Season 19/20 Stagsnet Match Report
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Swansea City
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Mansfield Town
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Wayne Routledge 45+3, Barry McKay 89.
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Nicky Maynard 35
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Attendance: app 110 (app 100 from Mansfield, 10 from Swansea), my estimates
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Date: 6 July 2019
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Martin Shaw at Vila Real de Santo Antonio, Portugal
Mansfield Town put in a very encouraging performance in the heat of Portugal this morning despite losing 2-1 to Championship side Swansea City. Overall the Stags more than held their own and if it had been Mansfield who had ended up as winners, then Swansea could not have complained. The first half saw Swansea on top midway through the half and Conrad Logan made a magnificent save after 26 minutes, tipping away an effort from Wayne Routledge. But then at the other end after 29 minutes, on-trial striker Joe Quigley received a fine diagonal crossfield pass from young James Clarke before side-footing against the underside of the bar, a fine effort. The Stags took the lead after 35 minutes when CJ Hamilton made a teasing run on the left before firing in a powerful low cross which ricocheted off a defender and new signing Nicky Maynard knocked the loose ball into the net. Maynard the first to pounce, a true goal-poacher’s effort. Quigley then sent another effort over the bar, after a good flick-on from Maynard. Swansea finished the first half strongly and equalised with the last kick of the first half as young Stags defender Noah Stokes allowed Routledge to get goalside of him following a long ball forward, Routledge took the ball around Logan and slotted into the empty net. Initially I thought it might be offside, but from the analyst’s video, it wasn’t. It was a shame for Stokes who had a very solid half, not looking out of place, but just a momentary loss of concentration was costly and that will be a learning point for him. Otherwise he impressed. CJ Hamilton caused Swansea plenty of problems with his pace down the left and in truth it’s a surprise that he hasn’t been prized away from the Stags by a higher league club. At the other end though he was caught out a couple of times by right winger Jordan Garrick, and Hamilton was probably relieved when Garrick limped off with a hamstring injury. Joe Quigley did well up front, and manager John Dempster might be tempted to have a longer look at him with Craig Davies out injured. In midfield, young Alistair Smith caught the eye with an assured display, including some good corners, while Tom Fielding did well on the right of midfield. And of course, it was great for Maynard to get a goal in his first game in a Stags shirt, albeit pre-season. Two fresh elevens in the second half, but the half took a long time to get going with precious little action at either end until the final 15 minutes of the game. Then Stags new keeper Aidan Stone made a wonderful save after 77 minutes tipping wide a header from Courtney Baker-Richardson from Yan Dhanda’s cross. Then on 83 minutes, the Stags had four good chances in 3 minutes to win the game. Firstly a shot from the impressive right wing-back Jason Law was deflected for a corner. From the resulting corner, a left-footed shot from Jacob Mellis was saved low on the line by the keeper. Then Mal Benning’s powerful shot was brilliantly tipped over the bar by keeper Benda, and finally Willem Tomlinson’s thunderbolt shot which looked to be heading for the top corner of the net was deflected just over the bar by one of his own team-mates. The Stags so close to winning it, but were made to pay as Swansea netted an 89th minute winner. Aiden Walker had impressed hugely on the right side of the back three, but a momentary loss of concentration allowed Barry McKay to break into the area on the Swansea left and fire a powerful low shot under keeper Aidan Stone. A real shame, especially as Walker and Jason Law had really caught the eye on the right for Mansfield. Jacob Mellis also caught the eye with an impressive display in midfield. The result of course was not the most important thing but new boss John Dempster was disappointed with the goals conceded, though happy with the overall performance, and even happier with the whole 10 days in Portugal. Dempster had revealed on Tuesday that after playing 4 at the back in a behind-closed doors game against Glasgow Rangers last Saturday, he would be playing 3 at the back in this game against Swansea. Mansfield Town 1st half team (3-5-2): Conrad Logan; Noah Stokes (scored for the Stags at Bournemouth in FA Youth cup last season), Krystian Pearce, Ryan Sweeney; James Clarke (young right wingback signed from Burnley), Neal Bishop (in front of back three), Tom Fielding (played in Checkatrade trophy last season), Alistair Smith, CJ Hamilton; Nicky Maynard (new signing from Bury), Joe Quigley (on trial). 2nd half team (3-5-2): Aidan Stone (new young keeper, to be understudy to Logan, until Olejnik fit); Aiden Walker (from last season’s U21 side), Matt Preston, Lewis Gibbens; Jason Law (played in Checkatrade trophy last season), Jacob Mellis (in front of back three), Willem Tomlinson, Otis Khan, Mal Benning; Andy Cook (new signing from Walsall), Danny Rose. On the pre-season training trip but did not play: Bobby Olejnik (injured, hopefully back October), Jordan Graham (injured), Hayden White (basically fit but just being held back from friendlies a little longer after his broken leg last season), Omari Sterling-James, Jamie Chisholm (from last season’s youth team), Tyrese Sinclair (from last season’s youth team), Jimmy Knowles (from last season’s youth team, just signed pro deal). Returned home from pre-season trip for scan: Alex MacDonald (great news after the game that the scan is clear). Not on the pre-season trip: Craig Davies (injured). The Stags turned out in their new home kit of amber and blue. The game was played in a nice stadium in the town of Vila Real de Santo Antonio, in Portugal, just on the border with Spain. It was about an hour’s drive from the Stags’ training camp this week. Swansea have been on a training camp in Spain, about 45 minutes away, and the fixture was mutually beneficial for both clubs. An interesting oddity is that the stadium hosted an international friendly between Wales and Poland in 2009 (https://www.skysports.com/football/wales-vs-poland/13352). Hamilton was into the action early on with brilliant skill to get past his man to the byline, but his cross was cleared, after 7 minutes. Two minutes later, Alistair Smith knocked a good ball forward, but Maynard was just offside. Swansea’s created a half-chance on 13 minutes as van der Hoorn played in a great cross but Cullen just missed it in the middle. Jordon Garrick got past Hamilton on the right a minute later and put in a dangerous low cross but Fielding did well to clear. It was the second time Garrick had got past Hamilton. Quigley was late with a challenge after 17 minutes which might have earned a yellow card in a league game. On 19 minutes, Logan’s long ball forward was allowed to bounce by a defender and Maynard nearly got on the end of it. Fielding took a free kick left footed from the right side on 21 minutes, but it was just too high for Quigley and it skimmed off the top of his head for a goal kick. A good corner from Alistair Smith after 22 minutes was beyond the far post and Noah Stokes headed wide. Conrad Logan made a magnificent save after 26 minutes, tipping away an effort from Wayne Routledge after Connor Roberts pulled a ball back from the byline. McBurnie fired the rebound over the bar. The Stags had been under some pressure. But then at the other end after 29 minutes, on-trial striker Joe Quigley received a fine diagonal crossfield pass from young James Clarke before side-footing against the underside of the bar, a fine effort. From the resulting corner taken by Alistair Smith from the left, Sweeney headed back across goal but was penalised for a foul. Fielding left footed cross from the right was just over Quigley after 34 minutes. The Stags took the lead after 35 minutes when CJ Hamilton made a teasing run on the left before firing in a powerful low cross which ricocheted off a defender and new signing Nicky Maynard knocked the loose ball into the net. Maynard the first to pounce, a true goal-poacher’s effort. Quigley then sent another effort over the bar, after a good flick-on from Maynard. Swansea finished the first half strongly. On 42 minutes Cullen turned and fired straight at Logan. On 45+2 minutes, Pearce gave away a free kick on the Swansea right with a foul. Grimes’s free kick hit McBurnie at the far post and went just wide. Swansea equalised with the last kick of the first half on 45+3 minutes as young Stags defender Noah Stokes allowed Routledge to get goalside of him following a long ball forward, Routledge took the ball around Logan and slotted into the empty net. Initially I thought it might be offside, but from the analyst’s video, it wasn’t. It was a shame for Stokes who had a very solid half, not looking out of place, but just a momentary loss of concentration was costly and that will be a learning point for him. Otherwise he impressed. Half time 1-1 Two fresh elevens in the second half, but the half took a long time to get going with precious little action at either end. Good defending by Aiden Walker after 65 minutes. He was catching the eye. Then good defending by Matt Preston a minute later to put the ball behind for a corner. There was no action in either box, and nothing for Andy Cook and Danny Rose to feed off. Good defending from Jason Law on his own byline after 76 minutes. Stags new keeper Aidan Stone made a wonderful save after 77 minutes tipping wide a header from Courtney Baker-Richardson from Yan Dhanda’s cross. It was getting noisier in the stand. The Stags fans were in good voice. They chanted “you must have come in a taxi” to the Swansea fans. It would have been two taxis I think probably. Starting on 83 minutes, the Stags had four good chances in 3 minutes to win the game. Firstly a left-footed shot from the impressive right wing-back Jason Law was deflected for a corner. From the resulting corner, a left-footed shot from Jacob Mellis was saved low on the line by the keeper. Then on 86 minutes, Mal Benning’s powerful shot was brilliantly tipped over the bar by keeper Benda. And from the resulting corner taken by Mellis, Willem Tomlinson’s thunderbolt shot which looked to be heading for the top corner of the net was deflected just over the bar by one of his own team-mates. The Stags so close to winning it, but were made to pay as Swansea netted an 89th minute winner. Aiden Walker had impressed hugely on the right side of the back three, but a momentary loss of concentration allowed Barry McKay to break into the area on the Swansea left and fire a powerful low shot under keeper Aidan Stone. A real shame, especially as Walker and Jason Law had really caught the eye on the right for Mansfield. The result of course was not the most important thing but new boss John Dempster was disappointed with the goals conceded, though happy with the overall performance, and even happier with the whole 10 days in Portugal. The Stags players return to England tomorrow. |
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Report by: Martin Shaw at Vila Real de Santo Antonio, Portugal
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Line Up:
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1st half team (3-5-2):
Conrad Logan; Noah Stokes (scored for the Stags at Bournemouth in FA Youth cup last season), Krystian Pearce, Ryan Sweeney; James Clarke (young right wingback signed from Burnley), Neal Bishop (in front of back three), Tom Fielding (played in Checkatrade trophy last season), Alistair Smith, CJ Hamilton; Nicky Maynard (new signing from Bury), Joe Quigley (on trial). 2nd half team (3-5-2): Aidan Stone (new young keeper, to be understudy to Logan, until Olejnik fit); Aiden Walker (from last season’s U21 side), Matt Preston, Lewis Gibbens; Jason Law (played in Checkatrade trophy last season), Jacob Mellis (in front of back three), Willem Tomlinson, Otis Khan, Mal Benning; Andy Cook (new signing from Walsall), Danny Rose. |
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Sub Line Up:
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Opposition Line Up:
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Swansea City (first-half): Steven Benda, Connor Roberts, Brandon Cooper, Cian Harries, Mike van der Hoorn, Matt Grimes, Jack Evans, Oli McBurnie, Wayne Routledge, Jordon Garrick (sub Joe Lewis 32), Liam Cullen.
Swansea City (second-half): Steven Benda, Kyle Naughton, Declan John, Joe Lewis, Joe Rodon, George Byers, Jay Fulton, Yan Dhanda, Nathan Dyer, Barrie McKay, Courtney Baker-Richardson. Subs not used: Ben Cabango, Kristoffer Nordfeldt. |
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Referee:
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unknown
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