Archived News from March 2021
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STAGS PRODUCE GREAT PERFORMANCE TO BEAT LEADERS
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English Football League - Sky Bet League Two
Mansfield Town 3 - 1 Cheltenham Town Bowery 55, 65, Reid 63. Smith 51 Attendance: behind closed doors Date: 9 March 2021 Martin Shaw at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill Mansfield Town produced a great performance to beat league leaders Cheltenham Town 3-1 at the One Call Stadium last night. The Stags needed a win after defeats at Barrow and Bradford and were unlucky not to be ahead by half time as Jordan Bowery turned an Ollie Clarke cross against the post and Farrend Rawson’s follow-up effort was superbly blocked on the line by the keeper, Mal Benning had a low shot heading for the bottom corner of the net tipped wide by the keeper, Jamie Reid’s shot from 8 yards was blocked by Ben Tozer and in the follow-up Stephen Quinn had 2 further shots blocked by his own teammates. Also Jamie Reid was brought down by the keeper just outside the area and would have had a shot at goal albeit from an angle but the referee only issued a yellow card as Reid was going away from goal and I think he probably made the correct decision. At the other end, Charlie Raglan headed onto the roof of the net from one of a host of first half long throw-ins from Ben Tozer, and Cheltenham had a goal disallowed when Callum Wright turned the ball into the net but was a yard offside. It was a highly entertaining first half and it was to get even better in the second half. After 51 minutes, Cheltenham took the lead as Chris Hussey put in a superb cross from the left and Sam Smith rose above James Perch to head into the roof of the net. But Mansfield roared back and were level within 4 minutes. Stephen Quinn found Jason Law inside the area, Law slipped a super little pass to Jordan Bowery and Bowery smashed a powerful first time shot past the keeper from 16 yards. The Stags then took the lead after 63 minutes. Jason Law’s corner from the right was beyond the far post, James Perch got up highest and his header was back across goal and went straight back to Law. Law glided past Sean Long to the byline and put in a good cross across the face of goal, Ollie Clarke controlled it and his shot was blocked at point blank range by Ben Tozer but the rebound was turned into the net from close range by Jamie Reid, who was quickest to the loose ball. Within two minutes, Mansfield made it 3-1. Bowery ran towards goal from just inside the Cheltenham half. 30 yards from goal he was tackled by Matty Blair, but Bowery was able to retrieve the ball as it ran loose and despite being surrounded by five Cheltenham players, played a terrific one-two with Reid, controlled the ball again and beat the keeper from 12 yards with a clinical finish. A superb goal with brilliant interplay between Bowery and Reid. The Stags had chances to increase the lead further. After 74 minutes, Reid, with his confidence now high, turned away from Tozer and squared a perfect ball for Law to fire over the bar from 15 yards. It was great play from Reid and it would have been fitting for Law to get a goal as he was excellent again in this match. Three minutes later, a fine run forward from Stephen McLaughlin from the halfway line, he slipped a super ball forward into the path of Reid who fired just wide of the right post from 9 yards with the keeper beaten. Cheltenham had very few chances to get back into the game but a missed clearance from Perch allowed Alfie May a shot which was well-saved by Marek Stech and Finn Azaz fired the rebound wide. Cheltenham also wanted a penalty after 84 minutes when Indiana Vassilev went down in the box but from the video replay he stumbled and was not fouled by George Lapslie. A really good win for the Stags and it was so enjoyable to watch. The Stags played as well as they have all season, and showed character to come back from going a goal down after having been the better side. Jordan Bowery scored two good goals to go into double figures for the season. Jamie Reid was excellent with a goal, an assist and being brought down by the keeper just outside the box. Jason Law continued his impressive form with an excellent game with an assist and playing a part in all three goals. Stephen Quinn impressed in midfield, while Stephen McLaughlin had a good game in a defensive midfield role. At the back, Farrend Rawson had another good game and alongside James Perch did ok but was beaten to the header for the Cheltenham goal. Kellan Gordon had a very good bouncing back in the best possible fashion from his costly mistakes at Barrow. Marek Stech returned in goal and made a good save late on to prevent Cheltenham getting back into the game. From the substitutes’ bench, there was a very welcome return after 4 weeks out with injury for George Lapslie. How the Stags have missed him! The win took Mansfield 11 points above the relegation zone, and with a game in hand on Southend who have just 12 games left. Mansfield made three changes to the side that lost at Barrow. Stech replaces the injured Stone in goal for his first game since the FA Cup tie at Cheltenham. Perch came in for the suspended Sweeney in central defence. And McLaughlin returned from injury in place of Charsley who dropped to the bench. The Stags switched formation from recent games to a 4-4-2, with Bowery and Reid up front, and a diamond formation in midfield with Law in the attacking midfield position just behind the front two, and McLaughlin in a defensive midfield role in front of the defence. Lapslie returned to the bench after injury. Third choice goalkeeper Jamie Pardington, on loan from Wolves, was in the matchday squad for the first time. Cheltenham arrived in Mansfield top of the table, having won their last 4 games, and taken 22 points from 9 games since they had played Manchester City in the FA Cup having knocked out Mansfield in the previous round. Former Stag Matty Blair was at right wing-back. A significant change from the games against Mansfield earlier in the season was that centre half Will Boyle was out through injury. Boyle was the major threat to get on the end of the monster long throws from Ben Tozer. Also out through injury was former Stag Chris Clements. The Stags had strategically placed the frost and rain pitch covers a yard from both touchlines from the byline to level with the edge of the penalty area in an attempt to counter-act those long throw-ins. Cheltenham were not happy with this when they arrived. But Tozer was to get around the problem by simply moving them slightly to create a gap! It was a pleasant evening in Mansfield, and the pitch was in reasonable condition with little rain in recent days. FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW -------------------------- TUE 09 MAR 2021, LEAGUE TWO Mansfield Town 3-1 Cheltenham Town Bowery (55'minutes, 65'minutes), Reid (63'minutes) Smith (51'minutes) Assists Law (55'minutes), Reid (65'minutes) Hussey (51'minutes) Report supplied by PA Media. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56248092 Three goals in 10 second-half minutes saw Mansfield come from behind to pull off victory over table-topping Cheltenham. A brace from Jordan Bowery and a Jamie Reid goal ended a run of four away wins to rock the Robins. A frenetic first half saw Mansfield go close after 26 minutes as Bowery turned Ollie Clarke's left-wing cross against the near post and Josh Griffiths did well to keep out Farrend Rawson's headed follow-up. Cheltenham then had the ball in the net after 31 minutes, but an offside flag was raised. The Robins did temporarily grab the lead with a 51st-minute break down the left which saw Chris Hussey race forward and cross for Sam Smith to direct home his header from five yards. But Bowery levelled matters within four minutes as he smashed home a superb first-time finish from 12 yards after good work from Stephen Quinn and a square ball from Jason Law. The Stags then rocked Cheltenham with two more goals in as many minutes. Law's firm low cross from the right by-line after 63 minutes forced a scramble that ended with Reid netting from close range before Bowery played a one-two with Reid to advance into the box and fire home low under Griffiths. Match Stats Home Team Mansfield Away Team Cheltenham Possession Home 44% Away 56% Shots Home 16 Away 14 Shots on Target Home 7 Away 3 Corners Home 4 Away 2 ---------------------- Mansfield Town come from behind to beat League Two leaders Cheltenham chad.co.uk, By Duncan Browne, Tuesday 9th March 2021 Mansfield Town wrapped up a Jekyll and Hyde week with three much-needed points. Defeat at struggling Barrow became a distant memory after Nigel Clough's side came from behind to topple League Two leaders Cheltenham Town at One Call Stadium. Jordan Bowery bagged a brace and Jamie Reid was also on the scoresheet as the Stags cancelled out Sam Smith's opener in scintillating style. https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town-come-from-behind-to-beat-league-two-leaders-cheltenham-3160213 As the full time whistle blew Mansfield climbed three places up to 16th, Cheltenham holding on to top spot after Forest Green Rovers conceded a late equaliser to Morecambe. Clough made three changes to the side which was beaten at Barrow at the weekend, Marek Stech returning between the sticks for the injured Aidan Stone and James Perch in for the suspended Ryan Sweeney the enforced switches. The final change saw Stephen McLaughlin brought in for Harry Charsley while George Lapslie was named on the bench after returning from injury, the midfielder introduced in the closing stages for a welcome return. The Robins piled on the pressure in the opening minutes as Ben Tozer launched a series of long throws into the Stags' box, but it was the hosts who worked the keeper first. Mal Benning's low long ranger had pace but Josh Griffiths got enough of a hand to the ball to guide it away from danger. Reid couldn't find the target after being slipped in by Jason Law, and wasn't given the opportunity to show better accuracy as he attempted to round Griffiths, the striker wiped out by a clumsy challenge on the edge of the Cheltenham box. The keeper was shown a yellow card before Law thumped the dead ball into the wall. Mansfield cranked up the pressure with Griffiths denying Reid from close range with a body block before Ollie Clarke's close-range volley was deflected wide. Charlie Raglan flicked another long Tozer throw onto the roof of the Stags' net before normal service was resumed. In their best chance of the first half, Bowery came within a whisker of opening the scoring, forcing Clarke's low cross onto the upright before Farrend Rawson's follow-up was blocked. Against the run of play the Robins had the ball in the net only for Alfie May - who had already seen a 40-yard effort fly well wide - to be flagged offside after his touch prodded the ball beyond Stech. But for all their dominance in the first half, the Stags fell behind six minutes after the re-start. Smith forced his header home from close range following Chris Hussey's inviting cross from the left. But that lead lasted just five minutes as Bowery firing beyond Griffiths after being slipped the ball by Law's clever touch. The turnaround was completed in the 63rd minute courtesy of Reid's close-range finish. Law's corner was returned, the attacker heading to the byline and delivering a low cross which caused havoc in the Robins' penalty area. Clarke's initial effort was blocked but Reid read the situation fastest and prodded home. Two minutes later and the Stags were in dreamland as they moved 3-1 ahead. Bowery skipped two challenges and played a one-two with Reid before giving Griffiths the eye and beating him with a cool finish. Reid flashed another effort wide while, at the other end, Stech pushed away May's stinger. And as the ball flew away, so did Cheltenham’s hopes of a fightback. STAGS: Stech, Gordon, Rawson, Perch, Benning, Clarke (Lapslie 73), McLaughlin, Quinn (Charsley 88), Law, Reid, Bowery; Subs (not used): Pardington, O'Keeffe, Wright, Ward, Sinclair. CHELTENHAM: Griffiths, Raglan (Vassilev 76), Tozer, Long, Blair, Hussey, Thomas, Wright (Azaz 60), Sercombe (Lloyd 88), Smith, May; Subs (not used): Flinders, Horton, Freestone, Williams. REF: Scott Oldham. -------------------------- Report & highlights: Mansfield Town 3-1 Robins https://www.ctfc.com/news/2021/march/full-time-mansfield-town-robins/ Below-par Cheltenham Town suffered only their second defeat in 15 games at Mansfield Town's One Call Stadium this evening. All the goals arrived in 14 second half minutes with Sam Smith scoring the first on the night to give them a lead against the run of play. What followed was a calamitous passage of play, changing the complextion of the game. A goal by Jordan Bowery and two more from Jamie Reid in quick succession condemned the Robins to a rare defeat on their travels. There were positives. It was Smith's third goal in seven matches since his arrival from Reading in January and there was a first start for Liam Sercombe since the match in Colchester at the end of December. And despite the loss Michael Duff's side remained top after Morecambe's late equaliser at Forest Green Rovers. But it's tight at the top and just six points split the leaders and the side in eighth, Exeter City, who just happen to be the next opponents in four days time. "We weren't quite good enough tonight," said Duff after the game. "The first half wasn't particularly good. We weren't happy about a few things but then we scored a really good goal in the second half, then made some silly mistakes. "They didn't have to work hard for those goals. When you take the lead against a struggling side, you don't start trying to play out from the back for 10 or 15 minutes. If we'd have kept them quiet, with how resilient we've been, they would have started to lose belief. It would have killed their spirit. "We made the mistakes so we weren't quite at it today." He made one change to his side, restoring Sercombe at the expense of Finn Azaz while striker George Lloyd returned on the bench in place of Tom Chamberlain. The Stags made a positive start and produced the lion's share of chances in the opening 45 minutes. Josh Griffiths was forced into the first save of the contest as early as the fifth minute to deny former Evesham United man Mal Benning, low to his left. The goalkeeper was then carded for a clumsy challenge on Jamie Reid outside his box five minutes later, earning himself the first evening's first caution. Next Sean Long was called into a desperate block to deny Reid with a powerful volley from 12 yards as Cheltenham soaked up the early pressure. Duff's side's best chance of the half arrived midway through the first half when Charlie Raglan met a trademark Ben Tozer thow, but his glancing header dropped inches over the bar. Callum Wright later had the ball in the net but he was in an offside position when he flicked Sam Smith's effort past Marek Stech. At the other end Bowery hit the post before Griffiths dropped to block the follow-up by Farrend Rawson. But Duff's side started the second half with more purpose and made the breakthrough six minutes after the restart through a fine team goal. It started in their own box with some cool play by Conor Thomas, who sent Liam Sercombe on his way. He found Smith and then Chris Hussey, moving past his man on the left before picking out Smith with another brilliant delivery, and the striker applied the perfect finish. The home side though responded well and drew level only four minutes later when Bowery met Jason Law's ball form the left with a thumping finish from 12 yards. They were in front through Reid after 63 minutes, bundling home from close range after a scramble caused by some more great play by Law. And it was only another two minutes later when Bowery swapped passes with Reid before beating Griffiths at his near post. There were two great chances to extend the lead yet further but Law and then Reid - on his hattrick - missed the target from promising positions, not that it affected the result in the end. MANSFIELD TOWN (4-4-2): Stech; Gordon, Perch, Benning, Benning; Clark (c), McLaughlin, Law, Quinn; Reid, Bowery. Subs not used: Pardington (Gk), O'Keeffe, Charsley, Wright, Ward, Sinclair, Lapslie. CHELTENHAM TOWN (3-5-2): Griffiths; Raglan, Tozer (c), Long; Blair, Thomas, Wright (Azaz 60), Sercombe, Hussey; Smith, May. Subs not used: Flinders (Gk), Williams, Freestone, Lloyd, Horton, Vassilev. REFEREE: S Oldham ----------------------- |
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