Season 21/22 Stagsnet Match Report
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Doncaster Rovers
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Mansfield Town
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Horton 7, Rowe 84.
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Forrester 48, Lapslie 60, 71
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Attendance: 7,040 (3292 from Mansfield)
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Date: 4 December 2021
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MAGNIFICENT MANSFIELD WIN AT DONCASTER IN THE FA CUP
Martin Shaw at the Keepmoat Stadium Mansfield Town produced a magnificent performance this afternoon to win 3-2 at Doncaster in the FA Cup and progress to Round Three, the draw for which is at 7pm on Monday night. Don’t be misled by the scoreline, the Stags were at least three goals better than the home side, who somehow managed to score twice from their only three efforts in the entire game. The Stags meanwhile scored three and could have had plenty more. The Stags were roared on by 3,300 fans, who produced an incredible atmosphere and got behind the side even when they went 1-0 down early in the game. And the fans were rewarded with three goals in the second half, right in front of them as the atmosphere reached fever pitch. The first 40 minutes of the game was one way traffic with the Stags having all of the play but not creating enough with it and barely testing the home goalkeeper. The home side took the lead after 7 minutes with the first time they had been in the Stags half. Jordy Hiwula played a fine ball in behind the Stags defence for Aidan Barlow who got to the byline on the right and pulled the ball across the six yard box to Branden Horton who turned the ball into the net from three yards. The Stags had only half-chances in the first half despite having so much of the play as Stephen Quinn sent a 20 yard shot straight at the keeper, Stephen McLaughlin played a great 1-2 to get into the area but his shot was blocked, and Rhys Oates headed wide from a McLaughlin free kick, while George Lapslie had the ball in the net after 32 minutes but was ruled out for offside. McLaughlin’s cross from the left was headed on by Quinn to Lapslie who controlled the ball before firing into the net left footed from 12 yards. But the offside flag was up as Quinn was offside when McLaughlin crossed. Doncaster had their second chance of the game after 44 minutes when Tommy Rowe’s header from a corner was blocked by John-Joe O’Toole. Into the second half and the Stags were attacking the end where the massed ranks of Stags fans were in great voice. An enforced change at the break saw Stephen McLaughlin forced off. On came Jordan Bowery, who went in at left wing-back, with Lapslie dropping to right wing-back as the Stags switched from 4-5-1 to 3-6-1. And Lapslie and Bowery were to be instrumental in the victory. The Stags equalised after 48 minutes. George Maris surged forward from the halfway line, and played the ball to Ollie Clarke. Maris continued his run into the area, Clarke played it forward to him, Maris showed great control to get past two defenders and with just the keeper to beat, his low shot was deflected over the bar by the left boot of keeper Louis Jones. A great save. The resulting corner from the right from Quinn was flicked on by Lapslie at the near post to Will Forrester at the far post who headed into the bottom left corner of the net from four yards. A great moment right in front of the Stags fans for Forrester to get his first Stags goal. And how lovely to see a goal from a corner flicked on at the near post to the far post. Shades of Greg Fee regularly doing this for the Stags thirty years ago! By the way, Forrester was booked for going up to the crowd to celebrate (a booking which has not been captured in the statistics of the game on various stats websites). The Stags were deservedly in front on the hour. Quinn got away down the left and squared the ball inside to Bowery, two yards inside the area. Bowery’s first touch was excellent to turn away from his marker and his low left-footed cross-shot from level with the edge of the six-yard area on the left was finger-tipped away by the keeper, out to Lapslie on the right who turned the ball into the net from a tight angle. The two makeshift wingbacks combining for the goal! It could have been 3-1 after 68 minutes. More lovely football on the right, as Quinn’s short free kick from the right into the area found Bowery, who slid it back to Maris. Maris found Quinn again, who lifted a cross into the middle. It reached Forrester at the far post, who chested it down and volleyed goalwards from six yards but it was deflected over the bar. The Stags did make it 3-1 after 71 minutes with a quite magnificent team goal. From the edge of the centre circle, Ollie Clarke played a 1-2 with Maris. Clarke then fed the ball forward to Quinn just outside the area, who in turn side-footed out to Maris again on the right. Meanwhile Lapslie was making a run forward into the box as Maris played a slide-rule pass into the middle which Lapslie turned into the net from 7 yards. What a move! Stunning, simply stunning. The Stags were irresistible now. Lapslie could have had a third but the ball was nicked off his toe before he could shoot, Maris got into the area on the left but his cross across the face of goal was just in front of Bowery, Bowery cut in from the left and his curling shot was pushed away by the diving keeper. Then, more great football as Bowery did well on the left and his low ball in was cleared for a corner. From that corner from Maris, O’Toole got in a clean header but it was over the bar. Then Stirk shot straight at the keeper. This was a mauling. However completely against the run of play and with their third attempt of the entire game, Doncaster pulled a goal back to make it 3-2 after 84 minutes. The referee gave Doncaster a free kick 22 yards out when Tommy Rowe went down. I didn’t think it was a foul. The free kick was cleverly worked short to Rowe and his precision shot from 20 yards was into the bottom right corner giving Bishop no chance. Just the second shot for Bishop to save in the entire game and again he had no chance. Six minutes left, plus five minutes of additional time and the Stags saw it out superbly with Doncaster having no further chances. Indeed it was the Stags who went close to adding to the lead. On 90 minutes, Maris played a 1-2 with Lapslie, into the area and went down but the referee decided it was no penalty. Then great play on the left, Bowery got to the byline and played across to Maris who fired wide. And on 90+3 minutes, Quinn was so close to scoring as he was put through 1-on-1 with the keeper but his shot which was well-placed towards the right corner of the net was magnificently saved. The final whistle saw the Stags through to the Third Round, and great scenes as the 3,300 Stags fans stayed behind to celebrate with the players and management. This was a magnificent performance in the second half. It’s no exaggeration to say the Stags deserved to win by three clear goals, but in the end the scoreline didn’t matter. So many great performances through the side. Lapslie, converted to right wing-back at half time, scored twice and had an assist for Forrester’s goal. He also had the goal disallowed in the first half. I would have to make him my man of the match for those alone. Bowery was superb at left wing-back. What a “confidence player” he is. Having started the second half well he got better and better here. Yet in the last match, he started badly and had a dreadful game. The whole of the midfield was also excellent: Quinn, Maris, Ollie Clarke, Stirk. Oates was also very good on his own up front. And the defenders Hewitt, O’Toole and Forrester were very solid as well. A word on Doncaster. They are of course a league above the Stags. I watched them play on Wednesday night, putting out a very similar XI to what they played here, in the EFL Trophy against Crewe. They were abysmal in that game. So bad that manager Richie Wellens was sacked the following day, following a string of bad results and performances. U18 boss Gary McSheffrey and U16 coach Frank Sinclair, father of Mansfield’s Tyrese, were put in temporary charge. They were a bit better today but completely outplayed by Mansfield and I wouldn’t fancy their chances of avoiding relegation to League Two. A great day for the Stags. Surely one of the best away days in recent times. We can look forward to the draw on Monday (7pm). Then it’s back to the league on Tuesday night, as Carlisle visit the One Call Stadium. Oli Hawkins, who was missing today due to “a bit of flu”, will be suspended for that game. If you can’t make it to the game, you will be able to buy a match pass to watch it with us on iFollow Stags. DETAILED REPORT : It was a very wet day in South Yorkshire with very long spells of torrential rain. The pitch was perfect though. Mansfield had sold the full allocation of 3,300 tickets, and could probably have sold more. Mansfield made two changes to the side that won at Crawley. Hawkins was out with “a bit of flu”, and Rawson was out with food poisoning. In came Ollie Clarke and Maris. The Stags started with a 4-5-1 formation, with Lapslie, Ollie Clarke, Maris, Stirk and Quinn in midfield, and Oates on his own up front. With Johnson and Gordon also out injured, as well as Nartey, with James Gale cup-tied, and with several youngsters having gone out on loan: James Clarke (Solihull), Cooper (Kettering), Caine (Nuneaton), the Stags could only name 8 subs (9 are allowed) including two goalkeepers (Shelvey and Mason). Doncaster included Liam Ravenhill, son for former Stags and Doncaster player Ricky Ravenhill. Doncaster’s best player by some margin is Tommy Rowe, an excellent midfielder. Doncaster played him in defence, utter madness. The first 40 minutes of the game was one way traffic with the Stags having all of the play but not creating enough with it and barely testing the home goalkeeper. The Stags fans were in great voice from the start. The Doncaster fans were silent, and remain that way throughout. After 4 minutes, Oates won a corner but it came to nothing. The home side took the lead after 7 minutes with the first time they had been in the Stags half. Jordy Hiwula played a fine ball in behind the Stags defence for Aidan Barlow who got to the byline on the right and pulled the ball across the six yard box to Branden Horton who turned the ball into the net from three yards. A poor goal to concede. After 11 minutes, Quinn sent a 20 yard shot straight at the keeper. It was a chance similar to his goal at Tranmere last season. Then on 17 minutes, McLaughlin played a great 1-2 to get into the area but his shot was blocked. Good play from Oates to win a corner after 27 minutes, but the corner was wasted with a free kick conceded as it came across. Lapslie had the ball in the net after 32 minutes but it was ruled out for offside. McLaughlin’s cross from the left was headed on by Quinn to Lapslie who controlled the ball before firing into the net left footed from 12 yards. But the offside flag was up as Quinn was offside when McLaughlin crossed. The ball seemed to hit a Doncaster hand in the area after 34 minutes but the referee wasn’t interested. Four minutes later, Oates headed wide from a McLaughlin free kick from 45 yards out. Oates was hobbling from an earlier knock, but ok to continue. Then McLaughlin got a knock, on his right foot or ankle, on 43 minutes. Doncaster had their second chance of the game after 44 minutes when Tommy Rowe’s header from a corner was blocked by O’Toole. It was a free header for Rowe. On 45+1 minutes, Matt Smith tried his luck from distance but Forrester blocked the effort. Doncaster ahead at the break. The Stags had had most of the play in them opening 40 minutes but not created enough chances. Half time 1-0 An enforced change at the break saw McLaughlin forced off with that knocked he sustained on 43 minutes. On came Bowery, who went in at left wing-back, with Lapslie dropping to right wing-back as the Stags switched from 4-5-1 to 3-6-1. Lapslie has played at right back before, for Charlton where he played quite a few games there. I’m not sure he has played at right wing-back. Maris took up a more advanced role in midfield than usual, with Clarke and Stirk in the deeper roles. Quinn came inside from his usual widish left position. The Stags were now attacking the end where the massed ranks of Stags fans were in great voice. The Stags equalised after 48 minutes. Maris surged forward from the halfway line, and played the ball to Ollie Clarke. Maris continued his run into the area, Clarke played it forward to him, Maris showed great control to get past two defenders and with just the keeper to beat, his low shot was deflected over the bar by the left boot of keeper Louis Jones. A great save. The resulting corner from the right from Quinn was flicked on by Lapslie at the near post to Will Forrester at the far post who headed into the bottom left corner of the net from four yards. A great moment right in front of the Stags fans for Forrester to get his first Stags goal. And how lovely to see a goal from a corner flicked on at the near post to the far post. Shades of Greg Fee regularly doing this for the Stags thirty years ago! By the way, Forrester was booked for going up to the crowd to celebrate (a booking which has not been captured in the statistics of the game on various stats websites). Doncaster keeper Jones was lucky on 51 minutes when his clearance was charged down by Oates but only out for a goal kick. The Stags won a corner after 59 minutes. A bit of pressure followed the corner, ending with a shot from Maris from the edge of the area, with the keeper saving it, diving to his left. The Stags were deservedly in front on the hour. Quinn got away down the left and squared the ball inside to Bowery, two yards inside the area. Bowery’s first touch was excellent to turn away from his marker and his low left-footed cross-shot from level with the edge of the six-yard area on the left was finger-tipped away by the keeper, out to Lapslie on the right who turned the ball into the net from a tight angle. The two makeshift wingbacks combining for the goal! It could have been 3-1 after 68 minutes. More lovely football on the right, as Quinn’s short free kick from the right into the area found Bowery, who slid it back to Maris. Maris found Quinn again, who lifted a cross into the middle. It reached Forrester at the far post, who chested it down and volleyed goalwards from six yards but it was deflected over the bar. The Stags did make it 3-1 after 71 minutes with a quite magnificent team goal. From the edge of the centre circle, Ollie Clarke played a 1-2 with Maris. Clarke then fed the ball forward to Quinn just outside the area, who in turn side-footed out to Maris again on the right. Meanwhile Lapslie was making a run forward into the box as Maris played a slide-rule pass into the middle which Lapslie turned into the net from 7 yards. What a move! Stunning, simply stunning. The Stags were irresistible now. Lapslie could have had a third on 74 minutes but the ball was nicked off his toe before he could shoot. A minute later, Maris got into the area on the left but his cross across the face of goal was just in front of Bowery. Then on 77 minutes, Bowery cut in from the left and his curling shot was pushed away by the diving keeper. Quinn picked up the rebound and shot low straight at the keeper. Tyrese Sinclair replaced Oates after 80 minutes. Meanwhile Sinclair’s dad Frank was very active in the technical area, with plenty of shouting at his Doncaster players. More great football on 82 minutes as Bowery did well on the left and his low ball in was cleared for a corner. From that corner from Maris, O’Toole got in a clean header but it was over the bar. Then Stirk shot straight at the keeper from 22 yards after Lapslie teed him up. This was a mauling. However completely against the run of play and with their third attempt of the entire game, Doncaster pulled a goal back to make it 3-2 after 84 minutes. The referee gave Doncaster a free kick 22 yards out when Tommy Rowe went down. I didn’t think it was a foul. The free kick was cleverly worked short to Rowe and his precision shot from 20 yards was into the bottom right corner giving Bishop no chance. Just the second shot for Bishop to save in the entire game and again he had no chance. Six minutes left, plus five minutes of additional time and the Stags saw it out superbly with Doncaster having no further chances. Stirk was booked after 88 minutes for a foul on the halfway line on Rowe. It was the Stags who went close to adding to the lead. On 90 minutes, Maris played a 1-2 with Lapslie, into the area and went down but the referee decided it was no penalty. Charsley replaced Ollie Clarke after 90+1 minutes. Then great play on the left on 90+2 minutes, Bowery got to the byline and played across to Maris who fired wide. And on 90+3 minutes, Quinn was so close to scoring as he was put through 1-on-1 with the keeper but his shot which was well-placed towards the right corner of the net was magnificently saved. The final whistle saw the Stags through to the Third Round, and great scenes as the 3,300 Stags fans stayed behind to celebrate with the players and management. Man of the match: George Lapslie Here’s a running tally of various stats this season: Goals: Johnson 7, Hawkins 5, Lapslie, Oates 4, O.Clarke 3, O’Toole 2, Bowery, Caine, Forrester, Hewitt, Maris, Quinn, Sinclair, Stirk 1 Assists: Charsley, Johnson, McLaughlin, Oates, Quinn, Sinclair 3, Bowery, O.Clarke, Hawkins, Stirk 2, J.Clarke, Gale, Lapslie, Maris, Rawson 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.) |
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Report by: Martin Shaw at the Keepmoat Stadium
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Line Up:
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(4-5-1)
Bishop 7 Only had two shots to save and had no chance with either of them. Hewitt 7.5 Very solid at right back, and then in the central defensive three in the second half. O’Toole 7.5 Very solid. Got in a good block, and had a header over the bar at the other end. Forrester 8.5 Was so delighted to get his first Stags goal, and what a time to get it. Very solid at the back. McLaughlin 8 Probably the best player in the first half, creating problems going forward down the left. Forced off at half time and is a doubt for Tuesday. Lapslie 9.5 Converted to right wing-back at half time, scored twice and had an assist for Forrester’s goal. He also had the goal disallowed in the first half. I would have to make him my man of the match for those alone. O.Clarke 8 Very good game. Maris 9 An assist for the stunning third goal, his first assist of the season. Very good play to earn the corner for the first goal too. Had a tremendous game in a more advanced role than he’s normally played for Mansfield. Stirk 9 Excellent in a deeper role in midfield. Quinn 9 Involved in all three goals. So close to a goal of his own in stoppage time, denied by a brilliant save. Oates 8 Very good on his own up front. Chased several lost causes and caused problems. |
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Sub Line Up:
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Bowery (for McLaughlin, 46 mins) 9 Superb at left wing-back. An assist for the second goal.
Sinclair (for Oates, 80 mins) - Charsley (for O.Clarke, 90+1 mins) - Subs not used: Shelvey (g/k), Mason (g/k), Burke, Ward, Law. |
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Opposition Line Up:
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(4-5-1): Jones; Knoyle, Anderson, Rowe, Horton; Hasani, Ravenhill (Blythe 57), Smith, Barlow (Cukur 64), Hiwula; Dodoo. Subs not used: Dahlberg, Faulkner, Cole, Wilds, Henson, Kuleya.
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Referee:
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Sebastian Stockbridge 7 I think he got most things right, apart from the foul for Doncaster’s second goal.
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