Season 20/21 Stagsnet Match Report
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Mansfield Town
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Port Vale
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O.Clarke 45 seconds, Bowery 32, pen 77, 80. Sinclair missed pen 87.
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Legge sent off 47
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Attendance: behind closed doors
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Date: 2 January 2021
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STAGS THUMP PORT VALE FOR FIRST HOME LEAGUE WIN
Martin Shaw at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill Mansfield Town won their first home game of the season at long last with a thumping 4-0 victory over Port Vale this afternoon. Ollie Clarke set the ball rolling with his first goal for the club inside the opening 45 seconds, and then Jordan Bowery scored a hat-trick, to add to his goals in each of the previous two games, while Tyrese Sinclair missed a penalty three minutes from time, with Vale well and truly on the ropes. The victory also gave the Stags back-to-back wins for the first time in the League for 14 months, (since October 2019, 1-0 against Grimsby and 6-1 against Oldham). The biggest threat to the Stags victory for part of the afternoon was not the opposition but the weather as snow started falling during the half time interval and continued for the first 25 minutes of the second half, briefly coming on quite heavily, but mercifully it stopped with 20 minutes remaining and the game was able to finish. The referee stopped play at one point after the heaviest period of snow for the lines to be cleared by the groundstaff. The Stags took the lead inside the opening 45 seconds. Harry Charsley fired in a good shot from the right which keeper Scott Brown turned on to the left post at full stretch, it came out to Ollie Clarke who rifled a shot into the net from a tight angle, with Brown trying to keep it out but beaten the power. Clarke had talked in his press conference on Wednesday about his disappointment at not scoring this season and this was a great time to rectify that. The Stags had chances to increase the lead as Clarke’s volley was blocked, and then Ryan Sweeney’s header which looked on target was headed wide from close range by Jamie Reid. The Stags did make it 2-0 after 32 minutes. George Maris’s low ball in from the left went through a crowd of legs to Jordan Bowery on the edge of the six-yard box and Bowery turned and in one movement thumped it on the half-volley into the net giving the keeper no chance. Vale were reduced to ten men after 47 minutes as George Lapslie surged forward and was brought down by Leon Legge 22 yards from goal. Legge had already been booked in the first half and was rightly shown a second yellow card. Vale had a rare chance to pull a goal back after 63 minutes as half time sub Cristian Montano put in an excellent cross from the left to another sub Tom Pope at the far post and Pope’s close range volley was very well-saved by Marek Stech. It was virtually the only time Stech had to make a save all afternoon so one-sided was the match. The Stags made it 3-0 after 77 minutes. Reid, with his back to goal on the edge of the six-yard box, laid the ball back to Charsley who was tripped by Scott Burgess just after Charsley got his toe to the ball first. It was a clear penalty. Bowery stepped up for his second penalty of the season, having scored at Orient early in the season, and calmly rolled the ball into the bottom left corner of the net as the keeper dived the wrong way. Bowery completed his first career hat-trick after 80 minutes, and it followed a great move from the Stags, with touches from Stech to Perch to Lapslie to Charsley to Perch to Maris to Rawson to Sweeney to Maris to Clarke to Maris to Perch to Maris to Reid to Clarke to Bowery, who fired a precision finish with his left foot from an angle on the left in off the right post. Ten players involved in the move, only Mal Benning didn’t touch the ball! What a goal! The Stags had a glorious opportunity to make 5-0 after 82 minutes as Maris did well to nick the ball off Zak Mills and set Clarke surging forward into the Port Vale half. Clarke found Charsley who fired over the bar from the edge of the area. Substitute Tyrese Sinclair, who replaced hat-trick hero Bowery after 83 minutes, won a penalty after 87 minutes as he forced his way into the area on the left and was bundled over by Nathan Clarke. With Bowery now off, and with Sinclair having won the penalty, it was left to Sinclair himself to take the responsibility from the spot, but he fired wide of the left post. A shame but it mattered little, apart from to Tyrese himself, whose father Frank was at the game as he is part of the Port Vale coaching staff (helping young players step up to the first team). A thoroughly convincing win for the Stags, who were very good from start to finish, albeit against a poor Port Vale side. A Happy New Year for the Stags. And a Happy New Year to you. Thanks for reading the reports, listening to the commentaries, and watching the lockdown videos in 2020. Let’s hope 2021 is a lot better than 2020! DETAILED REPORT: The Stags came into the game without a home win this season in the league, 10 games without a win at home. This was just one short of the club’s record in the league, which was 11, set in 1959, (see the club records page). Thankfully the Stags did not equal that unwanted club record today. Mansfield made one enforced change from the side that won at Scunthorpe. The Stags had played an unchanged side for five matches. Kellan Gordon felt a tight hamstring last week and in training and so missed out. Nigel Clough explained after the game that “hopefully he’ll only be out for a week or two”. In came James Perch who had been out injured before returning to the bench a couple of games ago. Perch slotted in at right back, a position he has played before in his career, but not for Mansfield. Perch was chosen ahead of Corey O’Keeffe at right back because of his experience and because he was playing very well before he got injured. Harry Charsley played on the right and Jordan Bowery on the left in a 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 formation, whichever you prefer, with Jamie Reid retaining his place up front. There was a change in midfield positions though, with George Maris playing in a deeper role, allowing Ollie Clarke to push more forward. Aaron O’Driscoll came on to the bench. Port Vale were in a poor run of form, having won only one of their last 11 league games. They were unchanged from a 0-0 draw with Bradford on Tuesday. They had three players returning from injury on the bench, two of whom came on at half time. They were also without one player Tom Conlon who is self-isolating, and another player who tested positive for Covid-19 who is not normally one of the starting XI according to the Port Vale local media, but who was not named. Credit to the groundstaff and local company Thermokil for blowing hot air under the covers in order to get the pitch playable for today’s game in the frosty conditions. The Stags took the lead inside the opening 45 seconds. Charsley fired in a good shot from the right which keeper Scott Brown turned on to the left post at full stretch, it came out to Clarke who rifled a shot into the net from a tight angle, with Brown trying to keep it out but beaten the power. Clarke had talked in his press conference on Wednesday about his disappointment at not scoring this season and this was a great time to rectify that. After 10 minutes, good play by Alex Hurst on the left wing for Port Vale, cutting inside and his cross-shot was blocked by Benning almost on the line. Two minutes later at the other end, a Maris corner came back to him, he crossed back in and Reid headed well wide. Minutes later promising interplay down the right between new right back Perch and Charsley. After 16 minutes, Clarke’s volley was blocked after good play by Reid. Then on 18 minutes, from another Maris corner, Sweeney’s header which looked on target was headed wide from close range by Reid. That was close. After 20 minutes, a free kick from 27 yards by Benning, Rawson headed it up and the keeper saved though it was going wide anyway. Five minutes later, Charsley cut inside and his shot was blocked, after good play by Bowery. On 27 minutes, Reid chested down to Clarke who pulled a ball across towards Bowery and Lapslie but it was just cleared. Good football from the Stags. Reid meanwhile had won a few free kicks. The Stags made it 2-0 after 32 minutes. Maris’s low ball in from the left went through a crowd of legs to Bowery on the edge of the six-yard box and Bowery turned and in one movement thumped it on the half-volley into the net giving the keeper no chance. No other significant chances for either side before half time. The Stags were good value for a 2-0 lead, with Stech having nothing to do. Half time 2-0 During the half time interval, snow started coming down and by the time the second half started, the pitch was white. Vale were reduced to ten men after 47 minutes as Lapslie surged forward and was brought down by Leon Legge 22 yards from goal. Legge had already been booked in the first half and was rightly shown a second yellow card. From the resulting free kick, Maris fired over the bar. A shot for Vale on 52 minutes as half time sub Cristian Montano miscued a shot straight at Stech. At the other end a minute later Bowery was well wide from 20 yards. Then on 56 minutes, Lapslie played a one-two to get into the area and went down but it was no penalty. Vale had a rare chance to pull a goal back after 63 minutes as Montano put in an excellent cross from the left to another sub Tom Pope at the far post and Pope’s close range volley was very well-saved by Stech. It was virtually the only time Stech had to make a save all afternoon so one-sided was the match. The snow had now become heavy which was a concern. After 66 minutes, a free kick from Maris came out to Charsley who volleyed well wide. After 67 minutes, the referee stopped play for the lines to be cleared by the groundstaff. Mercifully, by the 70 minute mark the snow had pretty much stopped and didn’t start again until after the game. After 74 minutes, Port Vale keeper Brown sent a kick straight to Bowery who powered forward into the area but his shot was blocked. The Stags made it 3-0 after 77 minutes. Reid, with his back to goal on the edge of the six-yard box, laid the ball back to Charsley who was tripped by Scott Burgess just after Charsley got his toe to the ball first. It was a clear penalty. Bowery stepped up for his second penalty of the season, having scored at Orient early in the season, and calmly rolled the ball into the bottom left corner of the net as the keeper dived the wrong way. At the other end after 79 minutes, Bowery headed away a corner after good play by Montano to win a corner. Bowery completed his first career hat-trick after 80 minutes, and it followed a great move from the Stags, with touches from Stech to Perch to Lapslie to Charsley to Perch to Maris to Rawson to Sweeney to Maris to Clarke to Maris to Perch to Maris to Reid to Clarke to Bowery, who fired a precision finish with his left foot from an angle on the left in off the right post. Ten players involved in the move, only Mal Benning didn’t touch the ball! What a goal! The Stags made a double change before the restart (81 minutes) with McLaughlin and Cook replacing Benning and Reid. The Stags had a glorious opportunity to make 5-0 after 82 minutes as Maris did well to nick the ball off Zak Mills and set Clarke surging forward into the Port Vale half. Clarke found Charsley who fired over the bar from the edge of the area. The Stags made three more changes after 83 minutes as Sinclair, O’Driscoll and O’Keeffe replaced Bowery, Charsley and Clarke. For the first time since the rule change brought in during the pandemic, the Stags had used their maximum of five substitutes. Sinclair won a penalty after 87 minutes as he forced his way into the area on the left and was bundled over by Nathan Clarke. With Bowery now off, and with Sinclair having won the penalty, it was left to Sinclair himself to take the responsibility from the spot, but he fired wide of the left post. A shame but it mattered little, apart from to Tyrese himself, whose father Frank was at the game as he is part of the Port Vale coaching staff (helping young players step up to the first team). And so a thoroughly convincing win for Mansfield. Mansfield’s best performance of the season probably, certainly the first time we’ve won by more than a single goal in any competition. The next game is the re-arranged game against Salford City on Tuesday (7pm kick-off). Man of the match: Jordan Bowery |
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Report by: Martin Shaw at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill
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Line Up:
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(4-5-1)
Stech 7 One close range volley from Pope that was very well-saved. It was virtually the only time he had to make a save all afternoon so one-sided was the match. Perch 7.5 Played well, slotting in at right back. Rarely misplaced a pass. Had a trickier second half against Montano but generally coped well. Rawson 7 Solid. Not put under much pressure. Sweeney 7 Also solid and not put under much pressure. Benning 7.5 One good block on the line. Maris 8.5 Played in a deeper role. An assist for the second goal. Plenty of accurate passing. Charsley 8.5 Fine shot tipped on to the post that led to the first goal. Brought down for the penalty for the third goal. O.Clarke 9 Scored after 45 seconds to set the victory up. And an assist for the fourth goal. Had talked in his press conference on Wednesday about his disappointment at not scoring this season and not having an assist either and this was a great time to rectify both. Lapslie 8 His surging run resulted in the red card. Bowery 10 A hat-trick, the first of his career, and a great performance and I think I have to give him a rare 10/10 rating. Reid 7.5 Laid the ball off for Charsley to win the penalty for the third goal. Won several free kicks. Several good pieces of play and held the ball up better than he has in recent games. |
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Sub Line Up:
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McLaughlin (for Benning, 81 mins) -
Cook (for Reid, 81 mins) - Sinclair (for Bowery, 83 mins) - O’Driscoll (for Charsley, 83 mins) - O’Keeffe (for Clarke, 83 mins) - Subs not used: Stone, Menayese. |
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Opposition Line Up:
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(4-3-3): Brown; Smith, Brisley, Legge, Fitzpatrick (Montano 46); Burgess, Joyce, Whitehead (Worrall 4 6); Amoo (Mills 49), Rodney, Hurst (Pope 46). Subs not used: Visser, Cullen, Bailey.
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Referee:
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Ben Toner 8 Handled the conditions very well, including stopping play to clear the lines. Got both penalties right in my opinion. Only added 3 minutes on in the second half despite six substitutions, the sending off, and the stoppage for clearing the lines, which was I think a couple of minutes short.
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