Archived News from March 2004
|
REPORT FROM BURY SITE
|
 |
|
Report from Bury Official Site
The Shakers kept the same starting line up from Saturday's derby draw with Rochdale and would be hoping to break their recently developed habit of drawing 1-1 at Gigg. In the Stags ranks was a certain Laurent D'Jaffo who played for the Shakers in 35 league games during 98/99. The Shakers started the game in 16th place with 42 points and the Stages were in a far healthier position in 6th place with 58 points. Anyone who witnessed the awesome display that Mansfield produced earlier in the season would have been surprised at their recent run of results and the Stags would no doubt be looking to erase the memory of their 4-1 defeat at Lincoln at the weekend. Prior to this game the Shakers had still to score directly from a free kick so far this season (have you any idea how often I have had to type that!!). The Shakers almost took the lead within the first thirty seconds when their newly adopted kick off routine of passing the ball to the opposition so they can see if they can carefully place the ball past their own keeper worked to perfection. Artell received the ball and in a complete communication breakdown with keeper Pilkington managed to roll the ball past the custodian and only a frantic scramble back saw the keeper regain possession and clear the danger. An amazing miss by David Nugent let Mansfield off the hook on 16 minutes as both teams struggled to cope with the blustery conditions. The ball broke loose in the box and fell at the feet of Terry Dunfield who hammered the ball goalwards and brought a great save out of keeper Pilkington. The ball rolled to Nugent and from 3 yards out (and I may be being generous) he managed to hit the crossbar with the goal at his mercy in what must surely be a contender for “miss of the season”. Glyn Garner was once again called into action when he superbly blocked a fierce shot from Mendes by diving smartly to his right. Super Nooge made amends for his earlier error when he bravely threw himself in front of a defensive clearance, collected the ball, and set off towards the opposition area. He drew the keeper to the edge of the area and calmly slipped the ball to his left for Seddon who made no mistake and put the Shakers in the lead. Bury 1 Mansfield Town 0 Christie, who had limped through the last few minutes of the game, was replaced by Larkin. A fabulously flighted pass from Kennedy on the left flank released Seddon into the area but, with players waiting for him to pull the ball back, he opted to take on keeper Pilkington with a low drive at the near post that he was quickly down to save. On 41 minutes a Nugent pass superbly bisected the static Stags defence and allowed a fast breaking Seddon to fire a shot in on goal that was blocked for a corner by the increasingly busy Pilkington. The corner was flicked on to the far post where Danny Swailes was hauled down by Dimech. Swailes picked himself up and stepped forward to take the penalty kick which he duly blasted into the bottom right corner of the goal. Bury 2 Mansfield Town 0 The game came to a close with the delighted Shakers two goals in front and judging by the first 45 minutes they would be hoping to further extend their lead in the second half. Half Time Score: Bury 2 Mansfield Town 0 The Mansfield team took to the field long before their Bury counterparts and no doubt had the words of manager Curle still ringing in their ears. Wayne Corden was replaced by Baptiste as Mansfield decided to test the Shakers defensive strength by adopting a more attacking formation. Despite a short period of pressure by Mansfield it was still the Shakers who had the first opportunity of the half when an exquisite through ball, from Flitcroft, allowed Seddon to break clear of the defence. It was only the smart intervention of Pilkington, who executed a perfect sliding tackle about 25 yards from his goal, that prevented the Shakers from further extending their lead. On 55 minutes Nugent took the opportunity to further enhance his crossbar hitting abilities but this time it was the end result of a delightful piece of skill. An angled cross field pass from Seddon saw Nooge break through on goal and, with the keeper charging out, he deftly executed a lob which cruelly bounced on top of the crossbar and away with the Pilkington beaten. Just five minutes later and the rampant Shakers were three in the lead. A Pilkington clearance was superbly controlled and rolled across the area, by Barrass, to Seddon who was left with an open goal and, from the edge of the area, he hammered home his second of the night. Bury 3 Mansfield Town 0 To further delight the Shaker's supporters a corner was volleyed with considerable force by D'Jaffo but it lacked any measure of accuracy and flew high and wide. Just a minute later and Williamson showed him how it should be done when his wicked near post shot had Garner in spectacular form once again as he needed to react quickly to punch the ball away. A foul by Baptisite on Nugent gave the Shakers striker the opportunity to hammer in a free kick but his effort cannoned into the Mansfield wall. On 77 minutes Curtis tried to relieve some of his frustration by attempting to crack Flitcroft's shin pads which earned him an entry into referee Cowburn's notebook. Chris Porter was brought into the fray to replace Gareth Seddon who left the field to a well deserved standing ovation. Williamson was then booked for kicking out at Terry Dunfield as the game threatened to deteriorate into open hostility. An even louder ovation was reserved for David Nugent who was replaced by Harpal Singh in the closing stages of the game. Chris Porter almost latched onto a Pilkington fumble of a Duxbury chipped ball into the area. The final Bury substitution saw Kennedy replaced by Cartledge. A magnificent Shaker's performance saw them completely outclass a badly misfiring Mansfield Town. The score adequately expressed the difference in class on the night as the Shakers won at a canter. Bring on Cheltenham. Final Score: Bury 3 Mansfield Town 0 Attendance 2199 (381 visitors) Bury Garner, Swailes, Challinor, Woodthorpe, Barrass, Kennedy, Dunfield, Duxbury ©, Flitcroft, Seddon, Nugent Subs Porter, Singh, O'Shaughnessy, Cartledge, Solly Mansfield Town Pilkington, Mendes, Corden, Artell, Curtis, Hassell, Buxton, Williamson, D'Jaffo, Dimech, Christie Subs White, White, Larkin, John-Baptiste, Day Referee: G Cowburn Assistants: D Foster and AJ Greaves Fourth Official: J Waring |
Latest | March 2004