Season 19/20 Stagsnet Match Report
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Mansfield Town
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Port Vale
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Maynard 81, Hamilton 90+3.
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Smith 53, Legge 66
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Attendance: 5565 (953 from Port Vale)
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Date: 26 December 2019
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STAGS FIGHT BACK WITH LATE GOALS FOR POINT
Martin Shaw and Simon Chamberlain at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill Mansfield Town fought back with two goals in the final ten minutes to salvage a point against Port Vale at the One Call Stadium this afternoon in the second game under new manager Graham Coughlan. It was the third game against Port Vale this season, and all have ended up 2-2 with an equaliser in stoppage time. Port Vale had got themselves into a two goal lead with central defender Nathan Smith turning David Amoo’s low cross into the net after 53 minutes, and then the other central defender Leon Legge scrambled the ball over the line as Tom Pope flicked on a corner from the right into the middle after 66 minutes. They were Vale’s only two chances of the second half. And Vale only had two chances in the first half as Amoo headed wide from David Worrall’s cross from the left after 32 minutes, and Luke Joyce’s shot from 25 yards was parried though not held by Bobby Olejnik. Mansfield generally had the better of the first half, as Mal Benning sent a free kick just over the bar, and Danny Rose miscued onto the roof of the net from a good position. But Mansfield lacked quality from set pieces as Benning and MacDonald put in several poor free kicks. The Stags were close to taking lead after 53 minutes as Neal Bishop chested down and volleyed just wide of the post. But Vale went straight to the other end and took the lead. Then after 59 minutes, Danny Rose missed another good chance as Hamilton found him in space in the area and he had time to compose himself before firing well wide. Then Andy Cook’s low shot was just about kept out by the keeper who initially let the ball through then kept it out on the line. After Vale had made it 2-0, the Stags missed a chance to pull one back after 79 minutes when Otis Khan’s corner beyond the far post was knocked back into the side netting by Will Tomlinson. Mansfield did pull a goal back after 81 minutes as Montano cleared Ryan Sweeney’s long ball forward straight to sub Nicky Maynard just inside the area and Maynard fired into the bottom right corner of the net. A lovely finish. And the Stags deservedly equalised in the third minute of stoppage time as Jacob Mellis laid a lovely forward into Hamilton’s path in the area on the left, and Hamilton’s cross-shot was into a great area and flew straight into the bottom right corner of the net. Great spirit from the Stags to come back and earn a point with the two late goals. Over the course of the game, Mansfield had enough chances to have won it, but again poor finishing was costly. And two soft goals were conceded, with Vale only creating four chances and scoring from two of them. A word on the Stags fans who stuck with their side throughout. This was also the biggest attendance of the season (5,565) and the biggest away following this season, with 953 coming from Port Vale. Mansfield go to Bradford City on Sunday with a 3pm kick off. It’s Mansfield’s first visit to Valley Parade for almost 12 years, when Nathan Arnold and Micky Boulding scored as Mansfield won 2-1 in the relegation season. If you can’t get to the game, you can watch it with us on iFollow Stags. Graham Coughlan named an unchanged side from the draw with Northampton. One change on the bench, as Jacob Mellis returned to the squad in place of Alistair Smith. Conor Shaughnessy remained out with a hamstring strain. White and Gordon also remained out with injury, though White might be available soon. No place in the squad for Sterling-James and Afolayan. Once again, it was a 4-4-2 formation, with Hamilton starting on the right and MacDonald on the left, though they interchanged later on. Port Vale made change from their previous game as former Stag Will Atkinson came into the side in place of the injured Jake Taylor who is on loan from Nottingham Forest. There had been heavy rain in Mansfield during the morning which left the pitch sodden, and heavy and muddy. However the pitch played well and it didn’t impact the game, credit to the groundstaff. Mansfield created the first chance of the game of the game after just 45 seconds. Benning chipped the ball forward, Cook headed down to Rose and Rose fired over and wide from a tight angle on the left. After 6 minutes, Tomlinson crossed from the right and Sweeney headed well over the bar. A minute later, a poor free kick from MacDonald didn’t beat the first man. After 8 minutes, Rose did well to control a long ball forward from Preston and laid off to Hamilton who cut inside from the right and fired over from the edge of the area. Good defending from Clarke after 12 minutes heading the ball back to Olejnik under pressure from Worrall. Brilliant play from Cook after 14 minutes to win the ball off Nathan Smith, charge forward and win a free kick as he tripped a foot outside the area by Montano. Benning took the resulting free kick and fired just over the bar. Not a bad effort but Mansfield’s wait for a goal from a free kick this season from this sort of position continues. Bishop tried his luck with a shot from 25 yards that was blocked after 18 minutes. Clarke was booked for a deliberate pull back after 18 minutes. Rose did well to win a free kick 32 yards out. Benning wasted it by sending his set piece over everyone for a goalkick. Rose won another free kick when he fouled 25 yards out on the right after 27 minutes. Benning curled his free kick straight to the keeper. The Stags had a great chance to take the lead after 29 minutes. Good play from Clarke on the right, he played a low ball in to Hamilton who had a chance to shoot, but the ball skewed off him to Rose who miscued onto the roof of the net from 6 yards. It had been all Mansfield in the opening 30 minutes. But Vale missed a great chance to take the lead after 32 minutes as Worrall crossed from the left, and Amoo headed wide. It was a bad miss from a great position. After 38 minutes. Pope appealed for a penalty for a shirt pull by Sweeney in the box, but the referee waved away the appeals. Then a minute later, Joyce shot from 25 yards, Olejnik parried it but didn’t hold it, and it fell kindly for the Stags to clear. After 40 minutes, MacDonald did well to put in a low cross from the right, and Cook did very well to get a boot on it and turn it goalwards but it was an easy save for the keeper (amendment: from the video, in fact it was defender Nathan Smith who turned it towards his own goal, not Cook). MacDonald and Hamilton had switched sides by now, with MacDonald on the right having started on the left. After 43 minutes, a good header away by Rose from a Vale corner. Two minutes later, good defending by Benning as he put in a challenge on Burgess as he was about to shoot. Nil nil at half time. The Stags had had the better of the opening half hour, but Vale then missed the best chance of the half as Amoo headed wide from a great position. Mansfield lacked quality from set pieces as Benning and MacDonald put in several poor free kicks. Half time 0-0 The Stags were close to taking lead after 53 minutes. MacDonald’s long throw reached Bishop who chested down and volleyed just wide of the right post from 16 yards. Good skill from Bishop. But Vale went straight to the other end and took the lead (53 minutes) as central defender Nathan Smith turned Amoo’s low cross into the net from 6 yards. The goal came after Danny Rose lost the ball in the Vale half, seemingly fouled by Nathan Smith, who then surged forward and was in the right place to turn the ball into the net, beating Matt Preston to it. After 59 minutes, Danny Rose missed another good chance as Hamilton found him in space in the area and he had time to compose himself before firing well wide. A poor miss from Rose who had plenty of time and space. It came after good play from MacDonald who won the ball in his own half and sent a diagonal ball to Hamilton. After 60 minutes, Cook turned on the edge of the area and his low shot was just about kept out by the keeper who initially let the ball through then kept it out on the line. A minute later, a great ball forward to Hamilton to run onto, and from his low ball in, there were cries of handball, waved away by the referee. After 66 minutes, Vale made it 2-0 as central defender Leon Legge scrambled the ball over the line after Tom Pope flicked on a corner from the right into the middle. Poor defending to allow Pope to win the first header and then Legge to scramble in. Khan and Maynard replaced MacDonald and Rose after 68 minutes. Mellis replaced Bishop after 75 minutes. The Stags missed a chance to pull one back after 79 minutes when Khan’s corner beyond the far post was knocked back into the side netting by Tomlinson. Mansfield did pull a goal back after 81 minutes as Montano cleared Sweeney’s long ball forward straight to sub Nicky Maynard just inside the area and Maynard fired into the bottom right corner of the net. A lovely finish. And the Stags deservedly equalised in the third minute of stoppage time as Jacob Mellis laid a lovely forward into Hamilton’s path in the area on the left, and Hamilton’s cross-shot was into a great area and flew straight into the bottom right corner of the net. Great spirit from the Stags. Albeit it’s another game without victory. And Mansfield end 2019 at home with just two wins in the league this season. A terrible statistic. On to Bradford on Sunday and Graham Coughlan’s first away game. Man of the match: CJ Hamilton |
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Report by: Martin Shaw and Simon Chamberlain at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill
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Line Up:
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(4-4-2)
Olejnik 6 Saved from Joyce shot which he didn’t hold. Not at fault for the goals in our opinion. Clarke 7 Some good defending. Good play to set up the first chance for Hamilton and Rose. Preston 5.5 Could have done better for the first goal. Sweeney 6 Not too bad. Benning 5 Several poor set pieces. One good piece of defending in the first half. Hamilton 7 His cross-shot was in to a good area and flew into the net for the equaliser. Good play to set up chance for Rose. One shot over the bar in the first half and missed a chance to shoot when set up by Clarke. Tomlinson 6.5 Did ok. Bishop 6.5 Worked hard and tried to get things moving. MacDonald 6 One or two pieces of good play. Rose 4.5 Two bad misses. Cook 6 Several pieces of good play. His aerial threat was not utilised enough. |
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Sub Line Up:
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Khan (for MacDonald, 68 mins) - One good corner.
Maynard (for Rose, 68 mins) - Lovely finish for his goal. Will probably start at Bradford. Mellis (for Bishop, 75 mins) - Laid a lovely ball forward into Hamilton’s path for the equaliser. Provides some quality. Subs not used: Logan, Pearce, Davies, Knowles. |
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Opposition Line Up:
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(4-3-3): Brown; Gibbons, Legge, Smith, Montano; Joyce, Burgess, Atkinson; Worrall, Pope (85’ Archer), Amoo. Subs not used: Pugh, Maddison, Evans, Browne, Lloyd, Cullen.
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Referee:
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Martin Coy 7 Good game.
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