Archived News from November 2008
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McEWAN AND LEE RICHARDSON REACTION
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Billy McEwan reaction from Radio Nottingham here
Billy McEwan reaction from Mansfield103.2 here Richardson hails 'special win' ITV.com Chesterfield manager Lee Richardson admitted he was relieved to get past local rivals Mansfield in an FA Cup first-round tie that turned on two key incidents. The Blue Square Premier club had more than matched their League Two hosts but a glaring miss by Emile Sinclair and a mistake by goalkeeper Paddy Gamble put Chesterfield on course for a 3-1 victory. They eventually wrapped the game up despite a spirited performance from Mansfield and can now look forward to Sunday's second round draw. Richardson said: "It was the worst kind of banana skin we could have had. I am really pleased that we have got through because all week everyone who has come to the ground for tickets has been telling me 'you must beat Mansfield'. "That makes it a bit more special and 11 years is a long time to wait for an FA Cup victory at home. "From my point of view I would be very happy with a third round draw against one of the big teams to help boost the club's coffers." Richardson can look forward to the chance of a money-spinning tie thanks to the long-range shooting of Jamie Winter. The midfielder beat Gamble from 30 yards and then again from 25 in the second half as Richardson added: "Jamie doesn't panic or slash at the ball. "He gets a lot of power behind his strikes so you know he's got a chance from 30 or 40 yards because he can still make the keeper make a save. "He has got three in three games now so he is on a bit of a roll although I think the keeper was a bit unlucky with the first one. "Mansfield deserved some credit because they stuck at it and they missed a couple of chances but we are in the draw now and people have something." -------------- Evening Post: McEwan: Stags need to sharpen up Billy McEwan today called on his Mansfield players to be more incisive when attacking.McEwan was frustrated by Saturday's 3-1 win at rivals Chesterfield, a scoreline which he felt was not a true reflection of the match. The visitors had almost as many shots at goal as their hosts and an equal amount of possession. But they failed to capitalise on what they had as well as the Spirities did - something McEwan believes is an ongoing problem. "The final cut and thrust has to be better," he said. "We got one goal but we could have had four or five and I was thinking 'can someone put in it, please.' "We can't seem to kill teams off and put the finishing touches to our approach play. "Nathan Arnold could have had another just after he scored and was in a great situation to put it in the top corner. "He does it in training but missed this one." McEwan was pleased his side were not overawed by playing higher-ranked opposition. He said: "Not being disrespectful to Chesterfield, but some Conference teams have caused us more problems than that. "Considering we played a team who had scored 14 goals in three of their last four games, the worst goes through your mind at 3-0. But we kept battling and we were still creating chances at the end. "If we had gone in at half-time 0-0 we thought we might be okay with a strong wind in the second half and the keeper (Paddy Gamble) will be disappointed he didn't save the first goal. But in general I was delighted because we more than matched them." McEwan said the 1,664 Stags fans who made the short trip were inspiring. "The support was fantastic and I feel for them at the minute because we are not getting the right results. Four months into the job and it is a hard one. Hopefully they will stick with us until the end of the season." McEwan on Stags FA Cup KO MANSFIELD boss Billy McEwan felt the 3-1 scoreline flattered derby rivals Chesterfield after seeing his team bow out of the FA Cup. Two goals from Jamie Winter and another from Jamie Ward meant the Stags tasted another defeat to their local rivals as their reply came from Nathan Arnold. But the Scot felt the game could have mapped out much differently and drew a lot of positives from the way Mansfield played. “It was always going to be difficult but we more than matched them at times and some of the football was excellent,” said McEwan. “I thought the scoreline didn't reflect our performance. “I'm sure our fans will have seen that the score didn't reflect the play and that's why they were behind the guys and applauded them at the end. “The players worked very hard and put their bodies on the line. We kept battling and created chances and should have got more out of the game. “We had a lot of situations but if you don't score against a higher ranked team then you are going to get found out. “We had fantastic support and I feel for them at the minute because we are not getting the results. “It is difficult for everyone and hopefully they will stay with us. They were super today and hopefully they will be behind us until the end of the season.” Victory over Stags so sweet for Richardson Lee Richardson was delighted to break his FA Cup managerial hoodoo by beating his Chesterfield side's closest rivals.The Spireites boss had failed to win any of his five previous games in charge in the world's oldest knock-out competition. The fact Mansfield were the victims to end that drought made the victory, he insisted, even sweeter. "That is the first time in 11 years we have won through and my first time, so I'm delighted, especially beating our local rivals Mansfield," said Richardson. "Losing this one would have been the worst kind of banana skin we could have had, but we showed our quality and could not have played much better. "We probably should have been 4-0 and that may have made it more emphatic. "But credit to Mansfield who stuck at it and missed a couple of chances as well as getting the goal." Richardson heaped praise on goalscorers Jamie Winter, who got two, and Jamie Ward, but urged them to keep their focus. He said: "You are only as good as your next game - and that's what we are trying to tell them. "It is nice for Jamie Winter to get a couple of goals because he hasn't always had the best of times here. But that is three goals in three games now and he is on a roll." ---------------- CHAD FA Cup scoreline flattered Spireites - Stags boss McEwan Photos by Angela Ward Video Chesterfield v StagsBilly McEwan at Chesterfield on Saturday « Previous « PreviousNext » Next »View GalleryADVERTISEMENTPublished Date: 07 November 2008 By John Lomas STAGS boss Billy McEwan felt the 3-1 scoreline in Saturday's FA Cup first round defeat at neighbours Chesterfield didn't do his side any justice for a battling and creative 90 minutes. He said: "That scoreline did not reflect our performance. Our players ran their socks off today against a Football League club who were on a high and the scoreline flattered the opposition. "Our fans saw that and it is why they stayed behind them and applauded them at the end. Chesterfield 3 Mansfield Town 1 "I thought we created some good chances to score but didn't take them and if you don't score against higher league opposition you live to regret it - and that's what happened. "For the free kick for their first goal, which was against the run of play, we do not know where the referee got that decision. We were astounded. "Okay it's took a bit of a bobble in front of Paddy Gamble and he will be disappointed he didn't get hold of it. But it was never a free kick in the first place. Police commandeer executive supporters' coach for hooligans! "Their second goal came from us not getting a cross in quickly enough and getting caught on the break and it is hard to defend against players of their ability on the break. "Their third goal was just an exocet which no keeper could have caught. "They have scored a lot of goals recently and it went through my mind what could happen at 3-0. But we battled on, had some good situations to score more goals and we caused them some scary moments. To watch a video slideshow of match action photos by Chad's Angela Ward, click on the green play icon "I feel for our fans as we are not getting the results for them at the moment. But I hope they will stick with us - their support was magnificent today. "We are hurting at the minute after losing to our local rivals. But there were encouraging signs out there." Chesterfield manager Lee Richardson said: "It is the first time we've got past this stage in 11 years and I am delighted, especially as it was against our local rivals. "It was the worst banana skin we could have had. But we showed our quality and had a chance to make it 4-0 which would have looked much more comfortable. "Credit to Mansfield - they stuck at it and missed a couple of chances. "Everyone has been telling me all week that we had to beat Mansfield so it makes this win that bit more special. We know we can play better than that but we are just happy to be through." ------------------ |
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