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Archived News from March 2011

CHASETOWN REPLAY PREVIEWS
12th March 2011 21:45


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Stags eye up semi-finals
CHAD.co.uk, Monday 7 March 2011

ALTHOUGH there are no certainties in football, Mansfield Town know they are expected to cruise past Chasetown in tomorrow night's FA Trophy quarter-final replay at Field Mill (7.45pm) to set up an attractive two-legged semi-final showdown with Luton Town.

http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town-fc/stags_eye_up_semi_finals_1_3154314?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

Only a last minute mistake by keeper David Grof allowed Chasetown a 2-2 draw in the first meeting in the West Midlands last week.

On Saturday Stags then eased to a 2-0 win at Tamworth while Chasetown earned a 4-2 away win at Ossett Town in the Evo-Stick Premier League.

But Mansfield boss Duncan Russell warned: “Tomorrow is all about the players being right and getting the job done.

“We will still have to earn the right, but if we play anything like we played at Tamworth I don't think we will have too many problems.

“You have to give Chasetown some respect as they have players who can score goals. But we have a good buzz in the camp here and it was good to get a first clean sheet in a long time on Saturday.”

Although Louis Moult is having treatment on a niggling back injury today, Stags are expected to be unchanged tomorrow.

Victory would see the first semi-final leg played at Field Mill this Sunday at noon

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VIDEO: Time to hold our nerve - Russ
http://www.mansfieldtown.net/page/FromTheBoss/0,,10325~2309972,00.html

mansfieldtown.net, Mon 07 Mar 2011
Manager Duncan Russell has told his players to 'hold their nerve' as we enter into the business end of the season.

With a place in the last four of the FA Trophy within our grasp and upto four games in hand over several sides in the BSBP Play-Off places, grinding out results is now of the utmost importance.

Following Saturday's league win over Tamworth, our first three point haul since January, the Gaffer has renewed confidence in his squad to both get passed Chasetown in our FA Trophy Quarter Final Replay tomorrow night and enjoy a winning run in the league.

He said: "I think we have the right mix of youth and more senior players who have gone through similar kinds of scenarios before. The tail end is an important part of the season and you've got to hold your nerve. If you do that, you reap your rewards.

"It's something I spoke to the players about last week. I said 'don't look at the table just yet'. We've got games in hand and if we can turn these games into wins then there's no reason why we can't (climb into the top five). That leaves us just a couple of points off then.

"I feel that if we play anything like we did at Tamworth, then I don't think we'll have many problems (tomorrow night). You still have to give them (Chasetown) respect - they have players who can score goals and cause problems in their team but I think that if we're anything like we should be, we will get our victory tomorrow."

'Russ' was particularly pleased to keep a clean sheet at The Lamb two days ago - something which we had failed to do in the previous nine games.

He added: "It's very pleasing when your plans work out. In the last couple of weeks I've been trying to prevent losses, and we did that, and then turn draws into wins.

"I think we could have had a lot more points when we've drawn to be honest so it was really nice to go away from home and win.

"I can't tell you the last time we got a clean sheet so it was wonderful to get that. I thought we looked really solid at the back and they (Tamworth) only had two chances in 90 minutes.

"I think a lot about keeping clean sheets because when you keep clean sheets you don't lose games. I can't think of a game where we haven't created chances and so if we keep clean sheets and take the opportunities we are creating, we will win more points than not."

Veteran defender Steve Foster is equally confident of embarking on a long run of positive results and added: "It was a great win for us on Saturday. We've drawn a few games of late so it was good to get that one.

"We go into tomorrow night's game full of confidence that we can progress into the semis.

The 36-year-old continued: "So long as we can string a good run of results together then we'll climb the table sharpish. We've got the opportunity to still catch (other teams) and we'll be trying ever so hard to do that."

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Latest | March 2011