Season 21/22 Stagsnet Match Report
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Mansfield Town
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Scunthorpe United
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O.Clarke 29, 60, Bowery 45+1.
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Hippolyte pen 15.
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Attendance: 4,904 (528 from Scunthorpe)
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Date: 20 November 2021
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OLLIE CLARKE DOUBLE AS WINNING RUNS CONTINUES
Martin Shaw at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill Mansfield Town continued their winning run, 5 games in all competitions, 3 in the league, with a comfortable 3-1 victory over bottom-of-the-table Scunthorpe United yesterday. 5 wins on the trot in all competitions is the Stags’ best run of victories since Oct-Nov 2017, under Steve Evans, a run which included the 1-0 win at Coventry City, as well as the win at Shaw Lane in the FA Cup and a win in the EFL Trophy. The Stags continue to move away from the relegation zone, 7 points above it now, and are 6 points outside the play-offs. Two fine goals from Ollie Clarke, and a goal from Jordan Bowery, saw the Stags come back from going behind to a 15th minute penalty from Myles Hippolyte. The Stags made a positive start to the game in the opening 15 minutes with Harry Charsley having a shot blocked after good play from Jordan Bowery, Elliott Hewitt looping a header towards the top of the net which was tipped over by the keeper from a Stephen McLaughlin free kick, and George Maris dragging a shot wide from the left side of the penalty area. Stags keeper Nathan Bishop had not touched the ball in the opening 15 minutes, even from a backpass or anything like that, when he conceded a penalty after 15 minutes. Jake Scrimshaw laid off to Alex Perry who threaded a superb pass forward from 35 yards out for Myles Hippolyte to run on to into the box, getting in between Oli Hawkins and John-Joe O’Toole. Hawkins appealed for offside in vain. Hippolyte took a touch to take the ball around Bishop and went straight over the Stags keeper for a clear penalty. I don’t really think the Stags keeper could have done much about it. He was not booked as he was going for the ball and it wasn’t a dangerous tackle. Hippolyte took the penalty himself and sent Bishop the wrong way, sending his kick into the bottom right corner of the net. Bishop’s first touch of the ball in the game was to pick it out of the net. Scunthorpe had a good chance to make it 2-0 after 19 minutes. Alex Kenyon headed the ball forward from the edge of the centre circle. Ryan Loft got in between Hawkins and O’Toole to run on to it in the area, and, under pressure from O’Toole, fired a couple of feet wide of the left post with just Bishop to beat. Loft should have scored but O’Toole perhaps did just enough to put him off. Just a minute later, after 20 minutes, the Stags were so close to equalising. Perry lost the ball 40 yards from his own goal, Charsley nicked it away from him for Bowery to run on to. Bowery took a touch to steady himself and with just the keeper to beat, he fired against the right post from 16 yards. He should have scored, but it’s also a bit unlucky to hit the post in my opinion. UPDATE: from the pitchside footage, the keeper actually got a touch on the ball to tip it onto the post. A great save. A minute after that, McLaughlin went close when he pushed forward to the edge of the area and his shot was deflected wide. The Stags equalised after 29 minutes. Ollie Clarke fed the ball from the edge of the centre circle out to Ryan Stirk on the right wing. Stirk then slid the ball back inside to Clarke 30 yards from goal. Clarke turned and cut inside, away from Kenyon to create just enough space for a shot from 22 yards out, left footed into the bottom right corner of the net. An absolutely brilliant finish from Clarke, his second goal of the season. He celebrated with a huge leap into the air in front of the West Stand. Good play from Maris after 39 minutes, as he found Bowery who took a very good first touch to get the ball onto his left foot but he fired over the bar from 18 yards. Scunthorpe had rarely ventured into the Stags half but went close again after 42 minutes as Manny Onariase got away from Elliott Hewitt from a corner from the right by Mason O’Malley to head over the bar from 7 yards. The Stags took the lead in stoppage time at the end of the first half, a great time to score. Stephen Quinn set McLaughlin away down the left hand side. McLaughlin sent a terrific low ball across just inside the area to Charsley who met it first time left footed. His shot towards the bottom left corner of the net was well saved by keeper Kieran O’Hara, it came out to Bowery, who immediately sent it back goalwards with his left foot from 7 yards. The keeper was still on the ground from his previous save and could only half-parry the shot up in the air with his left hand, it looped behind him and into the net. A good effort at saving it from the keeper, but a great moment for Bowery. This season Bowery has been well below the performance levels he showed last season, but he had had a very good first half here and deserved his first goal of the season. There was still time for another chance for the Stags as George Maris played a good 1-2 with Bowery and fired wide of the left post from 25 yards. The Stags ahead at the break then, having had almost of the play going forward, and most of the chances, but Scunthorpe having taken the lead could have made it 2-0 which might have made a very different game. The Stags though were playing well. Loft tested Bishop with a shot from a tight angle after 52 minutes, but Bishop stayed big and strong and saved comfortably. A glorious chance for the Stags after 54 minutes as Stirk teed up Ollie Clarke for a shot from 10 yards but he completely scuffed his shot. But the Stags did make it 3-1 after 60 minutes. George Taft, the former Stags defender, laid the ball off the Alex Perry 35 yards from his own goal. Perry tried to dribble the ball out of trouble, but was tackled by Ollie Clarke, who took the ball to the edge of the area before firing under the keeper into the net. Fine play from Clarke and a reward for Mansfield’s pressing. But abysmal from Perry. Perry claimed for a free kick but it wasn’t in my opinion, it was just very weak play from Perry. Scunthorpe’s new boss Keith Hill bemoaned Perry’s play after the game saying it was very weak, and that he had got away with a similar mistake in the first half (when Bowery hit the post). The goal pretty much sealed the Stags victory. Stephen Quinn was immediately substituted, resting him for a tough week with trips to Sutton and Crawley. Bowery was also taken off shortly afterwards. He will also be needed with both Rhys Oates and Danny Johnson out injured. There were few chances in the final half an hour as the Stags saw the game out comfortably. Substitute James Gale fired wide from the right on his league debut. Tyrese Sinclair also on as sub, then sent a free kick, which he had won, miles over the bar (*) (*) On Sunday morning, replying to a tweet which said “tag a teammate who takes free kicks like this” (with a video of a player firing a free kick miles over the bar), Ollie Clarke tagged Sinclair, who replied with an emoji of his hands over his face in embarrassment. Scunthorpe just had one real chance to pull a goal back as O’Malley’s free kick from 25 yards was caught by the diving Bishop, to his left, after 78 minutes. Then at the other end after 80 minutes, great play by Gale getting past his marker O’Malley towards the byline and pulling back to Charsley whose goalbound flick from 5 yards was saved at point blank range by the keeper. A convincing win for the Stags. Plenty of good performances throughout the Stags side. Everyone played well, at least a 7 out of 10 performance, but Ollie Clarke has to be my man of the match for his two goals in a captain’s performance. The Stags visit Sutton United on Tuesday. It will be Mansfield’s first ever game there. If you are not travelling to the game, you will be able to buy a match pass to watch the game with us on iFollow Stags. In terms of injury news, Oates and Lapslie were injured and missed the Scunthorpe game. They were replaced by Stirk and Bowery. Maris had recovered from his knee injury and played the full 90 minutes. Kellan Gordon was back from injury on the bench. Danny Johnson will remain out for at least a couple more weeks with an ankle ligament injury. After the Scunthorpe game, coach Andy Garner told BBC Radio Nottingham: "Oatesey (Rhys Oates) is feeling it a bit (his groin injury). There is a possibility he could be involved in the Crawley game (next Saturday). "Laps (George Lapslie) might have a possibility to be involved on Tuesday (at Sutton). It depends how it feels (his shoulder) over the next 48 hours but we'll assess that on Monday". DETAILED REPORT : The Stags made two changes from the side that beat Stevenage. Oates and Lapslie were injured (see above) and were replaced by Stirk and Bowery. It was a 4-5-1 formation, with Maris in front of the back four, Charsley and Quinn on the wings, and Ollie Clarke and Stirk pushing forward, behind Bowery on his own up front. Gordon was back from injury on the bench. Scunthorpe made one change from the side that drew with Salford City. Their only fit senior goalkeeper Rory Watson was injured, so they brought in Kieran O’Hara on a 7 day emergency loan from Burton Albion. Nigel Clough knew all about him having signed him when he was Burton manager. Scunthorpe tried to keep that quiet, only announcing it at 1.45pm, but you can’t keep these things quiet and the Stags management knew about it in advance. Former Stags defender George Taft was Scunthorpe captain. Scunthorpe are bottom of the table. The majority of their side is unchanged from last season when they were also poor. Unless new manager Keith Hill makes some stellar signings in January, and currently they are under a transfer embargo, they look to me as though they will take one of the two relegation places. The game saw the new scoreboard used for the first time. It is crisp and clear, and installed within the frame of the old Wembley scoreboard on the Bishop Street side, at the North Stand end. The Stags made a positive start to the game in the opening 15 minutes. After 5 minutes, Charsley had a shot blocked after good play from Bowery, pulling the ball back to him. Then on 9 minutes, Hewitt looped a header towards the top of the net which was tipped over by the keeper from a McLaughlin free kick. A minute later, Maris dragged a shot wide from the left side of the penalty area. Stags keeper Nathan Bishop had not touched the ball in the opening 15 minutes, even from a backpass or anything like that, when he conceded a penalty after 15 minutes. Scrimshaw laid off to Perry who threaded a superb pass forward from 35 yards out for Hippolyte to run on to into the box, getting in between Hawkins and O’Toole. Hawkins appealed for offside in vain. Hippolyte took a touch to take the ball around Bishop and went straight over the Stags keeper for a clear penalty. I don’t really think the Stags keeper could have done much about it. He was not booked as he was going for the ball and it wasn’t a dangerous tackle. Hippolyte took the penalty himself and sent Bishop the wrong way, sending his kick into the bottom right corner of the net. Bishop’s first touch of the ball in the game was to pick it out of the net. After 17 minutes, Quinn crossed, Charsley headed goalwards and Onariase cleared away. Scunthorpe had a good chance to make it 2-0 after 19 minutes. Kenyon headed the ball forward from the edge of the centre circle. Loft got in between Hawkins and O’Toole to run on to it in the area, and, under pressure from O’Toole, fired a couple of feet wide of the left post with just Bishop to beat. Loft should have scored but O’Toole perhaps did just enough to put him off. Just a minute later, after 20 minutes, the Stags were so close to equalising. Perry lost the ball 40 yards from his own goal, Charsley nicked it away from him for Bowery to run on to. Bowery took a touch to steady himself and with just the keeper to beat, he fired against the right post from 16 yards. He should have scored, but it’s also a bit unlucky to hit the post in my opinion. UPDATE: from the pitchside footage, the keeper actually got a touch on the ball to tip it onto the post. A great save. A minute after that, McLaughlin went close when he pushed forward to the edge of the area and his shot was deflected wide. The Stags equalised after 29 minutes. Ollie Clarke fed the ball from the edge of the centre circle out to Stirk on the right wing. Stirk then slid the ball back inside to Clarke 30 yards from goal. Clarke turned and cut inside, away from Kenyon to create just enough space for a shot from 22 yards out, left footed into the bottom right corner of the net. An absolutely brilliant finish from Clarke, his second goal of the season. He celebrated with a huge leap into the air in front of the West Stand. Great football after 34 minutes as Ollie Clarke played to Quinn whose cushioned header tried to set Stirk away, but the ball ran through to the keeper. Good play from Maris after 39 minutes, as he found Bowery who took a very good first touch to get the ball onto his left foot but he fired over the bar from 18 yards. Scunthorpe had rarely ventured into the Stags half but went close again after 42 minutes as Onariase got away from Hewitt from a corner from the right by O’Malley to head over the bar from 7 yards. Two minutes later, Scrimshaw tried a shot from an impossible angle on the right and fired into the side netting. The Stags took the lead in stoppage time at the end of the first half, a great time to score. Quinn set McLaughlin away down the left hand side. McLaughlin sent a terrific low ball across just inside the area to Charsley who met it first time left footed. His shot towards the bottom left corner of the net was well saved by keeper O’Hara, it came out to Bowery, who immediately sent it back goalwards with his left foot from 7 yards. The keeper was still on the ground from his previous save and could only half-parry the shot up in the air with his left hand, it looped behind him and into the net. A good effort at saving it from the keeper, but a great moment for Bowery. This season Bowery has been well below the performance levels he showed last season, but he had had a very good first half here and deserved his first goal of the season. There was still time for another chance for the Stags as George Maris played a good 1-2 with Bowery and fired wide of the left post from 25 yards. The Stags ahead at the break then, having had almost of the play going forward, and most of the chances, but Scunthorpe having taken the lead could have made it 2-0 which might have made a very different game. The Stags though were playing well. Half time 2-1 Loft tested Bishop with a shot from a tight angle after 52 minutes, but Bishop stayed big and strong and saved comfortably. A glorious chance for the Stags after 54 minutes as Stirk teed up Ollie Clarke for a shot from 10 yards but he completely scuffed his shot. A minute later, Charsley got to the byline and pulled the ball across. It seemed to go out for a corner but the officials gave a goal kick. But the Stags did make it 3-1 after 60 minutes. Taft laid the ball off the Alex Perry 35 yards from his own goal. Perry tried to dribble the ball out of trouble, but was tackled by Ollie Clarke, who took the ball to the edge of the area before firing under the keeper into the net. Fine play from Clarke and a reward for Mansfield’s pressing. But abysmal from Perry. Perry claimed for a free kick but it wasn’t in my opinion, it was just very weak play from Perry. Scunthorpe’s new boss Keith Hill bemoaned Perry’s play after the game saying it was very weak, and that he had got away with a similar mistake in the first half (when Bowery hit the post). Quinn was immediately substituted, resting him for a tough week with trips to Sutton and Crawley. He was replaced by Sinclair. A good header away by McLaughlin from a cross from Scrimshaw after 68 minutes. Bowery was also taken off, on 69 minutes. He will also be needed for the week ahead with both Rhys Oates and Danny Johnson out injured. It looked like he had a touch of cramp. He was replaced by James Gale, on for his league debut. After 70 minutes, a clearance from Hippolyte was only as far as Gale, who fired wide from the corner of the area. On 73 minutes, Sinclair then sent a free kick, which he had won, miles over the bar (*) (*) On Sunday morning, replying to a tweet which said “tag a teammate who takes free kicks like this” (with a video of a player firing a free kick miles over the bar), Ollie Clarke tagged Sinclair, who replied with an emoji of his hands over his face in embarrassment. Sinclair’s finishing has been poor in recent games. But once again (as he had at Stevenage) he won 3 free kicks here to help wind the clock down. After 76 minutes, a good tackle from O’Toole. Moments later, Hippolyte cut in from the right and sent a shot from 35 yards well over the bar. Scunthorpe just had one real chance to pull a goal back as O’Malley’s free kick from 25 yards was caught by the diving Bishop, to his left, after 78 minutes. Then at the other end after 80 minutes, Sinclair’s low shot from a tight angle was straight at the keeper. Five minutes later, great play by Gale getting past his marker O’Malley towards the byline and pulling back to Charsley whose goalbound flick from 5 yards was saved at point blank range by the keeper. A final change for the Stags as Forrester replaced Stirk after 88 minutes. Forrester sat in front of the back four with Maris. On 90 minutes, Ollie Clarke clipped a ball in from the right towards Sinclair. It was just behind Sinclair who tried an overhead kick, but missed it. On 90+2 minutes, O’Hara came well out of his area to clear. His clearance only reached Charsley 45 yards from goal. He tried to shoot at the empty goal but didn’t get anywhere near enough power on it. A convincing win for Mansfield who saw the game out comfortably apart from that free kick on 78 minutes. Man of the match: Ollie Clarke Here’s a running tally of various stats this season: Goals: Johnson 7, Hawkins 4, O.Clarke, Oates 3, Lapslie, O’Toole 2, Bowery, Caine, Hewitt, Maris, Quinn, Sinclair, Stirk 1 Assists: Charsley, Johnson, McLaughlin, Oates, Quinn, Sinclair 3, O.Clarke 2, Bowery, J.Clarke, Gale, Hawkins, Rawson, Stirk 1 (note: in the case of a penalty, the player who earns the penalty gets an assist. In the case of a solo goal, such as Maris against Newport, nobody gets an assist. In the case of the scorer scoring from the rebound after a shot is saved, the player who had the shot saved gets an assist.) Average home league attendance: 4718 (average away fans: 625, average home fans 4093) |
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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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(4-1-4-1)
Bishop 7 I don’t really think he could have done much about it conceding the penalty. One good save from a free kick, and stayed big and strong from a shot from a tight angle. Hewitt 7.5 Good game at right back. One superb back-heel on the touchline. O’Toole 7 Hippolyte got between him and Hawkins for the penalty, then Loft got between them for his chance shortly afterwards. Perhaps did just enough to put Loft off. Very solid after that. Hawkins 7 Hippolyte got between him and O’Toole for the penalty, then Loft got between them for his chance shortly afterwards. Very solid after that. McLaughlin 8 Great cross in the build-up to the second goal. One good free kick. Some good defending. Maris 8 Very good game. Some incisive passing. Charsley 7.5 Set up Bowery’s shot against the post. Four efforts at goal blocked or saved, one of which led to Bowery’s goal. O.Clarke 9 My man of the match for his two fine goals in a captain’s performance. Stirk 7.5 Linked up well with Ollie Clarke, with an assist for the first goal, and teeing up Clarke’s miss in the second half. Quinn 7.5 Plenty of good play down the left. Bowery 8 Had a particularly good first half, with good hold-up play, some good headers. Deserved his goal after hitting the post. |
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Sub Line Up:
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Sinclair (for Quinn, 61 mins) - One terrible free kick miles over the bar.. His finishing has been poor in recent games. But once again (as he had at Stevenage) he won 3 free kicks here to help wind the clock down.
Gale (for Bowery, 69 mins) - Made his league debut. Set up a good chance for Charsley after a great first touch. Forrester (for Stirk, 88 mins) - Subs not used: Shelvey, Gordon, Rawson, Law. |
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Opposition Line Up:
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(4-1-3-2): O'Hara; Rowe, Onariase, Taft, O'Malley; Kenyon (Beestin, 61); Hippolyte, Perry (Pugh, 78), Hackney; Loft (Jarvis, 73), Scrimshaw. Subs not used: Collins, Millen, Green, Thompson.
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Referee:
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Benjamin Speedie 7 Got the penalty right. Several minor mistakes. The Stags have not lost with him in charge.
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