Stags 1-1 Northampton | Bounce

Mansfield Town 1-1 Northampton Town (Andy Cook) | Sky Bet League Two | Saturday 21st December 2019 | One Call Stadium

*The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations*

A week is a long time in Football, but it certainly moves quite quickly as John Dempsters’ departure was quickly forgotten with the arrival of Graham Coughlan, a despite the result being the same – the contrast in Mansfield Towns’ application to the game, was very vast indeed.

The new Stags boss stated he wanted his side to play with high intensity and a high press and whilst there’s a very long way to go and a lot of work to be down to properly revitalise this Mansfield Town side, you could already see the work had started.

All around there was a huge shift in positive energy and the lack of “in your face” attitude was no more as an animated Coughlan kicked and headed every ball as he wore down the astroturf on the touchline.

The Stags boss seemed much more hands on with players, hollering instruction, applauding good play, and putting his arm around players to give the motivation and leadership you’d expect from the top and what proved so successful not so long ago!

The pitch was difficult to play at times but Coughlan’s style adapted well to the conditions, getting the ball high and wide early, playing in the final third with Tomlinson, who had limited playing time under Dempster, brought back into the middle and showing exactly why Flitcroft raved about him when he arrived at the start of the year, with a solid shift alongside Bishop.

Coughlan will not suffer fools gladly and I firmly believe any player who doesn’t give every last drop of sweat and blood for the cause over the coming games will find themselves either watching from the stands or moving swiftly on – with games coming thick and fast over the festive period, the challenge is for them to perform and in my opinion, see out the year unbeaten.

​Naturally there’s always a new manager bounce, we’ve landed so let’s see which way we shoot now, remaining patient but vitally backing the boys in the way the crowd did yesterday. Football is a strange game and anything can happen, but it’s also a delicate one – let the new broom get settled and the work begin, the rest will take care of itself. 

match recap

Despite having limited time on the training ground before the match, new boss Graham Coughlan set out a fresh Mansfield Town, with two changes to the starting line-up from his predecessors’ final game, as Danny Rose replaced Maynard who dropped to the bench, and Willem Tomlinson replaced the injured Shaughnessy.

Coughlan set-up in a 4-4-2 but switched MacDonald and Hamilton around to go with more attacking width – attack was the name of the game on the bench too, as after a year away through injury, Craig Davies got the nod.   

The new gaffer nearly endured a bad start as the mammoth noise from the Stags faithful was momentarily silenced when Hoskins’ struck the bar just a minute in, the noise levels steadily rebuilt as did the Stags, Willem Tomlinson tested the water on eight minutes with a long range half-volley which zipped wide of the target.

Ten minutes later Rose attempted another acrobatic over-head-kick in a bid for goal of the decade, the low effort was held well by Cornell in the Northampton goal, Rose had another half-effort denied on 21 minutes thanks to some last ditch defending.

Bobby Olejnik drew the applause of Coughlan on 27 minutes as Northampton enjoyed a spell of pressure inside the box, the Stags shot stopper clawing the ball away under pressure, before Cook nodded over from Hamilton’s cross three minutes later as the Stags’ cantered down the other end.

Mansfield had one further chance before the break as Cook flicked the ball onto Rose, the leading front-man couldn’t quite get the desired connection as the first 45 minutes under the new reign drew to a close, a vastly improved Mansfield, with the promise of more to come.

The Stags’ started the second half with a change of gear, Neal Bishop saw a well hit effort blocked by the visitors, before on 57 minutes Matt Preston connected with Mal Bennings delivery but headed narrowly wide of the target.
Mansfield’s opportunities kept coming, Alex MacDonald fired over on 59 minutes before two minutes later, Hamilton took a sublime touch to go one vs one, firing wide of the target as the pace ramped up once more.

Graham Coughlan then saw his side take the lead in spectacular fashion on 74 minutes, Andy Cook getting his second goal in as many games, turning well to receive Mal Bennings throw before smashing into the net from distance with pure power.

Alex MacDonald had the chance to make it 2-0 with eight minutes to go as he connected with Hamilton’s cross, the latter then had THE chance of the game two minutes later as he fired over with the goal at his mercy.

Seconds later, down at the other end, a failure to press Northampton allowed a cross to be put into the box and a free header to bounce in to level things up – the reaction from the Stags fans was brilliant and refreshing, backing the boys to bounce back, but despite seven additional minutes – the new dawn started in the same way as the old reign ended – a 1-1 draw. The difference however, was vast.

FULL TIME: Mansfield Town 1-1 Northampton Town | Attendance 4,496 (474)

STAGS: [4-4-2] Bobby Olejnik | James Clarke, Matt Preston, Ryan Sweeney ©, Mal Benning | CJ Hamilton, Neal Bishop, Willem Tomlinson (Alistair Smith 80), Alex MacDonald | Danny Rose (Nicky Maynard 69) Andy Cook (Craig Davies 82) Unused Subs: Conrad Logan, Krystian Pearce, Jimmy Knowles, Otis Khan  

*The views expressed in this article, are solely those of the writer and not those of their associated organisations*