Season 21/22 Stagsnet Match Report
|
|
|
||
|
Mansfield Town
|
|
Newport County
|
||
|
Maris 7, O.Clarke 43.
|
Willmott 9
|
|||
|
Attendance: 3,793 (156 from Newport)
|
||||
|
Date: 14 August 2021
|
||||
|
STAGS BEAT NEWPORT TO MAKE IT TWO OUT OF TWO
Martin Shaw at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill Mansfield Town beat Newport County 2-1 at home this afternoon with first half goals from George Maris and Ollie Clarke sealing the win. Newport, like Bristol Rovers last Saturday, are likely to be in the promotion shake-up at the end of the season, and had already won at Oldham, and at Ipswich in the League Cup. Newport of course lost 1-0 to Morecambe in the League Two play-off in May. Newport were very unlucky in that game of two penalties, one not given for Newport which should have been, and one given for Morecambe which shouldn't have been. So, a great start to the season for the Stags, and you have to go back 27 years to 1994 for the last time Mansfield won the opening two league games of the season, a 2-0 win over Colchester with goals from Paul Holland and Stuart Hadley, and a 1-0 win over Chesterfield with a goal from Hadley. The Stags visit Colchester on Tuesday, while Chesterfield are now languishing in the non-league. Overall I think the Stags deserved the victory, though it was fairly even in terms of shots, with just 9 shots for each side. The Stags took the lead after 7 minutes. Good play down the left from Johnson, Quinn and Oates to win a corner. The corner was taken short by Maris, Newport initially cleared it, but Maris did brilliantly to win it back from Christopher Missilou 35 yards from goal. Maris took a couple of touches forward and was not closed down so he decided to have a shot from 30 yards which squirmed under keeper Joe Day and into the net. The shot should have been saved, but if you don’t buy a ticket, you don’t win the raffle, and Maris was rewarded for following Nigel Clough’s request to his players to take more shots at goal when they have the chance. Newport were level after 9 minutes and it was a very poor goal to concede. A massive goalkick from Joe Day flew straight over the head of Perch and Timmy Abraham, bounced 28 yards from the Stags goal, over Rawson, and Robbie Willmott got in behind Rawson to chest the ball down in the area and lift a shot over Bishop from 9 yards and into the net. Poor defending from Perch and Rawson. Nigel Clough said after the game: “It was a very, very poor goal to concede. We have to stop those mistakes. It was down to the two centre halves. The ball has gone straight down the middle from a goalkick and we've not made contact with it. That can't happen.” Maris could have scored again after 20 minutes. A great ball from McLaughlin from 25 yards inside his own half on the left touchline sent Maris through on goal but his shot from 20 yards was saved by Day, making no mistake after his earlier error. The Stags regained the lead after 43 minutes. Bishop’s long kick down the middle was flicked on by Hawkins, rising above Scot Bennet, to Johnson, who held off Priestley Farquharson, chested the ball down, and laid a fabulous little ball forward into the path of Ollie Clarke. Clarke ran on to it, took a touch outside the area, and then blasted his left-footed shot past Day from 16 yards with such power that it nearly took the netting off! A deserved lead for the Stags at the break. Into the second half and Newport were close to an equaliser after 61 minutes. Timmy Abraham, brother of Chelsea’s Tammy, got away from Perch and Maris and crossed from the byline on the right across the face of goal. It reached Ryan Haynes in the area on the left, he pulled back to Finn Azaz and Azaz’s shot from 15 yards was superbly tipped over the bar by Bishop. A cracking save that was. The Stags should have made victory more comfortable after 87 minutes. Maris lifted the ball forward. Danny Johnson did very well to turn away from Scot Bennet to put himself 1-on-1 with Joe Day, but from 10 yards, Johnson’s low shot was saved by Day with his right leg. The Stags hung on for the victory with no major alarms in the closing stages. A decent performance, but Mansfield can still play better I think. A word on the Stags crowd again. They were down in number by about 1400 from the Bristol Rovers game, probably due to holidays, the cost of three home games in 7 days, and the rescheduling of this game from an away game. But the noise from the home fans was incredible again. Wonderful support and a real spur to the side. The game was switched from being an away game at Rodney Parade as the Newport pitch is being relaid. About a million pounds is being spent on the pitch by the Welsh Rugby Union according to my Newport iFollow counterpart, and work had to start later than would have been ideal due to Newport’s involvement in the play-offs. So it should be better than normal when we visit there later this season! On to Colchester on Tuesday night and the first away game of the season. As it is a midweek league game, you can watch it live on iFollow Stags with a match pass that can be bought for £10. DETAILED REPORT Mansfield were unchanged from the side that beat Bristol Rovers last Saturday. Elliott Hewitt was back from injury on the bench, replacing James Clarke in the 18. Harry Charsley was not in the 18 but was warming up before the game and is now fit. Newport were without Mickey Demetriou, Kevin Ellison, Jermaine Hylton and Courtney Senior. Clough had talked in the press in midweek that Demetriou’s long throws would be key, and Mansfield were pleased not to have to face them. Ellison probably wouldn’t have started but would have been a dangerous substitute, and had scored the winner last Saturday. It was a pleasant day in Mansfield. The start were on the offensive in the opening 15 seconds as McLaughlin got down the left and put in a great ball which Hawkins couldn’t quite get on to. After 5 minutes, Rawson let the ball get away from him, Abraham had a chance to shoot, missed his kick and Rawson was able to clear. Rawson got away with that. The Stags took the lead after 7 minutes. Good play down the left from Johnson, Quinn and Oates to win a corner. The corner was taken short by Maris, Newport initially cleared it, but Maris did brilliantly to win it back from Christopher Missilou 35 yards from goal. Maris took a couple of touches forward and was not closed down so he decided to have a shot from 30 yards which squirmed under keeper Joe Day and into the net. The shot should have been saved, but if you don’t buy a ticket, you don’t win the raffle, and Maris was rewarded for following Nigel Clough’s request to his players to take more shots at goal when they have the chance. Newport were level after 9 minutes and it was a very poor goal to concede. A massive goalkick from Joe Day flew straight over the head of Perch and Timmy Abraham, bounced 28 yards from the Stags goal, over Rawson, and Robbie Willmott got in behind Rawson to chest the ball down in the area and lift a shot over Bishop from 9 yards and into the net. Poor defending from Perch and Rawson. Nigel Clough said after the game: “It was a very, very poor goal to concede. We have to stop those mistakes. It was down to the two centre halves. The ball has gone straight down the middle from a goalkick and we've not made contact with it. That can't happen.” After 18 minutes, a free kick was given against Maris but he made a great tackle. A poor decision from the referee. Willmott squared the free kick from just outside the area on the right, to Upson, whose shot was deflected wide. Maris could have scored again after 20 minutes. A great ball from McLaughlin from 25 yards inside his own half on the left touchline sent Maris through on goal but his shot from 20 yards was saved by Day, making no mistake after his earlier error. Abraham was booked after 21 minutes for bringing down McLaughlin in full flow. Abraham should have been booked earlier for a high boot, which was very dangerous. That was an incredible decision not to book Abraham, which became an injustice with the later booking. After 28 minutes, Oates found a yard of space on the edge of the area to get in a shot, which was high and wide. Then Finn Azaz, who played against the Stags for champions Cheltenham last season, turned away from Perch, who brought him down 25 yards from goal. The free kick, from the right just outside the corner of the area, was taken by Ryan Haynes, and straight at Bishop. After 37 minutes, good defending by Ollie Clarke sweeping up at the back. Two minutes later, a great move by Newport as Bennett got past two Stags players, clever play from Azaz, and a cross-shot from Haynes was just wide of the right post. The Stags regained the lead after 43 minutes. Bishop’s long kick down the middle was flicked on by Hawkins, rising above Scot Bennet, to Johnson, who held off Priestley Farquharson, chested the ball down, and laid a fabulous little ball forward into the path of Ollie Clarke. Clarke ran on to it, took a touch outside the area, and then blasted his left-footed shot past Day from 16 yards with such power that it nearly took the netting off! After 45+3 minutes, a low right-footed shot from Quinn was on target but with not enough power. A deserved lead for the Stags at the break. Half time 2-1 After 52 minutes, Newport broke, Willmott set Abraham away and he shot across Bishop, and wide of the right post, as Bishop watched it all the way, getting his angles right. Oates chipped a cross towards the back post and keeper Day was back-pedalling and just tipped it wide. Ollie Clarke’s shot from 25 yards was blocked after 55 minutes. A minute later, at the other end, Norman crossed from the right and Abraham headed wide of the left post. After 58 minutes, Gordon chipped a cross to the back post, keeper Day was back-pedalling again, couldn’t get to it, and it was only just over the bar. Newport were close to an equaliser after 61 minutes. Timmy Abraham got away from Perch and Maris and crossed from the byline on the right across the face of goal. It reached Ryan Haynes in the area on the left, he pulled back to Finn Azaz and Azaz’s shot from 15 yards was superbly tipped over the bar by Bishop. A cracking save that was. Great play by Quinn and McLaughlin on the left 65 minutes but from the ball back to the edge of the area, Hawkins miscued high and wide. Lapslie replaced Oates after 66 minutes. Meanwhile former Stag Alex Fisher came on for Newport for his debut. Gordon was booked for a foul on James Clarke after 67 minutes. Extraordinary stuff after 68 minutes as Ollie Clarke was tripped by the hapless referee. Newport broke forward and a low shot from Azaz was saved. Hawkins was booked for kicking the ball away after a foul was given against him after 74 minutes. Hewitt replaced Gordon after 77 minutes coming on for his Stags debut at right back. Ollie Clarke volleyed well wide after 84 minutes, from a corner that was cleared to him. The Stags should have made victory more comfortable after 87 minutes. Maris lifted the ball forward. Danny Johnson did very well to turn away from Scot Bennet to put himself 1-on-1 with Joe Day, but from 10 yards, Johnson’s low shot was saved by Day with his right leg. After 88 minutes, two good pieces of defending by Maris. Then Bishop did well to collect a cross. Bowery replaced Quinn after 90 minutes. He went into midfield but was mainly on for his height to defend any crosses coming in. Good defending by Rawson after 90+3 minutes heading away, moments after Azaz’s shot was blocked by Hewitt. Celebrations at the final whistle for another hard-earned 3 points. Man of the match: George Maris. |
||||
|
Report by: Martin Shaw at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill
|
||||
|
Line Up:
|
(4-4-2, diamond in midfield)
Bishop 7.5 Great save tipping over Azaz’s shot. Good handling. Mostly good kicking, apart from one straight into touch in the last few seconds of stoppage time which frustrated the manager. Gordon 7 Did well at right back. Replaced by Hewitt after 77 minutes. Rawson 5.5 Poor defending for the Newport goal. Also got away with one very early on when Abraham had a chance to shoot and missed his kick. Generally struggled against Abraham who was a handful. Did much better after Abraham was subbed and got in some important headers near the end. Perch 5.5 Should have done better for the Newport goal as well. Also allowed Abraham and Azaz to get away from him on other occasions. McLaughlin 7.5 Great ball set Maris away for his 1-on-1. Some other good crosses. Maris 8 My man of the match with a terrific performance. Got a bit lucky that the keeper made a mess of his shot for the goal, but had done brilliantly to win the ball back in order to give himself the chance of a shot. Was thwarted by the keeper in a 1-on-1 later in the first half. O.Clarke 7.5 Wonderful goal for the winner. Had a couple of other shots, and should have taken a couple more but didn’t pull the trigger. Good game all round. Quinn 7 Several pieces of good play on the left with McLaughlin. Oates 6 Won the corner which led to the goal. Hawkins 7.5 Helped to set up the second goal with a good flick on. Won most of his aerial battles, and made some good defensive headers from set pieces. Johnson 6.5 Lovely assist for the second goal. Good turn to set up a 1-on-1 with the keeper but thwarted by a good save. |
|
Sub Line Up:
|
Lapslie (for Oates, 66 mins) - I’d like to see him starting.
Hewitt (for Gordon, 77 mins) - On for his debut. Bowery (for Quinn, 90 mins) - Subs not used: Shelvey, Burke, Stirk, Sinclair. |
|
Opposition Line Up:
|
(5-3-2): Day; Norman, Farquharson, Bennett, James Clarke (Collins 77), Haynes; Missilou (Fisher 65), Upson, Azaz; Willmott, Abraham (Greenidge 72). Subs not used: Townsend, Woodiwiss, Lewis, Livermore.
|
|
Referee:
|
Anthony Backhouse 4 Had a stinker. Any number of very poor decisions. Probably the worst of which was not booking Abraham for a dangerous high kick, and that became significant minutes later when he was booked for deliberately bringing down McLaughlin in full flow. Gave a free kick against Maris in a dangerous position after a clean, non-dangerous tackle. And to cap it all, he managed to trip Ollie Clarke to set up a shot for Newport.
|
|
|