Season 22/23 Stagsnet Match Report
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AFC Wimbledon
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Mansfield Town
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Al-Hamadi 25.
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Harbottle 30, D.Johnson 66, Keillor-Dunn 77
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Attendance: 7,939 (905 from Mansfield)
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Date: 4 March 2023
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STAGS COME FROM BEHIND TO WIN AT WIMBLEDON
Martin Shaw at the Cherry Red Records Stadium (Plough Lane) Mansfield Town won 3-1 at AFC Wimbledon this afternoon, coming from 1-0 down to equalise in the first half, and then produce a very strong second half performance to seal the victory. It was a crucial win for the Stags, bouncing back from the 5-2 defeat at home to Salford last Saturday, and coming despite 9 players missing the game through injury, which became 10 when Callum Johnson had to go off at half time. The Stags are in 8th place, 5 points behind 3rd place Stevenage, 6 points behind 2nd placed Carlisle with a game in hand. It was Mansfield’s first visit to the new Plough Lane ground (a few hundred yards from the old Plough Lane ground that Mansfield of course did visit previously). And the Stags were roared on by 905 visiting fans (*) who especially enjoyed seeing the two second half goals, right in front of them. (* not a typo by the way, it’s exactly the same number of away fans (905) as the last away game, at Tranmere two weeks ago). Wimbledon had the better of the opening 20 minutes, with great blocks from Kilgour and Perch keeping them at bay. The Stags then went close after 23 minutes when Harbottle’s close range shot from a Quinn cross was blocked on the line. Wimbledon took the lead after 25 minutes. A long ball over the top from Alex Pearce sent Ali Al-Hamadi away. He out-paced Perch inside the area on the right to create a yard a space for a shot, and from a tight angle he blasted the ball under Flinders and into the net. Flinders, back in the side for Pym who was ill with a stomach problem, should have done better. But Mansfield were level on the half hour. Quinn’s free kick from the left 30 yards from goal, was cleared as far as Perch. Perch slid a lovely ball in behind the defence for Quinn to run on to towards the byline, level with the edge of the six box. Quinn fired a low ball across the edge of the six yard box, and Harbottle, despite four defenders close to him, got to it first to steer the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. Harbottle’s 5th goal of the season, a good return from central defence. Quinn’s 6th assist of the season. Only Lapslie, now departed, has more this season. Wimbledon had been the better side in the opening 20 minutes, but Mansfield were the better side for the last 20 minutes of the half and were nearly gifted a goal after 40 minutes. Dons keeper Nick Tzanev, dallied over a clearance halfway inside his own half. Keillor-Dunn closed him down. The ball cannoned of Keillor-Dunn up in the air. As it bounce up the keeper tried to head it away, missed it, and for a split second Keillor-Dunn had a free sight at goal from 30 yards out. But the ball didn’t come for him to enable him to take a shot and Paul Kalambayi nipped in to nick it away. The ball came to Quinn, but from the corner of the penalty area on the left, and with the keeper still out of his goal, Quinn couldn’t turn the ball into the net and fired wide. 1-1 at the break, a fair scoreline. Into the second half. Danny Johnson replaced Callum Johnson at the start of the half. Callum Johnson “felt his calf, either a kick or a strain and couldn’t go on,” according to Nigel Clough after the game. Danny Johnson went up front, and Akins switched to right wing-back. Then Boateng replaced Wallace after 61 minutes. And after 66 minutes, the two substitutes combined to put Mansfield in front. The referee played advantage on the halfway line as Quinn was brought down, and Boateng slid a fabulous ball forward from inside the centre circle for Danny Johnson to run on to, getting in between two defenders, and from the edge of the area he rolled a right footed shot wide of the keeper into the bottom left corner of the net. I’m not sure if the shot took a slight deflection off defender Alex Pearce who tried to block the shot. It was hard to tell. The ball rolled into the net in slow motion in front of the celebrating Stags fans. Danny Johnson celebrated by tying his shoe laces, great humour from Johnson really as he was criticised by some fans for doing that after the Stags scored at Bradford a few weeks ago, before he explained what happened in an interview a couple of days later . Johnson’s first goal this season for Mansfield, since returning from loan at Walsall. And the Stags made it 3-1 after 77 minutes. A long kick forward from Flinders was headed up in the air by a combination of Aaron Pierre and Keillor-Dunn. As the ball came down, Jack Currie tried to volley it away, but sliced his clearance backwards. Keillor-Dunn was first to react, running on to it, taking a brilliant first touch 24 yards from goal, to cut inside George Marsh, and firing into the bottom left corner of the net from 16 yards. A superb piece of finishing from Keillor-Dunn. His third goal in successive games. AFC Wimbledon never looked like getting back into the game, and it was the Stags who could have added to the lead, with Akins cutting inside and firing just over the bar from 24 yards after great play from Bowery after 85 minutes, and Danny Johnson having a chance to lift the ball over the keeper who was off his line in the final minute of stoppage time, but firing wide. Wimbledon created little in the second half, but the Stags put in some more great blocks, and defended superbly. A great win for Mansfield, deserved from a very strong second half performance, after an even first half. Plenty of fine performances throughout the side. All the defenders put in good blocks. Bowery was very good indeed at left wing-back. Akins, who got no joy up front in the first half, had to slot in at right wing-back in the second half and was tremendous. Quinn was excellent on the left, with plenty of good crosses. Clarke got better and better as the game wore on after getting booked after just 5 minutes for a foul. Keillor-Dunn was very good yet again, what a signing he is proving to be, with 3 goals and 3 assists already. Flinders recovered well from his mistake for the goal, with some good handling, including a good punch from a cross in the second half. And the substitutes all made a really positive impression. Danny Johnson scored the crucial second goal, Boateng got the assist for it with a wonderful pass, and played superbly for 30 minutes, and Jason Law and James Gale both did very well late on. Mansfield had four players booked: Clarke, Wallace, Harbottle and Quinn. Clarke is on 8 for the season, Quinn 7, Harbottle 6. If Clarke is booked twice in the next 4 games, he will get a 2 game ban. If Quinn is booked 3 times in the next 4 games, he will get a 2 game ban. If Harbottle is booked 4 times in the next 4 games, he will get a 2 game ban. Details below. DETAILED REPORT : The Stags were without 9 players due to injury: Swan (out for 4-6 weeks), McLaughlin/Oates/Reed hopefully back for the final 10 games of the season, Hartigan/O’Toole more or less out for the season, Pym (ill with a stomach problem), Hewitt (a kick on the calf, as well as a sore knee), and Maris (Achilles still sore). All of these injuries (apart from Pym) are contact injuries. That is simply bad luck, though the Oates injury did come from his own bad challenge. Two changes from the side that starting against Salford: Flinders in for Pym. Callum Johnson in for Hewitt. Callum Johnson became the 10th player injured when he went off at half time (Clough said he “felt his calf, either a kick or a strain and couldn’t go on”) At least Kilgour and Quinn, who would not have played against Salford due to injury if everyone had been fit, and Harbottle, ill and subbed last week, were fit to start. James Gale returned from injury to the bench. Clough said after the game “he's only trained 2 or 3 days, since coming back. He's been out a couple of months or so.” Adam Collin, goalkeeper coach, was the sub keeper. Youth teamers Taylor Anderson and McKeal Abdullah completed the bench, with Law, Boateng and Danny Johnson. AFC Wimbledon had a few injuries, though nothing on the Stags’ scale. Diallang Jaiyesimi, who Mansfield nearly signed from Charlton on deadline day in August, is out injured. As is Harry Pell. Two internationals in the Dons side, keeper Nick Tzanev is a New Zealand international, and striker Ali Al-Hamadi is an Iraq international. Al-Hamadi had scored 4 goals in 3 games, so his goal today made it 5 goals in 4 games. It was Mansfield’s first visit to the new Plough Lane ground (a few hundred yards from the old Plough Lane ground that Mansfield of course did visit previously). The ground opened in November 2020, and is now groundshared with London Broncos Rugby League. The ground is built on the site of the old dog track. It holds 9,000, and has been built so that it can be expanded to a 20,000 capacity. I think the ground is very well done, and as always we were well-looked after by a very friendly and well-run club. Wimbledon had the better of the opening 20 minutes. After 3 minutes, a great block from Kilgour from a shot by Chislett. On 5 minutes, Kalambayi shot wide from 30 yards. Clarke was booked for a foul in the build-up as the referee played an advantage. Clough described it as “a rash booking”. After 8 minutes, Harbottle headed away a cross from Currie, straight to Chislett who belted the rebound well wide of the right post from an angle on the left. Then after 13 minutes, Davison ran on to a ball from Al-Hamadi and fired across the face of goal from a tight angle on the right, well wide. And on 17 minutes, Perch did well to block a shot from McAteer from 15 yards after Chislett had laid back to him. Finally the Stags got going, going forward, and created a chance after 21 minutes, as Clarke headed forward from a Quinn corner, to Kilgour who lifted a shot over the bar from 10 yards. The Stags then went close after 23 minutes when Harbottle’s close range shot from a Quinn cross was blocked on the line. That came after Clarke headed on Harbottle’s long throw and Quinn was able to recycle the ball after it was partially cleared. Wimbledon took the lead after 25 minutes. Wallace gave the ball away in the Wimbledon half. A long ball over the top from Alex Pearce sent Ali Al-Hamadi away. He out-paced Perch inside the area on the right to create a yard a space for a shot, and from a tight angle he blasted the ball under Flinders and into the net. Flinders, back in the side for Pym who was ill with a stomach problem, should have done better. Clough’s description of the goal didn’t pick out Flinders or Perch: "A little bit disappointing from our point of view. We had the ball in comfortable possession. Kieran's tried to force it through to a striker's feet. They've broken and the lad's finished it. We shouldn't be giving it away there.” After 28 minutes, Keillor-Dunn put in a good cross from the right and Bowery headed tamely wide. Mansfield were level on the half hour. Quinn’s free kick from the left 30 yards from goal, was cleared as far as Perch. Perch slid a lovely ball in behind the defence for Quinn to run on to towards the byline, level with the edge of the six box. Quinn fired a low ball across the edge of the six yard box, and Harbottle, despite four defenders close to him, got to it first to steer the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. Harbottle’s 5th goal of the season, a good return from central defence. Quinn’s 6th assist of the season. Only Lapslie, now departed, has more this season. Clough praised Harbottle for the goal: “Most people are static in the box. He’s almost like a striker. He does it in training quite often. When he’s alive, he gets a little toe, a very very important goal.” Wallace was booked for a foul after 34 minutes, for running into McAteer. A harsh booking. The resulting free kick was 29 yards out was fired over the bar by Little, with Flinders having it covered. Quinn crossed from the left after 38 minutes. Keeper Tzanev didn’t take the ball cleanly and Callum Johnson sent the loose ball over the bar. But the referee blew for a foul on the keeper anyway. A great block by Kilgour from Davison’s shot from 12 yards, then Perch brilliantly blocked McAteer’s follow up shot from 12 yards, after 39 minutes. The Stags were nearly gifted a goal after 40 minutes. Dons keeper Nick Tzanev dallied over a clearance halfway inside his own half. Keillor-Dunn closed him down. The ball cannoned of Keillor-Dunn up in the air. As it bounce up the keeper tried to head it away, missed it, and for a split second Keillor-Dunn had a free sight at goal from 30 yards out. But the ball didn’t come for him to enable him to take a shot and Paul Kalambayi nipped in to nick it away. The ball came to Quinn, but from the corner of the penalty area on the left, and with the keeper still out of his goal, Quinn couldn’t turn the ball into the net and fired wide. A minute later, Bowery had a shot blocked, turning well and firing goalwards from 17 yards, after good interplay between Akins, Bowery and Quinn. Harbottle was booked for a foul on Al-Hamadi after 44 minutes. No complaints on that one. 1-1 at the break, a fair scoreline. Wimbledon had been the better side in the opening 20 minutes, but Mansfield were the better side for the last 20 minutes of the half. Plenty of great blocks from the Stags defence. Half time 1-1 Danny Johnson replaced Callum Johnson at the start of the second half. Callum Johnson “felt his calf, either a kick or a strain and couldn’t go on,” according to Nigel Clough after the game. Danny Johnson went up front, and Akins switched to right wing-back. Quinn was booked after 51 minutes. Harsh. It wasn’t even a foul. He rose for the ball with Gunter, and Gunter went down too easily. Gunter had been sent off at Mansfield earlier in the season, and was clearly trying to get Quinn sent off here. Three minutes later, McAteer committed a foul similar to those that Stags’ had had players booked for. Inconsistency from the referee. Three minutes after that, the referee did book McAteer for a foul on Bowery. Boateng replaced Wallace after 61 minutes. Boateng took over the role in midfield in front of the back three, not his usual position. After 65 minutes, Al-Hamadi did well down the left beating Kilgour, cutting inside, and teeing up McAteer for a shot from 12 yards which was well-blocked by Perch. Gunter recycled the ball, crossing in for Davison who headed straight at Flinders. After 66 minutes, the two substitutes combined to put Mansfield in front. The referee played advantage on the halfway line as Quinn was brought down, and Boateng slid a fabulous ball forward from inside the centre circle for Danny Johnson to run on to, getting in between two defenders, and from the edge of the area he rolled a right footed shot wide of the keeper into the bottom left corner of the net. I’m not sure if the shot took a slight deflection off defender Alex Pearce who tried to block the shot. It was hard to tell. The ball rolled into the net in slow motion in front of the celebrating Stags fans. Clough said after the game: “I am not sure how it went in, I need to see it back. It seemed a funny finish where it almost seemed to hit both feet and seemed to take an age to trickle over the line as well.” It certainly didn’t hit both feet. It was a right footed shot, with his left leg not near the ball. Danny Johnson celebrated by tying his shoe laces, great humour from Johnson really as he was criticised by some fans for doing that after the Stags scored at Bradford a few weeks ago, before he explained what happened in an interview a couple of days later . Johnson’s first goal this season for Mansfield, since returning from loan at Walsall. A good tackle by a combination of Quinn and Clarke on Davison on the edge of their own area after 70 minutes. Law replaced Quinn after 71 minutes. A great move from the Stags after 71 minutes. A great touch from Danny Johnson to bring the ball down on the half way line, and in one movement he flicked the ball forward for Keillor-Dunn to run on to. Keillor-Dunn was brought down by Kalambayi. The referee played advantage. Jason Law crossed in to the middle and it was put behind for a corner. How on earth the referee did not go back and book Kalambayi was beyond comprehension. Shocking refereeing. From the resulting corner, Kilgour headed goalwards, beating McAteer to it, it was parried back to him, then Kilgour went down over Kalambayi. The referee gave a free kick to Wimbledon. I initially thought he penalised Kilgour for diving, but from the replay, I think he gave a foul for Kilgour’s initial challenge when he headed goalwards. No complaints from Kilgour. The Stags made it 3-1 after 77 minutes. A long kick forward from Flinders was headed up in the air by a combination of Aaron Pierre and Keillor-Dunn. As the ball came down, Jack Currie tried to volley it away, but sliced his clearance backwards. Keillor-Dunn was first to react, running on to it, taking a brilliant first touch 24 yards from goal, to cut inside George Marsh, and firing into the bottom left corner of the net from 16 yards. A superb piece of finishing from Keillor-Dunn. His third goal in successive games. AFC Wimbledon never looked like getting back into the game, and it was the Stags who could have added to the lead, with Akins cutting inside and firing just over the bar from 24 yards after great play from Bowery after 85 minutes. Gale replaced Keillor-Dunn after 87 minutes. On 90+2 minutes, Currie sent a feeble shot well wide from the edge of the area. In the final minute of stoppage time, Danny Johnson had a chance to lift the ball from 30 yards over the keeper who was off his line, but fired wide. A strong second half from the Stags, attacking dangerously, and defending superbly with more great blocks. Mansfield remain second top scorers in League Two, 2 goals behind Carlisle. Man of the match: Davis Keillor-Dunn Here’s a running tally of various stats this season: Goals (league and cup): Swan 9, Akins 7, Lapslie 7, Harbottle 5, Hawkins 5, Maris 5, Clarke 4, Oates 4, Bowery 3, Keillor-Dunn 3, Kilgour 3, Gale 1, Gordon 1, D.Johnson 1, Hewitt 1, McLaughlin 1, Quinn 1. 1 OG Assists (league and cup): Lapslie 8, Quinn 6, Hewitt 5, Maris 5, Akins 4, Gordon 4, Boateng 3, Keillor-Dunn 3, McLaughlin 3, Clarke 2, C.Johnson 2, Hartigan 2, Bowery 1, Flinders 1, Hawkins 1, Law 1, Oates 1, Perch 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 2, Clarke 8, Harbottle 6, Hartigan 1, Hawkins 4, Keillor-Dunn 1, D.Johnson 1, Lapslie 3, Law 1, Maris 5, McLaughlin 2, O’Toole 5, Oates 1, Perch 5, Pym 1, Quinn 7, Reed 1, Swan 2, Wallace 4. 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) |
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Report by: Martin Shaw at the Cherry Red Records Stadium (Plough Lane)
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Line Up:
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(3-5-2)
Flinders 6 Should have saved the shot for the goal. Recovered well from his mistake for the goal, with some good handling, including a good punch from a cross in the second half. Harbottle 8 Scored from close range despite four defenders close to him, his 5th goal of the season, a good return from central defence. Clough praised him for the goal: “Most people are static in the box. He’s almost like a striker. He does it in training quite often. When he’s alive, he gets a little toe, a very very important goal.” Nearly scored another from close range, blocked on the line. Defended well. Kilgour 8 Very good performance with several good blocks. Perch 7.5 Out-paced inside the area for the Wimbledon goal. Three excellent blocks in an otherwise excellent defensive display. Slid a lovely ball in behind the defence in the build up to Harbottle’s goal. C.Johnson 6 Had to go off at half time as he “felt his calf, either a kick or a strain and couldn’t go on,” according to Nigel Clough after the game. Clarke 7.5 Got better and better as the game wore on after getting booked after just 5 minutes for a rash foul. Wallace 6.5 Gave the ball away in the build up to the Wimbledon goal. Quinn 8.5 Excellent on the left, with plenty of good crosses including: good cross for Harbottle’s goal, his 6th assist of the season; and great cross for Harbottle’s shot blocked on the line. Bowery 7.5 Very good at left wing-back. Keillor-Dunn 9 Superb piece of finishing for his goal, his third goal in successive games. Nearly embarrassed the keeper, closing him down at the end of the first half. Good cross in the first half for Bowery. Akins 7.5 Got no joy up front in the first half, then had to slot in at right wing-back in the second half and was tremendous. |
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Sub Line Up:
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D.Johnson (for C.Johnson, 46 mins) 8 Fine finish for his goal. His first goal this season for Mansfield, since returning from loan at Walsall. Great touch to bring the ball down and in one movement flick the ball forward for Keillor-Dunn to run on to when Keillor-Dunn was brought down.
Boateng (for Wallace, 61 mins) 8.5 Fabulous ball forward from inside the centre circle for Danny Johnson’s goal. Played superbly for 30 minutes, in midfield in front of the back three, not his usual position. Law (for Quinn, 71 mins) - Did very well in the final 20 minutes. Gale (for Keillor-Dunn, 87 mins) - Really impressed in the final few minutes, occupying the Wimbledon defenders and midfield, covering a lot of ground. One mistake when he crossed the ball and conceded possession. Great to have him back from injury on the bench. Clough said after the game “he's only trained 2 or 3 days, since coming back. He's been out a couple of months or so.” Subs not used: Adam Collin, Taylor Anderson, McKeal Abdullah. |
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Opposition Line Up:
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(4-4-2) Nik Tzanev; Chris Gunter (George Marsh), Paul Kalambayi, Alex Pearce (Aaron Pierre), Jack Currie; Kasey McAteer (Saikou Janneh), Alex Woodyard, Armani Little, Ethan Chislett; Ali Al-Hamadi, Josh Davison (Sam Pearson). Subs not used: Nathan Broome, Will Nightingale.
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Referee:
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Ollie Yates 7 Played advantage very well three times, including for Danny Johnson’s goal. Inconsistent and something of a homer on yellow cards though. Two harsh bookings for Mansfield players, yet didn’t book McAteer for a worse foul on Bowery, and even worse didn’t go back and book Kalambayi after playing advantage when Keillor-Dunn was fouled.
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