Archived News from October 2016
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STAGS PICK UP CONFIDENCE BOOSTING WIN IN EFLTROPHY
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English Football League Trophy - Checkatrade Trophy
Port Vale 0 - 1 Mansfield Town Green 66 Attendance: 1025 (61 from Mansfield) Date: 4 October 2016 Martin Shaw at Vale Park Mansfield Town picked up a confidence boosting win at Vale Park this evening with Matt Green’s goal on 66 minutes enough to beat Port Vale in the second game of the Checkatrade Trophy group stages. Vale are currently in the play-off positions in League One. Green had looked low on confidence since his winner at Leyton Orient in August but came off the bench here on 63 minutes and with his third touch he had the ball in the back of the net. He won a header with his first touch, he set up a chance with his second touch for Tom Marriott who had a shot blocked. He scored with his third touch. Jamie McGuire won the ball on the halfway line and knocked the ball over the top and down the line on the left for Mal Benning, Benning crossed low into the middle, the ball shanked off centre half Calvin Macintosch who tried to clear and deflected the ball perfectly into the path of Green who slotted into the net from 7 yards. Dare I say that the deflection off Macintosch perfectly into the path of Green was the little bit of luck that the Stags haven’t been getting in front of goal all season. Mansfield never really looked like being breached after that and saw the game out for a relatively comfortable 1-0 win. The first half was pretty even. Two notable chances for either side. For Port Vale Rigino Cicilia was through on goal on the left after Krystian Pearce gave the ball away and brought a good save from Scott Shearer tipping away. Then a rare mistake by Lee Collins, playing against his former club for whom he made 160 appearances, caught in possession on the halfway line, Cicilia broke forward and Collins was got out of jail by great defending from Krystian Pearce. At the other end two glorious chances for the Stags, both created by Mal Benning, who had another good game here. First Benning’s great cross found CJ Hamilton in the middle, Hamilton’s first touch was terrific to set up a chance for himself, but he blazed over with his second touch. Then Benning crossed in again, another great cross, on a plate for Darius Henderson who headed wide from 4 yards when he certainly should have got it on target. So a third good away performance from Mansfield in 7 days, this time picking up a win rather than a draw and perhaps just getting that bit of lady luck not available previously, though in my opinion this was a deserved victory. Mansfield pick up £10,000 in prize money for the victory, not to be sniffed at. But the biggest plus of the evening was undoubtedly Matt Green who scored and then played excellently, looking a confident man, winning headers and always in control of the ball. Overall plenty of players did well, the defence always looked in control, apart from a couple of isolated errors in the first half. Oscar Gobern played very well in central midfield alongside Chris Clements including several good headers away from set pieces, and showed bits of class on the ball, Hemmings and Hamilton had better games than previously. 17 year old Tom Marriott made his debut for Mansfield, playing the first 70 minutes, in an offensive role on the right, and he did really well. I had been impressed with him in pre-season (including that great free kick to set up a goal at Carlton) and was again here. So the Stags go into the huge local derby with Notts County on Saturday lunchtime in good spirits after 3 good away performances. One funny moment I have to mention. Scott Shearer came out of his area to clear the ball into touch in the second half, the ball came straight into the press box, and Stags media & communications assistant Matt Joule, who runs the club twitter feed on a matchday, and who joined me for full match commentary of the away game at Plymouth, rose from his seat to head the ball back into play. Absolutely priceless and such a shame that it was out of view of the video camera from the TV gantry. I recall we had a similar incident in the game at Exeter last season when Stags fan Jake Allsop headed the ball back into play from the terrace and fortunately we did get that on video. FULL REPORT IN THE MATCH CENTRE ---------------------------------- Green makes instant impact as Stags down Vale chad.co.uk report by NEIL GOULDING, Tuesday 04 October 2016 Supersub Matt Green ended Mansfield Town’s patient wait for a win as the Stags downed Port Vale for the first time since 1989 with a 1-0 victory tonight. The 29-year-old was on the pitch for just three minutes before netting the only goal of the game to end the club’s winless run at the eighth time of asking. The Stags moved off the bottom of Northern Group E in the CheckaTrade EFL Trophy, as they leapfrogged Derby County U23s, after their victory at Vale Park. As expected Adam Murray made wholesale changes to the line up that drew to Crewe on Saturday. Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/match-report-green-makes-instant-impact-as-stags-down-vale-1-8163326? Teenage winger Tom Marriott was handed his debut, whilst Oscar Gobern, Ashley Hemmings, CJ Hamilton and Darius Henderson all started. The Valiants, who were only dealt their first home defeat of the season on Saturday, started brightly in the first meeting between the two sides in over 13 years. Shot-stopper Scott Shearer had to be alert early on as he flew acrobatically to his left to parry Rigino Cicilia’s powerful strike wide. The only chance for Murray’s men before the break fell to Henderson, who diverted Mal Benning’s cross wide from eight yards out when he should have done better. Gezim Shalaj showed great trickery to bypass three Stags’ defenders before firing over the bar from outside the box after the restart. But in minute 66 Green bagged his fourth goal of the season by calmly slotting home from inside the six-yard box after the home defence failed to deal with a Benning cross. Murray’s men had to show great determination to keep the Valiants at bay with some fantastic last-ditch defending late on. After going behind Kiko created numerous chances for the hosts, smashing over the bar himself, as they pushed hard to send the game to penalties. But Murray’s Mansfield managed to hold on for a much-needed first victory since the end of August and a fifth away game unbeaten. PORT VALE: Santos, Perkins, Smith, Mac-Intosch, Hart, Tavares (Shalaj HT), Pereira, Amoros, Kiko (Mbamba 84), Jones, Cicilia. Subs not used: Pickering, Dennis, Ferguson, Haughton, Brown. STAGS: Shearer, Bennett, Pearce, Collins, Benning, Clements (McGuire 61), Gobern, Hemmings, Hamilton, Marriott (M. Rose 69), Henderson (Green 63). Subs not used: Jensen, Hurst, D. Rose, Shires. REFEREE: Michael Salisbury of Lancashire. ATTENDANCE: 1,025 (61 away). ----------------- Port Vale 0, Mansfield 1: Valiants flop in front of lowest crowd for 30 years By MikeBaggaley, October 04, 2016, stokesentinel.co.uk EVEN the empty seats considered leaving before the end as Port Vale were beaten 1-0 at home to Mansfield in their Checkatrade Trophy group game last night. Matt Green's 65th-minute strike won it for the League Two visitors, a result which means Vale's bid to qualify for the knockout stages will go to their third and final group match, at Doncaster on November 8. The Valiants won their opening game of the competition against a Derby XI, but weren't good enough last night in a disappointing game in which both managers made sweeping changes having prioritised league matches at the weekend. This was one of those 'Were you there?' nights. Not because it was a magical game but because hardly anyone else was. Read more at http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/port-vale-0-mansfield-1-valiants-flop-in-front-of-lowest-crowd-for-30-years/story-29778406-detail/story.html?#ij6J8w5wPv5GP2fK.99 The attendance of 1,025 was the second lowest in Vale Park's history, higher only than the 994 who turned up against Hereford in a previous version of the EFL Trophy in 1986. The obvious lack of appeal of these games will hopefully cause the EFL to reconsider their decision to introduce group stages, let alone the admission of Premier League and Championship B teams which has provoked such opposition from supporters of lower league clubs. From a financial point of view, the £10,000 prize money on offer to winners of group matches made it worth switching the floodlights on, but there were also issues to chew over, both for the supporters who turned up and for manager Bruno Ribeiro and his staff. The manager had made six changes, as keeper Miguel Santos got his first start and Calvin Mac-Intosch, Seb Amoros, Quentin Pereira, Kiko and Rigino Cicilia were brought into the starting line up. The changes were mainly to rest players for Sunday's League One game at MK Dons, but selection issues were at stake too. Paulo Tavares is suspended for the MK Dons game so Ribeiro must decide whether to partner Michael Brown with Anthony Grant, or give a chance to Seb Amoros, who lined up alongside Tavares in central midfield last night. Amoros buzzed about in front of the back four in the role he may be asked to play on Sunday, but no one in the starting line up will feel they made an irrefutable case to play at MK Dons as the Valiants were beaten by a Mansfield side with five changes. Anton Forrester's injury at the weekend leaves Vale a striker short in their squad so Ribeiro must decide whether to keep his faith with Cicilia or consider adding Dan Turner to his match-day squad once the 18 year old youth graduate's initial month's loan at Kidsgrove Athletic ends after this weekend. Cicilia almost pressed his case on eight minutes when he raced through into the left of the area but saw his left footed strike pushed round the far post by keeper Scott Shearer. Kiko was used on the left wing to allow on-loan Liverpool forward Sam Hart to continue at left back. The Portuguese full back has at least played left wing for the reserves, and has the advantage of a dangerous delivery with his left foot, as he demonstrated when his 30-yard cross-field pass almost played in Pereira. Tavares fired a 25-yard strike just over before the visitors threatened on the half hour when Chris Hamilton turned smartly in the area but fired over under pressure from Nathan Smith who threw himself into what was surely a goal-saving challenge. But the visitors should have taken the lead on 42 minutes when Malv Benning whipped over a cross from the left to pick out Darius Henderson, but the experienced striker header wide of the far post when a goal looked a certainty. This wasn't Vale's finest half of the season, which was perhaps understandable considering the multiple changes and the flat atmosphere. Mind you, If Vale's players needed motivation then they only needed to glance to the touchline where flame-bearded coach Andy Smith glared from the front of his technical area like a Viking at the prow of his long-boat. The management made a change at the break as Tavares was replaced by Gezim Shalaj. The Valiants threatened when Pereira's free kick was pushed away by Shearer, but they came closer on 58 minutes when Shalaj cut in from the right and sent a ferocious left-footed strike fizzing inches over from 20 yards. They kept up the pressure as Alex Jones fed Cicilia but his shot from 12 yards was blocked as two defenders flung themselves in the way. Cicilia was struggling to find a killer touch in front of goal, but his willingness to battle for the ball was earning the encouragement of the home support who were all congregated in the Lorne Street Stand. But the visitors took the lead on 65 minutes when a cross from the left was missed by Mac-Intosch, allowing the ball to run through to sub Green who tapped home at the back post. Vale came close to a leveller when Smith flung himself at another excellent inswinging delivery from Kiko, but former Vale defender Krystian Pearce stretched out a leg to hook the ball away before Smith could connect a yard from goal. That was as good as it got for the Vale as their efforts to get back into the game failed to seriously test the visitors. Port Vale: Santos 6, Purkiss 5, Mac-Intosch 5, Smith 6, Hart 6, Tavares 5 (Shalaj, 45, 6) Amoros 6, Pereira 5, Jones 6, Cicilia 5, Kiko 6 (Mbamba, 85). Subs: Pickering, Dennis, Brown, Haughton, Ferguson. Mansfield: Shearer, Bennett, Benning, Collins, Pearce, Clements (McGuire, 61), Hamilton, Hemmings, Gobern, Henderson (Green, 64), Marriott (Rose, 70). Subs: Green, Jensen, Hurst, Rose, Shires. Referee: Michael Salisbury (Lancashire) 6 Yellow: Vale: Hart (foul, 45), Cicilia (foul, 82), Amoros (foul, 87) Mansfield: Gobern (foul, 8) Attendance: 1,025 (including 61 from Mansfield) Entertainment: 5 ------------------- |
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