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Mansfield Town 0-4 Cambridge United | Sky Bet League Two | Tuesday 17th September 2019 | One Call Stadium, Mansfield  *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* It’s hard to know where to begin on this summary of a thrashing at the hands of Cambridge United, Football is a game rife with emotion played and supported with a pumping heart of emotion – and often it’s difficult to not explode in anger following such as a disappointing performance, but this afternoon I don’t feel anger or hate – I feel empty, like that pumping heart has been ripped right out. Not looking at the games in isolation was mentioned heavily on Saturday and is far more prominent now as SOME supporters call for the removal of John Dempster from his post as manager and things, yet again, start to become heated on social media. Actually that’s a good way of looking at the whole situation – there’s an inferno ripping through the heart of the dressing room, and we can’t stop it. Honestly I’m stuck as to how to tackle this blog, I really want to look at the positive and heap praise on John Dempster for making changes, not just to personnel, but to the system in order to make us more attacking and hungry in the first half, in which I thought we were the best we have been thus far in his tenure. BUT, I always want to examine the failings – how has a team with 90% the same players, gone so drastically from a promotion form, to what is arguably relegation form. I’ve read social media posts from many, and had countless conversations with people about the situation and what I find laughable about most of the former, is the number of posts blaming Dempster for last night’s disgraceful defeat, because the fact is he can’t play for the team – it’s the players who have created this horrible feeling. Did John Dempster get Matt Preston sent off at 0-0 when we were on top? No, only the rashness of said player caused him to collect his second, and deserved, straight red card of the campaign. Did John Dempster tell Andy Cook to take a touch too many when Rose put a goal on a plate at 1-0 down? No, only the inexperience and lack of composure from the 20-goal-a-season striker saw him miss, and Cambridge subsequently go down the other end and score. Key moments change games in live play – and only the players can change that. I’m not just talking about last night, key moments of not concentrating and making school boy mistakes have cost us defeats against Leyton Orient, Exeter and Crawley this season – whilst 90% of the same mistakes made similar mistakes and errors under David Flitcroft, in failing spectacularly to secure automatic promotion last season. The red card was a stupid one to pick up and was at the bare minimum going to cost us a goal, to the Stags credit they did enough to battle for the best part of 25 minutes to keep it 0-0. Again to the managers’ credit changes were made to try and get back into the game and had Cook buried that cast iron goal, I actually think Mansfield might have gone on and nicked a win as mad as it sounds – but another key moment goes astray and within seconds, Cambridge use their advantage to score, fair play to them in getting four easy goals – it’s never nice to be on the receiving end of that. Supporters are entitled to an opinion, it’s part of the game, I do however feel there is a line – telling the manager to “F off and die” is hardly going to make him want to improve the team, football managers and footballers are PEOPLE, just like you and me. I watched the post-match interview with a lump in my throat if I’m being honest, I saw a man whose given everything to this club as a player, captain and academy coach look lost, broken and shattered – and that’s not a nice place to be, trust me. Any comments I make about players, managers, coaches etc past, present or future are my own comments, but are made based solely on football and the decisions they make which effect the result and form – anyone making needless abusive comments like the one referenced by Dempster in his post-match, is a bully and should be ashamed. Back now to reality, I really want the manager to be successful and I understand that takes time – he and the players need to unite to put out the fire before it is too late, if that means upsetting the apple cart and making radical changes then do it, because SOMETHING has to be done to turn this season around, because if I’m honest – I feel like we’re heading straight for the iceberg without any life boats on board, fortunately it’s further in the distance than many think and with a bit of work, we can steer away from it. Let’s start that at Port Vale on Saturday, playing the way we did in the first half – with intensity and hunger, which with an added bit if composure and confidence, will see us be on the right end of a 4-0 score line, I honestly deep down believe that, BUT that work and commitment to each other from within the heart of the inferno HAS TO START NOW. Hurt. Angry. Defeated. Disappointed – chose whichever feeling you want to, and remember that people will quit and give up on you, you’ve got to wake up every day – and not give up, or quit, on yourself. match recapJohn Dempster made three changes as Neal Bishop returned to the side after a lay-off, whilst Mal Benning also returned to line-up – replacing Mellis and MacDonald, whilst Omari Sterling-James was handed a start, replacing the injured Nicky Mayanrd.
John Dempster also tweaked the system, going from a 3-1-4-2 to a more attacking 3-4-3 – In summary the first half was the best we’ve played all season, the second half was a vast contrast following the red card and is 45 minutes of football I never care to whiteness again – click here to read the clubs report if you REALLY want too! FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 0-4 Cambridge United | Attendance 3,567 (181) STAGS: [3-4-3] Conrad Logan | Matt Preston [SENT OFF 49], Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney | Kellan Gordon (Otis Khan 86), Neal Bishop, Conor Shaughnessy, Mal Benning (Andy Cook 81) | Omari Sterling-James (Alex MacDonald 75), Danny Rose, CJ Hamilton Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Alistair Smith, Jacob Mellis Dapo Afolayan Written by | Craig Priest *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations*
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Crawley Town 1-0 Mansfield Town | Sky Bet League Two | Saturday 14th September 2019 | The People’s Pension Stadium, Crawley  *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* “Over a period of games, so far this season we haven’t been good enough – that’s the reality” They’re the words not of me, but of Stags boss John Dempster following another sloppy and careless defeat at Crawley yesterday, and to be honest – the Stags boss is spot on. Another Dempster quote is “You can’t play a period of games and keep harping on about fine margins” and again he’s right, there’s only so many weeks and games in which you can take them in isolation before you need to look at the bigger picture, as with eight games now played – the form book isn’t looking good for Mansfield Town. Reflecting on yesterday for a moment, you can argue that the Stags enjoyed the better of the chances but just couldn’t find the killer instinct at key moments – however stats don’t win football matches, all they show is that deep within there is a possibility – the problem is that the consistency needed to unlock that, is absent from within. When we played football on the floor we looked fluid and dangerous, but we didn’t stick with it for long enough periods to really hurt Crawley – we resorted to more directional, static play, which was far too easy for Crawley to pick off and eventually, ultimately exploit. You can turn round and blame the deflection and say “it happens” and you’d have a point, but for me you need to look at the build-up play which leads to the shot coming in – we’ve had three opportunities to press and try to clear our lines, executing none of them, backing off and backing off and backing off, until the inevitable happens. It was the same at Exeter and there’s been plenty of other examples throughout the season where we’ve been punished in similar fashion. Those are the fine margins which Dempster eluded too in his post-match comments, in solitary games they are fine margins – but games come thick and fast, we’ve now played 17% of the season and “fine margins” have lost us two away games, costing us at least two points, and also seen us concede needless goals. We all know from last season how these fine margins add up and we can’t afford to be letting this happen on a constant basis, because another four games like this and we’ll struggle to turn it around – because so far we haven’t shown that we have the mentality to do so, or the consistency. I think we have to look at systems in which we can be more effective going forward, we changed to a back four after the Crawley goal and looked more intent, too little too late in that particular match – but if we can start with that intent and hunger, we will go out and really hurt a team. We certainly have the personnel to do so, if for example you looked at playing a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1 you can utilise Otis Khan and get more out of CJ Hamilton playing further forward, not to mention the likes of Omari Sterling-James and Dapo Afolayan, who both looked hungry when they came on and could be the key to hurting teams early. Hurting teams early is certainly what’s needed right now, it’ll give us that bounce and zest in our attacking play and give us something to protect which may turn these fine margins, into positive ones. It’s a long way home when you begin to bubble with frustration at how things aren’t quite going your way – sometimes you’ve got to let go of what’s gone and pull together to light up the darkness, naturally we’ll get disheartened and say things we shouldn’t – we’re only human after all, but it’s important to focus on Tuesday’s night’s match and put things right. I’m just as frustrated and would love to sit here and hammer negative words at my keys just to get it out of my system, but it’s a pointless exercise - a lot of our problem as a collective is that we still have our eyes firmly fixed on promotion. Sometimes when you’ve been so close to achieving something you won’t take your eyes off of it and be constantly be haunted by the memories of failure, merging with those dreams of what could have, and should have, been – it’s like running before you can even crawl. We need to take a little step back and focus on the little tasks, set ourselves smaller objectives – like two back to back wins which includes at the very least, one clean sheet – because two wins from the next two games gives us a bounce and a platform to build upon and see where we are in 3-4 games times, after a quarter of the season. I believe in the players and management – it’s just time to stop crawling and start running. Come on you Stags. -- Match recap --John Dempster named an unchanged side from the one which beat Scunthorpe United 2-0 last weekend, striker Dapo Afolayan made the bench following a little niggle which kept him out of the previous weekends squad.
Both sides enjoyed early opportunities with Nicky Maynard firing wide for the Stags on three minutes, before a Matt Preston block denied Camara three minutes later as the hosts’ opened up some space. Conrad Logan was sold short by CJ Hamilton on 20 minutes when the wing-back miscued a back pass, the Stags keeper raced out and controlled well before smashing clear, five minutes later Logan was the hero again as Pearce felled Grego-Cox inside the box – the Stags number one getting inside the penalty takers head, guessing correctly to palm away the spot-kick. Danny Rose should have put Mansfield ahead on 32 minutes but the Stags’ number 32 got in a real mess following excellent build up play which saw Maynard provide an inch perfect cut back – Rose took a very heavy touch which saw the keeper collect, rather than lace the ball into the net which was crying out to be hit – Mansfield’s best chance of the half by far. CJ Hamilton stung the palms of the home keeper on 42 minutes with a right footed effort, but on the stroke of half-time, it was the Stags’ stopper Logan who again bailed his side out of trouble – this time denying Lubala, after his skipped effortlessly through the defence. Former Stag Ollie Palmer hit a tame free kick straight into the grateful grasp of Logan on 49 minutes, but four minutes later taunted the Stags faithful like a petulant child, as Lubala was allowed far too much space on the edge of the area to hit a tame shot, which looped up off of Matt Preston and beyond Logan – who could do nothing bar, rightfully, berate his static defence who had three chances to close the ball down. Kellan Gordon offered a response for the Stags straight from the restart but failed to keep his effort down from MacDonald’s pass, before Rose was twice denied by Morris in the Crawley goal. Benning replaced the booked Sweeney on 63 minutes to drop into a 4-4-2 with MacDonald on the right wing, the Stags looked lively immediately but again failed to finish the move – Maynard this time denied by the keeper. Afolayan and Sterling-James then came on for the Stags the former fired over the bar from a Rose flick on with 12 minutes remaining. At the other end Logan denied Lubala a second before with three minutes to go, the Stags best chance of the second half saw a seemingly unstoppable Benning venomous effort, expertly palmed away by Morris who flew through the air – a save which ultimately earned the hosts victory, and sent Mansfield on the long journey home empty handed and deflated. FULL TIME: Crawley Town 1-0 Mansfield Town | Attendance 2,068 STAGS: [3-1-4-2] Conrad Logan | Matt Preston, Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney (Mal Benning 63) | Conor Shaughnessy | Kellan Gordon, Jacob Mellis, Alex MacDonald (Dapo Afolayan 70), CJ Hamilton | Nicky Maynard (Omari Sterling-James 73), Danny Rose Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Alistair Smith, Otis Khan, Neal Bishop Written by | Craig Priest *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* Mansfield Town 2-0 Scunthorpe United [Preston, Rose] | Sky Bet League Two | Saturday 7th September 2019 | One Call Stadium, Mansfield  *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* After a below-par start to the season ravaged with injuries and suspensions, John Dempster collected his first win on home soil of the season yesterday – beating the leagues bottom side Scunthorpe United. It was clear that after the aforementioned injuries and suspensions that the Stags boss needed to add a few bodies into the squad – completing his summer jigsaw with the arrival of midfielder/ defender Conor Shaughnessy on a season long loan from Leeds United on deadline day – an addition which yesterday proved to be the buffer to solve the Stags’ boss’ slow and stuttering internet. The 23-Year-old played in a defensive midfield role yesterday and proved to be exactly what Mansfield needed to re-start their router and kick into life, proving to be the missing pocket of power the Stags faithful have been asking for. Beating the leagues bottom side should have been a given anyway and whilst Scunthorpe will start to improve as the season goes on, it was perhaps the perfect opportunity to play them in order for Dempster and his men to gel and mould without the risk of facing a side a tad hungrier and confident such as Exeter. And to be fair, that’s exactly what we did – the basics, which is all we needed to do. Our build up play was slicker than it had been, thanks largely to Shaughnessy whose range of passing allowed us to get more particularly out of Kellan Gordon on the right hand side – whilst both goals were fuelled by the want to connect with crosses and punish errors which was very pleasing indeed. What is more pleasing is that we didn’t see a repeat of the Leyton Orient game, in which the Stags played well enough to get a two-nil lead and then collapsed like a bridge made of paper. Players put bodies on the line to block efforts and were more alert in the closing stages of the game – whilst John Dempster made the right changes to counter balance the worry when it looked like Scunthorpe were starting to take hold of the game – brining on Neal Bishop and Mal Benning. Victory, no matter the level or standing of the opponents, is still victory and lifts everyone that extra 5-10% which can have a positive effect. The performance may not have been completely what the Stags are capable of, however when you’ve been in a period of instability, you just need to do the basics to allow those cracks to start to heal, the rest will hopefully follow. With no Tuesday night game this week, we’ve got that extra time to relax and take stock – and on an even more positive note, have players coming back into the fold from the injury squad which can only bolster us going forward – let’s use victory as a platform to build on and make September a more solid month and start climbing the league table, starting with next weekend’s trip to Crawley. Match RecaP Stags boss John Dempster had a number of ace’s up his sleeve as the Stags returned to the One Call Stadium – defender Ryan Sweeney’s red card from last weekend had been overturned meaning he kept his place, whilst new addition Conor Shaughnessy was also handed a debut. Defender Mal Benning was dropped to the bench in place of CJ Hamilton, a bench which also included Neal Bishop, back available following his injury absence.
It was a fairly balanced start to the match with the Stags enjoying a few set-plays inside the opening ten minutes, also having MacDonald to thank as he blocked a free-kick from Eisa which looked destined to find the net, Nicky Maynard came closest to opening the scoring on 22 minutes – denied by the palms of the visiting keeper. Mansfield looked the more likely to take the lead with lots of good build up play, particularly between Shaughnessy and Gordon down the right hand side – the overdue goal coming on 31 minutes, as CJ Hamilton’s right sided cross hit Matt Preston’s outstretched foot at the far post, the connection strong enough to evade the keeper and give Mansfield the lead. After the break the Stags knew they needed a second, if only to settle any nerves and kill any Scunthorpe hope – only one man was ever going to deliver it, Danny Rose duly obliged on 54 minutes, nipping in front of his market to nick the ball beyond the on rushing keeper – grabbing his sixth goal of the season in the process. CJ Hamilton thought he’d added a third on 76 minutes but was denied by the offside flag, much to the fury of the Stags bench – a minute later they were on their feet ready to celebrate again, Rose denied by Watson who made a strong save. Kellan Gordon also flashed a volley in before Ryan Sweeney’s “AVE IT!” clearance nearly bounced in in the 5th minute of six additional minutes – the defender had no time to react, as the full time whistle soon followed, job done for the Stags. FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 2-0 Scunthorpe United | Attendance 4,772 (554) STAGS: [3-1-4-2] Conrad Logan | Matt Preston, Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney | Conor Shaughnessy | Kellan Gordon, Jacob Mellis (Neal Bishop), Alex MacDonald, CJ Hamilton | Nicky Maynard (Mal Benning 80), Danny Rose Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Alistair Smith, Otis Khan, Willem Tomlinson, Omari Sterling-James Written by | Craig Priest *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* Exeter City 1-0 Mansfield Town | Sky Bet League Two | Saturday 31st August 2019 | St. James Park, Exeter  Craig Priest writes… The long journey home followed by a lie-in often gives you time for reflection, but I can honestly say this morning that no matter what I’ve tried, I simply can’t shake my anger and sheer disappointment at Mansfield Town’s performance at Exeter City yesterday, a 1-0 defeat as the season, and life under John Dempster, continued its utterly woeful start. ‘Utterly Woeful’ might be a little harsh as we’re not rock bottom having lost every single game, but *insert expletive here* we’re not half close to that – with one win, two defeats, three draws and a whole host of errors from our opening six games. I always try to be as positive as possible and it takes a lot for me to hit publish on an article which is predominantly negative – I’ll often vent and delete! Today I’m not pressing delete, because what I’m watching unfold in-front of me is one hell of a nightmare for my beloved club. Before I fully take the handbrake off on vent-mode, I’ll make a few things abundantly clear – whoever is Mansfield Town manager I will back, and back, and back wholeheartedly. I accept that I’m no manager or coach, just a humble fan sharing my opinion – and in doing so, when in a negative form – I do so in the hope that whoever is on the receiving end of it, prints it off, pins it up on the dressing room wall and proves me wrong – because all we all want is positive success, and WHEN that happens, I’ll say well done. This feeling of anger, disappointment and being completely let-down doesn’t come from one game it doesn’t come because we travelled all those miles to get beaten by a soft, play-ground goal – it comes from the entirety of the season so far, it comes fear of it getting worse and it comes from the comparison we shouldn’t be making – but just can’t stop ourselves from doing: Flitcroft Vs Dempster, 2018-19 vs 2019-20. Of course we shouldn’t make the comparisons, I’m guilty of doing that every single day between one thing and other and all it does is make me feel utterly numb and angry at the mistakes and errors I’ve allowed myself to make. Yesterday’s starting line-up had TWO players difference between last season’s squad and this season’s in Kellan Gordon and Nicky Maynard, two players you would argue are improvements on those they’ve replaced. We’re playing with the same back three who were so solid but now, look so fragile. We’re playing in the same shape which was so fluid and energetic, but now is lethargic and stuttering, a bit like my old Fiat Punto on a cold morning. What’s changed? The obvious one is the manager and the coaching team, and as much as I admire and like John Dempster – fabulous player, captain and academy coach who did deserve a shot, naturally it’s he who the spot light shines upon. Like my own comparisons, both Flitcroft and Dempster have differences, different ideas, ambitions, styles etc etc etc – and whilst we’re watching this frustratingly stale mess unfold, longing for one isn’t going to help the other. The questions that we have to ask is, when Flitcroft ultimately got sacked for failing to deliver promotion [justified if that was he remit – again if you didn’t deliver your work targets, at some point you’d be visiting the job centre, no matter the margins – fact] was the decision to replace him with the inexperienced Dempster made in haste? Was that appointment made in that period where you know something’s wrong, where you know that saying something or doing something could have detrimental effect long term, but you’re so hurt, broken and angry, you can’t help it. Dempster fully deserved a shot at being a manager but, and I said this at the time, it felt like the wrong time – it felt like he was being thrown into the inferno, and on what I’ve seen so far – the flames are getting wildly out of control. Dempster’s time should have come when Evans hopped it to China via Peterborough, when the pressure and expectation from the Stags from us as supporters was nothing bar ‘have a go and if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen’ with a squad we knew deep down weren’t good enough and not when we’re collectively expecting the world with a squad who should be playing in league bloody one. This is not a reflection on him whatsoever and at this point I want to point out that this is also not a post wanting him removed as manager, like I said at the top of this rambled bout of frustration he’s got my full support – however it is a post questioning why it simply isn’t working. Naturally, and he said so post-match yesterday, he’ll get the blame and rightly so in some areas – but my attention now turns to the players who, apart from a VERY small minority, need to take a long hard look at themselves in regards to their professionalism. Not only does Dempster have one hell of a discipline problem with a red card every two games, not to mention the off-pitch disciplinary nightmare, there’s a real rift forming between the players and a massive attitude problem which is having detrimental effect on performance. You’ve got the back three and Logan practically doing a life stage version of Jeremy Kyle every time an opponent scores or gets a shot in, you’ve got CJ Hamilton getting rockets (probably deserved sometimes) from all areas after trying to take on the world rather than cross, the latest showdown between him and Macca yesterday another stunning highlight – and you’ve got players just simply being bothered to put in that extra 10% that proves the difference. There’s no movement, no idea, no instruction, no leadership and no pride anymore – that’s not just yesterday it goes back months. How does that change? I mentioned fear before, I fear the more poor performances, the more bad results follow and the closer we come to going back down there [conference] with them [Notts County, Chesterfield] who we so arrogantly mocked. One thing we need to do is stopping harping on about bringing back Flitcroft (I’ve not once said within this blog, or others, I’ve just made comparisons) – I’m hoping that now he’s been appointed Keith Hill’s assistant at Bolton, those murmurings will die – I am prepared for bids for CJ, Pearce and Rose within the next week however! As a Football Club, we must focus on how to improve in the present in order for a better future, rather than dwell on the past, if that means new players and upsetting the old guard then so be it, if that means changing the systems then get it done – if it means coming out and making a statement, then make it – whatever we need to do to end this nightmare and climb in the right direction, let’s do it. Again I’ll fully back John Dempster, once he gets a run together and the players clicking and working for him – in the long term he’ll gain success, but in football we all know that time is of short supply. Finally I’ll end on some form of positive, we need to trust the Radford’s and be thankful we have a club to go and watch. Bury supporters are unlikely to ever have this privilege of moaning about poor performances and results ever again – following Mansfield Town has given me a career, friendship and ultimately love, if it wasn’t there my life would be empty and pointless and to think of Bury fans having to life through that saddens me to the core. Thanks for sticking with me during this journey of anger, hurt and disappointment which is fuelled ultimately by the knowledge of how good and effective the Stags can be when it clicks – let’s get clicking yeah! And quick. Match RecaP John Dempster was boosted by the return of skipper Pearce, fellow defender Kellan Gordon and striker Nicky Maynard who went straight back into the starting line-up whilst Hayden White also made the bench. New loan signing Dap Afolayan also made the bench with the Stags on paper, looking a lot stronger.
As for the match, what is there to reflect upon other than we had about three shots which caused less trouble than they should have done and were embarrassingly caught out from a throw-in in what was a school boy goal to concede. In the second half we gave it more of a go, actually no we didn’t – throwing Logan up for a corner in the last minute was just for a laugh I’m sure, because the corner, like every other set play in the game, was never going to beat the first man. The truth is we were feebly weak throughout and could barely string a pass together; our set plays were nothing short of embarrassing and as ineffective as me taking them and the lack of changes from the bench early left a lot to be desired! If you really want to read about the match in detail, here’s a link to the clubs report – which is far less sarcastic and written more impartially than I can manage right now. Football eh! FULL TIME: Exeter City 1-0 Mansfield Town | Attendance 4,316 (232) STAGS: [3-4-1-2] Conrad Logan | Matt Preston (CJ Hamilton 78), Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney [SENT OFF 86] | Kellan Gordon, Willem Tomlinson (Omari Sterling-James 70), Alex MacDonald, Mal Benning | Jacob Mellis | Danny Rose, Nicky Maynard Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Alistair Smith, Hayden White, Otis Khan, Dapo Afolayan Mansfield Town 1-1 Everton U21s (Omari Sterling-James) – Everton U21s win a bonus point, 4-1 via penalty shootout | Leasing.com Trophy NORTH Group E Game 1 of 3 | Tuesday 27th August 2019 | One Call Stadium, Mansfield  Craig Priest writes… With Mansfield Town in the middle of an injury crisis, John Dempster was forced to merge his past and present together – naming a young side to face Everton U21s in the first group match of the newly named Leasing.com Trophy. Four graduates of his academy side were brought into the starting line-up as the Stags boss opted for damage limitation on his senior players ahead of Saturday’s trip to Exeter, whilst a further two members of the current academy set-up made the bench. Personally I was delighted to see the youngsters given a real shot of getting into the managers thoughts for Saturday as it gave supporters the chance to see more of the work Dempster had done within the Academy in developing players capable of making the grade as a Football League player. The match and result will matter little to many, for me I feel like the Stags senior players could have guided the youngsters through a little more and put in a bit more effort, especially against ten men for the final twenty minutes but given the state of our injury crisis and the fact our league form has not quite clicked – below par effort levels in a midweek cup game isn’t too much of a bad thing, so long as the reasoning is just that! Everton’s youngsters played very well and marked the Stags out of the game at times and deserved their overall victory, showing Mansfield how to take penalties and earn a bonus point – as the Stags’ spot-kicks left something to be desired for the second time in as many weeks. A few positives to take out of the game were that of the performances in particular of James Clarke, Aidan Stone, Alistair Smith and Omari Sterling-James. Clarke, who made his full football League Debut at the weekend, looked solid again at Right Back and given the right guidance is a very good prospect for the future whilst Stone looks like a very confident shot-stopper who will flourish further under the tutoring of Ian Pledger, working too alongside the experienced Logan and Oljenik. Alistair Smith looked comfortable on the ball and was my choice for man of the match, his range of passing and movement is very good and I firmly believe that given regular game time, either with us or out on loan in the division below for three months or so, will really grow and be an asset. Sterling-James is a strange one for me, he’s been here a few seasons now and still hasn’t hit the ground running – not being given a shot by previous managers. I think he showed good movement and took his goal well, sometimes he frustrates me by not getting the ball out of his feet or taking the extra touch – but again given game time, we have a player who knows where the net is and can play in a number of roles up-front, perhaps he’ll get the shot he finally deserves in the coming weeks. Match RecapStags boss John Dempster rang the changes to protect his more senior players given the current injury crisis, with skipper Pearce and fellow defenders Hayden White and Kellan Gordon all still unavailable Lewis Gibbens was chosen to partner Matt Preston. Other changes saw Aidan Stone replace Logan between the sticks, whilst Alistair Smith, Jason Law, Omari Sterling-James and Jimmy Knowles also started.
It was the visitors who enjoyed the better early chances but Aidan Stone was resilient inside the opening ten minutes to keep the visitors at bay, whilst at the other end Sterling-James came closest to finding the net – whistling an effort wide on eight minutes before hitting the post on 16 minutes from a free-kick. Aidan Stone and Mansfield stood no chance on 28 minutes as the visitors took the lead through a phenomenal strike from Anthony Gordon, CJ Hamilton and Sterling-James came closest to pulling the scores level but at the break, it was Everton who held a deserved lead. Alex MacDonald and Otis Khan were both brought on for the second half, replacing Law and Knowles respectively as Dempster cautiously tried to inject more experience into his side, the Stags responded with a good start as Sterling-James was denied by the keeper, seconds before Preston headed over Captain Mal’s corner. Aidan Stone then kept Mansfield in the tie on 53 minutes to deny Gordon with a smart double handed stop, Matt Preston also go into the way of an Evans cut back as the visitors looked for a second before the hour mark. On 70 Minutes the visitors were reduced to ten men as Baningime got his marching orders for a second bookable offence, but the visitors remained tough to break down – Alistair Smith’s well hit left footed half-valley saw the keeper push the ball away. Sterling-James eventually found the goal which ultimately sent the tie to penalties for a bonus point with four minutes to go, twisting and turning well before firing into the bottom corner. After seven additional minutes it was time for the Stags’ second shoot-out in as many weeks, and again it was the same outcome as despite CJ Hamilton netting the Stags’ first spot-kick of the shootout, Otis Khan yet again saw a spot-kick saved, before Sterling-James blasted over the bar from 12 yards. The Stags still have Crewe and Burton to play in the group stages, so could still progress with positive results in those games later in the year (October 8th, Crewe – home, and November 12th, Burton - away) FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 1-1 Everton U21s – PENS Everton U21s win 4-1 | Attendance 824 (55) STAGS: [4-4-2] Aidan Stone | James Clarke, Matt Preston, Lewis Gibbens, Mal Benning © | Jason Law (Alex MacDonald 46), Jacob Mellis, Alistair Smith (Tyrese Sinclair 90), CJ Hamilton | Jimmy Knowles (Otis Khan 46), Omari Sterling-JamesUnused Subs: Conrad Logan, Ryan Sweeney, Tom Fielding, Jamie Chisholm Mansfield Town 0-0 Stevenage | Sky Bet League Two | Saturday 24th August 2019 | One Call Stadium, Mansfield  Craig Priest writes… Following the ridiculous capitulation in midweek as the Stags lost to Leyton Orient, Mansfield Town needed a big reaction to spark this stuttering season into life – a 0-0 draw against struggling Stevenage hardly suggests we saw the reaction we wanted, or – does it? On paper you’d say no, but when you factor in the fact John Dempster’s men were extremely thin on the ground with numbers due to injuries, you’d probably say yes. I have to admit that walking away from the One Call Stadium, I did so with a massive weight of disappointment and frustration hanging over me as given the number of chances created by the Stags, three points should have been ours. Yet on reflection, you have to give immense credit to Stevenage who defended for their lives and pulled off some unbelievable blocks, whilst Paul Farman in the Stevenage goal also made a string of incredible saves. Also whilst we’re on the subject of defending well, you’ve got to praise the Stags who so far this season, apart from Carlisle away, have been weak at best at the back – so to keep a clean sheet and reduce the visitors to just one clear cut effort, saved well by Logan, is certainly a step in the right direction. Mansfield were without several key players and were pretty short across the pitch, missing Pearce, White and Gordon from the back, Bishop from midfield and both new strikers Cook and Maynard – meaning the bench was made up entirely of young players with the exception of Sterling-James, although to be fair he’s hardly got much Football League experience under his belt either. With all those big hitter missing, Dempster was forced into a system change as players failed fitness tests prior to kick-off – the line-up including 19 year old James Clarke who made his full Football League debut. Whilst during some stages of the match it felt like square pegs in round holes and looked very disjointed, you have to say the Stags did enough to control the game in their quest for three points. Many will argue that given Stevenage hadn’t scored all season and had injury problems of their own, it wasn’t a massive thing to achieve and match up to – but given how turbulent, and sometimes toxic, things have been – a 0-0 draw on reflection now is a positive. The games however come thick and fast and with the Stags already thread bare any more injuries or suspensions could prove the straw that broke the camels back, and whilst we don’t need numbers of the sake of numbers, we perhaps need one or two more experienced reinforcements to come in and bolster the ranks to kick-start our campaign – especially in midfield and up front. Ending on a positive, whilst Dempster was forced into naming a young bench – it’s good to see them given the opportunity to shine which will undoubtedly happen further on Tuesday evening as the Stags welcome Everton U23s in the Leaasing.com trophy (EFL Trophy) for the first group stage game. Let’s get behind them and pull together in the face of adversity – because if we do, getting through to the other side and reaping the rewards will be more special, and certainly more deserved. -- match recap --John Dempster was forced into changes as the Stags’ injury crisis worsened – Hayden White & Kellan Gordon both picked up knocks as a resilt of Tuesday’s defeat whilst striker Nicky Maynard missed out with a Grade One hamstring tear. Skipper Krystian Pearce failed a fitness test ahead of kick-off, with an ankle injury sustained during training.
Dempster was also without Bishop in midfield but welcomed back Matt Preston and Jacob Mellis from suspension, the latter issuing a statement prior to kick-off regarding his off-field conduct. 19 Year Old James Clarke came into the fold as the Stags went 4-4-2, joining the aforementioned duo in coming into the starting line-up, CJ Hamilton was also recalled as was Khan, who partnered Rose up front – Mal Bennning was handed the captaincy. Matt Preston was on hand five minutes in to make a strong block from Taylor’s early effort as the visitors looked for their first league goal of the season, a minute later at the other end Hamilton found MacDonald inside the box – but the midfielder sliced his effort wide of the target. Played in blistering heat, Danny Rose was keen to continuing his blistering start to the season but was denied a backwards header on nine minutes from Khan’s free-kick, Alex MacDonald then unleashed a beauty from distance, spilled but quickly recovered by Farman with no Stags body quick enough to pounce. Conrad Logan rescued the Stags on 12 minutes with a good save to deny Taylor before a wonderful fluid move from the Stags moments later accumulated with Tomlinson driving wide from the edge of the area – further efforts from Khan and Benning tested Stevenage before Sweeney converted on 36 minutes – denied by the offside flag. After the break more frustration followed for the Stags as they did well to keep the visitors at bay, Jacob Mellis hit a powerful drive just wide on 51 minutes before further efforts from Rose, Khan and Benning all went unrewarded before Sterling-James replaced Khan. Alex MacDonald was next to strike but sent a free-kick over the bar on 71 minutes, before five minutes later being involved in what looked a certain goal – Rose denied by a fine save from Farman before the Stevenage keeper and a defender both threw themselves in the way of MacDonald’s goal bound effort. MacDonald was denied again with two minutes to play and saw his strike cleared off of the line by Wildin, before youngster Jimmy Knowles came on for his Football League and Stags debut as the clock moved towards injury time – deep into which Knowles crossed beautifully for Rose, who was so unfortunate to not connect at the far post for what would have been a match-winning strike, alas the full time whistle followed with the scores firmly locked. FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 0-0 Stevenage | Attendance 3,982 (97) STAGS: [4-4-2] Conrad Logan | James Clarke, Matt Preston, Ryan Sweeney, Mal Benning © | Alex MacDonald (Jimmy Knowles 89), Willem Tomlinson, Jacob Mellis, CJ Hamilton | Otis Khan (Omari Sterling-James 69), Danny Rose Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Jason Law, Lewis Gibbens, Alistair Smith, Tyrese Sinclair Mansfield Town 2-3 Leyton Orient (Rose 2 [Pens]) | Sky Bet League Two | Tuesday 20th August 2019 | One Call Stadium, Mansfield  Craig Priest writes… There something’s in life which individuals simply don’t believe to be true. It could be the moon landing or something more trivial – I don’t know, like saying after a 3-2 defeat that Mansfield Town were excellent, yet utter woeful in equal measure, actually, I’d believe that! I think that sums up last night’s 3-2 defeat. I’ve slept on it and pondered numerous thoughts all day long but simply can’t put my finger on how, or why, Mansfield Town went from being totally and utterly in control at half-time, to being so utterly dreadful at full-time in what was a real master class in self-destruction. Following the win at Carlisle on Saturday, the Stags started really brightly and looked like they were going to give Orient an absolute pasting and certainly set about that in the first half, leading 2-0 at the break thanks to two spot-kicks from the rampant and rapid Danny Rose, and to be fair for a good ten minutes of the second half whilst a third goal was being sought, the visitors looked dead and buried, but then it was like Mansfield just switched off and shut down completely. I honestly don’t know where to put the blame. Do you look at the management and question why on earth Tomlinson wasn’t brought on after 55/60 minutes when he was running on empty? Do you look at the more senior players for perhaps arrogantly thinking the game was over and done with at 2-0? Do you look at those involved in conceding and question their performance? Wherever the problem lies, it needs to be sorted and quick because Mansfield are becoming unpredictable and that’s not the track we need to be on, because all we’re saying right now is that anybody can beat us, simply by giving it a go – as it’s clear the Stags lack any form of care or desire to fight. Unfortunately for boss John Dempster he’s really in the firing line at the moment for all the wrong reasons. He’s inherited a squad capable of not giving the opposition a sniff of victory and added to it with some real quality additions, but for whatever reasons those two factors aren’t fusing together – they seem to be repelling. The change in Otis Khan, and especially Danny Rose, has been a positive and for me does outweigh all the other little niggling negatives – but coming off the back of such a good season with a manager who was perhaps unlucky to now be a job centre regular, the pressure and expectation to succeed is so high we’ll never be able to reach it. You have to give Dempster time to iron out these mistakes and to gel his side together, but there’s two problems there – because of the aforementioned previous season & reasoning for Flitcrofts departure, time is of short supply, and secondly, the players have got to really want to buy into climbing up the mountain once again? If they truly are then you may need to look at adding a few new faces into the mix. Neal Bishop is out for 2-3 weeks, whilst Jacob Mellis and Dion Donohue are suspended from duties at the club following an incident – the Stags are really short of numbers in the middle. I think I could watch the match over and over and over and over again and still never know what really happened. Yes, credit must go to Orient for a real fight back, but questions need to be asked again of the Stags players – and an answer, a convincing one at that, needs to be given on Saturday because THIS, this horrible feeling of being epic and woeful in equal measure – is NOT what will take us to League One. Match RecapStags boss John Dempster made just the one change, enforced, from the side that beat Carlisle on Saturday with Otis Khan replacing the injured Neal Bishop – Hayden White passed a late fitness test to keep his place in the back three.
The Stags started really strongly and could have taken the lead on eight minutes as Otis Khan’s frightening ball across the face of goal was scrambled away by the visitors. A minute later and Mansfield had the perfect opportunity to take the lead as the referee awarded a penalty as Rose was hurled down by Ekpiteta, Rose made no mistake in converting the spot kick, sending the keeper the wrong way, for his fourth goal of the season. Conrad Logan, who’d taken a lot of stick over the past two weeks, went some way to silencing the critics with a splendid save to deny the hosts a way back into the game on 19 minutes. Four minutes later the Stags were dumbfounded as to how they didn’t score as a beautiful move saw Rose latch onto White’s crisp pass, Rose then found Maynard who in turn found Benning, sadly the wing-back failed to convert at the last second. Logan then denied Long from long range before Rose proved again clinical from 12 yards on the half-hour, after Kellan Gordan was fouled in the area – Danny Rose netting with ease, again sending the keeper the wrong way to equal the amount of goals he scored in all competitions last season. Five shots on Target, Five goals. What a guy. Rose was on fire and covering every blade of grass and with five minutes to go before the break was fouled earning the Stags a free-kick, Otis Khan stepped up and rattled the crossbar – had that gone in, the three points surly would have been in the bag. Mansfield went into the dressing room at half-time 2-0 up and looked certain to take victory, efforts from Benning and Rose tested the water after the restart but a third goal wouldn’t quite come and as time ticked on, Mansfield looked frighteningly bad, being pushed back and allowing themselves to arrogantly think the game was won. Orient had other ideas and pulled one back on 64 minutes from a corner, won after a howler from Logan – who came to collect a routine cross and let it squirm through his grasp and go out for a corner, from which the Stags failed to track the runners and deservedly conceded. Orient had the advantage and momentum and to be honest, there’s little point detailing the remainder of the game here as everyone could sense they’d get back in the game – the leveller came with 12 minutes to go, as old face Lee Angol tucked the ball beneath the legs of Logan, before the real killer blow in the sixth minute of six added minutes, a goal mouth scramble in front of the travelling support, saw them convert and snatch all three points, against at that point, the simply atrocious Mansfield Town FC. FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 2-3 Leyton Orient | Attendance 4,128 (326) STAGS: [3-4-1-2] Conrad Logan | Hayden White (James Clarke 90+1), Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney | Kellan Gordon, Alex MacDonald, Willem Tomlinson, Mal Benning | Otis Khan (Alistair Smith 68) | Danny Rose, Nicky Maynard (CJ Hamilton 74) Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Omari Sterling-James, Jason Law, Lewis Gibbens Carlisle United 0-2 Mansfield Town (Rose, Maynard) | Sky Bet League Two | Saturday 17th August 2019 | Brunton Park, Carlisle  Craig Priest writes… Following an opening fortnight of worry and doubt which created an extremely toxic environment, Mansfield Town needed to get as far away from home as possible and come together to get that elusive first victory of the campaign – something they did with a real professional attitude at Carlisle, thanks in no small part to Danny Rose as he continued his phenomenal start to the season. Rose bagged his third goal in as many league games to get the Stags off of the mark, but also set Nicky Maynard with a splendid cushioned header to put Mansfield into a two-goal lead before the break, and then contributed with a solid defensive display to ensure the long journey home was made not just with three points, but with a clean sheet to boot. Mansfield as a collective put in a gritty display and silenced the critics, not only those who doubted boss Dempster, but also those who suggested a negative defensive approach when the starting line-up was announced with creative players such as CJ Hamilton and Otis Khan both dropped to the bench. The Stags may not have played eye catching fluid football to earn the win, but there’s more than one way to win a game of football – and John Dempster’s side were patient in their build up, critically taking their chances when they came, restricting the hosts to very few chances – many of which were from long range with the back three of White, Pearce and Sweeney so stubborn at the back in order to get that clean sheet. John Dempster has made no secret of the fact his side needed to be sterner and smarter when it came to defending set-plays and to their credit the work put in on the training ground paid off as Mansfield rarely looked troubled when the hosts were starting to take a hold of the encounter. Those who questioned the passion of the manager and the commitment of the team were truly silenced by the reactions post match and the sheer commitment to put bodies on the line throughout the game and this victory, miles from home with the toxicity threatening to break us, really binds us together and gives us a chance to build, especially with a handful of home games now coming up over the next week. Three games unbeaten is not a bad start whatsoever, let’s now put all the negativity etc to one side and come together to create a much more positive One Call Stadium, making it a place teams fear visiting and in doing so, pushing us higher up the table. Match recapAfter getting through 90 minutes in the week against Morecambe in the cup, Hayden White kept his place at the back as the Stags opted to play with a back three, whilst Willem Tomlinson was handed his first start of the season after his return from injury.
Mansfield started the game well but it was a former face who threatened to make it three league games in a row were the Stags went behind, Conrad Logan had other ideas though as he kept Nathan Thomas at bay inside the opening ten minutes – Logan then answered his critics further on 13 minutes, parrying away McKirdy’s low driven effort. At the other end Nicky Maynard sent Kellan Gordon on his way on the right hand side, flashing a cross across the face of goal on 16 minutes before Rose saw an effort blocked six minutes later. Mansfield looked the more likely to break the deadlock and did so on 29 minutes following a neat bit of patient build up play, finished off by Rose who slammed in Tomlinson’s lofted cross from the narrowest of angles. Rose should have had a spot kick on 35 minutes when he was bundled over by Adam Collin, yet the referee played on and after Rose did finally get treatment, re-started play with a drop ball in the Stags half! Another drop ball followed on the stroke of half-time as a new rule was implemented with the Stags ball forward hitting the referee. A drop ball to the Stags followed as White clipped forward to Rose, his beautifully cushioned header landed perfect for Maynard who made no mistake in blasting beyond Collin, to double the Stags lead before the whistle. It was a slower start to the second half but Mansfield looked determined to not let slip of their lead and the victory, Alex MacDonald came close to adding a third on 55 minutes but couldn’t quite get enough power on the shot, three minutes later Danny Rose was lurking at the back post for a Gordon cross, beaten too it at the expense of a corner, from which Sweeney looked to have been ragged down by his own shirt – the referee waved away the Stags claims for a spot kick. Six minutes later Rose was dominant in the air to get rid of two Carlisle corners – the Stags saw out the reminder of the time and upon the full time whistle, passionately celebrated the first victory of the season, the first under John Dempster and his first as a manager – at the ground where he made his professional debut many moons ago – football, it’s a funny old game! FULL TIME: Carlisle United 0-2 Mansfield Town | Attendance 4,576 (292) STAGS: [3-4-1-2] Conrad Logan | Hayden White, Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney | Kellan Gordon, Neal Bishop (Otis Khan 89), Willem Tomlinson, Mal Benning | Alex MacDonald (Alistair Smith 86) | Danny Rose, Nicky Maynard (CJ Hamilton 72) Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Omari Sterling-James, Jason Law, James Clarke Mansfield Town 2-2 Morecambe (Pearce, Sterling James) – Morecambe win 6-5 on Penalties | Carabao Cup First Round |Tuesday 13th August 2019 | One Call Stadium, Mansfield  Craig Priest writes… Three games into the John Dempster era at Mansfield Town and already questions are being asked about the rookie manager’s capability to deliver the goods. Whilst it’s easy to get wrapped up in the emotion and frustration of not winning games, I think it’s time to take a step back and look at the two different perspectives, before we all implode. Last night’s cup exit to Morecambe, via a penalty shootout, puts more pressure on the already thinning ice of the Stags support – and I’ll come to that in a minute, but first, lets look at the two perspectives rather than get caught in the headlines. It all boils down to if three draws from three games is good enough or not? I think I’ve got serious splinters where I don’t want them, because on the one hand it’s a rookie manager coming in to manager a senior team for the first time with a large proportion of players who aren’t his – and yet despite some woeful errors at the back, the team has fought back and been very close to winning all three games. Yet on the other hand, there’s a massive hangover from last season – did Flitcroft really deserve to go, would he deliver with this squad? Should we have appointed a more experienced manager? Do last season’s players want to play under this manager? The questions go on. I will always support whoever is the manager of Mansfield Town FC, unless it’s David Holdsworth, and give John Dempster my 100% backing to erase the errors and get some wins on the board – however I do believe he’s got a big task on his hands to eradicate those errors, because whilst we may have an unbeaten start and some fight about us – something isn’t right, especially at the back. Like I said after the league game with Morecambe, I’ll never target one particular player – but I can’t ignore that Conrad Logan is taking a fair amount of abuse at the moment. His performances haven’t been up to scratch for me and the defence don’t entirely look comfortable, yes they need to shoulder the blame too somewhat, but the root of every team is the goalkeeper, and Logan’s form at the moment – similar to a star striker unable to find the net or a midfielder who can’t pass or tackle – has to be questioned. Aidan Stone was brought in to provide some competition until Oljenik is ready to compete, I honestly felt he may get an opportunity last night being a cup game but wasn’t – if the management team feel he [Stone] isn’t ready for first team football, then I’d possibly look at brining another keeper in on loan who has that extra layer of experience to at least make Logan fight for his shirt – serious competition is healthy and could have a positive effect on the Stags number one as it did towards the back end of last season, bringing out some of his best displays. I’m not targeting Logan, I simply want to see him at his best for his sake as much as ours because being jeered by your own supporters must be woeful to take, and is embarrassing from our perspective. Have an opinion by all means, but it’s no wonder players snap and react when things like that are happening. Honestly reading this blog back so far is reminding me how much of a toxic environment we’re creating at the moment and that makes me sick, I’ve not felt like that since we were relegated and we’re creating it ourselves through this pent-up frustration and hurt which has been created since promotion failed and Flitcroft was sacked. We’ve got to get over it and quick, this is a new season with a new manager with new ideas. We 100% should be winning a game in normal time playing against ten men for 70+ minutes but for whatever reason this EARLY in the season just can’t get that click – the important thing for the league games is that we don’t lose and that we fight to turn draws into wins – just as we did under the old regime. This attitude goes for us as supporters, but likewise the players, many of whom – to end on something which resembles positivity – have already showed signs of moving on and getting better. Otis Khan and Danny Rose are two examples of that in more senior terms, but as last night’s showing proved – the younger players are going to develop too with Alistair Smith having a fine game in the middle of the park last night, looking composed on the ball. We have a good opportunity now to up our game and create a good run of form as we head to Carlisle on Saturday, I for one thoroughly believe the management and the squad have enough about them to iron out the creases – who knows in a weeks’ time, our perspective could be very different indeed, in a positive way. You know, I found a £10 note this morning, crumpled in an old coat pocket. I’ve not thrown it because it looks tired or doesn’t have the feel of a new one – it still has the same value and the same possibilities for me as a new one – that’s the same for the Stags, we may be a tad crumpled and disjointed right now to what we expect and desire it doesn’t mean we can’t thrive. match recapWith Matt Preston joining Jacob Mellis in the stands suspended, a tweak in formation saw Hayden White reintroduced as one of five changes from Saturday’s 2-2 draw with the same opponents – as Ryan Sweeney, Dion Donohue, Alistair Smith and Andy Cook were also brought into the starting line-up.
Mansfield began well with Andy Cook particularly impressing, with the front man having a couple of early chances to test the visiting keeper but as has become customary, the visitors took the lead on 18 minutes as Steve Old nodded in from a corner which Mansfield should have dealt with. A red card then followed, shock, not for Mansfield! Morecambe’s Conlan shown a straight red card for a challenge on Gordon. Against ten men the Stags should have fought their way back into the game sooner but were denied by the crossbar on 25 minutes as Cook connected with Benning’s delivery. Further efforts from Cook, Gordon, Smith and Benning followed, but at the break Mansfield trailed by a goal to nil. Willem Tomlinson replaced Donohue as the second half got underway but despite having a number of chances, the Stags couldn’t beat the visiting keeper nor break down the visiting back line, marshalled expertly by former Stag Richie Sutton. Logan then did well to deny Cranston on 54 minutes before two minutes later Pearce levelled things for the Stags, converting the loose ball from Sweeney’s saved header. Mansfield being level lasted a matter of two minutes, as Steve Old was allowed another free header to restore the ten-man visitors advantage – Mansfield were all over the place. Danny Rose and Omari Sterling-James were brought on with 66 minutes played and it was the latter who drew Mansfield back level three minutes later with a fine low strike. The Stags then set about trying to find a winner but desire a man advantage couldn’t find away through – Alistair Smith came the closest to finding a winner with seconds remaining as his long range drive grazed the top of the bar. A penalty shootout then followed and for the second shoot-out in a row, Mansfield were beaten, this time the Stags spot-kicks were better than the ill-fated Newport shootout which ended the 2018-19 campaign, but ultimately a poor penalty from Sweeney which sailed over the bar during sudden death, saw Mansfield dumped out of the cup at round one. FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 2-2 Morecambe | PENS Mansfield Town 5-6 Morecambe | Attendance 1,884 (66) Shootout | Khan SAVED, Sterling-James MISSED, Benning SCORED, Rose SCORED, Pearce SCORED, Tomlinson SCORED, Smith SCORED, Sweeney MISSED STAGS: [3-4-1-2] Conrad Logan | Hayden White, Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney | Kellan Gordon, Alistair Smith, Dion Donohue (Willem Tomlinson 46), Mal Benning | Otis Khan | CJ Hamilton (Omari Sterling-James 66), Andy Cook (Danny Rose 66) Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, James Clarke, Tyrese Sinclair, Lewis Gibbens Mansfield Town 2-2 Morecambe (Maynard, Rose) | Sky Bet League Two | Saturday 10th August 2019 | One Call Stadium, Mansfield  Craig Priest writes… Following the fortunes of Mansfield Town is never easy on the old heart rate, and just two games into the new campaign – I’m wondering if the Stags need to cover their own backs by adding health warnings to tickets, as once again yesterday, us humble supporters were put through the mire by our heroes in Amber and Blue. There’s no hiding away from the fact that somewhere deep within the dressing room lies an issue which is starting to bubble away, as the Stags’ so called solid defence, has about as much stability as an item from del-boy’s suitcase – on paper it looks good, but the reality is something far different. For the second time in as many games Mansfield Town have been truly and utterly woeful at the back from the start of the game and again gave away two very sloppy goals to make life much harder for them, leading to a very hostile and toxic One Call Stadium at times – a worry in itself. I’m not a massive fan of laying the blame at individuals, as a collective we are brilliant and woeful together in equal measure – so I won’t launch a barrage of ranting towards Conrad Logan, however I will say for both goals we conceded there needs to be far more command of the area, especially the second goal which was embarrassing – yet nowhere as embarrassing as getting lobbed from the opponents half, thank-god for the crossbar, let’s get it sorted and if there is more an underlying issue there, then let’s be ruthless and change it – there’s no room for niceties, that’s what’s costs you points as we learned to heart-breaking effect last season. For a good thirty-five minutes Mansfield were woeful and looked like they couldn’t string a pass together, there was no commitment, no fight and no desire to go and command a game of football – everything just felt false, from the players to the bench and then like a toxic disease, the stand too. Until Maynard gave us a sparkle of hope to make it 2-1, the atmosphere inside the ground felt toxic, I felt physically sick hearing the comments, the jibes and the burning hatred towards the way we were performing – that’s really worrying if Mansfield Town are creating that, because who are far better than Morecambe (no disrespect to them) will thrive on that and batter us into the ground. But that said, in the second half we might have still be shaky at the back, but dominated play and should have hit double figures – and that’s baffling that we have to implode so much to get a reaction, I don’t think I can take that for much longer. System wise, I don’t think you can particularly blame that – as when we got on the ball second half players such as Otis Khan, Alex MacDonald, Nicky Maynard and particularly the heroic Danny Rose, shone – we just need to address the balance and ask are the players we’ve got in that area good enough to play this way. If the answer’s no, we’ve got a few weeks to do something about it – get it done. Again I’m not pinning blame or negativity on players, but Matt Preston certainly let the side down with a ridiculous challenge to get himself sent-off, however John Dempster said he apologised straight after full time, so we’ll chalk that one off as a bad day at the office. Dempster has my full support as Stags boss, as would anyone, but I’d love to have known the thinking in the lack of substitutions prior to the sending off – personally I felt Donohue for Bishop in the middle may have added a bit of spark to go on and get the goals, and maybe Sterling-James or even White (Depending on how fit he actually was) down the right for Hamilton may have unlocked Morecambe. On the bright side, Danny Rose continued his great start to the season by scoring the equaliser with a powerful trademark header, he should have had more, and we as a collective didn’t lose – we have to regroup and improve with the journey to Carlisle next Saturday. First up though, another encounter with Morecambe in the cup – I expect to see changes and opportunities given to players yet to get minutes – let’s hope they use it to show how they can help steady the ship in the league, and if nothing else, get my heart rate down – otherwise it’s going to be a long old season!! Match Recap With Jacob Mellis suspended, Otis Khan was handed his first start of the season following a brilliant display at Newport last weekend from the bench – Kellan Gordon also was handed a start at Sweeney’s expense, with the Stags going for a 4-4-2 aiming to pick up from where they left off at Newport.
Sadly that didn’t transpire as yet again the Stags were behind early, it took just four minutes this time as Mansfield failed to clear the second ball from an attack, allowing a cross to come in from the Morecambe right which Sam Lavelle headed beyond a missing Logan, beating Bishop at the back post in the air. Nicky Maynard looked bright trying to find the Stags a way back into the encounter but it was Morecambe looking the more dangerous, the experienced Kevin Ellison was denied by Logan on 19 minutes, but two minutes later, lofted a ball in from deep to Lewis Alessandra who nipped in between an indecisive Logan and Pearce to double the visitors lead. Mansfield were beyond sloppy and looked lost at sea on 28 minutes, as Adam Buxton hit a free kick from his own half over the head of Logan who was off his line and didn’t appear to realise the ball had gone over his head, until it bounced back and fortunately out, off of the bar. The Stags could easily have been five or six down before the half hour, but finally gave the fans hope on 39 minutes as MacDonald’s effort was parried by Roche straight into the path of Maynard, who tucked home. Roche then kept Morecambe infront minutes later as Maynard was sent on his way into the box, a splendid one handed save prevented the Stags front man from drawing the match level. Mansfield stuck with what they had after the break and set about trying to complete the comeback as Rose flicked the ball onto Maynard who won the Stags a corner, from which Pearce headed Khan’s pinpoint set play wide of the net. Next up it was Neal Bishop to connect with a Khan delivery, this time heading a 51st minute free-kick over the bar before Benning miss-hit a quick Khan delivery four minutes later. Kellan Gordon’s 68th minute cross was nearly turned in by Morecambe’s Lavelle as the Stags continued to hammer on the door, four minutes later there was only one man to find an answer – Danny Rose for the second week running made it 2-2, this time turning home MacDonald’s cross with a venomous header, much to the relief of the entire home support. Nicky Maynard nearly put Mansfield ahead on 74 minutes but was scuppered by Roche, before Rose agonisingly saw two efforts go astray – the first a header from a Khan deflected strike, before a beautiful spin, dropped shoulder, and drive from the edge of the box, which whistled wide. With eight minutes to go Matt Preston burst the Stags bubble with a late and dangerous challenge on Alessandra earning a straight red card, the second straight red in as many games for the Stags – Nicky Maynard then made was for Sweeney as Mansfield sought to protect the point. Rose then was given a standing ovation as he was replaced by Cook, who had a golden chance to win the game in added time following a mix-up between Roche and hid defenders, Cook hit wide as the ball dropped onto the floor. FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 2-2 Morecambe | Attendance 4,465 (110) STAGS: [4-4-2] Conrad Logan | Kellan Gordon, Matt Preston [Sent Off 82], Krystian Pearce ©, Mal Benning | CJ Hamilton, Alex MacDonald, Neal Bishop, Otis Khan | Danny Rose (Andy Cook 87), Nicky Maynard (Ryan Sweeney 84) Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Hayden White, Omari Sterling-James, Dion Donohue, Alistair Smith |
