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Sky Bet League Two, Saturday 27th November 2021  f Nigel Clough ever decides he’s had enough of Football management, then the poker circuit is certainly worth considering – that or the magic circle, shuffling his pack yesterday to bamboozle us all and pull out some ace cards.
The biggest ace of all was for me the formation, Clough switched from what we predicted would be a 4-4-2 diamond to playing with three central defenders, pushing Hewitt and McLaughlin higher and wider as wing-backs in a system designed to be fluid and effective in moving the ball. It worked a treat too, the Stags lost no experience at the heart of defence with O’Toole playing as the central anchor to Rawson and Forrester either side of him, allowing Hawkins to move back up front – a role he thrived in, scoring one and setting the other with a superb defence breaking pass. Clough had tough decisions to make with skipper Ollie Clarke and George Maris both of four bookings, a big reason behind them both being dropped to the bench – in their place Lapslie and Stirk did the job, the latter was brilliant in a box to box role, getting stuck in and playing a number of key passes. The midfield however can run and play passes all day long, but that’s nothing if you’ve not got the strikers to complete the hand – I’ve already mentioned Hawkins, but Rhys Oates too is showing exactly why he’s so highly rated and we’ve certainly missed him. He looks so hungry, so eager to close things down and create – he takes his goal very well from Hawkins’ brilliant pass, but also created a number of other openings yesterday to real turn the thumb screws. Having the three points will overshadow a slight concern, Crawley were allowed to get back into the game early in the second half and for a good 15-minute spell completely turned the game around – they’ll feel very hard done by in the end, twice hitting the bar, Tyrese Sinclair is a very lucky boy, missing a golden chance in the dying embers to kill them game off, watching on mere seconds later as Crawley hit the bar! In the end though it was a very good display overall and on any other day may well have been a much higher score line, would I keep working on the 3-4-1-2? 100% yes, it actually makes perfect sense to set up that way with the players we have. Three points, job done! STAGS: Bishop, Rawson, O’Toole, Forrester, Hewitt, Stirk, Quinn (Maris 69), McLaughlin, Lapslie (O Clarke 89), Hawkins ©, Oates (Sinclair 79) UNUSED SUBS: Shelvey, Burke, Charsley, Bowery Attendance: 1,824  Sky Bet League Two, Tuesday 23rd November 2021
After a solid run of consecutive wins, Mansfield Town were bound to have a stumble sooner rather than later – with said stumble coming on the long journey to league newcomers Sutton United. Nigel Clough said after the game that he felt had his side scored at 1-0 down, we’d have taken something home – he’s probably right on reflection, but it wouldn’t have been deserved as Sutton were the better side, and we played right into their hands. We allowed them to press high and dominate, failing to get the ball under control in the final third and repeat the strong midfield performance we saw against Scunthorpe, with silly errors creeping in for the first goal – we deal with the first set play well enough but don’t deal with the second phase of play, whilst for the second goal – fail to clear our lines from a long punt over the top, again not picking up the second ball. We’ve swung from being short at the back to being short up front, and that’s the difference – we can manage and cope with giving silly goals away such as the first, but only if we’ve got some pace and energy at the other end which, with Rhys Oates and Danny Johnson both out, and the quick turnaround of games plus the travel, we just don’t have. I was surprised Clough didn’t change it with that considered and again he admitted post-match that he took a gamble, and I applaud that – we all get things wrong, it’s how you respond to that! Crawley next, time to respond. STAGS: Bishop, Hewitt, O‘Toole, Hawkins (Forrester 73’), McLaughlin, Charsley, O. Clarke, Maris (Sinclair 67’), Quinn (Lapslie 46’), Stirk, Bowery UNUSED SUBS: Shelvey, Rawson, Law, Gale Attendance: 2,497 (298) Sky Bet League Two, Saturday 20th November 2021  Even after Scunthorpe United had tucked away a cast iron penalty, you sensed that this time, Mansfield Town would not lie down and be beaten – and inspired by captain Ollie Clarke, Nigel Clough’s men fought back beautifully with an iron bar dominating the midfield battle to run out 3-1 winners.
Mansfield are really starting to find their feet and that comes from consistency, I seem to say every week, either in this blog or on the Podcast, that consistency comes from having Hawkins at centre half and to be honest, with a striker shortage with Oates and Johnson both out, I did wonder if Clough would be tempted to set the Hawk free – I’m glad he didn’t. There’s two reasons for this, firstly – the aforementioned consistency. He’s formed good partnerships with Rawson, and in recent games, O’Toole and despite a lapse in concentration to allow the visitors to beat the offside trap and win a soft, but nailed on, penalty – they looked comfortable again and very difficult to get anything bar scraps from. Secondly, in Hawkins staying at the back, it gave Jordan Bowery prime opportunity to lead the line through the middle and I felt he did that very well – getting a goal with a powerful enough effort to beat the keeper, he also hit the post and looked dangerous linking up with the hungry attack minded Clarke, Stirk and Charsley. It’s refreshing to have so many positive to list to be honest, another which I feel must be pointed out, other than the performance of skipper Clarke which goes without saying was needed and subsequent praise deserved – is that of Harry Charsley. He does a lot of unseen work, he may not be getting goals but I feel makes some forceful runs and plays some delightful flicks – case in point, the assist for both Bowery’s post hit and goal – plus for Ollie Clarke’s first, he creates space for his skipper by peeling into a pocket and taking a defender with him. We’ve got a big week ahead which will be a tough one on the legs, a midweek trip to league newcomers Sutton United followed by the trip to Crawley on Saturday – let’s get behind the boys and hope for maximum points to propel us back up the table further. STAGS: Bishop, Hewitt, O’Toole, Hawkins, McLaughlin, Charsley, O. Clarke, Maris, Quinn (Sinclair 61’), Stirk (Forrester 88’), Bowery (Gale 68’) UNUSED SUBS: Shelvey, Rawson, Gordon, Law Attendance: 4,904 (528) Sky Bet League Two, Saturday 13th November 2021  Mansfield Town midfielder Ryan Stirk says that he’s confident that the Stags can continue to climb the league two table, well if the players continue to show the determination they’ve shown over the last few games, the Birmingham City loanee could be spot on.
It’s not so long ago that Mansfield Town would have fallen to pieces when pegged back by the opposition, but yesterday as Stevenage levelled in the 55th minute, something clicked and they sprung back into action – going on to win 2-1 thanks to substitute Stirk netting in front of the travelling fans. The Stags rise was no doubt down to being Stern at the back – Oli Hawkins has been a brilliant deputy for Perch and had begun to form a strong partnership with Rawson, but since being paired with O’Toole last weekend, has risen up and collectively the Stags have tightened further. Ironically it was the Stevenage boss who recommended O’Toole to Clough a few weeks ago having been unable to sign the ex Northampton and Burton man for his side, highlighting his attitude and fitness level which so far, he’s showing and the Stags are benefitting from. O’Toole does not look like he’s been out of the game for six months, his experience and, for want of a better word, bullishness, is what we’ve lacked – he throws himself in front of things, he towers in the air in both boxes and is vocal from the back. PLUS, he can play in a number of roles which will come in handy for Clough – he’s only on a deal until January from what I understand, if this is the case – I’d be looking at extending that until the end of the season. Mansfield did find it tough at times but showed real togetherness as the game went on, standing firm to ensure their late error, giving the ball away and conceding a dangerous free kick, came to nothing. Seeing the lads celebrate with the fans after and the passion really kicking in with the players, Quinn, O’Toole, Sinclair in particular, is brilliant – we’ve not had that for a long time, you don’t need me to say when, and that passion – if managed and harnessed in the right way, is a very good tool to have. Let’s get a good weeks training in and make sure that the One Call Stadium is bouncing next weekend, showing no mercy to a struggling Scunthorpe side as we seek to pull ourselves up another rung on the ladder. Onwards! STAGS: Bishop, Hewitt, O‘Toole, Hawkins, McLaughlin, Charsley, O. Clarke, Maris (Rawson 79’), Quinn, Lapslie (Stirk 53’), Oates (Sinclair 62’) UNUSED SUBS: Shelvey, Forrester, Bowery, Gale Attendance: 2,946 (535) Papa John’s Trophy – Group Stage, Game 3/3 – Tuesday 9th November  A treble for Danny Johnson helped Mansfield Town on their way to netting £10,000 and taking something away from this seasons EFL Trophy campaign, running out 6-3 winners against Newcastle United U21s, in a game which other than minutes and potential prize money, meant little to either club.
Both sides were already out of the competition ahead of kick-off but had to go through the motions and tick the boxes, a prime opportunity for Nigel Clough to give minutes to fringe players and ensure those playing on the fringes, are ready to step in when called upon as the Stags look to push on in the league. Conceding three goals won’t have pleased Clough, especially given the ease the opposition had in creating those openings – however at the other end, his side were hungry and importantly clinical enough, to win the game, even if the Stags did have to come from 2-1 down. Danny Johnson will undoubtedly take the headlines netting three goals, including one from the penalty spot banishing his demons from a few weeks previous – however there were a handful of younger players who also caught the eye, particularly 19-year-old James Gale who played alongside Johnson and Bowery in attack. The small Stags faithful also got their first proper glimpse of Stoke City loanee Will Forrester who had a steady enough game alongside Rawson at the back, it’s nice to know there’s another option there, however personally I think he’ll be used as cover, with O’Toole ahead of him. Speaking of O’Toole he got 45 minutes in midfield and capped a good display with a goal, again a good utility man to have around who provides cover in a number of areas, he was replaced at the break by the returning Ryan Stirk – it’s nice to have players coming back and options again! There’s little else to be said really other than well done on getting the job done. Few will care about that result, but I think confidence breads confidence and winning games certainly brings that, regardless of opponent or competition. STAGS: Shelvey, J.Clarke, Rawson (Cooper 80’), Forrester, Law, O’Toole (Stirk 46’), Ward, Gale, Sinclair, Johnson (Caine 70’), Bowery UNUSED SUBS: Stech, Charsley, Maris FA Cup First Round, Saturday 6th November 2021  “We saw you cry on the telly” must be a chant Sunderland fans get every week, the fact is for true supporters watching the Netflix documentary, they’ll understand the emotion and pain of being a football fan – but just because you’ve been in the top flight and have a far bigger fan base for the division you’re now stuck in, doesn’t mean you have a right to win a game of football by name only.
It’s actually quite frustrating how the main stream media play on that history too, highlighting the fact Sunderland were knocked out by a side in a lower division – one league lower, it’s not like the dog and duck third XI netting a 90th minute winner against Liverpool. What they should be highlight is that the Stags played their socks off, and were deserved winners, marking Nigel Clough’s first year as boss with a 1-0 win. It’s no secret that Clough’s men haven’t lived up to expectation this season and have been poor, but like last week, showed their quality and left the noisy travelling faithful beaming and proud – celebrating together as one with passion and desire at full time, which is all we want. Rhys Oates’ goal within the opening six minutes typified the Stags’ performance, playing on the front foot, closing down everything Sunderland tried and putting them under pressure – credit must go to Clough for going with that more positive approach, when it would have been easier to sit back and soak things up, trying to steal one on the break. At the back we were hardly troubled too, and let’s not forget neither central defenders were actually central defenders, Hawkins again brilliant and comfortable whilst O’Toole, making his first start, slotted in like he’d never been away from football – but the experience of both is what we’ve lacked and what’s needed to grind those results out. Nathan Bishop between the sticks was first class again and deserved his second consecutive clean sheet, the more we can make it harder for teams to break us down, the easier it will become for our more creative players to shine and dominate at the other end. Football is all about days like that, non-stop singing, passion from the players and a decent result miles from home – hopefully it will be a springboard for the league fixtures which come thick and fast this month, pushing us back up the table. Up the Stags! STAGS: Bishop, Hewitt, O’Toole, Hawkins, McLaughlin, Charsley (Forrester 90+4’), O. Clarke, Maris, Quinn, Lapslie (Sinclair 85’), Oates (Bowery 63’). UNUSED SUBS: Shelvey, Johnson, Burke, Ward, J. Clarke, Law. |
