Archived News from October 2006
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PREVIEWS AND TEAM NEWS
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OUR CHANCE TO GRAB AWAY VICTORY
Evening Post, 13 October 2006 Gareth Jelleyman cannot put his finger on why Mansfield have struggled away from home this season. The Stags have taken just two points from their first six away trips of the campaign - and have lost their last four without scoring a goal. But what he and his team-mates do know is that it is time they brought the miserable sequence to an end. Tomorrow's opponents Boston are one place off the bottom of the Football League and Jelleyman sees it as a real chance to pull off a victory. But it will not be easy at the Staffsmart Stadium where Boston have won three out of their six homes games. "I'm not really sure what has happened away from home, I don't really understand it," said Jelleyman. "But Boston have struggled so we have real hope we can get a victory there. It is definitely a good opportunity. "I think our poor away form has only really been highlighted since the Walsall game [where Mansfield lost 4-0]. "I don't think we've played that badly in most of those matches but things haven't gone for us. "I'm sure if we get one win then we can kick on and get some more. The first goal is important when you are playing away and we haven't been getting it, but hopefully it will go to us at Boston." Already it looks as if Mansfield's main concern will be avoiding the drop to the Conference this season. But Jelleyman insists all will change quickly if the Stags can show a little more consistency. He said: "We had high hopes at the start of the season and the boys are gutted with how things have gone because we don't think our league position reflects the performances." Manager Peter Shirtliff recognises Mansfield's away troubles are becoming a concern. "But I'm not panicking and I don't see any reason to," he added. Midfielder Matt Hamshaw is suspended for the red card against Notts County. But Michael Boulding may be back in contention after a spell out with knee trouble. --------- http://bostonunited.rivals.net Once again quartet Lee Canoville, Bradley Maylett, Simon Rusk and David Galbraith are out of action. Paul Ellender and Bob Davidson are to face late fitness tests on their respective calf and Achilles problems but both are expected to come through. Tim Ryan joins Franny Green on the suspended list, meaning both Stewart Talbot and Jamie Clarke are likely to be employed as emergency fullbacks. Likely Line-ups Marriott, Talbot, Clarke, Albrighton, Ellender, Farrell, Holland, Ryan, Greaves, Davidson, Elding ----------- Reet sets his sights on Boston CHAD website, 12 October 2006 MANSFIELD Town's new leading scorer Danny Reet is looking to add to his tally and fire Stags to their first away win of the season at Boston United on Saturday (3pm). Reet netted twice and had another disallowed against Notts County last weekend as he took his tally to six. But Stags have not scored in their last four away games, all of which have ended in defeat and Reet said: "At home no one wants to come and play against us right now, but we need to improve away from home. "Hopefully we can get three points at Boston on Saturday and continue it from there. "We need to attack teams more away from home and get going forward. "And we just need a bit more luck. We need to start turning these 1-0 defeats into 1-1 draws and 1-1 draws into 2-1 wins. A 1-0 win at Boston on Saturday would do us fine." Simon Brown (knee/hernia) and Matt Hamshaw (suspended) both definitely miss the game while Michael Boulding (knee) is making good progress and returned to training on Wednesday. He has an outside chance of begin involved but the home game against Wrexham the following week is the more likely return date. While still privately smarting over the referee's decisions which cost Stags dearly last weekend, Mansfield manager Peter Shirtliff is looking foward to Saturday and said: "That's all finished now - Notts County has gone. "We have now just got to get on with it and start turning performances into wins. "Going to Boston is a good game for us with both teams being near the bottom. It is a difficult and important game. "Boston may be down there but no one is going to roll over and let you have the points. "Our away results have been poor and I can't put my finger on why that is. I am not making excuses.We have just not been good enough - it's as simple as that." Boston have only won twice in their last 11 games. ------------ Stags striker returns to training BBC.co.uk Mansfield striker Michael Boulding is back in training after two weeks on the sidelines with a knee problem. Boulding has not played since scoring in the Stags' 2-2 draw with Accrington last month, and has since visited a specialist for a second opinion. "He is looking fit and sharp," boss Peter Shirtliff told the club website about the former Barnsley man. "We will see how he gets on, but I am hopeful that he may play some part at Boston on Saturday." --------------- mansfieldtown.net: Danny Reet puts disappointment of ruled out goal behind him Stags hit man Danny Reet has had the weekend to look at his disallowed goal and feels a little frustrated that a controversial decision ruled out his hat-trick. But, the professional he is, the youngster will just try harder to find another goal from somewhere else: "I was disappointed with decision from the Referee during the game but you can't thinking about that. There was still two goals and another point for us but naturally there was a lot of disappointment that it wasn't three points but at least you can take some positives from the game. "The referee did say to me at half time, as we was about to kick off that maybe he had made a mistake in ruling out the goal. It isn't nice to hear but you just have to try and get on with it and find a goal from somewhere else. Matt Hamshaw and I was talking to him about it and Matt pointed out that it was for my hat-trick that's when he admitted the mistake but the decision had been made and it stands. "I am pleased with the way that I have been playing and hope that I can improve further on it. The performances, I feel have been good and I am feeling fitter than I have for a while and hopefully I can carry on improving. Richie and me have a bit of banter now because I keep reminding him that I am the leading goalscorer in the team. But the important thing is that your two strikers are both chipping in with the goals, in fact the front four have all played their part in the goal tally which is good for the team and hopefully this will continue with both me and Richie getting a few more. It would obviously help if goals were coming from other areas as well but as long as the forwards are finding the net it will hopefully keep you in a game. Last week we were unlucky when both Jake Buxton and Alex John-Baptiste came close. "We know that we have been playing well in patches of the game but we are coming away with only one point or worse still none at all. So I think that we need to change that and start turning the draws into wins and the losses into at least draws, this means playing for ninety minutes. At the end of the day it's nice to have a good performance but it is the points that we need and if we can start nicking the odd late goal to give us a late win in a scrappy game I would take that all season. "I think that Notts County could teach us a lesson in this respect, we played them off the park for much of the game but they hung on and got a result at the end of the game. A lot of their results lately have been the same way, during a tight game they have hung on for the ninety minutes and got a late goal and that is what we need to start doing. As I said turn the 0-0 into 1-0 and 1-1 into 2-1 and we need to start to do it away from home. At home we are a team that teams may fear but away form home there is definitely room for improvement. "Going to Boston at the weekend is not as easy a game as some fans may think, I am sure that when MK Dons came to Field Mill they thought it would be and easy three points but went home disappointed, it is a strange division and I think that you should never read too much into the league positions when making an assessment of a game any team can be beaten by any other team. "The last time we played Boston we beat them 5-0 so we will take some confidence from that but both sides have changed since then so realistically a 1-0 win would do me at Boston, get there, get the win and come home with three points. If we play the attacking football that we play at home I am sure that we will come away with three points, the first away from home for the season and hopefully this will start a run of results much like when we won at Cheltenham last season." --------------- mansfieldtown.net: Stags prepare fro Boston Peter Shirtliff and his players have had time to reflect on last weekend's derby game with Notts County and despite the initial disappointment at not taking the three points from the fixture, it is now time to carry on. "I was disappointed on the day with the result as I thought we played well but a couple of decisions changed the game and Notts got back into it and nicked a draw. That has now gone and it is time to move on. We have a game at Boston on Saturday which should be a good game. With us both being near the bottom of the league it will be a difficult game and an important game. "It seems that all too often this season I have had to say to the players that 'you have played well, you are doing the right things but it is just not happening' and it is getting increasingly more difficult because in many of the cases we have been the better side and we should be coming away with three points instead of just the one. But I see this as a spell we are in at the moment and we have to come through it. I think that the players still believe that what they are doing is right. There is still an air of confidence in then changing room. Which I think no one can deny for much of the Notts County game was there to be seen. We just to start turning performances in to wins. "I am not panicking at the moment so will not be making any rash decisions regarding changes in the squad, we just have to weather the storm and I am sure we will start to get the right results." Looking forward to the newly named StaffSmart Stadium at York Street (Boston) the stag's gaffer is under no illusions that it will be an easy game. "Our home form has been good but I think it is fair to say our away form has not been that great and I have know idea why. It is something I have looked at and cannot put my finger on it - we just haven't been good enough! "We have had our moments but over the ninety minutes we obviously haven't been good enough and that is all there is to it. I have come across this as a player before when the home form is good and the away is letting you down. I believe there is a reason for everything and we just have to improve and start turning the performances into results. That said I am not going to drastically change the way we play because we have competed in tight games but invariably it has been us that has made the mistake that has lead to the first goal which is an all important factor in these games. "Boston are at the bottom of the table but this means nothing, no team is going to roll over and give you the three points so it will be tough. But if need to improve and start putting some wins on the board" ------------- |
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