Archived News from March 2021
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CLOUGH AND MARK TRUEMAN REACTION
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We can’t give goals away - manager
mansfieldtown.net, Tuesday 2nd March 2021 Despite being pleased with the majority of his side’s performance, Stags’ boss Nigel Clough was left frustrated by the concession of a ‘soft goal’ in this evening’s 1-0 loss to Bradford City. The amber and blue went agonisingly close via Jason Law and Ollie Clarke, but ultimately rued leaving frontman Danny Rowe unmarked in the first-half, with the Bradford forward netting the game’s only goal. Nigel Clough says that the Stags must aim to earn more clean sheets. “Performance-wise, there wasn’t too much wrong,” the manager told iFollow Stags. “Just a very soft goal again. We played better than we did at Harrogate, but the result is the same because we conceded another soft goal. “I thought we controlled the game, but one ball into our box from the halfway line, and we end up losing the game. “The difference between tonight and Saturday [win against Morecambe], is that we didn’t give anything away like that on Saturday. https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2021/march/nigel-clough-post-bradford/ “It doesn’t matter how much you control the game, if you’re giving soft goals away, it doesn’t matter how much control. “We’ve given too many soft goals away and we haven’t had enough clean sheets, end of story. “We started the game brilliantly, Jason Law has hit the post inside a few minutes. You’re talking half an inch of us going 1-0 up. “Then even in the last minute, Ollie Clarke is inches away from scoring from a corner. Generally, we controlled the game. “This is the form team in the league, so it’s not all doom and gloom, but it’s very simple again. We can’t give those goals away. “We seem to be a little more vulnerable away from home to these mistakes, but we’ll keep working on it and highlighting the things on Saturday that we did so well.” There was late drama at the Utilita Energy Stadium, with Mansfield skipper Clarke being shown a straight red card seconds before the final whistle. The boss spoke of the decision, adding: “I couldn’t tell you. We’re not allowed to see the referees [after the game] but we assume it was a raised arm. “If it was, it was completely accidental. I haven’t seen the replay, but from what Ollie has said, it sounds like we’ll certainly be appealing in the morning.” Nigel Clough discussed the performance of Jason Law (below), stating that the versatile forward had another ‘very good’ outing. “He [Law] started on the right, but it was a big blow losing George Maris. He’s been as good as we’ve had in recent weeks. “We shuffled it around. Quinny [Stephen Quinn] sat and Jason [Law] sat in the middle while Harry Charsley came on [the right]. “I thought Jason was very good throughout the game again.” There was also an injury update on midfielder George Maris, who was replaced by Harry Charsley midway through the first-half. “[Maris has] a groin problem. We’re not sure how serious yet. George Lapslie should be around another week. “So to have two of them [midfielders] out at the same time is a big blow for us.” iFollow Stags subscribers can watch the manager’s interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later this evening. ------------------- Nigel Clough says Mansfield Town need to stop conceding soft goals after defeat at Bradford City chad.co.uk, By Stephen Thirkill, Tuesday 2nd March 2021 Nigel Clough says Mansfield Town must stop conceding soft goals. He was once again left disappointed at his side’s defending following the 1-0 defeat at Bradford City. It is the second midweek away defeat in a row where the Mansfield manager has been angered by sloppy defending costing his side the game. “Performance wise I didn’t think there was an awful lot wrong, it is just a very soft goal again,” said Clough. https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/nigel-clough-says-mansfield-town-need-to-stop-conceding-soft-goals-after-defeat-at-bradford-city-3152540 “We played better than we did at Harrogate but the result is the same because we have conceded a soft goal. “I thought we were in control and then one ball over the top from the halfway line, they win two balls and we lose the game. “On Saturday we didn’t give anything away like that and we won the game, it is such fine margins. “If we play like we did on Saturday and don’t give the opposition any real chances you end up winning the game. “It is a frustrating goal, it is no different than Harrogate. Teams are having two or three chances against us and we are controlling the game. “It doesn’t matter how much you control the game if you are going to give away soft goals. “We have to stop giving those goals away, we have not had enough clean sheets.” Jason Law hit the post early in the game as Mansfield started well. But Danny Rowe bagged the winner on 32 minutes as the hosts made it five wins on the spin. Mansfield have now picked up just five points from a possible 21 after going eight games unbeaten. And their defeat was compounded by skipper Ollie Clarke being sent off late on at Valley Parade. Although frustrated Clough was keen to point out it is not all doom and gloom at the moment. “We started the game brilliantly. Jason Law hit the post and we are inches away from being in front,” he said. “Ollie Clarke was inches away from equalising from a corner in the 89th minute. “It is not all doom and gloom, but we can’t give those goals away. “At 0-0 mabe you get a goal, but if you are 1-0 down it is hard to get back in it. “A lot of teams can defend that lead at this level when they are organized, like we do when we get 1-0 up. “Don't give that goal away and if it's 0-0 in the 89th minute away then we will take it. “The general play was good and I thought Jason Law played well once again. “We just need to do more in the final third attacking wise, but the priority is keeping clean sheets and that is why we lost the game tonight. “It is difficult to eradicate it. We seem to be a bit more vulnerable away from home and we just have to keep working on it. “We want to see the performance we saw on Saturday where we don’t give away errors like we did tonight.” ----------------------------- BANTAMS REACTION: Rowe hits heights again to sink Mansfield thetelegraphandargus.co.uk, By Simon Parker MARK Trueman reckons Danny Rowe looked back to his best as City clinched a fifth straight win. Rowe scored the first-half goal to beat Mansfield at Valley Parade last night after being restored to the starting line-up for the ineligible Andy Cook. Trueman, who had demanded more from the frontman, said: “That’s the standard Danny has set. "When he came, he was flying and scoring goals and the illness took him off his stride a bit. “But we are delighted for Danny, he got his goal and it will be great for his confidence. Like all strikers, scoring goals will improve that. https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/19130739.bantams-reaction-rowe-hits-heights-sink-mansfield/?ref=nuo “I was happy with what Danny did out of possession as well. He did more for us, he pressed and he got in good positions in transition to help us get up the pitch.” Mansfield hit the post early on and missed a late chance before skipper Ollie Clarke was sent off in stoppage time for elbowing Connor Wood. “We knew Mansfield were a good team and they started the game brightly,” added Trueman. “They press you and look for mistakes especially early on. “Both teams nullified each other at times. But if you look at the stats, we probably created the better chances and we’ve been able to capitalise on that. “We defended well as a team and a back four unit. We set the foundations. “We want to win with more control but mental fatigue comes in with this run of games. “They made it hard for us and we had to really grind it out, stay focused and concentrated for long periods.” City moved up a place to 10th and cut the gap to the last play-off spot to three points. Next up is Saturday’s huge home clash with sixth-placed Bolton, who have won their last six. Trueman said: “Bolton are a great team and on a great run of form like ourselves. We are looking forward to it.” Mansfield boss Nigel Clough was unhappy with Clarke’s late red card - and felt his side had deserved something from the game. Clough said: “I couldn’t tell you (what it was for). We presume it was a raised arm but if it was, it was completely and utterly accidental. “I haven’t seen the replay but from what Ollie’s said we will be appealing in the morning. “Performance-wise we didn’t do much wrong, but it was just another soft goal. I thought we were on top and in control of the game." ------------------------- TRUEMAN PLEASED WITH BANTAMS RESILIENCE bradfordcityafc.com, Tuesday 2nd March 2021 Mark Trueman was once again delighted with the resilience and determination of his City side, after they recorded a fifth-straight victory - over Mansfield Town. The Bantams battled to a 1-0 triumph over the Stags at the Utilita Energy Stadium, to win five matches back to back for the first time since 2004. Having repelled waves of Mansfield pressure to keep a clean sheet and hang onto all three points, Trueman heaped praise on his players. The City boss said: “We have already shown we can win in different ways. Our defensive resilience, for long periods of this game, was fantastic. “Mansfield caused us a lot of problems and are a good team. We knew that going into the match. https://www.bradfordcityafc.com/news/2021/march/trueman-pleased-with-bantams-resilience/ “We are delighted with the characteristics we showed again, to get over the line and secure all three points. “We know Mansfield are very energetic and they like to come at you and press. They try to look for mistakes and errors to capitalise on, and we knew that. “We did not start brightly, and they caused us a lot of problems, but we showed that resilience and togetherness to defend our box. “If we can carry on matching these defensive performances and improve what we are doing with possession, we are going to give ourselves good opportunities to win more football games. “Winning five-straight games is a great statistic and we will look to go and improve this run. That is the type of mindset that myself, Conor and the players have got.” On top of their structure and solidarity at the back, Trueman was also pleased with his side’s clinical nature in attack. City once again took advantage of chances they were presented in the opposition box, with Danny Rowe scoring on his return to the starting 11. Trueman added: “We showed bits of quality going forward, but there are still things to work on. “We have set our foundations for how we should be structured for matches, which has helped us going forward. “I thought both teams nullified each other at times but, if you look at the statistics, we are well ahead on shots on target. “It only takes one moment for us to win the game, and Rowey was there to put it in the back of the net.” ------------------ |
Latest | March 2021