Season 20/21 Stagsnet Match Report
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Crawley Town
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Mansfield Town
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Tilley 90+2
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Attendance: behind closed doors
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Date: 13 March 2021
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STAGS LOSE AT CRAWLEY TO INJURY TIME GOAL
Martin Shaw at Broadfield Stadium Mansfield Town were beaten 1-0 at Crawley Town this afternoon in a poor game full of misplaced passes on a bobbly pitch that made controlling the ball difficult. The game looked like it would finish 0-0 but a well-taken goal by substitute James Tilley in the 2nd minute of stoppage time gave Crawley the victory. It was Crawley’s 4th consecutive win at home, without conceding a goal (three by 1-0 and one by 2-0). With a certain symmetry, it was Mansfield’s 4th consecutive defeat away, without scoring a goal (three by 1-0 and one by 2-0). The goal came from a Crawley throw-in in their own half. The throw-in was headed on by Tom Nichols, it bounced off Kellan Gordon’s shoulder, and James Tilley got in between Gordon and Farrend Rawson to surge into the area and fire a powerful shot past Marek Stech at his near post into the net from an angle on the left. All three of Gordon, Rawson and Stech could have done better to prevent the goal, but it was a very fine goal from Tilley. Nigel Clough pulled no punches after the game telling BBC Radio Nottingham: "We failed to defend a run-of-the-mill throw-in. They got between Kellan Gordan and Rawson and then it's beaten Marek at his near post. I think all three of them are culpable really." Talking about the errors conceded in those recent away games to lose the games, Nigel Clough, asked by Mark Stevenson if these errors can be fixed, told iFollow Stags: "With the current set of players ... I'm not sure. Not sure about that. There will be a lot of assessing done in the last couple of months of the season. But it's evident that we need fresh players in to make that difference." Worth remembering though that Gordon has only recently been offered by Clough, and has signed, a contract extension, while Rawson and Stech are under contract for next season. The first half was quite even, punctuated by a lot of misplaced passes from both sides, but the Stags had the better of the chances. After 9 minutes, Mal Benning pulled the ball back from the byline to Jamie Reid. Reid knocked the ball up with his back to goal, and from 7 yards out sent an overhead kick towards the right corner of the net. Keeper Glenn Morris pushed it away at full stretch and it didn’t fall kindly for Ollie Clarke who was waiting to pounce on the rebound and might have had an open goal. It was a brilliant effort from Reid. Good goalkeeping too from Morris to save it and keep it away from Clarke. Reid had a glorious chance after 22 minutes as Stephen Quinn whipped in a wonderful cross from the left and Reid got up well at the near post but headed inches wide of the left post with goalkeeper Morris beaten. Having got up well, Reid should have scored. After 39 minutes, Reid turned well and shot a yard over the bar from 20 yards. Two minutes later, Jordan Bowery did well to rob the ball off Joe McNerney but screwed his shot well wide of the left post. Finally, after 45 minutes, Reid cut inside and fired a left-footed shot high and wide. At the other end, after 13 minutes, Tom Nichols had a free header from 12 yards from a corner which Stech saved onto his bar and caught at the second attempt. Nichols’ was Gordon’s man from the corner and Gordon let him get away. Nichols also had a 20 yard shot straight at Stech, after 34 minutes, and two minutes later Jake Hessenthaler fired well over the bar from 25 yards. Into the second half and it was Crawley who had the better of the chances. After 56 minutes, Archie Davies pulled the ball across from the right to Nichols who fired goalwards low and hard from 12 yards but Stech got down quickly with a strong right hand to make a great save. Then after 60 minutes, Ashley Nadeson headed wide from another Davies cross. Nichols fired well wide after 69 minutes from a Nadeson pull-back from the byline. After 81 minutes, Quinn cleared off the line as Joe McNerney headed goalwards from a corner. The Stags went close really only once in the second half, with 85 minutes gone, as substitute Tyrese Sinclair was fouled by Hessenthaler 26 yards from goal. He took the free kick himself, and it deflected off the wall and looped inches over the bar. It was so close and would probably have been the winner. But instead, it was Crawley who found the winner in stoppage time with just a minute left to play. Such a disappointment for the Stags. A draw would have been a fair result but that injury time goal made all the difference. It was a scrappy game. Many players on both sides gave the ball away on occasions, but one player who made fewer than most and was mostly solid throughout was James Perch and he was my man of the match. Mansfield remain in 16th place. The bottom two clubs, Southend and Grimsby, both drew 0-0 at home and so gained just one point on the Stags. Mansfield are 10 points above Southend and 14 above Grimsby. Southend have played a game more than Mansfield and have just 11 games left. Grimsby have one game in hand on Mansfield. Mansfield’s goal difference is 24 better than both of the bottom two clubs. The games continue to come thick and fast. Mansfield are at home to Carlisle on Tuesday night (kick-off 7pm), looking for a 3rd straight home win. Carlisle had been on a terrible run of form that had seen them slip into mid-table, but they beat in-form Bradford this afternoon. Since the two sides met in December at Brunton Park in front of 2000 home fans, when Carlisle were second in the table, Carlisle have taken only 12 points from 13 games, while Mansfield have taken 24 points from 16 games. DETAILED REPORT: Mansfield were unchanged from the side that beat Cheltenham on Tuesday. There were two changes on the bench. Ryan Sweeney returned from suspension, while Oli Sarkic returned from injury. Out went Corey O’Keeffe and George Lapslie. Nigel Clough had explained in his press conference on Friday that Lapslie had felt his hamstring in the 20 minutes he was on as sub against Cheltenham and that they would assess whether it was worth risking him. They decided not to risk him, and Clough said after the game here he was not sure if Lapslie would be fit for Tuesday either. Incidentally, Aidan Stone had travelled with the squad today and was warming up with the other goalkeepers before the game so appears to have recovered from his injury which is good news. Nigel Clough has already said though that Stech will get a run in the side now. There was a change in formation from the 4-4-2 with a diamond in midfield on Tuesday, and today it was a 4-5-1 with Reid starting up front on his own, and Law and Bowery on the far right and left of midfield. That was very similar to the 4-3-3 formation from previous games though, but with Law and Bowery slightly deeper. At the start of the second half, Bowery was up front in the middle, with Reid on the right and Law on the left. Crawley were unchanged from their midweek home win over Salford. They had hit a bit of form with 3 home wins on the trot, plus winning away at Tranmere last Saturday. They were fancying their chances of a crack at making the play-offs, 7 points behind them. And after today’s win they are 6 points behind with 2 games in hand. This was Mansfield Town’s 3,500th game in the Football League, with thanks to Paul Taylor for that statistic. It was a pleasant day in West Sussex. The wind which had been stronger in the morning had died down quite a lot by kick-off and did not affect the game to any degree. After 9 minutes, Mal Benning pulled the ball back from the byline to Jamie Reid. Reid knocked the ball up with his back to goal, and from 7 yards out sent an overhead kick towards the right corner of the net. Keeper Glenn Morris pushed it away at full stretch and it didn’t fall kindly for Ollie Clarke who was waiting to pounce on the rebound and might have had an open goal. It was a brilliant effort from Reid. Good goalkeeping too from Morris to save it and keep it away from Clarke. At the other end, after 13 minutes, Tom Nichols had a free header from 12 yards from a corner which Stech saved onto his bar and caught at the second attempt. Nichols’ was Gordon’s man from the corner and Gordon let him get away. Ashley Nadeson found himself unmarked on the edge of the area after 16 minutes but elected not to shoot, tried to lay the ball off and lost possession. Four minutes later, Stech was out quickly under pressure from Nichols. Reid had a glorious chance after 22 minutes as Stephen Quinn whipped in a wonderful cross from the left and Reid got up well at the near post but headed inches wide of the left post with goalkeeper Morris beaten. Having got up well, Reid should have scored. Nichols had a 20 yard shot straight at Stech, after 34 minutes, and two minutes later Jake Hessenthaler fired well over the bar from 25 yards. After 39 minutes, Reid turned well and shot a yard over the bar from 20 yards. Two minutes later, Jordan Bowery did well to rob the ball off Joe McNerney but screwed his shot well wide of the left post. Finally, after 45 minutes, Reid cut inside and fired a left-footed shot high and wide. The first half had been quite even, but the Stags had certainly had the better of the chances. Half time 0-0 At the start of the second half, Keaton Ward replaced Ollie Clarke in midfield. Nigel Clough explained afterwards that Clarke was “just shattered with the knocks and niggles that he’s had.” It was Ward’s second game after his league debut at Barrow last Saturday. Perch took over the captaincy. Bowery was now up front in the middle, with Reid on the right and Law on the left in what looked more like a 4-3-3 formation. After 56 minutes, Archie Davies pulled the ball across from the right to Nichols who fired goalwards low and hard from 12 yards but Stech got down quickly with a strong right hand to make a great save. After 59 minutes, good play from Keaton Ward who found Gordon. Gordon put in a good cross towards Bowery but it was put behind for a corner. From the resulting corner, an incident I didn’t notice at the time, but Keaton Ward has pointed it out on his social media .. Ward was dragged down by Powell as the corner came across. From the video, it should have been a penalty. Then after 60 minutes at the other end, Nadeson headed wide from another Davies cross. Benning was booked for an accumulation of fouls after 62 minutes. Quinn gave the ball away after 66 minutes, which gave Jordan Maguire-Drew a chance to shoot from 25 yards and his effort was deflected for a corner. Tyrese Sinclair replaced Reid after 68 minutes. Nichols fired well wide after 69 minutes from a Nadeson pull-back from the byline. Three minutes later, Maguire-Drew sent a free kick from 30 yards over the bar. Harry Charsley replaced Law after 76 minutes. After 81 minutes, Quinn cleared off the line as Joe McNerney headed goalwards from a corner. The Stags went close really only once in the second half, with 85 minutes gone, as substitute Sinclair was fouled by Hessenthaler 26 yards from goal. He took the free kick himself, and it deflected off the wall and looped inches over the bar. It was so close and would probably have been the winner. A minute later, Sinclair’s corner was headed over by Perch. At the other end, good defending by Rawson under pressure from Nadeson. Then after 89 minutes, a good tackle by Perch on Nichols. But Crawley found the winner 2 minutes into stoppage time with just a minute left to play. The goal came from a Crawley throw-in in their own half. The throw-in was headed on by Nichols, it bounced off Gordon’s shoulder, and James Tilley got in between Gordon and Rawson to surge into the area and fire a powerful shot past Stech at his near post into the net from an angle on the left. All three of Gordon, Rawson and Stech could have done better to prevent the goal, but it was a very fine goal from Tilley. The 4th away defeat on the trot and without a goal scored. Back to the One Call Stadium on Tuesday. Man of the match: James Perch |
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Report by: Martin Shaw at Broadfield Stadium
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Line Up:
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(4-5-1)
Stech 5 Beaten at his near post for the only goal. Great save from Nichols earlier in the second half. Gordon 5 Could have done better to prevent the goal as Nichols’ header bounced off him and Tilley got in between him and Rawson to surge into the area and score. Allowed Nichols a free header from 12 yards from a corner when Nichols was Gordon’s man and Gordon let him get away. One good cross in the second half. Rawson 5.5 Could have done better to prevent the goal as Tilley got in between him and Gordon to surge into the area and score. Otherwise was reasonably solid. Just before the goal, a good piece of defending under pressure from Nadeson. Perch 7 Mostly solid with some good defending. Took over the captaincy at half time. Benning 6 Did ok. Law 5.5 Didn’t get in the game enough. O.Clarke 5.5 Taken off at half time as he was shattered. McLaughlin 6.5 Good first half. Quinn 7 Wonderful cross for Reid’s header. Cleared one off the line. Presented Maguire-Drew with a chance to shoot. Bowery 5 Didn’t do enough. Reid 6 Brilliant effort with the overhead kick. Should have scored with his header from Quinn’s cross. |
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Sub Line Up:
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Ward (for O.Clarke, 46 mins) 6 Started the second half well. Might have won a penalty on the hour. Faded in the latter stages.
Sinclair (for Reid, 68) - So close to scoring from the free kick. Charsley (for Quinn, 88 mins) - Subs not used: Pardington, Wright, Sweeney, Sarkic. |
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Opposition Line Up:
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(4-4-2): Morris; Davies, McNerney, Tunnicliffe, Francomb; Maguire-Drew (Wright, 76), Hessenthaler, Powell, Hesketh (Tilley, 82); Nadesan, Nichols. Subs not used: Nelson, Rodari, Craig, Tsaroulla.
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Referee:
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Thomas Bramall 6 Overall had a reasonable game. Missed what should have been a penalty when Ward was dragged down by Powell on the hour, but I didn’t see it in real time, and it wouldn’t have been easy for him to spot.
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