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Mansfield Town 1-0 Newport County [Danny Rose] | Sky Bet League Two | Saturday 15th February 2020 | One Call Stadium  *The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations*
When Danny Rose dropped his shoulder and unleashed a shot with real venom, it was only a split second before leaving his boot and smashing the back of the net – but it felt like an eternity, a moment filled with hope that against the negativity of the storm, the Stags could battle through and come out the other end with a spring in their step. The goal proved to be the only one of the game but the Stags stood firm and defended well from front to back to protect the three points, moving thirteen points clear of Stevenage and providing some breathing space as things seemed to get continually worse. Questions had been asked about the player’s desire and urge to fight for each other and protect what they had, but I think we found a few answers yesterday thanks to a mini-master stroke from Graham Coughlan in handing a football league debut to shot stopper Aidan Stone. Stone had little to do but commanded his area and back line well, the players relished the challenge of protecting him and handing him his first ever football league clean sheet by throwing their bodies on the line and eradicating any sniff of repeated errors from set-play’s – with Newport winning a number and hurling the ball into the box time after time. The conditions again didn’t lend themselves to an easy afternoon’s football, with the pitch heavy and zippy – but I felt the Stags managed them well getting on the ball and moving it wide, trying to utilise the pace of Hamilton and White to feed Maynard and a very hungry Rose. Mansfield have been guilty of turning the ball over quickly and cheaply in recent weeks, and whilst it wasn’t as perfect and crisp as it could have been, the Stags sharpened up and put real pressure on in feeding on scraps in the final third – highlighted none more so than in Roses’ thunderous strike. Newport offered little in clear cut chances and that can’t be ignored, we can’t for a second think we’re fixed and the finished article because we are not. We must harness this winning feeling, this fight, this spirit or pulling together and pushing back against the storm trying to drag us down – replying with something very simple indeed, a win at Cheltenham next Saturday. Match Recap Following Tuesday nights defeat at Leyton Orient, Graham Coughlan shuffled the pack – handing a League Debut to young goalkeeper Aidan Stone, who replaced Oljenik as one of three changes. Elsewhere there was a return for Hayden White, replacing the injured Joe Riley, and Harry Charsley came in for Benning, with Hamilton moving across to the left hand side in a 3-4-1-2. Click HERE to read the clubs official match report FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 1-0 Newport County | Attendance 3,653 (111) STAGS: [3-4-1-2] Aidan Stone | Ryan Sweeney, Krystian Pearce ©, Kelland Watts | Hayden White, Neal Bishop, Willem Tomlinson, CJ Hamilton | Harry Charsley | Danny Rose, Nicky Maynard Unused Substitutes: Bobby Olejnik, Mal Benning, Matt Preston, Craig Davies, Jack Evans, James Clarke, Jimmy Knowles *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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