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Archived News from April 2022

CLOUGH, LAPSLIE, JON BRADY REACTION
6th April 2022 23:13


Boss salutes ‘outstanding’ Stags in record-breaking win
mansfieldtown.net, Saturday 2nd April 2022

Mansfield Town manager Nigel Clough says his side were ‘outstanding from start to finish’ in this afternoon’s record-breaking 1-0 victory at home to Northampton Town.

The Stags set a new club record of 11 successive home league victories.

Oli Hawkins’ clinical header on 21 minutes moves Mansfield up into the play-off positions in Sky Bet League Two.

https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2022/april/boss-salutes-outstanding-stags-in-record-breaking-win/

Speaking in his post-match interview with the local press, the boss was full of praise for his side.

“The performance certainly warranted the three points today,” he said.

“Against one of the top teams in the league [Northampton] - I thought we were outstanding from start to finish.

“[There were] A lot of good individual performances today, made up with a great team win.

“There are eight games still to go but it’s nice to get back into the top seven, [especially] with those games in hand.”

The Stags’ chief took pride in the way Mansfield manufactured the match-winning goal.

“They’re [Northampton] known for being very dangerous from set-plays so it was nice to score with one of our own,” said Nigel.

“How we haven’t scored another one after that is more down to their goalkeeper [making fine saves] than anything.

“It was a good corner from Matty Longstaff [for the goal], we try to put it [the deliveries] in the right sort of areas and it’s a brilliant header.

“[The header was] No more [brilliant] than the rest of his [Hawkins’] performance today.”

On the key to protecting the one goal advantage, the boss said: “We didn’t make any mistakes today, that’s the key.

“We made a couple of little ones on Tuesday night [at Hartlepool], and we were punished.

“Sometimes you get away with them but today we didn’t make any mistakes.

“I think Nathan Bishop was a spectator for much of the game, especially the second-half.”

Northampton went down to ten men when Paul Lewis brought down George Lapslie before appearing to retaliate towards Mansfield’s number 32.

“I think he’s [the referee] given him [Lewis] two yellows: one for the tackle and one for the push.

“It’s not [then] an absolute certainty that you’re going to go on and win the game [after the opposition lose a man], that’s why we wanted the second goal.

“We were doing everything we could to get it.

“We got into some brilliant positions and situations today, their goalkeeper made a few outstanding saves and also, they made a lot of blocks.”

The manager’s side displayed defensive resolve to ensure the victory and clean sheet remained intact.

“I thought the back four were excellent,” the gaffer said.

“We’re missing our main man out of that in James Perch with illness but it’s lovely [to get a clean sheet].

“I’m not sure who would’ve missed out, but James Perch would’ve played today.

“The four of them [Hewitt, O’Toole, Hawkins, McLaughlin] and Bish [Nathan Bishop], when called upon, were outstanding today.”

Top scorer Rhys Oates was withdrawn in the second-half due to injury, the boss provided an update on the striker’s fitness.

“His thigh just tightened up.

“I’m going to go down and see him and see what he’s like.

“This is why we were leaving him [out] for a game here and there.

“We didn’t do it with Jamie Murphy, we should’ve done it on Tuesday night [away at Hartlepool].

“He’s [Murphy] ended up with a tight hamstring and now we’ve got Oatesy with a tight thigh.

“I would think they’re both doubts for Tuesday.”

Speaking further about Perch, who missed out through illness, the boss said: “He [Perch] was ill yesterday and didn’t come into training.

“It was just whether it was a 24-hour bug had he recovered, unfortunately he hadn’t.

“Faz Rawson has been ill all week, he didn’t train yesterday.

“He [Rawson] couldn’t have started either.

“Hopefully if he’s okay, Perchy will be back involved on Tuesday.”

On Lucas Akins: "Nothing dropped for him and a couple bobbled off him and he gave them away, but his all round game was good.

"I thought Jordan was good when he came on. We keep emphasising the importance of the subs."

On Stephen Quinn: "He belied his age today. He was a little bit tired on Tuesday which was why he didn't complete the game. He got his energy back today. He was bombing down that left wing at times. I thought he and Matty Longstaff and Stephen McLaughlin linked up brilliantly."

The manager was pleased to see his side perform so well in front of a bumper home crowd of 6,678 at One Call Stadium.

“We like playing here [at One Call Stadium].

“To get the [record of] 11 consecutive home [league] wins, I don’t know if it will be beaten in quite some time.

“It’s lovely to get that, lovely to get the clean sheet.

“I hope everybody enjoyed the game today because we did, I thought we played well.

“I think it was a brilliant performance.”

"We'll come in for an hour or so on Monday and assess everybody and see how they're all doing, and then we'll get the team and the squad on the bus for Tuesday."

Watch the boss' interview now on iFollow Stags by clicking here.

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Here's what Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough had to say about his side's performance in the win over Northampton Town
chad.co.uk, By Stephen Thirkill, Saturday 2nd April 2022

Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough knows his side still have work to do after their 1-0 win over rivals Northampton Town.

Oli Hawkins hit the winner midway through the first half as the promotion-chasers set a new club record of 11 successive wins.

Northampton came close to levelling when Mitch Pinnock hit the crossbar soon after.

The home side took charge from that point but were unable to double their lead after Liam Roberts made five key saves.

https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/heres-what-mansfield-town-boss-nigel-clough-had-to-say-about-his-sides-performance-in-the-win-over-northampton-town-3638307

Northampton’s hopes of a fightback were hit when Paul Lewis was red-carded on 75 minutes for an off-the-ball shove on George Lapslie.

“The performance today warranted three points against one of the top teams in the league,” said Clough.

“We were outstanding from start to finish and there were a lot of fine individual performances today.

“There are still lots of games to go but it's nice to be back in the top seven and still with the games in hand.

“It was a good cross from Matty Longstaff, we try to put it in the right sort of areas and it was a brilliant header from Oli (Hawkins), along with the rest of his performance today.

“How we haven’t scored another after that is down to their keeper.

“We didn’t make any mistakes today and that was key.

“Nathan Bishop was a spectator for much of the game and especially the second half.

“It is not an absolute certainty that you are going to win the game when you have a man advantage and we wanted that second goal.

“Their keeper made some outstanding saves and they made some excellent blocks, we didn’t get a break but we didn’t need one.

“The back four were excellent.”

It leaves Stags trailing Port Vale in third place on goal difference ahead of the trip to leaders Forest Green on Tuesday night.

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Clough hails 'outstanding' Mansfield after win over Cobblers
northamptonchron.co.uk, By James Heneghan, Saturday 2nd April 2022

'Northampton are known for being very dangerous from set-plays so it was nice to score with one of our own.'

Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough hailed his side's 'outstanding' performance after their 1-0 victory against Northampton on Saturday.

Oliver Hawkins scored the only goal of the game midway through the first-half but Mansfield had chances for more, denied by Town goalkeeper Liam Roberts on numerous occasions.

“The performance certainly warranted the three points today,” said Clough. “Against one of the top teams in the league - I thought we were outstanding from start to finish.

https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/sport/football/opposition-view-clough-hails-outstanding-mansfield-after-win-over-cobblers-3638499

“There were a lot of good individual performances today, made up with a great team win.

"Northampton are known for being very dangerous from set-plays so it was nice to score with one of our own.

“How we haven’t scored another one after that is more down to their goalkeeper than anything.

“It was a good corner from Matty Longstaff for the goal, we try to put it the deliveries in the right sort of areas and it’s a brilliant header.

“We didn’t make any mistakes today, that’s the key. We made a couple of little ones on Tuesday at Hartlepool and we were punished.

“Sometimes you get away with them but today we didn’t make any mistakes.

“I think our goalkeeper was a spectator for much of the game, especially the second-half.”

On Paul Lewis' second-half red card, Clough added: “I think the referee has given him two yellows: one for the tackle and one for the push.

“It’s not then an absolute certainty that you’re going to go on and win the game after the opposition lose a man, that’s why we wanted the second goal.

“We were doing everything we could to get it. We got into some brilliant positions and situations today, their goalkeeper made a few outstanding saves and also, they made a lot of blocks.

“There are eight games still to go but it’s nice to get back into the top seven, especially with those games in hand.”

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Midfielder praises Stags fans after win
mansfieldtown.net, Saturday 2nd April 2022

Mansfield Town midfielder George Lapslie praised the Stags’ supporters for their role in today’s 1-0 victory at to promotion rivals One Call Stadium.

The 24-year-old enjoyed playing in front of the One Call Stadium crowd again, after the Stags had faced five consecutive away matches in the league.

And after victory today, he said: “It was class to be fair. It [was] near enough a sell out and they [the fans] were as loud as ever. Thank you to all the fans for getting down to see us again today.”

“The fans all game [were] just singing and singing. You could see even during the last 15 minutes when we were on our knees, the fans kept us going. You can’t say any player stopped out there until the final whistle.

https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2022/april/midfielder-praises-stags-fans-after-win/

“[It’s] a fantastic feeling, we were playing against promotion rivals today so getting the three points is massive.

“If they get behind us like they did today, which I have no doubts that they will, we’ve got every chance [of achieving promotion].”

Oli Hawkins’ guided header on 21 minutes secured an 11th straight home league victory for Mansfield, setting a new club record.

The goal scorer was named as the sponsors’ man of the match and Lapslie credited the 29-year-old’s performance. “He was class all day,” he said. “He dominated his striker, he was winning free-kicks, he was a massive attacking threat for us. [It was a] dominant performance from him [and I’m] buzzing for him.”

Hawkins’ victory-securing goal moved Mansfield back into the Sky Bet League Two play-off places, level on points with third-placed Port Vale. And Lapslie is keen for the team to remain level headed and focus on their next task in hand, a midweek trip to league leaders Forest Green Rovers.

“We’ve still got eight [games] left so there’s a lot of points to play for,” he said.

“[We’ve] just got to take it game by game now, as cliché as it sounds.

“None of the games will be a ‘given’ we know that. [We’ve] just got to focus on Forest Green first, hopefully we can get into them early doors and get a decent result there.

“Nothing was won or lost today, if we go and get a result on Tuesday [the table will] look even better us. Tuesday is the most important one for us. I can’t wait for Tuesday.”

The Londoner returned to Mansfield’s matchday squad against Newport County last month and has since netted twice for the Stags, most notably in the 95th minute against Oldham Athletic on 26 March.

“I’m enjoying it,” he said. “I had a little quad injury that was niggling at me. I asked gaffer [if I could] have a bit of a break and now I just feel as though I’m ready to go again.

“Hopefully it happened at a good time, when I came back there was still a quarter of the season left. Hopefully I can [have] a strong end to the season now.”

Watch Laps' interview now by clicking here.

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Mansfield Town midfielder George Lapslie focusing on one game at a time after victory over Northampton Town
chad.co.uk, By Stephen Thirkill, Saturday 2nd April 2022

Midfielder George Lapslie knows promotion-chasing Mansfield Town have plenty of work still to do.

Oli Hawkins scored the only goal as Stags outclassed rivals Northampton to boost their automatic promotion chances on Saturday.

“There's still a lot of points to play for,” he said. “We just have to take it game by game now.

“We’ve just got to focus on Forest Green first, hopefully we can get into them early doors and get a decent result there.

https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town-midfielder-george-lapslie-focusing-on-one-game-at-a-time-after-victory-over-northampton-town-3638439

“Nothing was won or lost today, if we go and get a result on Tuesday the table will look even better us. Tuesday is the most important one for us. I can’t wait for Tuesday.”

Lapslie was also quick to dish out the praise for match-winner Hawkins who put in an impressive display alongside his key strike.

"He was class all day,” he said. “He dominated his striker, he was winning free-kicks, he was a massive attacking threat for us. It was a dominant performance from him and I’m buzzing for him.”

And the Londoner also acknowledged the brilliant backing they received from the stands.

“It was near enough a sell out and the fans were as loud as ever,” he said. “Thank you to all the fans for getting down to see us again.

“You could see even during the last 15 minutes when we were on our knees, the fans kept us going. You can’t say any player stopped out there until the final whistle.”

It leaves Stags outside the automatic promotion places on goal difference ahead of Tuesday’s game in hand on the pack at Forest Green Rovers.

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Brady unhappy with three key refereeing decisions during Cobblers' defeat to Mansfield Town
northamptonchron.co.uk, By James Heneghan, Saturday 2nd April 2022

Cobblers boss Jon Brady hit out at three key refereeing decisions after his side's damaging 1-0 defeat to fellow promotion hopefuls Mansfield Town on Saturday.

Mansfield claimed three huge points courtesy of a 21st-minute header from Oliver Hawkins as Town dropped out of the automatic promotion spots, replaced by Port Vale.

But Brady expressed frustration that Hawkins' goal was allowed to stand following an apparent foul on Fraser Horsfall, while he also felt Cobblers should have had a late penalty.

https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/sport/football/brady-unhappy-with-three-key-refereeing-decisions-during-cobblers-defeat-to-mansfield-town-3638271

"It was a game that ebbed and flowed and it was end-to-end at times," said Brady.

"I think the referee got some of the big calls wrong. The corner from which they score, Fraser gets rugby tackled by (Lucas) Akins and it should be a foul for us. I'm still scratching his head as to why he is allowed to bring Fraser to the ground like that.

"It's obviously a tough place to come but we had some good chances ourselves, Jack Sowerby went close and Mitch (Pinnock) hit the bar, and they also had chances and Liam made some good saves.

"Fraser is then manhandled at the end in their box and I feel that should have been a penalty. It's disappointing because it's another difficult decision to take and helps them get the result. Hawkins grabbed him with two hands on the shirt, it's blatant for everyone to see."

Town's cause was not helped when Paul Lewis saw red for two bookable offences in a matter of seconds with 15 minutes to play.

Brady added: "Pablo makes a tackle and the ref gives him a booking for that but as he goes to get up, (George) Lapslie pulls Pablo down and it's just the usual coming together.

"Pablo just pushes him away but the lad milks it, throws himself to the floor and the referee buys it and gives a red card. It's soft."

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Brady not prepared to rule Cobblers out of the race and has no issues with his side's endeavour at Mansfield
northamptonchron.co.uk, By James Heneghan, Saturday 2nd April 2022

'There are 18 points to play for and there's a long way to go.'

Jon Brady says the Cobblers have the 'utmost belief' that they can still win automatic promotion this season despite Saturday's damaging defeat to rivals Mansfield Town.

Town's promotion bid suffered a potentially significant setback at Field Mill where Oliver Hawkins' first-half header handed the Stags a deserved 1-0 victory.

Cobblers dropped out of the top three in League Two for the first time in a long time as a result. Given their stuttering form, and the fact that both Port Vale and Mansfield have games in hand, and Town's top three hopes look increasingly remote.

Bu Brady said: "We are in fourth and I don't think many people would have expected us to be where we are right now at the start of the season.

"We have the utmost belief within the group and there's still plenty of football to be played. There are 18 points to play for and there's a long way to go.

https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/sport/football/brady-not-prepared-to-rule-cobblers-out-of-the-race-and-has-no-issues-with-his-sides-endeavour-at-mansfield-3638971

"We can't get too down about it. There will be more swings and roundabouts, ups and downs between now and the end of the season. The result was disappointing but we will pick ourselves back up."

Cobblers did have their moments on Saturday, with Mitch Pinnock going closest when hitting the bar in the first-half, but Mansfield could have won by more after registering 17 shots to the away side's eight.

However, Liam Roberts made some fine saves between his posts and meant Town took it right until the full-time whistle, even after Paul Lewis saw red.

Brady added: "I thought we really pushed them with 10 men and we looked like we could go on and get the next goal.

"Away from home, you have to put your bodies on the line and the boys did that. The effort was absolutely fantastic and overall I thought it was a good game, it's just a shame that some key moments were not officiated better.

"But it would have been a cracking game for the neutral because it was two teams going out to try and win the game and in the end they came out on top with a controversial decision in my opinion."

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Northampton Town boss Jon Brady unhappy with refereeing decisions after defeat at Mansfield Town
chad.co.uk, By Stephen Thirkill, Saturday 2nd April 2022

Northampton Town boss Jon Brady hit out at the officials following his side’s 1-0 defeat at Mansfield Town.

The Cobblers gave up ground in the promotion race after Oli Hawkin’s 21st minute header proved decisive.

But it was a goal which Brady felt should not have been allowed to stand.

"I think the referee got some of the big calls wrong,” he said. “The corner from which they score, Fraser (Horsfall) gets rugby tackled by (Lucas) Akins and it should be a foul for us.

https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/northampton-town-boss-jon-brady-unhappy-with-refereeing-decisions-after-defeat-at-mansfield-town-3638322

“I'm still scratching his head as to why he is allowed to bring Fraser to the ground like that.

Their cause wasn’t helped when Paul Lewis was shown two quick yellow cards and dismissed for a push on George Lapslie, another call that Brady felt was harsh.

"Pablo (Lewis) makes a tackle and the ref gives him a booking for that but as he goes to get up, (George) Lapslie pulls Pablo down and it's just the usual coming together,” he said.

"Pablo just pushes him away but the lad milks it, throws himself to the floor and the referee buys it and gives a red card. It's soft."

But the Australian boss says his side are still keeping the faith and have full belief that they can seal promotion.

“There are going to be swings and roundabouts and ups and downs, results are down at the moment but we will pick ourselves up,” he added.

“I thought, with ten men, we really pushed them and we were the only team that looked like we would get the next goal.

“The boys put their bodies on the line and the effort was fantastic. Overall it was a good game, but it was just a shame that some of the key moments were not officiated better in my opinion.

“Overall they came out on top, with a controversial decision.

“There are still lots of points to play for and we are in the mix. At the start of the season a lot of people would not have expected us to be where we are now.

“We have got the utmost belief in the group and we know there is plenty of football to play.”

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JON BRADY'S REACTION
https://www.ntfc.co.uk/news/2022/april/reaction_away_212220/

Jon Brady praised the effort of his players as he reflected on Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Mansfield Town.

“I thought it was a game that ebbed and flowed and it was end to end,” he said.

“In my opinion the referee got some of the big calls wrong, Fraser was clearly fouled for Mansfield's goal, but we had some good chances ourselves that we didn’t take.

“It’s a tough place to come and they had chances as well and Liam Roberts made some good saves.

“We can’t get too down about the result and there will be more twists and turns over the next six games.

“The effort from the boys was absolutely fantastic and overall I felt it was a good game.

“We are in fourth and I don’t think many people would have expected that at the start of the season. There is still the utmost belief within the group and there are lots of points to play for.”

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Brady 'disappointed' by Lewis' ill-discipline but urges other players to take their opportunity against Bradford City
northamptonchron.co.uk, By James Heneghan

Manager Jon Brady admitted he was ‘disappointed’ with Paul Lewis for his lack of ‘discipline’ against Mansfield Town on Saturday, especially as it has left him short in central midfield for this weekend’s visit of Bradford City.

With 15 minutes to play at Field Mill, Lewis lunged in late on George Lapslie and then pushed the Mansfield midfielder to the ground in the subsequent scuffle, resulting in two bookings in a matter of seconds and an early bath.

Brady felt the decision was ‘soft’ but admits Lewis should have kept his head in the moment.

https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/sport/football/brady-disappointed-by-lewis-ill-discipline-but-urges-other-players-to-take-their-opportunity-against-bradford-city-3643423

"It wasn't great discipline from Pablo at the time,” said Brady. “Of course it's disappointing.

"He's been key to us in midfield and I feel he does a lot of work that has gone unnoticed and we all feel that.

"Pablo is more disappointed with himself than anything. There was a bit of gamesmanship and the referee didn't see the shirt tug but he knows his discipline has to be better in those moments.”

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Liam Roberts told BBC Radio Northampton: “I’ve made the save onto the bar, it’s hit my hand back and gone in the net. On another day that stays out.”

Captain Joseph Mills told BBC Radio Northampton: Sometimes tempers are going to over-boil. Pablo (Paul Lewis) knows personally he shouldn't let it get the better of him."

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Roberts disappointed not to keep out Hawkins' winner in defeat to Mansfield
northamptonchron.co.uk, By James Heneghan, Saturday 2nd April 2022

'On another day, that stays out and I do my job properly.'

Cobblers goalkeeper Liam Roberts felt he did not live up to his own high standards when failing to keep out Oliver Hawkins' first-half header against Mansfield Town on Saturday.

The giant striker-turned-defender rose highest to meet Matty Longstaff's 21st-minute corner and head towards goal, with the ball squeezing into the net via a combination of Roberts' hand and the crossbar.

"We will look back at their goal," said Roberts. "I made a save onto the bar but the ball has hit my hand on the way back and gone into the net so that's frustrating.

"On another day, that stays out and I do my job properly. We will have a look at it as a team, analyse it and take it from there."

Hawkins' goal turned out to be the winner but only thanks to Roberts' heroics later in the game as he brilliantly denied Longstaff, Rhys Oates and Lucas Akins. The save from Longstaff was particularly impressive.

https://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/sport/football/roberts-disappointed-not-to-keep-out-hawkins-winner-in-defeat-to-mansfield-3639642

"I'd say it was probably one of my best saves of the season but that's not really my concern at the moment because we have lost the game," Roberts added.

"It's my job at the end of the day - to keep the ball out of the net. Now we have six games to go and they are six cup finals. They are all massive games. The next one is on Saturday so we will rest up, recover and go again."

As with his manager, Roberts was staying positive despite Cobblers dropping out of the automatic promotion places.

"There's a lot self-belief within the group and I think the philosophy between us is that we will take each game as it comes," he added.

"We can't come in after a game and think 'what have other teams done? What are the other results?' because we need to concentrate on ourselves and what we do.

"We will dust ourselves off and go again for the next game."

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John Radford @JRadfordMTFC
Huge three points!!!
Excellent performance and result in front of another great home crowd as we create history with 11 consecutive home victories in the Football League - a new club record!
Well done to Nigel, the players, our staff and superb supporters.
COYS!!!

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Latest | April 2022