Season 22/23 Stagsnet Match Report
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Mansfield Town
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Gillingham
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Clarke 21, Akins pen 35
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Attendance: 6,937 (631 from Gillingham) (note this it is essentially tickets sold, including season tickets)
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Date: 11 February 2023
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STAGS BEAT GILLINGHAM TO COMPLETE SECOND DOUBLE
Martin Shaw at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill Mansfield Town beat Gillingham 2-0 at the One Call Stadium this afternoon to complete their second double of the season, following on from that over Doncaster in the previous home game. The Stags were good value for the win, with first half goals from Ollie Clarke and a penalty from Lucas Akins, along with plenty of near misses. Remarkably it was Gillingham’s first visit to Mansfield for 27 years, after the two teams had been regular opponents from the early sixties to mid-nineties. When the two sides met at Priestfield earlier in the season, Gillingham were woeful, and they had looked like relegation certainties until a new owner took over, and they made some excellent signings in January, including Oli Hawkins and George Lapslie from Mansfield of course, along with the likes of Tom Nichols. They had won 3 of their last 4 games, with a draw at Swindon after leading 3-1 as the other result. So arriving at Mansfield, they looked like very tough opponents, but the Stags put in a fine performance to win the game. The Stags went close to taking the lead when Riley Harbottle’s glancing header was heading for the top left corner of the net and Gillingham keeper Glenn Morris made a terrific save to tip it behind for a corner. Mansfield took the lead after 21 minutes when Ollie Clarke played a one-two with Stephen Quinn on the right to create space for a shot from the edge of the area. Clarke struck his left-footed shot sweetly, it took the slightest of deflections off defender Shaun Williams and crashed into the net off the right post. From my position, in real time, I didn’t see that the shot took a deflection as it didn’t deviate in direction, but from the TV camera angle, the deflection is clear, as it lifted the ball slightly in its trajectory. I think the shot would most likely have gone in even without the slight deflection. A cracking goal from Clarke, so sweetly struck. Clarke had a chance to double the lead when Quinn put in a great cross from the left, but he sent his free header well wide. Mansfield did make it 2-0 after 35 minutes. Quinn played the ball inside from the left to Akins in the area with his back to goal. As the ball came in to Akins, Max Ehmer was holding his shirt. As Akins tried to turn, Ehmer continued to hold on to his shirt and simply didn’t let go. The referee then pointed to the spot. Had Ehmer only held on to Akins’ shirt for a short time, the referee would not have given a penalty I don’t think, but it was the fact that he continued holding on to it that would have made the referee’s mind up for him. Gillingham were upset with the award, but it was technically the correct decision from the referee. That said, many referees in League Two would not have given it and Gillingham will feel it was soft. It would surely have been a penalty under VAR, because of the length of time he was holding on to the shirt. Akins took the penalty himself. He had missed from the spot, saved by the same keeper Morris when the two sides met at Priestfield. But Akins buried his kick into the bottom right corner here, and even though Morris dived the correct way, he couldn’t get to it. It should have been 3-0 after 41 minutes when Elliott Hewitt put in a great cross from the right beyond the far post to Akins, who chested down perfectly into the path of Kieran Wallace, for a free shot, but Wallace blazed his shot over the bar. The Stags were all over Gillingham, and more great football two minutes later, as Quinn found Akins who fired straight at the keeper from 22 yards. A one-sided first half, and the Stags could have been more than 2-0 ahead. Into the second half, and Gills keeper Morris made another stunning save after 50 minutes. From Quinn’s corner from the left, Akins got in a powerful header that seemed destined for the roof of the net before Morris tipped it over with a wonderful flying save. George Lapslie came as substitute for Gillingham after 56 minutes. And it was he who nearly got the visitors back into the game. After 73 minutes, Timothee Dieng crossed from the right, Lapslie got in between Alfie Kilgour and Clarke and headed towards the roof of the net from 6 yards, but Scott Flinders made a fantastic save to tip it over the bar. A goal then could have changed the game, and it was a key save from Flinders. Both sides might have had a second half penalty. After 71 minutes, Nichols played inside to Lapslie who went down in the area under a challenge from Hewitt. The referee didn’t give a penalty. I think it should have been a penalty, albeit another soft one. At the other end after 75 minutes, a free kick from the half way line into the area from Harbottle, was headed down by Jordan Bowery to Keillor-Dunn. Keillor-Dunn got to the ball first, going away from goal, and went down under a challenge from keeper Morris. It looked a penalty in real time from my position in the West Stand. From the video from the TV gantry, it’s impossible to tell if Morris made contact with Keillor-Dunn. The referee waved away the appeals for the penalty. Flinders made another save, after 79 minutes, down by his near post from a shot from the edge of the area by Robbie McKenzie. The excellent Clarke made a brilliant run to the edge of the box after 87 minutes but his shot was blocked. Will Swan should have made it 3-0 after 90+3 minutes. Clarke nipped in to win the ball from Conor Masterson 35 yards from goal, and sent Swan away though on goal, but Swan fired straight at the keeper in a 1-on-1 from the edge of the box. A comfortable and deserved 2-0 win for Mansfield in the end. Not much between the sides in the second half but Mansfield were much the better side in the first half, a point acknowledged by Gillingham boss Neil Harris who said after the game: “Mansfield handled us well and were better than us at both ends of the pitch in the first half which is where we've fallen short today.” The Stags were good all over the pitch. Ollie Clarke was my man of the match with a dynamic display running all over Gillingham and scoring that fine goal. Alongside him in midfield, Quinn was also very good, as was Maris. Akins had a fine game up front, with Keillor-Dunn having a decent first start. The defence was very solid, with Harbottle, Kilgour and Perch looking like a good combination. Hewitt was terrific at right wing back getting up and down and putting in some good crosses. Wallace was solid at left wing-back. And Flinders had yet another super game in goal, not too much to do, but when he was called upon he made a wonderful save from Lapslie’s header. Bowery replaced Wallace at left wing back after 74 minutes and immediately won an important header, to go with several others later on. Gillingham didn’t get going today. But with the quality of players they have signed, I fully expect them to push up the table towards mid-table by the end of the season. I think Rochdale will surely go down, and will be joined probably by Hartlepool or possibly Crawley. The returning Hawkins, Lapslie and MacDonald all received good applause from home fans, and each player reciprocated to the home fans. The Stags remain in 6th place, 6 points behind 3rd placed Carlisle with a game in hand. The Stags travel to Carlisle on Tuesday night. If you can’t get to the game, you can buy a match pass to watch it with us on iFollow. On the subject of iFollow, apologies to listeners who were unable to get commentary today via the mansfieldtown.net/ifollow website due to a technical fault at the iFollow end. DETAILED REPORT : Mansfield made 3 enforced changes from the side that started at Bradford. Callum Johnson (out for 4 weeks), Louis Reed (out for 6 weeks) and Rhys Oates (out for 6 weeks) were injured in the first half at Bradford. In came Riley Harbottle (back from injury), George Maris and Davis Keillor-Dunn (first start in a Stags shirt). McLaughlin remained out with injury (out for 3-4 weeks). Pym returned to the bench. Nigel Clough told me after the game he is not 100% recovered from his injury, hence not returning to the starting XI. Boateng and Law returned to the bench from injury. The line-up was (3-5-2): Flinders; Harbottle, Kilgour, Perch; Hewitt (right wing-back), Clarke, Maris (in front of the back 3), Quinn, Wallace (left wing-back); Keillor-Dunn, Akins. Gillingham only included 3 outfield players, plus keeper Morris, from the side that played the reverse fixture earlier in the season. Hawkins and Nichols started up front. MacDonald was on the right of midfield. Lapslie was on the bench. Gillingham had taken 10 points from 4 games, a remarkable turnaround from previous form. After 3 minutes a dangerous long throw-in from Robbie McKenzie was flicked on by Hawkins and Quinn put it behind for a corner. Then on 6 minutes, a cross in from the Gills towards Alex MacDonald and Wallace did well to put behind for a corner. For the Stags, Clarke lifted a cross-shot over the bar from 12 yards after 8 minutes. After 12 minutes, Clarke got away from Dieng and drove a powerful low cross into the area from the right, it was partially cleared by Masterson only as far as Hewitt, it hit Hewitt in the chest, Hewitt then put in a cross-shot which Keillor-Dunn couldn’t control and the ball was cleared again. Harbottle put in a good cross after 16 minutes, and Keillor-Dunn headed wide. The Stags went close to taking the lead after 20 minutes when Harbottle’s glancing header from a Maris free kick next to the corner flag from the right, was heading for the top left corner of the net and Gillingham keeper Glenn Morris made a terrific save to tip it behind for a corner. Mansfield took the lead after 21 minutes when Ollie Clarke played a one-two with Stephen Quinn on the right to create space for a shot from the edge of the area. Clarke struck his left-footed shot sweetly, it took the slightest of deflections off defender Shaun Williams and crashed into the net off the right post. From my position, in real time, I didn’t see that the shot took a deflection as it didn’t deviate in direction, but from the TV camera angle, the deflection is clear, as it lifted the ball slightly in its trajectory. I think the shot would most likely have gone in even without the slight deflection. A cracking goal from Clarke, so sweetly struck. After 30 minutes, the referee was lenient with MacDonald, not showing a yellow card when he deliberately wrestled Harbottle to the ground. Clarke had a chance to double the lead on 31 minutes when Quinn put in a great cross from the left, but he sent his free header well wide. After 33 minutes, a free kick from the halfway line from Williams, was headed down by Hawkins in the box, and Nichols lifted the ball up, but it gave Flinders a simple catch. Mansfield did make it 2-0 after 35 minutes. Quinn played the ball inside from the left to Akins in the area with his back to goal. As the ball came in to Akins, Max Ehmer was holding his shirt. As Akins tried to turn, Ehmer continued to hold on to his shirt and simply didn’t let go. The referee then pointed to the spot. Had Ehmer only held on to Akins’ shirt for a short time, the referee would not have given a penalty I don’t think, but it was the fact that he continued holding on to it that would have made the referee’s mind up for him. Gillingham were upset with the award, but it was technically the correct decision from the referee. That said, many referees in League Two would not have given it and Gillingham will feel it was soft. It would surely have been a penalty under VAR, because of the length of time he was holding on to the shirt. Akins took the penalty himself. He had missed from the spot, saved by the same keeper Morris when the two sides met at Priestfield. But Akins buried his kick into the bottom right corner here, and even though Morris dived the correct way, he couldn’t get to it. After 39 minutes, a good cross from Hewitt and Kilgour headed well wide. It should have been 3-0 after 41 minutes when Hewitt put in a great cross from the right beyond the far post to Akins, who chested down perfectly into the path of Kieran Wallace, for a free shot, but Wallace blazed his shot over the bar. The Stags were all over Gillingham, and more great football two minutes later, as Quinn found Akins who fired straight at the keeper from 22 yards. After 45 minutes, Williams crossed from the left and Dieng headed wide from 15 yards, with Flinders watching it all the way and not needing to make a save. A minute later, MacDonald volleyed miles over the bar after a McKenzie long throw. And two minutes after that on 45+3, Hawkins rose above Kilgour to head a MacDonald corner straight at Flinders from 12 yards. A one-sided first half, and the Stags could have been more than 2-0 ahead. The Stags had been very good indeed. Incidentally, having not led at home all season at half time until January 7th, the Stags have now led at home at half time for 4 games running! Half time 2-0 Into the second half, and Gills keeper Morris made another stunning save after 50 minutes. From Quinn’s corner from the left, Akins got in a powerful header that seemed destined for the roof of the net before Morris tipped it over with a wonderful flying save. George Lapslie came as substitute for Gillingham after 56 minutes, replacing MacDonald. Tutonda was also replaced. Tutonda had been booked, then received a warning, then received another warning, so Gills boss Neil Harris took him off. Hawkins headed down for Nichols after 58 minutes. The offside flag went up against Nichols as he shot goalwards and it was cleared off the line anyway. The referee continued to be lenient, not booking Masterson for a very dangerous high boot, on the hour. Keillor-Dunn was booked after 62 minutes for a foul on Lapslie. Considering what the referee had let go, this looked harsh. Great defending by Perch on 66 minutes as the Gills broke. Lapslie was booked after 68 minutes for wrestling down Clarke. A brilliant run from Clarke. Harbottle made a fine surging run forward after 70 minutes, but then fired high and wide. Not the finish to match the run. Lapslie nearly got the visitors back into the game. After 73 minutes, Timothee Dieng crossed from the right, Lapslie got in between Kilgour and Clarke and headed towards the roof of the net from 6 yards, but Scott Flinders made a fantastic save to tip it over the bar. A goal then could have changed the game, and it was a key save from Flinders. Both sides might have had a second half penalty. After 71 minutes, Nichols played inside to Lapslie who went down in the area under a challenge from Hewitt. The referee didn’t give a penalty. I think it should have been a penalty, albeit another soft one. At the other end after 75 minutes, a free kick from the half way line into the area from Harbottle, was headed down by Jordan Bowery to Keillor-Dunn. Keillor-Dunn got to the ball first, going away from goal, and went down under a challenge from keeper Morris. It looked a penalty in real time from my position in the West Stand. From the video from the TV gantry, it’s impossible to tell if Morris made contact with Keillor-Dunn. The referee waved away the appeals for the penalty. Bowery replaced Wallace after 73 minutes. Clough said after the game that Wallace was getting a bit tired, hence the change. Bowery immediately headed away a corner. Swan replaced Keillor-Dunn after 79 minutes. Nigel Clough said after the game that it was "a good 70 minutes for Davis. It's his first start for a couple of months, so he isn't 100% up to speed because he hasn't played much” (hence the substitution. Flinders made another save, after 79 minutes, down by his near post from a shot from the edge of the area by Robbie McKenzie. Maris was booked for a foul on O’Brien after 80 minutes. Gillingham had a free kick 40 yards out after 81 minutes. They played it square and the Stags forced them to play it all the way back to the keeper. Flinders punched away a Nichols cross-shot after 83 minutes. Boateng replaced Maris, and O’Toole replaced Quinn after 83 minutes. O’Toole went into midfield. Clough said after the game that Maris was getting a bit tired, hence the change. Quinn rarely plays 90 minutes. A great break from Akins after 85 minutes, from 15 yards his own half, he pushed forward and found Swan who got into the area and his shot was well-blocked by the sliding Masterson. The excellent Clarke nicked the ball off Williams and made a brilliant run to the edge of the box after 87 minutes but his shot was blocked by Masterson. Will Swan should have made it 3-0 after 90+3 minutes. Clarke nipped in to win the ball from Masterson 35 yards from goal, and sent Swan away though on goal, but Swan fired straight at the keeper in a 1-on-1 from the edge of the box. Clarke nearly won the ball again on 90+5 minutes, but not quite. A comfortable and deserved 2-0 win for Mansfield. Man of the match: Ollie Clarke Here’s a running tally of various stats this season: Goals (league and cup): Swan 9, Lapslie 7, Akins 6, Hawkins 5, Maris 5, Oates 4, Clarke 3, Harbottle 3, Bowery 2, Kilgour 2, Gale 1, Gordon 1, McLaughlin 1, Quinn 1. 1 OG Assists (league and cup): Lapslie 8, Hewitt 5, Maris 5, Akins 4, Gordon 4, McLaughlin 3, Quinn 3, Boateng 2, Hartigan 2, Bowery 1, Clarke 1, C.Johnson 1, Flinders 1, Hawkins 1, Law 1, Oates 1, Wallace 1 (notes on assists: in the case of a penalty, the player who earns the penalty gets an assist, such as Lapslie against AFC Wimbledon. 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, such as Lapslie against Stockport. 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. In the case of a cross that is headed away before the goal is scored, such as Clarke’s goal at Doncaster, nobody gets an assist.) Yellow cards (league only, alphabetical order): Boateng 1, Bowery 1, Clarke 6, Harbottle 3, Hartigan 1, Hawkins 4, Keillor-Dunn 1, Lapslie 3, Law 1, Maris 5, McLaughlin 2, O’Toole 5, Oates 1, Perch 4, Pym 1, Quinn 6, Reed 1, Swan 2, Wallace 3. Red cards (league and cup): Boateng 1, Bowery 1, Maris 1, Perch 1. (note: red cards count across competitions apart from Papa John’s Trophy; yellow cards are competition specific) (note: 5 yellow cards before the end of the 19th league game will result in a one match ban; 10 yellow cards before the end of the 37th league game will result in a two match ban; 15 yellow cards before the end of the 46th league game will result in a three match ban) Average home league attendance: 6631 (average away fans: 592, average home fans 6039) (see Tranmere report for explanation of how attendance is calculated: it is essentially tickets sold, including season tickets) |
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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)
Flinders 8 Had yet another super game in goal, not too much to do, but when he was called upon he made a wonderful save from Lapslie’s header. Harbottle 7.5 His first half header drew a terrific save. One fine surging run, but without the finish to match. Defended solidly. Kilgour 7.5 Beaten to a couple of headers, but overall played solidly. The centre half trio looked good. Perch 7.5 Some good defending, played well. Hewitt 8 Terrific at right wing-back getting up and down and putting in some good crosses. Clarke 9 My man of the match with a dynamic display running all over Gillingham and scoring a fine goal. Maris 7.5 Good game in front of the back three. Quinn 8.5 Very good indeed, involved in a lot and put in some great crosses. Wallace 7 Solid at left wing-back. Missed one good chance when he blazed over the bar. Keillor-Dunn 7 Had a very decent first start. Might have won a penalty. Akins 7.5 Had a fine game up front. Scored his sixth goal of the season, and was denied another by a brilliant save from his header. |
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Sub Line Up:
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Bowery (for Wallace, 73 mins) - Came on at left wing-back. Some good headers away.
Swan (for Keillor-Dunn, 79 mins) - Had a couple of good chances and might have done better with them. Boateng (for Maris, 83 mins) - O’Toole (for Quinn, 83 mins) - Subs not used: Pym, Law, D. Johnson. |
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Opposition Line Up:
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(4-4-2): Morris; McKenzie (Wright 88mins), Ehmer, Masterson, Tutonda (Alexander 56mins); MacDonald (Lapslie 56mins), Dieng, Williams (Abrahams 88mins), Jefferies (O’Brien 56mins); Nichols, Hawkins. Sub not used: Turner.
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Referee:
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Thomas Kirk 6 Gave the penalty simply because of the length of time Ehmer was holding on to the shirt of Akins, and he was entitled to do so because of that. A brave decision and the correct one in my opinion. Should have also given a penalty for the Gills for a foul on Lapslie and for the Stags for a foul on Keillor-Dunn.
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