gittings & Matt combining, Vaughn then joined in skipping past Briscoe and sending in a testing ball which the stags somehow cleared. Mansfield looked to counter with Murray acting as play maker, the stags skipper left fuming as Meikle failed to make the run, the duo still locked in argument as Kidderminster attacked again. Something needed to change as Stags’ were going downhill fast, Paul Cox shook the pack by introducing Jon Worthington & Paul Bolland (marking his home debut) for Anthony Howell & Lindon Meikle respectively. The changes saw the stag’s toy with varied formations, a 4-4-1-1 with Dyer on the right, Briscoe on the left & Murray behind lone striker Green, a 4-3-3 was also on show at times (very rarely) as Dyer, Briscoe & Green formed a front 3.

Mansfield perked up a little following the changes, with Bolland eager to show the home faithful what he could do since arriving from the other MTFC in the summer, both he & Worthington put in vital blocks to stop the Kidderminster attacks, it’s probably down to those two plus Murray and maybe Futcher & Sutton, that the score remained 3-0 at the break, at the other end the stags still lacked creativity and Luke Jones mopped everything up with relative ease. As the 4^th official held up the board for additional time, Doris the tea lady quickly replaced the expensive bone china cups with pound shop plastic ones as Paul Cox & Mickey Moore’s notebook was also replaced with an old school jotter – in short, there was work to do in the second half and the stags’ management would make sure the boys new it.

Half Time: Stags 0-3 Kidderminster

Two minutes after the restart Mansfield were left reeling, a much brighter start saw the stags attack with fire in their bellies, Ross Dyer headed down a long ball for Green who chipped a returned ball for Dyer to smash on the volley towards goal, Dyer’s shot was pushed onto the bar by Lewis and bounced on the line, stags thought they’d done enough to see it given as a goal but the linesman said no and as play went on, the stags fire was blasted with one powerful hose as Kidderminster sprung into action themselves, Callum Gittings smashing a ferocious shot against Marriott’s bar before teeing up Jack Byrne who fired over.

Mansfield had their chances but were denied by Daniel Lewis, Louis Briscoe did well to cut in from the left hand side and set up Green who struck in hope of a 6^th goal in 5 games – the Oxford loanee was denied by Lewis who parried as far as Murray who somehow saw the ball taken from him.

Mansfield had upped a gear but with no end product, something they were nearly made to pay for with the hour mark approaching, Joe Kendrick was judged to have fouled Gittings on the edge of the box, Kyle Storer hitting the resulting set piece just over.

Things got worse for the stags with 68minutes on the clock as frustration began to set in, Mike Williams cross field free kick was headed away by Briscoe, however both he and Lee Vaughn challenged for the second ball with studs showing, Briscoe winning nothing but a straight red card as Vaughn remained grounded.

Strangely Mansfield again perked up and despite losing a key player created a brief period of play which saw the stags pen the Harriers in. Matt Green chipped the ball wide for Luke O’Neill, the youngster delivered a testing cross which was met by Green’s boot, Daniel Lewis got down well to keep the ball out but failed to hold onto the ball, Paul Bolland raced in and smashed goal wards, denied only by some brave goal line defending by former Stag Luke Jones. Moments later Green was creator again, dropping deep to hold up play before feeding the on rushing Joe Kendrick into the box, the Irish full back struck wide under pressure. Kendrick continued to press forward covering the gap left by Briscoe’s dismissal, Kendrick this time opted for a pass as Vaughn closed him down, Adam Murray let fly after trotting into the box, Ross Dyer somehow saw his follow up turned round the post for a corner, which stags failed to take advantage off.

Kidderminster to their credit were unbreakable at the back and Mansfield soon became tired and frustrated as Kidderminster searched for a 4^th, it nearly came with 5 minutes left, substitute Mickey Demetriou receiving Marc Williams pass after Marriott was drawn off his line, Demetriou fired straight at Luke O’Neill who tracked back well to make the goal line clearance as stags became stretched to the point of snapping.

The clock ran down and despite a slight second half improvement, the stags were just not up to standard and in all honesty, were awful in the opening stages. To Paul Cox’s own admission after the game, the boys got the basics wrong and took long between thinking about doing something rather than actually doing it. There are no excuses to yesterday’s performance and I’m not even going to even bother trying to make any. From start to finish Kidderminster Harriers were much the better side, more focussed, more able and more skilful – If you don’t focus from the start, be prepared to be punished. I am confident the boys can bounce back on Tuesday as we travel abroad to take on Wrexham!     

Full Time: Stags 0-3 Kidderminster

So now following that defeat we find ourselves back on that rocky road, we must learn from our previous failings now and remember one simple fact of footballing life. The game throws up difficulties like yesterday at the most unexpected time, it’s how you deal with these difficulties which will tell you if you’re a winner or not. There’s no room for the middle ground of inconsistency here either, find your path and stick to it. It may still be early in the season but games are coming thick and fast, the tables taking shape so you either work hard to achieve your goal of promotion and the promise land beyond, or you keep on falling - being contempt with outside hope like we have been in previous years will get us nowhere. Fact. Let’s be prepared to take the knocks when they come because they will, but one game doesn’t make a season so heads up, and keep that dream alive. In the dressing room we have inner quality matched with ability, it didn’t show yesterday but it will in the future – and that’s Tuesday! This is still our season, be sure to join myself & Scott on Tuesday night from 7.30PM for full match commentary & build up as the stags respond in the best way possible – beating the league leaders Wrexham.

Thanks for reading – Keep the faith.

Match Photos: James Williamson
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