Archived News from October 2022
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STAGS LOSE UNBEATEN RECORD AT CRAWLEY
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English Football League - Sky Bet League Two
Crawley Town 3 - 2 Mansfield Town Nadesan 1, 46, Nichols 13. Bowery pen 16, Lapslie 27. Attendance: 2,802 (458 from Mansfield) Date: 22 October 2022 Martin Shaw at the Broadfield Stadium Mansfield Town’s seven game unbeaten run came to an end in West Sussex this afternoon with a 3-2 defeat at Crawley Town. The Stags were looking for a 5th away win on the trot but were undone by some poor defending, conceding goals less than 60 seconds into the start of the first half and again less than 60 seconds into the start of the second half. Crawley stormed into a 2-0 lead after 13 minutes, the Stags scored twice in 11 minutes, after 16 and 27 minutes to draw level, but then Crawley’s 3rd goal and eventual winner came right at the start of the second half. The Stags remain 4th in the table, but are now four points behind third placed Northampton with a game in hand. Crawley came into the game in the relegation zone. However having sacked manager Kevin Betsy just over a week ago, they had then beaten Newport last Saturday and followed that up with 5 goals in the Papa John’s Trophy on Tuesday. Interim manager Lewis Young was putting himself in the frame to be the next manager. A bit of a mystery why Crawley were in that position in the first place with a strike force of the impressive Tom Nichols and Ashley Nadesan, and with Dom Telford, so prolific for Newport last season unable to get into the side. Nichols was a player that it was heavily rumoured that Mansfield had put in a substantial bid for in the summer transfer window but which wasn’t successful. Mansfield made 2 changes from the side that beat Walsall: Hartigan and Swan came in for McLaughlin and Quinn. McLaughlin missed out with a sore knee, and Clough said he hopes he might be available for Tuesday but will have to see how he is, and he might miss Tuesday against Newport, Saturday against Swindon and the FA Cup tie at Barrow. Quinn dropped to the bench. Meanwhile Perch missed out from the trip with a bug, “an illness which has knocked him a little bit” said Clough after the game. Wallace was back from his head injury on the bench. Gordon remained out with a groin injury. The Stags started with a 3-5-1-1 formation, with Hewitt, Hawkins and Harbottle in central defence, Bowery at right wing-back, Akins at left wing-back. Clarke, Hartigan and Maris were in midfield. Lapslie was just behind Swan up front. The Stags could not have got off to a worse start. Inside 25 seconds Crawley had the ball in the Stags box and there were appeals for a penalty as Tilley tried to shoot and was tackled by Hawkins. And after 59 seconds Crawley were ahead. Nichols slid a super ball forward into the Stags area and Nadesan got in between Hawkins and Harbottle to slide a shot across Pym and into the bottom right corner of the net. Fine play by Nichols and Nadesan but the Stags were asleep. After 7 minutes, Johnson played forward to Tilley who got away from Harbottle, turned and sent in a low shot which Pym saved at his near post. Plenty of loose passes from Stags players and such a sloppy start. And it got worse after 13 minutes as Crawley made it 2-0. Hawkins gave away a free kick, unnecessarily fouling Nichols from behind, 38 yards from goal. Powell took the resulting free kick, curling it into the Stags box and Nichols got away from his marker Hawkins to head into the net from 6 yards. Pym got a hand on it but couldn’t keep it out and couldn’t be blamed. A double error from Hawkins, conceding the free kick and then losing his man. The Stags pulled a goal back after 16 minutes. A long throw from Hewitt from the right, level with the edge of the six yard box, was towards the near post. Nichols leapt with his right arm in the air and clearly handballed. It was a clear penalty. Crawley claimed that Nichols had been pushed from behind, but from the video there could be no complaints as Hawkins was behind him, simply sandwiched between Nichols and Conroy. Bowery stepped up to take the penalty. There was a discussion with Akins who missed at Doncaster and in the penalty shoot out against Derby, and Bowery continued to take it. Bowery coolly sent the keeper the wrong way, slotting into the bottom left corner. Nearly a chance for Swan after 21 minutes as Maris slid a ball forward, and the keeper was out to claim at Swan’s feet. Swan might have been offside had he got there. Then on 24 minutes, Hartigan curled a ball forward, Clarke stretched out a leg and caught the keeper, but the referee played on and there was no foul. A minute later at the other end, a good tackle by Akins on Tilley for a corner. The Stags equalised after 27 minutes. Hewitt pushed forward down the right and from level with the edge of the area, he curled in a brilliant cross and Lapslie rose to head into the net from 6 yards at the far post. Brilliant from Hewitt, and Lapslie with a good header for his 6th goal of the season. Great character from the Stags to fight back from 2-0 down. Powell tried a cheeky chip from the halfway line but Pym watched it all the way over the bar. On 29 minutes, Lapslie was brought down by Johnson 24 yards from goal. A yellow card for Johnson. Lapslie wanted a red but he wasn’t going towards goal and it wasn’t a clear goalscoring opportunity. The resulting free kick was taken by Maris, from a central position. It was blocked by the wall, Bowery flicked the rebound inside towards Swan who turned a first time shot wide from 6 yards. Swan should have put the Stags in front after 36 minutes. Akins headed the ball forward into the area, Swan was in a great position to lift the ball over the stranded keeper but slipped at the crucial moment. The ball was cleared as far as Clarke, who headed it forward, Maris then flicked a great ball forward into the area for Swan who just had the keeper to beat from 12 yards from an angle on the left. He slid his shot across the keeper and just wide of the right post. It was a glorious opportunity and Swan put his head in his hands. Referee Sunny Gill was making some strange decisions for both sides and missed a blatant push on Hawkins after 40 minutes by Nadesan, Nadesan played inside to Tilley whose shot from 16 yards was saved by Pym. Tsaroulla was booked for a foul on Hewitt after 45+1 minutes. Both Crawley full backs now booked. 2-2 at the break. The Stags asleep at the start, conceding twice, but getting a lifeline with the penalty and then equalising with a fine goal as Lapslie headed home from a brilliant cross from Hewitt. Swan should then have seen the Stags in front at the break with a succession of chances. Half time 2-2 The Stags switched to 4 at the back at the start of the second half, with Akins at right back, Hewitt at left back, and Bowery on the left and Lapslie on the right of Swan in a 4-3-3 formation. But 50 seconds into the second half, Crawley were in front again and again it was dreadful defending. Nichols lifted a ball forward over the top from inside his own half for Nadesan to run on to. Harbottle should have seen him out wide, but Nadesan cut inside, past Harbottle, and fired past Pym from 15 yards. Poor defending again. Harbottle was immediately substituted, replaced by O’Toole. Clough explained after the game that Harbottle had picked up a head injury in the first half. Clough said: “Riley Harbottle wasn't right. I think he got a whack on the head. I think he was a bit dazed. I asked him at half-time how he was and he said he was fine, but especially with young players you take it out of their hands. I didn't think he looked right the last 10-15 minutes of the first half. I shouldn't have let him go out second half, that's my responsibility. I should have just brought him off straight away.” If a player is injured or not feeling right, he must own up to it. We saw what happened last season with Nartey when a player doesn't do that. More terrible defending as Hewitt gave the ball away after 51 minutes, and eventually Nichols fired in a great shot from the edge of the area, and Pym tipped it round the post with a fine diving save. Just like the first half, the Stags were asleep and Crawley had taken the initiative. Another chance for Swan after 55 minutes, but he sent a poor shot from 20 yards straight at the keeper. Then on 62 minutes, a free kick from Maris from 32 yards out, came out to Hartigan who sent a shot wide from 22 yards with the outside of his right boot. After 69 minutes, O’Toole blocked a Nadesan shot from the edge of the area, and then a ball across the 6 yard box just evaded Tilley. A triple change for the Stags after 73 minutes. Boateng, Wallace and Quinn replaced Clarke, Hartigan and Bowery. Hawkins went up front with Swan, Hewitt moved to centre half, with Wallace at left back, and Quinn on the left of midfield. After 78 minutes, Akins gave the ball away and it started a Crawley attack. The Stags had made so many unforced errors. The Stags could have had a penalty after 81 minutes. Quinn crossed from the left, the cross struck Hessenthaler on the left arm. Watching it back in slow motion, Hessenthaler who is about 8 yards away as Quinn crosses, moves his left arm away from his side towards the ball. Hessenthaler was lucky to get away with it. Hawkins had a shot on target after 86 minutes but it was blocked. Quinn was booked for arguing after 90 minutes, going almost nose to nose with the assistant referee. Absolutely daft from Quinn, and as it was his 5th booking of the season, he will now be suspended for one game, on Tuesday. I discussed it with Nigel Clough after the game and as you might expect, the manager was not at all happy with his experienced midfielder. Eight minutes of stoppage time was added on. O’Toole went down in the Crawley area after 90+3 minutes, but there was no foul. Then good defending from Hewitt as Crawley broke. A chance for the Stags to earn a point after 90+6 minutes. A long throw from Hewitt, Quinn headed down, and O’Toole swivelled and fired wide of the left post. Not far away. Victory for Crawley then to lift them three points outside the relegation zone. They should never have been in it with their forward line. A poor performance from Mansfield, their worst of the season in my opinion. It was the first time the Stags had conceded three goals this season, indeed the first time since the play-off final. Shockingly bad starts to both halves, asleep at the back with terrible defending particularly from Hawkins and Harbottle. The Stags gave the ball away sloppily throughout the game far too many times. The Stags showed great character to fight back from 2-0 to get level at 2-2, and should have been in front with good chances for Swan, but they were wasted, and once Crawley got back in front at 3-2 in the first minute of the second half, the Stags created little in the second half. A bad day at the office after four successive away games, and seven games unbeaten. After the game Nigel Clough said “I couldn't pick you anyone who was any good. The keeper had no chance with any of the three goals. Everyone else had question marks over them today. We were not complacent in any way today. We just were not as good as we have been. I think Crawley have three of the best strikers in the league, which is a bit of a puzzle why they are down there with that firepower. That performance was completely the opposite to how we've been away from home of late when you've won four away games on the spin.” The Stags will look to bounce back on Tuesday night against Newport County at the One Call Stadium. You can watch the game with us on iFollow Stags if you can’t get to the game. Graham Coughlan is the new Newport County manager and got off to a winning start today at home to Colchester. Coughlan was sacked as Mansfield manager almost exactly two years ago. I wrote at the time of his sacking: “I found Graham Coughlan to be very pleasant and respectful and it is very sad to see him sacked. However football is a results business and his results simply weren’t good enough. Nine games this season without a win, and four wins from 15 games last season.” Just 4 wins in total from 24 games, a win ratio of 16.7%, the lowest win-ratio of any manager in Mansfield’s history. ------------------------ SAT 22 OCT 2022, LEAGUE TWO Crawley Town 3-2 Mansfield Town Nadesan (2'minutes, 46'minutes), Nichols (13'minutes) Bowery (16'minutes pen), Lapslie (27'minutes) Assists Nichols (2'minutes, 46'minutes), Powell (13'minutes) Hewitt (27'minutes) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63267007 Match report supplied by PA Media. Ashley Nadesan scored a double as Crawley secured back-to-back league wins for the first time in six months to move out of the bottom two with a thrilling win over promotion-chasing Mansfield. The Stags, 2-0 down after only 13 minutes, fought back to draw level by the break but Nadesan's second, just a minute into the restart sent Nigel Clough's men diving to their first defeat in seven league games. Interim Crawley boss Lewis Young, who took temporary charge nearly two weeks ago following the sacking of Kevin Betsy, went into the game looking to further enhance his chances of landing the job on a full-time basis after picking up two wins. Young's men made the perfect start after only a minute when striker Nadesan scored with a low shot across goalkeeper Christy Pym after being set up by captain Tom Nichols. The Reds' fast start continued after 13 minutes when Nichols headed in a free-kick from Jack Powell. Mansfield reduced the deficit three minutes later when Nichols was penalised for handball and Jordan Bowery stepped up to send goalkeeper David Robson the wrong way from the penalty spot. The Stags were back on terms after 27 minutes when George Lapslie made it 2-2 by heading home his fifth goal of the season at the far post from a cross by Elliott Hewitt. Mansfield almost turned the game around by the interval when Will Swan shot just wide following a spell of pressure. Nadesan struck again to put the Reds back in front within a minute of the restart by racing onto a through ball by Nichols to beat Pym with a low shot from just inside the area. The thrills continued with Swan being denied by Crawley stopper Robson before Nadesan had a shot blocked at the other end. Stags substitute John-Joe O'Toole put a shot on the turn wide deep into stoppage-time as Crawley held on for a vital win. Match Stats Home Team Crawley Away Team Mansfield Possession Home 41% Away 59% Shots Home 10 Away 11 Shots on Target Home 6 Away 3 Corners Home 3 Away 0 Fouls Home 13 Away 10 ----------------- Struggling Crawley Town edge five-goal thriller to end Mansfield Town away run chad.co.uk, Sat 22 Oct 2022 Mansfield Town's four-game winning streak on the road came to a frustrating end as they lost 3-2 in an entertaining five-goal thriller at Crawley Town this afternoon. It was the first time Nigel Clough's men had conceded three goals since their Play-Off final defeat to Port Vale at Wembley. And they were on the back foot from early on in both halves as they conceded almost immediately from the start of both. There were four goals in an action-packed first half before two-goal Ashley Nadesan’s 46th-minute winner at Broadfield. https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/struggling-crawley-town-edge-five-goal-thriller-to-end-mansfield-town-away-run-3890243 Nadesan opened the scoring in the second minute before Tom Nichols made it two in the 13th minute. Jordan Bowery pulled one back from the penalty spot before George Lapslie’s equaliser. But Nadesan grabbed the all-important winner early in the second half as the Stags failed to keep up the pace with the top three and remain fourth. Boss Nigel Clough made two changes from the side which beat Walsall. Influential ever-present Stephen McLaughlin was ruled out with a knee injury and Stephen Quinn dropped down to the bench. Anthony Hartigan came into the midfield and Will Swan up front, replacing Lucas Akins, who dropped back to fill McLaughlin's left wing back role. The Stags got off to the worst possible start as they found themselves two goals behind inside 13 minutes. Crawley got off to an electric start as Nadesan opened the scoring with a cool finish barely a minute into proceedings. And Nichols doubled the Stags’ deficit as he rose highest to nod Jack Powell’s fine cross beyond hapless Christy Pym. But Clough’s charges got themselves back into the game from the penalty spot after Nichols handled in the box. Bowery stepped up and confidently fired home from 12 yards to halve the deficit, sending the keeper the wrong way. The Stags then drew level in the 27th minute as Lapslie headed home Elliott Hewitt’s fine cross at the back post. Swan squandered two good chances to put the visitors in front before the break, but both times he frustratingly fired wide of the mark while Pym then did well to deny James Tilley on the stroke of half-time. After the break, the Stags were caught napping in a carbon copy of the start of the first half. It was Nadesan again as he restored Crawley’s lead as he raced clear before finding the back of the net, having got past Riley Harbottle, who was immediately substituted. Pym produced a brilliant save to keep out Nichols’ fiercely-hit strike which looked destined for the top corner on 51 minutes. Stags made a triple change on 73 minutes and changed the formation and players' positions as Clough tried to conjure a way back for his side. And it almost came in the sixth of eight added minutes, but substitute John-Joe O’Toole's left-footed effort on the turn went wide from eight yards. This was Crawley's first back to back league win of the season, and a third win in a week for interim manager Lewis Young. Stags will now aim to shake off the disappointment of this result in time to face visiting Newport County on Tuesday night. CRAWLEY: Robson, Johnson (Jenks, 57), Conroy, Francillette (Francomb, 45), Tsaroulla, Tilley, Powell, Hessenthaler, Fellows (Davis, 71), Nichols, Nadesan (Oteh, 83). SUBS NOT USED: Balcombe, Telford, Khaleel. STAGS: Pym, Hawkins, Harbottle (O’Toole, 48), Hewitt, Bowery (Quinn, 73), Clarke (Boateng, 73), Hartigan (Wallace, 73), Maris, Lapslie, Swan, Akins. SUBS NOT USED: Flinders, Gale, Law. REFEREE: Sunny Gill. --------------------- |
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