Season 22/23 Stagsnet Match Report
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Mansfield Town
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Derby County
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Hawkins 56. Bowery sent off 80.
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Hewitt OG 30, Barkhuizen 69
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Attendance: 6,861 (1662 from Derby)
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Date: 9 August 2022
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BRILLIANT STAGS BOW OUT OF LEAGUE CUP TO DERBY
Martin Shaw at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill Mansfield Town bowed out of the League Cup last night, beaten 2-1 at home by Derby County. The Stags were disappointed to go out. But what an absolutely riproaring game it was, and a brilliant performance from Mansfield. The Stags certainly deserved to take it to penalties and were unlucky to lose after hitting the underside of the bar twice. The first half saw plenty of chances for either side. After 22 minutes, George Lapslie swept a beautiful left footed shot from 15 yards against the underside of the bar and it bounced down the wrong side of the line. A minute later, Anthony Hartigan on his first Stags start, and impressing in midfield, sent a free kick from 26 yards just over the bar. After 29 minutes, Christy Pym was out quickly to make himself big and save very well as Lewis Dobbin was through one-on-one. But Derby took the lead on 30 minutes as Craig Forsyth slid a nice low cross along the edge of the Stags six yard box, Dobbin tried to turn it goalwards and got a slight deflection on it which took it onto Elliott Hewitt’s shin and it deflected past Pym into the net. Bad luck for Hewitt, who had a fine game. No chance for Pym. Derby had other chances, including Pym saving brilliantly on his line with his left leg as Dobbin stabbed the ball goalwards from 5 yards following a corner on 37 minutes, before the Stags ended the half strongly as John-Joe O’Toole’s shot from 16 yards was straight at the keeper who was already on the deck having just punched away a Stephen McLaughlin cross, and then great play from Will Swan, who was very lively all night, showed great footwork to get into the area and shot straight at the keeper. The Stags had a goal disallowed 30 seconds into the second half. Kellan Gordon’s cross from the right, was half-cleared to Ollie Clarke, who took aim with a shot from 22 yards. His shot deflected off defender Kwaku Oduroh and the keeper parried it away. It came to Swan who tucked the rebound into the net. Now, as Clarke shot, Swan was marginally offside, but because the shot deflected off a defender, did that mean that Swan was no longer offside? I’m not sure. A few years ago, it would simply have been offside, but there has been changes regarding defenders getting touches on the ball and I’m not sure. (see further discussion in detailed report below) The Stags then hit the bar for a second time, on 49 minutes. A free kick from George Maris from the right was brilliantly headed from beyond the far post by Oli Hawkins. The ball hit the bar, came down to McLaughlin, who stabbed the rebound wide. Unlucky again for the Stags. Hawkins had switched from centre half to centre forward at half time, with Jordan Bowery going the other way. The noise from the Stags fans was magnificent, and as if spurred on, the Stags deservedly equalised after 56 minutes. Maris again crossed from the right, it flicked off the head of Eiran Cashin to Hawkins, who took one touch to control it superbly and volleyed past the keeper. I’m giving an assist to Maris in my statistics, other outlets are not doing so because it flicked off the head of Cashin. On 62 minutes, the Stags went close again. McLaughlin charged down a clearance. The ball span away to Swan. Swan squared the ball to Hawkins whose shot was blocked by a defender with the keeper nowhere. Dreadful officiating as the offside flag went up as Hawkins shot. Yet clearly Hawkins was not offside. Though Swan probably was, but the assistant referee noticeably kept her flag down as Swan collected the ball and then passed it to Hawkins. The Stags went close again on 68 as Ollie Clarke had two shots blocked in quick succession. And within seconds Derby were in front. A magnificent run down the right by Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and he chipped a wonderful cross to the far post where Tom Barkhuizen headed home. Wonderful quality goal. The Stags were reduced to ten men after 81 minutes. A long kick forward from the Derby keeper bounced over Bowery, now at centre half, former Luton striker James Collins latched on to it and charged forward towards the edge of the area. Bowery tried to tackle him from behind, didn’t get the ball and brought Collins down. No doubt it was a red card. Bowery will miss one game, Saturday’s game at Leyton Orient. Collins took the resulting free kick himself, from just outside the area, struck it hard and low and Pym made a superlative save. What a save! After 85 minutes, the Stags were close to equalising as McLaughlin’s free kick from 35 yards was tipped around the post by the keeper. A minute later, the Stags went even closer. Maris’s corner from the left was turned goalwards by Hewitt from 5 yards, and somehow Cashin stretched to clear it off the line. It had goal written all over it. The Stags were close again on 90 minutes. Clarke played a great crossfield pass for Swan to run on to on the left. Swan’s first touch was brilliant as he took the ball into the area, but as he was about to enter the area himself he was cynically brought down by Oduroh. It was a clear goalscoring opportunity as his first touch had been so good, but the referee only gave Oduroh a yellow card. Presumably the referee’s thinking was that Swan was coming in from the left rather than down the middle (as per Collins), and there were defenders coming back. However it seemed to me that Swan would have got a shot away with just the keeper to beat. Arguably the red card would not have helped the Stags much anyway being so late on, and Swan was a bit unlucky that he was just outside the area and not earning a penalty. So, Derby progressed to round two. This was a wonderful game of football. One of the most entertaining I can recall for a long time. Both sides played their part. After the game interim Derby manager Liam Rosenior said: "First of all I thought it was an outstanding cup tie. I thought Mansfield more than played their part. Nigel has a really good team and is building here, but I am delighted with the character and application of the players.” A word on the attendance: this was the Stags’ biggest home League Cup gate since Leeds in 1994-95, thanks to Paul Taylor for that stat. The Stags are away to Leyton Orient on Saturday. The weather forecast is for extreme heat. DETAILED REPORT : Mansfield made five changes from the side that beat Tranmere. In came Hewitt, Gordon, Lapslie, Hartigan, Swan. They replaced Harbottle, Akins, Boateng, Maris, Oates. It was a first start for Hartigan. Akins was named in the starting XI, but was replaced by Bowery just before kick-off. Nigel Clough explained: “He just felt his groin at the end of the warm up, so you can change players right up to kick-off time, just had to let the referee and the opposition know.” Bowery went up front, alongside Swan. Hawkins played after coming off with a tight hamstring on Saturday. Oates (ankle) and Boateng (ankle and hamstring) were on the bench. Of Saturday’s substitutes, all started apart from Flinders and Clarke. The Stags named 8 subs, 9 were allowed. In fact because Akins dropped out, it was effectively 7 subs. Gale was on the bench. Cooper is out injured (Nigel Clough told me on Saturday that Cooper has a calf injury and will be out for 2-3 weeks). On any further transfers, after the game Nigel Clough said “There is no transfer news at the moment but ideally we are trying to get one more in.” Derby made 7 changes from their defeat at Charlton. A debut for Jake Rooney, cousin of Wayne Rooney. Eiran Cashin, in central defence, is a Mansfield lad. Thanks to regular iFollow listener and regular Stagsnet-report-reader Graham who informed me that he went to school with his Dad, and his granddad owned the old Irish club at the end of Bishop St that many fans will remember from the 80s/90s. It was a lovely very warm evening in Mansfield. Some nice touches from Hartigan in the early stages. After 8 minutes, Swan turned away from his man, and from 28 yards out, fired a yard over the bar. After 10 minutes, Dobbin would have been through 1-on-1 with Pym but was cynically bundled over by Hewitt from behind, 22 yards from goal. Hewitt was booked. Hawkins was alongside Dobbin which probably saved Hewitt from getting a red. From the resulting free kick, the wall did its job, and Sibley’s free kick was deflected over the bar. Dobbin sent a pea roller of a shot straight at Pym from 16 yards after 13 minutes. Hawkins twice put his teammates under pressure with sloppy passes. After 17 minutes, Sibley did well on the right, cut inside and his shot from a tight angle was saved by Pym. After a scramble, the Stags eventually cleared. A minute later at the other end, Swan’s shot on the turn was blocked. Straight to the other end and Sibley crossed from the left, Dobbin could only get the end of his boot to it and couldn’t turn it goalwards. After 22 minutes, George Lapslie swept a beautiful left footed shot from 15 yards against the underside of the bar and it bounced down the wrong side of the line. A minute later, Anthony Hartigan on his first Stags start, and impressing in midfield with some good passing, sent a free kick from 26 yards just over the bar, after Gordon had been brought down. Excellent defending by Hewitt as a cross came in from the left towards Dobbin. After 29 minutes, Christy Pym was out quickly to make himself big and save very well as Dobbin was through one-on-one. But Derby took the lead on 30 minutes as Craig Forsyth slid a nice low cross along the edge of the Stags six yard box, Dobbin tried to turn it goalwards and got a slight deflection on it which took it onto Elliott Hewitt’s shin and it deflected past Pym into the net. Bad luck for Hewitt, who had a fine game. No chance for Pym. After 34 minutes, Sibley broke away following a Stags corner. Lapslie chased back 50 yards to tackle and put it behind for a corner. From the resulting corner, Pym tried to catch but was surrounded by too many players, dropped it, and after Hawkins cleared, Jason Knight sent a shot over the bar. Good defending by Hewitt after 37 minutes as Korey Smith tried to work a shooting opportunity on the box. Following the resulting corner, Pym saved brilliantly on his line with his left leg as Dobbin stabbed the ball goalwards from 5 yards. John-Joe O’Toole was booked for a late tackle on 41 minutes. The Stags ended the half strongly as O’Toole’s shot from 16 yards on 43 minutes was straight at the keeper who was already on the deck having just punched away a Stephen McLaughlin cross, and then great play from Will Swan, who was very lively all night, showed great footwork to get into the area and shot straight at the keeper after 45 minutes. A pulsating and highly entertaining first half. Half time 0-1 Two pre-planned substitutions at half time: Maris for Quinn, Clarke for Hartigan. And a positional change: Hawkins went up front, Bowery went to centre half. Nigel Clough explained: “We wanted a bit more of a presence up there, which Oli Hawkins gives us. I think Jordan is better equipped to deal with the sort of striker they had tonight, with the pace and everything, he reads it well and he’s quick, so that was a dual purpose really.” The Stags had a goal disallowed 30 seconds into the second half. Kellan Gordon’s cross from the right, was half-cleared to Ollie Clarke, who took aim with a shot from 22 yards. His shot deflected off defender Kwaku Oduroh and the keeper parried it away. It came to Swan who tucked the rebound into the net. Now, as Clarke shot, Swan was marginally offside, but because the shot deflected off a defender, did that mean that Swan was no longer offside? I’m not sure. A few years ago, it would simply have been offside, but there has been changes regarding defenders getting touches on the ball and I’m not sure. To clarify the incident: Oduroh stretched to try to block the shot, it deflected off him, the keeper parried, Swan knocked in the rebound. Now, a reminder of this incident analysed by Dermot Gallagher:
I think, based on the Dermot Gallagher analysis, it should be onside, as the defender Oduroh tried to clear the ball. However, it is clearly a very murky area. The Stags then hit the bar for a second time, on 49 minutes. A free kick from George Maris from the right was brilliantly headed from beyond the far post by Oli Hawkins. The ball hit the bar, came down to McLaughlin, who stabbed the rebound wide. Unlucky again for the Stags. The noise from the Stags fans was magnificent, and as if spurred on, the Stags deservedly equalised after 56 minutes. Maris again crossed from the right, it flicked off the head of Eiran Cashin to Hawkins, who took one touch to control it superbly and volleyed past the keeper. I’m giving an assist to Maris in my statistics, other outlets are not doing so because it flicked off the head of Cashin. After 61 minutes, Clarke put in a great cross, to Gordon who tried to lay it back when he probably should have shot. On 62 minutes, the Stags went close again. McLaughlin charged down a clearance. The ball span away to Swan. Swan squared the ball to Hawkins whose shot was blocked by a defender with the keeper nowhere. Dreadful officiating as the offside flag went up as Hawkins shot. Yet clearly Hawkins was not offside. Though Swan probably was, but the assistant referee noticeably kept her flag down as Swan collected the ball and then passed it to Hawkins. The Stags went close again on 68 as Ollie Clarke had two shots blocked in quick succession. And within seconds Derby were in front. A magnificent run down the right by Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and he chipped a wonderful cross to the far post where Tom Barkhuizen headed home. Wonderful quality goal. Oates replaced Hawkins after 73 minutes. Hawkins had a tight hamstring on Saturday. The Stags were reduced to ten men after 81 minutes. A long kick forward from the Derby keeper bounced over Bowery, now at centre half, former Luton striker James Collins latched on to it and charged forward towards the edge of the area. Bowery tried to tackle him from behind, didn’t get the ball and brought Collins down. No doubt it was a red card. Bowery will miss one game, Saturday’s game at Leyton Orient. Collins took the resulting free kick himself, from just outside the area, struck it hard and low and Pym made a superlative save. What a save! After 84 minutes, a ball forward from O’Toole, Swan controlled brilliantly, crossed into the middle, but to the keeper. After 85 minutes, the Stags were close to equalising as McLaughlin’s free kick from 35 yards was tipped around the post by the keeper. A minute later, the Stags went even closer. Maris’s corner from the left was turned goalwards by Hewitt from 5 yards, and somehow Cashin stretched to clear it off the line. It had goal written all over it. Mendez-Laing showed his class again breaking away, and found Collins, but Maris put in a tremendous tackle. Gale replaced McLaughlin after 87 minutes. Ollie Clarke was now at centre half alongside O’Toole, with Hewitt at left back. Derby had a goal disallowed after 87 minutes. Smith’s shot was spilled by Pym, Collins put the loose ball into the net, but he was offside. The Stags were close again on 90 minutes. Clarke played a great crossfield pass for Swan to run on to on the left. Swan’s first touch was brilliant as he took the ball into the area, but as he was about to enter the area himself he was cynically brought down by Oduroh. It was a clear goalscoring opportunity as his first touch had been so good, but the referee only gave Oduroh a yellow card. Presumably the referee’s thinking was that Swan was coming in from the left rather than down the middle (as per Collins), and there were defenders coming back. However it seemed to me that Swan would have got a shot away with just the keeper to beat. Arguably the red card would not have helped the Stags much anyway being so late on, and Swan was a bit unlucky that he was just outside the area and not earning a penalty. After 90+6, Gordon was fouled level with the edge of the area on the right, but the Stags couldn’t make the free kick count. A wonderful game. A brilliant performance from Mansfield. The Stags are out though. On to Leyton Orient. Man of the match: Will Swan Here’s a running tally of various stats this season: Goals (league and cup): Harbottle, Hawkins 1. Assists (league and cup): Boateng, Maris 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 at home last season, nobody gets an assist. In the case of the scorer scoring from the rebound after a shot is saved or blocked, the player who had the shot saved gets an assist. In the case of an own goal, the player who caused the own goal gets an assist, for example McLaughlin against Newport away last season where his shot was deflected in for an own goal.) |
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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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(3-5-2)
Pym 8 Two good saves in the first half and one superlative save from Collins’ free kick late on. O’Toole 7 Solid game. One shot saved by the keeper. Hawkins 8 Played up front in the second half heading against the bar and scoring a fine goal. Played at centre half in the first half and twice put his teammates under pressure with sloppy passes. Hewitt 8 Bad luck with the own goal. Also bad luck to have one cleared off the line. Some very good defending. Gordon 7 Good game on his first start since his long term injury. Hartigan 7 Impressed in midfield in the first half on his first start. Lots of nice touches. Lapslie 8 Very good game. Swept a beautiful shot against the underside of the bar. Chased back 50 yards to tackle and curb a Derby break. Quinn 6.5 Quiet half. Rested at half time, pre-planned. McLaughlin 7 Good free kick from 35 yards tipped around the post. Good game. Bowery 6 Played up front in the first half, a late change for the injured Akins. Switched to centre half at half time. Sent off after misjudging the bounce of the ball and then bringing down Collins. Swan 8 Very lively all night and caused plenty of problems with his running. Denied his first goal by a debateable offside, and brought down within a foot of earning a penalty that might have also brought a red card for the defender. |
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Sub Line Up:
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Maris (for Quinn, 46 mins) 7.5 An assist for Hawkins’ goal, nearly another as Hawkins hit the bar, and then as Hewitt’s effort was cleared off the line.
Clarke (for Hartigan, 46 mins) 7.5 Impressive second half, a couple of shots blocked, another parried by the keeper, and some good passing. Oates (for Hawkins, 73 mins) - Gale (for McLaughlin, 87 mins) - Subs not used: Flinders, Harbottle, Boateng. |
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Opposition Line Up:
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(4-3-3): Wildsmith, Oduroh, Stearman, Cashin, Forsyth; Thompson, Rooney (Mendez-Lang 62), Smith; Sibley (Barkhuizen 62), Dobbin (Collins 73), Knight (Hourihane 88). Subs not used: Loach, Bird, Roberts, Robinson, Oghatise.
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Referee:
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Andrew Kitchen 6 No argument with the Bowery red card. The Swan disallowed goal was debateable.
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