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Full Time Score Lincoln City 1-1 Mansfield Town Competition Sky Bet League Two Venue Sincil Bank Stags Goal Scorer(s) Jacob Mellis Attendance 9,773  Craig Priest writes…
When Lincoln City scored in the 85th minute, many would have thought it was job done and three points for the hosts – but Mansfield Town, despite being full of injury and illness, had other ideas and again highlighted that this is a team who won’t lie down and play to the script of others. The fighting spirit of the Stags’ players again highlights the excellent work being done on the training ground, especially when you consider the events of Tuesday evening which would have tested the patience of most. Up against an in-form and hungry Lincoln side gunning for promotion the Stags will be the first to admit they were far from their best, but you don’t have to be so long as you’re prepared to put in the work to take home what you deserve – and David Flitcroft’s men certainly didn’t deserve to go home empty handed and have their unbeaten run halted. Skipper Pearce again highlighted how pivotal he is to Mansfield’s season with a solid performance at the heart of the Stags’ back line, but for me it was the performance of Danny Rose which plays on my mind nearly 24 hours on from the fact. Rose has been getting flack from ‘fans’ in recent weeks with a lack of goals and a foray of what appear to be clear cut chances being missed and yesterday I had to really bite my tongue to some of the comments and criticism he received. Last scoring at Bury in early October, Rose has seen a number of chances not go his way but for me, I think Rose is actually a far better player than last season and without his determination yesterday, I’d be sitting here talking about a loss. The amount of running he does all over the pitch is insane and since he’s put the summer farce behind him, he looks hungry and is contributing far more than this time last season, even if his goals to games ratio is lower. He drops deeper to collect the ball and get things moving, he runs box to box to find pockets of space not only for himself but others and reads the game far better than he did before, a prime example being the same match play situation at this time last year – I don’t think he’d have ran down the wing to the byeline, I think he’d have gone central to try and shoot, but by running wide he’s taken with him two defenders and allowed us to overload the box and ultimately score. The only other niggle I have when thinking back to the game was our changing of systems throughout the match, we started with 3-4-2, then went 3-4-1-2 when Khan first came on, then 4-4-2, then 4-3-3, all the changes took a while to process for the players and allowed Lincoln to score when Preston, during the 4-4-2 stage, was dragged out to right back and away from throwing himself at everything. We need to re-find our groove and play to it, something I think will be easier with Khan coming back from injury and back into the fold. All in all a good afternoon’s work, we never really looked threatened by Lincoln and to be fair even after goi9ng a goal down, I felt we could get back into the match. There is a real fire within this dressing room and a spirit which is being harnessed in the right way – we’ve had something like eight weeks straight of playing Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday which concludes on Tuesday as we welcome Crawley – let’s end this spell with victory, regroup and focus on everything else going into the festive fixtures. MATCH REPORT The Stags originally made three change from the defeat at Charlton with White, Bishop and Walker returning to the line-up for Atkinson, Elsnik and Butcher respectively however a late hamstring injury to White, saw him swap with Atkinson and the stags’ left with six subs – one, the returning Otis Khan. It was a tense start to the highly billed affair with neither side having too many chances early doors, Ryan Sweeney did well to stop Shay McCartan from getting a shot away before at the other end on 12 minutes, Rose forced Josh Vickers into making a smart save. Rose was involved again on 23 minutes when he struck the side netting whilst solid defending from Preston helped the stags stay in the game as Lincoln turned up the heat as half time approached. Bobby Oljenik made a good stop to deny Bruno Adrade on 51 minutes before a minute later Khan replaced Atkinson, moving Hamilton, briefly, to wing-back in a 3-4-1-2 - but the change didn’t have an immediate impact as on 53 minutes, Adrade again got into the box, denied again by the Stags keeper. On the hour Mellis hit a volley wide but it was Lincoln enjoying the more of the ball and racking up the chances and as the game moved into the last ten minutes, the host brought on former Stags Matt Rhead and Matt Green as they looked to hurt their former side. The icon duo were marked out of the game well by Pearce but it was they who who celebrating with five minutes to go, fellow substitute Kellan Gordon bundling home from close range. Mansfield were not down and began their fight back, throwing Craig Davies up front as he replaced Benning – in the 93rd minute, the reward came as Rose sprinted down the right and saw his deflected cross fall for Walker – his ball in was turned towards goal by Davies who hit a Lincoln defender – the loose ball fell for Mellis who made no mistake to level the game and seal a point. FULL TIME: Lincoln City 1-1 Mansfield Town STAGS [3-4-3]: Bobby Olejnik, Matt Preston, Krystain Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney. Will Atkinson (Otis Khan 52), Jacob Mellis, Neal Bishop (Timi Elsnik 88), Mal Benning (Craig Davies 88), CJ Hamilton, Danny Rose, Tyler Walker Unused Subs: Conrad Logan, Calum Butcher, Alistar Smith Referee: Gavin Ward  Football can sometimes be a very cruel mistress, and Mansfield felt the full force of Football's cruelty as they got thumped 5-0 by league one Charlton.
The scoreline completely flattened the hosts as they ran out winners of the match which should never have been, the FA and referees apology for awarding Charlton a goal which was clearly offside in the original tie is nothing more than another bitter pill for Stags fans to swallow. On a freezing Tuesday with the rain pouring down on a soulless and practically empty Valley, the Stags were extremely hard done by and I imagine that David Flitcroft will be majorly biting his tounge where the referee is concerned, as another poor and frankly strange decision ruined the game. The Stags were 2-0 down and to be fair had conceded two soft goals, however they were largely dominating play and had been caught and punished by a team pushing for promotion back to the championship. Time may well have been against them but I felt we had a goal in us to set up a tense finish, yet the referee had other ideas and after initially awarding the Stags a free-kick, seemingly changed his mind and seconds later - the hosts had a third, after which, with Stags pretty much baffled, bemused and deflated, the hosts scored twice more to inflict what on paper looks like a battering. I dont think that I've ever felt like the Stags could get back into the game with practically ten minutes to go when losing 2-0 Away from home and the fact, prior to that ridiculous free kick, that I felt like we could is testament to the way David Flitcroft has got us playing. The defeat is hard to take and given our solid record and good form is a massive sucker punch, yet in some ways it could be a blessing in disguise as it gives us a sharp slap across the face and asks us if we are up for the fight together as one. We have to go and respond on Saturday in a hostile and charged environment at Lincoln who will want to maintain their good form and get their own back from earlier in the year in the checkatrade game, we can not let two ridiculous refereeing decisions affect us, nor can we dwell on them. Yes it is disappointing to bow out of the competition at this early stage, and of course winning games is a good habit to have, but we've lost no points of slipped down any tables. It's one game, one blot on a much bigger canvas. Come on you Stags as David Flitcroft aptly said “we are a squad, we are a team and I won’t allow any victims – that [game] has gone now.” Match Report The Stags made four changes from Saturday’s win over Port Vale, reverting back to a 3-4-1-2 with the introduction of Calum Butcher in the attacking midfield role, Will Atkinson came in at right wing back, whilst there were also starts for Danny Rose and midfielder Timi Elsnik. Click here to read the clubs report of the game FULL TIME: Charlton 5-0 Stags STAGS [3-4-1-2]: Bobby Oljenik, Matt Preston, Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney, Will Atkinson, Jacob Mellis (Hayden White 22), Timi Elsnik, Mal Benning, Calum Butcher, Danny Rose (Jordan Graham 61), CJ Hamilton (Tyler Walker 61) Unused Substitutes: Conrad Logan, Jason Law, Lewis Gibbens, Nyle Blake Referee: Kevin Johnson Full Time Score Mansfield Town 1-0 Port Vale Competition Sky Bet League Two Venue The One Call Stadium Stags Goal Scorer(s) CJ Hamilton Attendance 4,316 (459)  Craig Priest writes…
It’s fair to say the opening two months of this season were full of frustrations, and even in recent weeks with so many positives, there was still one weight hanging over the Stags’ shoulders – getting back to back league victories. That weight has now been lifted thanks to a magical flash of lightening from CJ Hamilton, who is rapidly developing into a prize asset helping to set Mansfield’s league two campaign on fire. We all knew of CJ’s talent when he arrived under Adam Murray and showed flashes of it as a winger under Steve Evans, but since the arrival of David Flitcroft, like so many others, the tag of one trick pony has bolted, and we’ve got one hell of a utility player on our hands who can effect from anywhere on the pitch. Yesterday was far from a routine victory, it was a professional job which could have gone horrible one had we taken the arrogant approach when Vale went down to ten men just past the hour mark with the Stags a goal to the good. Teams react differently to going a man down and it didn’t really effect Vale’s game plan as they were bypassing the midfield anyway with direct play, trying to get throws in good areas to utilise the long throw, credit should therefor go to the stags’ focus and resoluteness to cherish their lead and hold onto it. Clean sheets and protecting what you’ve worked for is sometimes more important than drilling a team into the ground, and that’s exactly where the Stags put their focus yesterday to earn a much deserved victory. The games keep coming thick and fast, starting with the trip to Charlton for the FA Cup replay on Tuesday before Saturday’s crunch game with Lincoln where, with victory, the Stags could make real progress with their ambitions MATCH REPORT David Flitcroft reverted back to the side which drew with Charlton last Sunday, a side which included skipper Pearce who wasn’t called up for Barbados, meanwhile fellow defender Ryan Sweeney didn’t have a game for the Republic of Ireland U21s. It was a slow and frustrating start to the match which took the Stags fifteen minutes to register the first real effort, as Mellis fizzed one just wide of the target, a minute later CJ Hamilton had the back line chasing a blur, weaving a way through before hitting the post. Vale’s Tom Pope nearly caused his old boss a headache on 19 minutes but couldn’t get his header on target, whilst with ten minutes to go before the break, Tyler Walker was denied by Leon Legge who made a fine tackle at the heart of the visitors defence. It was going to take something special to open the scoring and that’s exactly what happened on 41 minutes as CJ Hamilton dropped his shoulder and curled beyond the keeper. After the break the Stags were out of the traps quickly and it took a solid save from Scott Brown to deny Tyler Walker, before Danny Rose replaced Craig Davies. On 63 minutes the visitors were down to ten men as Manny Oyeleke picked up his second booking of the match for tripping Bishop, with eight minutes to go Rose should have made it two-nil as he took advantage of Brown’s slip, after failing to score in the empty net he squared to Walker, who fired wide, deep into five additional minutes – Rose was then denied by Brown following a fluid counter attack. FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 1-0 Port Vale STAGS [3-4-3]: Bobby Olejnik, Matt Preston, Krystain Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney (Timi Elsnik 77), Hayden White, Neal Bishop, Jacob Mellis, Mal Benning, Tyler Walker (Jordan Graham 86), Craig Davies (Danny Rose 54), CJ Hamilton Unused Subs: Conrad Logan, Calum Butcher, Will Atkinson, Alistar Smith Referee: Martin Coy Full Time Score Mansfield Town 3-2 Scunthorpe United Competition Checkatrade Trophy (North) Group H [Game 3 of 3] Venue The One Call Stadium Stags Goal Scorers Nyle Blake, Calum Butcher, Timi Elsnik Attendance 928 (119)  Craig Priest writes…
I’ve often been frustrated by the checkatrade trophy and the subsequent attitude that managers show towards it, however last night I proudly left the One Call Stadium contempt in the knowledge we have a manager who is both looking to develop the future of the club, and bring success to its humble fans. The 3-2 score line had its positives and negatives and I’m sure other bloggers will happily sit and highlight the negatives of the way in which we surrendered a two goal lead, but I couldn’t care about that – as Mansfield Town did what was required and gave supporters a taste of future prospects. With the Stags already qualified for the next stage of the competition, it wouldn’t have mattered if we had lost the match – the only difference being an away tie rather than a home tie. The importance of the match was to give youngsters (and I hate using that term in some respects) some game time and give them an introduction to senior, professional, football. In the build up to the match there where many reports of “putting the kids out” which, whilst we did start young players and have teenagers on the bench, for me is disrespectful to the individuals involved who have trained with first team on a consistent basis, working towards the aim of being selected to play on merit. That’s exactly what happened last night, David Flitcroft didn’t hand over the reigns to John Dempster and get the kit men to print shirts with 55 and upwards on the back for the sake of playing a fixture – he selected players who had caught his eye to play alongside those more experienced pros needing minutes, based on their work, application and attitude. It is testament to the work that John Demnpster, Mike Whitlow, Richard Cooper and the rest of the Academy staff have put in over the last three years for the manager to be able to do that and I firmly believe that will continue when the Under 21s and First Team are under the same roof at the RH Academy which can only be a matter of weeks. We already knew the potential of Lewis Gibbens and Jordan Graham, but it was the first time we got to see the likes of Nyle Blake, Jason Law and Alistar Smith who all started the match and who have been frequently mentioned by David Flitcroft. I felt they all put in a committed shift against what was a strong League One side, who despite eight changes, didn’t really field a youthful side – a fact which, given the nature of the competition, will be wrongly overlooked – make no bones about it, Scunthorpe were not there just to forfill contractual obligations, they were there to try and win and progress. Frustratingly I was unable to sit in my regular seat in the upper tier due to ticket sale restrictions, so sat in the lower tier behind the home dug-out, and whilst I’m annoyed I didn’t get my regular seat – I have to say it was good to see the way in which Flitcroft managed the game, in particular the way he took time to sit with Nyle Blake after he came off for Mal Benning early in the second half. Naturally with a sparse crowd you could hear fans more, and I have to 100% back Flitcroft’s reaction after a particular spell where Alistar Smith was berated for being disposed – he kindly reminded this particular supporter that he’s just a kid, and whilst I said at the top of the blog I wanted to avoid that comparison, I was very tempted to stand and applaud, as the young players are exactly that YOUNG! They need time to be nurtured and grow and gain match experience. I don’t particularly want to single anyone of them out as again they all earned their involvement on merit, however I felt that Jason Law was terrific, playing out of position at left back, later left wing, and despite being a striker, played really well, held his own and really contributed. All in all a very good night for the Stags, which with Timi Elsnik’s late goal, saw Flitcroft’s men top the group, they’ll play either Stoke City U21s, Bury, Macclesfield or Manchester City U21s at home week commencing 3rd December. MATCH REPORT Only Ryan Sweeney kept his place from Sunday’s FA Cup clash with boss David Flitcroft making ten changes, which included debuts for Alistar Smith and Nyle Blake [#33] – whilst on the bench youngsters Harry Bircumshaw [#31], Tom Fielding [#35], Iyrwah Gooden [#36] and Tyrese Sinclair [#37] were brought into the squad from the Academy set-up. Captained by Conrad Logan in the absence of Pearce, the Stags soaked up early pressure from the League One visitors with Lewis Gibbens’ tackle on 13 minutes preventing the visitors from taking the lead It was Mansfield who took the lead on 21 minutes despite Scunthorpe’s pressure, youngster Nyle Blake skipped through the middle and let fly towards goal, seeing the ball nestle beyond Flatt thanks to the slightest of deflections. Skipper Logan then made two smart saves five minutes later to maintain the stags leadm which they held until the half time whistle. The Stags were looking a little out of sorts and on 52 minutes Mal Benning replaced goalscorer Blake to slot into a back three, as Flitcroft introduced the more familiar 3-4-1-2 with Atkinson going to right midfield, Law pushing to the left with Benning slotting alongside Gibbens and Preston, who replaced Sweeney at the break. The switch also saw Butcher move into attacking midfield and it was he who doubled the Stags lead just a minute later, sweeping into the bottom corner after neat footwork on the edge of the area. Scunthorpe found a way back into the game on 73 as they danced through the middle, setting up El-Mhanni to deflect one beyond Logan, a minute prior to the full time whistle the stags allowed Scunthorpe through the middle again – Andy Dales bringing the scores to 2-2, a goal which would have meant Scunthorpe qualification and a penalty shootout….. if straight from the restart, the Stags didn’t score, which they did as Elsnik’s effort looped over Flatt, again via a deflection – a thrilling end to a brilliant night for the club. FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 3-2 Scunthorpe United STAGS [4-3-3]: Conrad Logan ©, Will Atkinson, Ryan Sweeney (Matt Preston HT), Lewis Gibbens, Jason Law, Alistar Smith, Calum Butcher, Timi Elsnik, Nyle Blake (Mal Benning 52), Danny Rose (Tom Fielding 87), Jordan Graham Unused Subs: Bobby Oljenik, Harry Bircumshaw, Tyrese Sinclair, Iyrwah Gooden Full Time Score Mansfield Town 1-1 Charlton Athletic Competition FA Cup – First Round Venue The One Call Stadium Stags Goal Scorer(s) CJ Hamilton Attendance 3,240 (392)  Craig Priest writes…
The FA Cup carries with it a certain magic, however no spell will ever turn our 2018-19 first round tie with Charlton into a classic, as the teams drew 1-1 meaning a replay will be required to see who progresses. The visitors could only name five substitutes due to injury but still put out a side oozing with quality, many of whom should be playing at Championship manager, and as such – Charlton’s apparent injury problem played no part in a game which was by far a classic. Mansfield, switching to a more expressive 3-4-3, should have won the game and would have, had it not been for a questionable second half goal from Charlton which the cameras later proved offside – however David Flitcrofts men didn’t have it their own way and should be commended on their defensive play. Ryan Sweeney was particular impressive for me in the back three and really stepped up his game, whilst at the other end CJ Hamilton impressed with his eagerness to run and capped off a good afternoon’s work with a well taken goal. The 3-4-3 system had its floors as it allowed Chalrton space to move the ball across the park and there were times we were a little too exposed in the middle for my liking, however a lack of zip and energy from the visitors was enough to counter balance the gaps. Mansfield’s performance wasn’t as dominant as it has been for the last two matches (second half!) but all in all they matched a good league one side and didn’t look disinterested, a replay is not something we really wanted given our backlog of matches but momentum can be built from it, so let’s keep this run going and progress! MATCH REPORT Two changes were made by Flitcroft as he moved CJ Hamilton up front in a 3-4-3, bringing in Craig Davies for Danny Rose, and Hayden White for Elsnik, who missed out with a knock. Mansfield held on after early pressure from the League One visitors and had three chances of their own inside the opening ten minutes, CJ Hamilton hitting the outside of the post following Pearces’ sublime through ball, Mal Benning then nodded towards goal – denied by Dillon Phillips in the Charlton goal, before Mellis rasped one over the bar, following Walkers cut back. Bishop, Pearce, Walker and Hamilton all had efforts as the game remained firmly deadlocked before on the stroke of half time, the latter put the stags in front – driving into the box before drilling into the bottom corner. After the break Hamilton should have had a second but was denied brilliantly by Phillips who kept Charlton in the game, before Danny Rose was introduced on the hour to spice up the Stags attack with Davies withdrawn. On 73 minutes Charlton levelled the match though Toby Stevenson, the referee gave the goal despite protests of offside, protests replays proved accurate. It proved to be the final goal of the game as neither side could produce another, the Stags had Olejnik to thank moments after the goal as he denied Ajose, whilst at the other end half chances for Mellis and Rose weren’t enough to find a winner – meaning the Stags are off to the Valley a week tomorrow (Tuesday) to see who will progress. FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 1-1 Charlton Athletic STAGS [3-4-3]: Bobby Olejnik, Matt Preston Krystain Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney, Hayden White, Neal Bishop, Jacob Mellis, Mal Benning (Calum Butcher 78), Craig Davies (Danny Rose 61), Tyler Walker (Jordan Graham 94), CJ Hamilton, Unused Subs: Conrad Logan, Lewis Gibbens, Will Atkinson, Alistar Smith Referee: Ollie Yates Full Time Score Mansfield Town 2-1 Grimsby Town Competition Sky Bet League Two Venue The One Call Stadium Stags Goal Scorer(s) Tyler Walker (2) Attendance 4,118 (544)  Craig Priest writes…
There are numerous quotes I could use to begin the round up of the 2-1 win against victory, but I think the most apt would be – it isn’t about how you fall or indeed how many times; it’s about the way you stand, the way you respond – and respond, Mansfield did. For the second game running the Stags played out a poor first half and were unusually sloppy at the back, gifting the opposition a soft goal, and had to fight back to take something from the game – this time driven on by a double change at the break and a switch in system, Mansfield were able to take all three points in a dominant and hungry performance, extending their unbeaten run to 11 games in all competitions and climb into the play-offs. Say what you want about Flitcroft but he’s not afraid to be stubborn and stick with one way of playing, he knew his side were capable of turning the game around and showed his hand early which really put Grimsby on the ropes, I just wonder how long it will be until we start with the back four, as currently that seems to be the way we kill games off and get our reward. Credit too should goto the players who showed real fight, desire and hunger to run not stop for 45 minutes to go and win the game, we’ve had a lot of fixtures lately with four of the last fixe prior to Grimsby being on the road – which is increased travel time, less time on a known training pitch – that sort of period can make or break squads and touch wood, it’s made us. I think there would have been a lot of frustration had we drawn the game last night but I don’t think any of the players were allowing that to happen, as they rid themselves of the one man show work ethic and came together – Tyler Walker has got into some great positions and finished when it really matters, Jacob Mellis has shown incredible craft and vision, CJ Hamilton has shown real professionalism in playing in a variety of roles, Danny Rose hasn’t let his head drop with not scoring, instead channelling that into relentless pressing, Neal Bishop has kept a cool and collected leaders head – the list goes on. You can look back to mid-September when we were making silly errors which were costing us games and compare that to now, we are hitting form and really letting teams know that they are in a game. It’s almost a shame that the next two fixtures are cup games as you want to carry that momentum on, but it gives us a chance to look at a few other players who’ve had to miss out lately and give them a chance to get in the side for the next block of league fixtures, which includes playing the league leaders and the relegation favourites champions elect! We have to take the same energy into those games and come away with three points. MATCH REPORT Ryan Sweeney replaced Hayden White in the back three in the only change to Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Cheltenham, as the Stags looked to continue their momentum from the second half at Cheltenham. Aside from an early opening which Matt Preston dealt with the Stags did start with that spark from Saturday as Danny Rose found himself through on goal just three minutes in, he was denied by the long serving Mariners glovesman James McKeown, who moments later, watched on as Mellis lashed one wide from long range. McKeown was Grimsby’s hero again on nine minutes as he denied Tyler Walker a third goal in two games, Walker also skimmed the bar moments after the Grimsby keeper had plucked Hamilton’s cross out of the air – just before it reached the head of Rose. Walker, Rose, Mellis and Sweeney all had openings but couldn’t find the breakthrough and with ten minutes to go before the break the stags did score, sadly in their own net as they switched off and allowed the visitors through – Mal Benning getting the final touch as he put the ball into his own net. Tyler Walker flashed one wide on the stroke of half time but it was clear something needed to change, and it soon did as Flitcroft withdrew Elsnik and Preston at the break for Davies and White respectively, going to an attacking 4-4-2 with Tyler Walker playing right wing and CJ on the left. It was a switch which killed Grimsby’s attacking game as they failed to register a shot, on or off target, in the second half and were pushed onto the ropes by Mansfield who looked really to kill, it took just five minutes for the Stags to get one back – Tyler Walker the man in form and on target to volley home. Craig Davies had two effort to put the Stags ahead, Walker, Sweeney and Rose also had chances but the game remained locked at 1-1, thanks mainly to McKeown in the Grimsby goal. With eight minutes to go the inevitable happened for goal hungry Mansfield who took the lead, CJ Hamilton’s pinpoint assist found Tyler Walker who slammed home his fifth goal in three games. Walker was then denied a hat-trick as McKeown saved a mouth-watering Volley from the on loan front man four minutes later, CJ Hamilton and substitute Jordan Graham were also denied as Mansfield relentlessly looked to kill the game off, the referee’s final whistle a joyous sound. FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 2-1 Grimsby Town STAGS [3-4-1-2]: Bobby Olejnik, Matt Preston (Hayden White HT), Krystain Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney, CJ Hamilton, Neal Bishop, Jacob Mellis, Mal Benning, Timi Elsnik (Craig Davies HT), Tyler Walker, Danny Rose (Jordan Graham 81) Unused Subs: Conrad Logan, Calum Butcher, Will Atkinson, Alistar Smith Referee: Keith Stroud Full Time Score Cheltenham Town 2-2 Mansfield Town Competition Sky Bet League Two Venue The Jonny-Rocks Stadium Stags Goal Scorer(s) Tyler Walker (2) Attendance 2,828 (404)  Craig Priest writes…
After Tuesday evening’s win at Crewe, the Stags faithful had renewed hope that after months of waiting they’d get back to back league wins yesterday as they headed for Cheltenham, alas dreams were shattered as following a first half where Mansfield weren’t at the races, it took a photo finish and Tyler Walker, to rescue what in the end, was a deserved point. It’s extremely frustrating that against a struggling team we’ve not taken full advantage but I think that a little bit of arrogance crept it and slapped us sharply around the face. We scored a good team goal early doors and thought we were onto an easy afternoon and backed off Cheltenham twice – two chances they took full advantage of to lead at the break. To our credit we woke up at half time and began the comeback with a change of shape again giving us the freedom to attack – huge credit to Flitcroft for throwing Craig Davies on early and going 4-2-4, I’d be foaming at the mouth this morning if we’d have accepted our fate and lost 2-1. Cheltenham did what every scrapping team do, got under our skin and drank from our cup of arrogance, we are fortunate that other than a little scuffle we ignored it and focussed on the task at hand – achieving it dramatically late after seeing the hosts throw themselves at everything. Throughout the second half I was under no fear that we’d lose the game, I always felt an equaliser was coming and to be fair had we broken the hosts’ barrier earlier, I 100% think we’d be talking about back to back wins right now. As it is, we’re not and as annoyed as we might be, we haven’t lost and we have learned lessons – there’s no place for arrogance, just place for hunger and desire and after scoring so dramatically, we’ve taken that sucker punch that we were feeling a month or so ago and turned it on its head. We now have a run of home matches which means we’ve more time to work on our shortcomings – we need to improve at home and we start, quick and fast, on Tuesday against Grimsby. MATCH REPORT Unsurprisingly it was as you were with the starting line-up, back from suspension Ryan Sweeney settling for a place on the bench, as did youngster Alistar Smith, given shirt number 30 after impressing whilst out on loan at Frickley Athletic – another sign we’re developing and giving hungry players the opportunity. The stags started well in midweek and were at it again, taking the lead after just seven minutes after Mal Benning’s pin point deep cross was headed expertly home by Tyler Walker. Cheltenham then came out of the traps in search of a reply and were denied by Olejnik in the Stags goal who palmed over an effort from Luke Varney on ten minutes, from the resulting corner however the hosts had their leveller, Ben Tozer unmarked from the second phase of play to turn home. Timi Elsnik came closest to getting the Stags back ahead with a curling effort on 24 minutes, before four minutes before the break Danny Rose was denied a certain goal by Tozer. Ex-stag Chris Clements was denied by Olejnik seconds later but right on the stroke of half time, Mansfield conceded a sloppy goal as they allowed Will Boyle to head home from a tight angle. After the break the Stags moved CJ Hamilton up front in a 4-3-3 and began their hunt for a comeback, Walker and Hamilton caused the most danger but the hosts threw everything in the way. On 67 Minutes Bishop made way for Davies as the Stags went four up front and continued with their onslaught of the Cheltenham goal, Walker, Hamilton, Mellis and Elsnik all seeing efforts blocked or drop wide as the clock ticked down. Mansfield did not want to surrender their unbeaten away record and in the third minute of five added on, Tyler Walker grabbed a dramatic late equaliser – poking home from close range to rescue a point. FULL TIME: Cheltenham Town 2-2 Mansfield Town STAGS [3-4-1-2]: Bobby Olejnik, Hayden White (Will Atkinson 79), Krystain Pearce ©, Matt Preston, CJ Hamilton, Neal Bishop (Craig Davies 69), Jacob Mellis, Mal Benning, Timi Elsnik, Tyler Walker, Danny Rose Unused Subs: Conrad Logan, Lewis Gibbens, Jordan Graham, Alistar Smith [#30] Referee: Neil Hair |
