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Port Vale 2-2 Mansfield Town* (Hamilton, Sterling-James) Port Vale win 4-2 on penalties | Leasing.com EFL Trophy NORTH SECOND ROUND | Tuesday 3rd December 2019 | Vale Park  *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations*
Another penalty shootout defeat leaves a very chilling feeling for Mansfield Town fans, as the Stags’ participation in the EFLs leasing.com trophy comes to an end – a disappointment in itself, but just another blot on the ever ugly canvas of the 2019-20 campaign. Frustratingly Mansfield again played well in spells with the ball on the floor, but what’s becoming more and more clear as this drags on, is that Mansfield clearly lack energy and fire power up front – with only one shot during the first half. Promotion winning teams punish teams with flare and dangerous attacking play, Mansfield are timid at best and seem reluctant to put the ball into key areas and have a go – possession is all well and good, but you have to do something with it. What’s more frustrating is that we have the players capable of causing real damage, a lack of experience at League level for Knowles shouldn’t be a deterrent for the Stags management who’ve nurtured him over the last couple of seasons in the academy, in actual fact he’ll have something the others don’t appear to have at the moment, a hunger to go out and make a difference. The same can be said for Omari Sterling-James, whose late goal took the match to the inevitable penalty shootout loss, every time he comes on he lifts the game and makes a difference – and yet he never gets a start, I’d love to know what three(?) managers believe is a reason for him not to start?! From the stands, it was clear that fresh legs on a dull and bitterly cold night were needed after 60 minutes, but no we left it and allowed Port Vale to get back in the game and overturn our one-nil lead to go 2-1 up, eventually making the final two changes with three minutes of normal time remaining – WHY!? Nobody expected us to win the penalty shootout having lost our previous five, but nobody expected out penalties to be so poor, it felt like a new-born whose only just started to crawl had taken them. In some ways, it felt like a massive two fingers up to us all – I know it wasn’t, but that’s how it felt in the bitter coldness of our woeful run. And so on this December morning, we’re out of all the cup competitions with only the league to focus on… let’s hope we’ve got something special lined up, because right now, I feel like we’ve done our shopping from Del-Boy. The journey continues. Match Recap John Dempster made numerous changes as expected, skipper Pearce missed out with illness whilst full back Kellan Gordon missed out through injury. Neal Bishop returned to the line-up after a lay-off. Click HERE to read the clubs official match report FULL TIME: Port Vale 2-2 Mansfield Town PORT VALE WIN 4-2 ON PENALTIES STAGS: [4-4-2] Bobby Oljenik | James Clarke, Conor Shaughnessy, Ryan Sweeney, Mal Benning © | Alex MacDonald (Omari Sterling-James 86), Alistair Smith (Jimmy Knowles 86), Neal Bishop, CJ Hamilton | Andy Cook, Otis Khan (Jacob Mellis 74) Unused Subs: Conrad Logan, Willem Tomlinson, Nicky Maynard, Dapo Afolayan *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* Burton Albion 1-2 Mansfield Town (Rose, Sweeney) | Leasing.com EFL Trophy NORTH Group E Game 3 of 3 | Tuesday 12th November 2019 | Pirelli Stadium, Burton  *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations*
After a frustrating and slow FA Cup tie against Chorley, very few gave Mansfield hope of beating League One Burton Albion to progress to the next stage of this seasons leasing.com Trophy – but doubters were silenced with a professional and determined display, as the Stags squeezed through, finishing as group runners up. Mansfield had gone unbeaten against Crewe and Everton U21s in the groups other games but defeats on penalties had left them needing to win in 90 minutes in order to progress – goals from Danny Rose and Ryan Sweeney put Dempster’s men in the draw, meaning in the next round, they’ll face an away trip to any of the northern group winners, with the exception of Everton, who are in the same group as the Stags. The Stags played good football and after a shaky opening ten minutes, were the better team facing a strong Burton side. I’d certainly say it gives John Dempster some options ahead of Saturday to try and re-invigorate the Stags’ league form against struggling Macclesfield – non more so than down the right hand side with James Clarke having a tremendous game at right back. Clarke, who was brought in during the summer to develop in the Under 21s, has played a handful of games this season and has always looked class – he was excellent all round and I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if he had a chance to play on Saturday, pushing Kellan Gordon into his more natural right wing role, should Dempster revert back to 4-4-2 Alistair Smith had a solid game in the middle of the park too, his ball for Roses’ opener was fantastic, he really needs some game time to develop further and will be an excellent addition in an area where I feel we’re weakest at the minute. The good thing was to see the Stags playing with some fluidity and creativity, defending well putting bodies on the line to keep a firm grip on the game which is something we’ve lacked of late, let’s use this as a spring board and see what the future brings – well done boys Match Recap John Dempster named a strong side needing a win to progress into the next round but did make a multitude of changes, with only Matt Preston, who took the captains armband, Ryan Sweeney and Willem Tomlinson remaining in the starting line-up from Saturday’s FA Cup victory. Click HERE to read the clubs official match report FULL TIME: Burton Albion 1-2 Mansfield Town | Attendance 485 STAGS: [3-5-2] Bobby Oljenik | Matt Preston ©, Conor Shaughnessy, Ryan Sweeney | James Clarke, Alistair Smith, Willem Tomlinson, Jacob Mellis (Dapo Afoyalan 67), CJ Hamilton | Omari Sterling-James (Alex MacDonald 89), Danny Rose (Jordan Graham 61) Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Andy Cook, Kellan Gordon, Mal Benning 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 1-1 Crewe Alexandra (Knowles) *Crewe won a bonus point, 4-3 on penalties | Leasing.com EFL Trophy NORTH Group E Game 2 of 3 | Tuesday 8th October 2019 | One Call Stadium, Mansfield  *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* “Oh, we had a game, did we?” that’s the remark made by many as another leasing.com trophy match is chalked off the Calendar, with a total of 800 spectators watching on as John Dempster’s men were beaten yet again on penalties. The stakes were hardly high however as the Stags slipped to their fifth consecutive shoot-out defeat, their third this season (the last time the Stags won a shootout was in the FA Cup in November 2012 against Slough in a first round replay – current Stags boss John Dempster was sent off in that game fact fans) – however a win against League One Burton in the third and final group game, should see the Stags through to the knockout stages on five points. I certainly felt that despite ten changes, the Stags had fielded a side capable of winning the game but a lack of game time for the majority playing saw-tired legs towards the end, and as such the urge to go for broke wasn’t really needed. The match was very much about getting minutes into players to bolster the ranks and improve the league form on the back of Saturday’s dramatic win at Grimsby, with the major positive being the return of keeper Bobby Oljenik who’d been out since last December. Bobby’s return was great to see and despite being beaten by an outrageous effort from an acute angle late on in the first half, I’m sure both he and the boss John Dempster will be pleased with the display – which given Conrad Logan’s new coaching role, will probably see him start against Oldham on Saturday. Suffering an injury like Bobby’s can change a play mentally, and the glovesman should be praised for his attitude and commitment to return, playing like his old self – making some good, smart saves and distributing quickly from the back – something we’ve been missing for longer than we all care to admit. Another positive was the goal of youngster Jimmy Knowles who looked far more hungry and dangerous this time out, we certainly have a great prospect for the future there and have to nurture it – you could see the pride in Dempster when Knowles scored. I’m not too disheartened by the shootout, it’s a lottery as we know and whilst it would have been nice to break the bad spell of spot kicks, it’s not a major disaster. Victory to take into Saturday would have been nice, but we’re now two games unbeaten in all competitions and we’ve got players looking hungry to get game time over the coming months. Match RecaP Ryan Sweeney was the only man to keep his place in the starting line-up from Saturday, Conor Shaughnessy and Matt Preston partnered him at the back – Preston able to play given that suspensions in the league don’t count for the EFL Trophy, he’ll serve his final game of his second ban this term on Saturday.
Read the clubs official detailed report here FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 1-1 Crewe Alexandra* Crewe win 4-3 on penalties for a bonus point | Attendance 800 STAGS: [3-4-3] Bobby Oljenik | Matt Preston ©, Conor Shaughnessy, Ryan Sweeney | James Clarke, Alistair Smith, Willem Tomlinson (Jacob Mellis 51 > Mal Benning 71), CJ Hamilton | Dap Afolayan, Andy Cook, Jimmy Knowles (Otis Khan 83) Unused Subs: Aidan Stone, Kian Sketchley, Nicky Maynard, Kellan Gordon 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 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 |
