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Plymouth Argyle 3-1 Mansfield Town [Andy Cook] | Sky Bet League Two | Saturday 18th January 2020 | Home Park  *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* The only direction you’re supposed to go after ‘hitting rock bottom’ is up, but then again this is Mansfield Town and things this season, just go against the script – the Stags slipping to a 3-1 defeat at Plymouth to move just five points from the one relegation place, as Graham Coughlan returned to his old stomping ground – hoping to spark a Stags revival. Mansfield were again beaten by their own inept mistakes with the first two goals, failing to mark up from another set-play for the first and then an absolutely poor bit of defending from Preston who gave away a cast iron penalty… AGAIN! The third goal is to be expected when you’re chasing the game, a sucker punch I accepted non-the-less as I slumped into my chair thinking about the four-and-a-half-hour drive back to Mansfield empty handed, rapidly losing faith that the Stags can stay up! The most frustrating thing is that the work Graham Coughlan is doing IS working, we look like a far more dangerous attacking side with Rose on fire playing in that attacking midfield/ deep lying striker role in a 3-4-1-2 yesterday – but the two in front of him in Maynard and Hamilton have no confidence when it comes to finishing cast iron, critical chances. IF we score those chances we’re creating early doors, we have something to protect, something to fight for – but it just doesn’t come and inevitably, the opposition play on our weakness, get a set-play and take the lead – and then our confidence drops like a boulder into a pond. I applaud Coughlan for his post-match interview where he looked very much like he wanted to commit murder, there is no place for hiding, no place for covering up mistakes and wrapping those players up cotton wool – we are in a big relegation battle here and if those players keep making those same errors, that isn’t the odd mistake that’s consistency – and we simply cannot proceed as a football club with that Sunday league, school boy level of poor character and performance. Step up to the mark, or step away. To be honest the long drive home gives a lot of time for reflection and I hate writing with the anger that has built up and built up, I hate having to highlight the errors and the individuals who rather than try and get the water off of the boat, are making the hole bigger. As supporters we are entitled to our say and opinion, especially having spent stupid money to travel to the other end of the country to watch us crumble – BUT, we have FOUR of the teams engrossed in the relegation battle with us to play in the next five games, and the only way we are going to through it is to give these lads the support and backing when the chips are down. Regardless of frustration and anger, these lads are the ones who can and WILL affect our fate as a football club going forward – regardless of if they’re here to face the consequences at the end of this season going into the next. Personally I can see the work and endeavours that are being put in place and trust me, when it pays off someone will get a bloody good hiding and it will spark us and galvanise us – we’ve just got to bite our tongues a little harder and suppress the rage, the anger and disappointment into support and drag this bunch through the mud and onto the right path. The transfer window remains open and I firmly believe Coughlan will add at least one more, hopefully a solid experienced defender who can help drag us through, but there’s no point me sitting here (and you on social media too) saying let’s get rid of X, Y is as useful as a cauldron trying to bail out the titanic, or we’d be better off playing a traffic cone than Z – it’s funny, but not helpful – because let’s face it, if YOU were X, Y or Z would you REALLY want to give your all and safe this ship from sinking? Whilst these boys are wearing the Stags’ crest, they’re on our side and we support them all the way. The good performances WILL come and WILL turn into positive results, WE WILL stay up and we WILL fight again another day – this season has been a write off for me since day one, we just need to see it through and go again. Nightmares and bad experiences can do one of two things – they can make you hide under the duvet and shy away from the world, or they can make you aware, awake and ready to take on the challenge. Time to wake up lads. Match Recap A week ago, Captain Pearce alongside Jacob Mellis was told he could seek new challenges, however after a week of hard work to impress on the training ground, he returned with the armband to the starting line-up as the Stags went with a back three to replace Willem Tomlinson. Hayden White also returned to the starting line-up for James Clarke, whilst there was space on the bench for new arrival Harry Charsley, who joined until the end of the season following his release from Everton. Click HERE to read the clubs official match report FULL TIME: Plymouth Argyle 3-1 Mansfield Town | Attendance 10,523 (246) STAGS: [3-4-1-2] Bobby Oljenik | Matt Preston, Krystian Pearce ©, Ryan Sweeney | Hayden White (James Clarke 52), Neal Bishop (Harry Charsley 79), Alex MacDonald, Mal Benning | Danny Rose (Andy Cook 66), Nicky Maynard, CJ Hamilton Unused Subs: Aiden Stone, Craig Davies, Otis Khan, Alistair Smith *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations* Comments are closed.
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