Top ten league
games in the Stags history
A personal list
by Martin Shaw
The Stags
recent game at Notts County was the 3,000th game in their league
history. Here Martin Shaw gives his personal list of the ten best league games
in the Stags history, counting down from 10 to 1.
10. 17th April
1965
Hull City, Home,
Won 2-1
This game saw
the highest league crowd ever at Field Mill: 19,500. Mind you there has been a
bigger crowd at Field Mill when over 24,000 saw a cup game against Nottingham
Forest in 1953. The Stags won the game against Hull 2-1. It was the penultimate
home game of the season, and Harry Middleton scored both of the Stags goals.
Middleton had only joined the club in November of the same season, and ended
the season with 16 goals from 24 games. But the Stags were to miss out on promotion
to Bristol City on goal average: the Stags’ goal average was 1.56, compared to
Bristol City’s 1.67.
9. 20th May
1963
Stockport County,
Away, Drew 1-1
The Stags are promoted
on goal average, by 0.118 of a goal,
thanks to a draw away to Stockport on the final day of the season. It was the
Mansfield Town's first promotion in the football league. Before the game, the Stags
were sitting in fourth place but were just a point ahead of Gillingham. The Stags’
final game was away to Stockport County whilst Gillingham were at home to
Oxford, but, in a situation which would not be allowed to happen today, the
Gillingham match kicked off an hour before Mansfield’s game. At half time there
were no goals at Stockport, but the news came through that Gillingham had
beaten Oxford 2-1. The Stags knew that a draw would be good enough to achieve
promotion on goal average. Stockport took the lead after 54 minutes, but Mansfield
got the all important equaliser after 64 minutes from Sammy Chapman after a
crisp pass by Ken Wagstaff cut open the way. The Stags comfortably held on to
get a 1-1 draw. And so Stags made it … by a little more than a tenth of a goal.
The Stags’ goal average was finally 1.567, Gillingham’s was 1.449.
8. 22nd April
1986
Hartlepool
United, Home, Won 4-0
The Stags
clinch promotion from Division 4 with a thumping 4-0 win over Hartlepool at
Field Mill. It ended six years of exile in the bottom division. The hero of the
night was striker Keith Cassells who scored two of the goals and created the
other two. Cassells stooped to head in the first on 18 minutes. It was 2-0
after 29 minutes when Cassells’ attempted cross was deflected in off Hartlepool
defender David Linighan. Cassells made it 3-0 on 68 minutes with a back header
from Kevin Kent’s cross and Neville Chamberlain made it 4-0 on 81 minutes,
burying a powerful header from Cassells’ cross. Manager Ian Greaves (the club's
longest serving manager) declared: “The sky’s the limit. We could go on to
great things if everyone gives us the backing. But we need the income from a
new stadium to give the club financial security.” A year later, the Stags were
to win at Wembley in front of over 58,000 fans.
7. 27th
December 1932
Rotherham
United, Home, Won 9-2
Mansfield set
their record league win, over the Millers in 1932 in Football League Division 3
North - their second season in the Football League. Three players scored
hat-tricks in the game: Joe Readman, Walter Hoyland and George Bowater.
6. 31st May
2004
Huddersfield
Town, at Millenium Stadium Cardiff, Drew 0-0, Stags lost on penalties.
The club’s first
ever appearance in a Play-off final. The Stags were denied promotion by a bad
decision by the assistant referee in the very last minute as Colin Larkin's
goal was wrongly ruled out, and then the Stags were beaten in the penalty shoot
out. This one still hurts, and I can’t bring myself to write any more about it.
5. 25th March
1978
Tottenham
Hotspur, Home, Drew 3-3
The most
memorable game from the Stags’ only season in the old Division 2 (now the Championship).
Mansfield may have been bottom of the division,
but they gained a plucky 3-3 draw with Spurs at Field Mill in muddy conditions and
were unlucky not to win the game. No-one who was there will ever forget it,
especially as the scenes were captured for ever by the ATV Midlands TV cameras.
Writing in the CHAD, Stan Searl wrote: "Mansfield Town may well regret
several aspects of their first-ever season in Division 2, not least of which
must be their inability to stick away vital penalty awards. Pat Sharkey was the
villain at White Hart Lane at Christmas when Stags had to settle for a 1-1
draw, and this time it was Dennis Martin who missed. Nevertheless what a great
game despite the appalling conditions. A good gate in view of the downpour just
before kick-off, and I'll bet that not one of the 12,106 at the game regretted
the soaking." It was Dave Syrett
who scored all 3 Stags goals. The last goal after 85 minutes followed a
terrible missed kick by Spurs keeper Barry Daines, who later became a Mansfield
player. But in the very last minute, Glenn Hoddle chipped a free-kick over the
defensive wall to claim an undeserved equaliser for Spurs.
4. 14th May
1977
Wrexham, Away, Won
1-0
The Stags win
1-0 at Wrexham to clinch the Division 3 championship in 1977. Wrexham
themselves needed a win to claim a promotion place, but the Stags won it with Ernie Moss’s goal in the
89th minute as the Stags finished ahead of everyone's favourites for the title:
Brighton and Crystal Palace. It was an afternoon
for the 3,500 Mansfield Town fans, and every member of the team and officials
at the Wrexham game, to remember for a lifetime - yet one member of the side would
have to rely on newspaper cuttings and gossip for his memories of the historic
occasion. Stags keeper Rod Arnold was knocked cold right on the half-time
whistle, and he could recall little of the preceding 90 minutes as he changed
at the end of the game - except that Mansfield had won and were champions, and
Ernie Moss scored the winner. It was a super save from Arnold which kept out a
Billy Ashcroft header in the 33rd minute. It was left to the old
firm of Ernie Moss and Kevin Randall to kill-off Wrexham's hopes of promotion a
minute from full-time. Randall eeled his way past his covering defender right
on the bye-line, and chipped the ball in for Moss to collect his 20th
goal of the season and send the Mansfield contingent of fans behind the goal,
wild with delight. Scenes of great emotion after the final whistle as the
Mansfield players and fans celebrated their second league title in three seasons.
3. 2nd May 1992
Rochdale, Home,
Won 2-1
The Stags are
promoted from Division 4, on the final day of the season. With one game left,
Mansfield were lying one place beneath an automatic promotion spot, two points
behind Rotherham and Blackpool. The Stags had to beat Rochdale at Field Mill,
and hope that either Rotherham or Blackpool lost. In front of 5,671, the Stags were unable to break through in a
tense first half, but were buoyed by news from Lincoln that Blackpool were
losing 1-0, thanks to a penalty from Matt Carmichael. After 48 minutes, the Stags
took the lead. Phil Stant tried to hook home a cross from Gary Ford. It was
denied on the line by Milner and the ball ran to Ian Stringfellow, who drilled
home from close range. Still the tension was unbearable. On 73 minutes, Stant
beat the offside trap to reach Ford’s chipped through ball and safely tucked
the ball home to make it 2-0. The game entered its final minute at 2-0, with
the news that Blackpool were still losing 1-0. To increase the tension, Mark
Payne scored for Rochdale, but moments later the final whistle went at Field
Mill and the Stags had won. All ears turned to radio commentary from Lincoln.
Almost immediately, Lincoln were awarded a penalty, which was again scored by
Matt Carmichael. This was followed by a pitch invasion by Blackpool fans, which
later transpired to be because of rumours of a Rochdale equaliser at Mansfield.
Thankfully of course, those rumours were wrong, but it was fully 8 minutes
before the game was re-started for the final 30 seconds, allowing Mansfield to
finally celebrate promotion.
2. 20th April
2002
Carlisle
United, Home, Won 2-0
The Stags are
promoted on the final day of the season, again. Ten years on from 1992 and
again the Stags had to win while their closest rival lost. The equation was
simple: the Stags had to win and hope that Cheltenham lost at champions
Plymouth. And that’s exactly what happened. It was another day that Stags fans
will never forget. Both games stood at 2-0 after half an hour and both games
remained that way. The Stags made an exhilarating start. Two minutes gone, Andy
White provided an excellent flick on, Chris Greenacre glided forward and
smacked a drive goalwards which was blocked. The rebound fell to White, who
twisted acrobatically and sent in a great volley that Peter Keen tipped over.
Five minutes gone. A corner for the Stags. Wayne Corden took a short one to Adam
Murray. Murray chipped it in for Greenacre to head it beautifully back into the
path of Corden. Corden struck it beautifully and the ball crashed into the net
off the underside of the bar and off Ritchie Foran. 29 minutes and Field Mill
went into overdrive. Another Corden corner, this time chipped straight into the
box. Allen Tankard headed goalwards. Lee Williamson blocked his own team-mate's
header. But it fell perfectly for Andy White. He couldn't miss. He nearly did,
but it shanked off the edge of his right boot and ended up in the top right
hand corner of the net from 2 yards. It didn't matter. For us it was a classic.
The entire Stags team apart from Pilks piled on top of White. At the end of the
game, boss Stuart Watkiss was raised aloft by jubilant Stags fans in sensational
scenes. Later on, Watkiss told the ITV Sport Channel that his day had been “Not
bad”, in one of the understatements of all time. He also told the press that
“Sometimes it’s your day in football and this was certainly ours. You have got
to enjoy moments like these as you never know if they are going to come around
again. To see the faces of the fans at the final whistle made all the lows of
recent weeks worthwhile.”
1. 21st April
1975
Scunthorpe
United, Home, Won 7-0
The Stags
clinch first ever league title (Division 4) with 7-0 win over Scunthorpe. It
was an incredible performance with Ray Clarke scoring two of the goals. Other
goals came from legends Terry Eccles, Gordon Hodgson and Kevin Bird, with John
Lathan notching two as well. Here's how the goals went in: 1-0, 21 minutes: Ray Clarke
snaps up a wayward back-pass and chips the ball round Scunthorpe keeper Mick
Norris into the far corner of the net. 2-0, 27 minutes: Norris drops a Sandy
Pate long throw-in and with the ball running loose, Gordon Hodgson slams it in.
3-0, 49 minutes: A Hodgson free-kick is headed on by Clarke and Terry Eccles
throws himself full length to head in a wonderful goal off the upright. 4-0, 73
minutes: Hodgson's free-kick is only partially cleared and John Lathan's fine
shot is turned into the net by Eccles. 5-0, 77 minutes: Clarke steers the ball
into the net after a corner from Jimmy McCaffrey. 6-0, 81 minutes: Lathan races
out of his own half with the ball and lets fly from 35 yards to leave Norris
grasping at thin air. 7-0, 86 minutes: Kevin Bird meets McCaffrey's corner to
power-head home the 7th. It was the Stags’ 100th league and cup goal of the
season. The celebrations had begun even
before half time, they grew as the goals went thundering in, and overflowed
onto the pitch as thousands of excited fans flowed over the barriers at the
final whistle with police straining to hold back the crush. It was a wonderful
way for skipper Sandy Pate to celebrate his 400th appearance in
Mansfield colours and a wonderful way to clinch a title.
Martin Shaw’s list was
originally broadcast on Mansfield 103.2 Radio. You can listen to that broadcast
by typing in the link here:
www.Stagsnet.net/Sportstalk040205.mp3