Archived News from November 2012
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STAGS FAIL TO BREAK DOWN STUBBORN SLOUGH
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FA Cup 1st round
Mansfield Town 0 - 0 Slough Town Attendance: 1686 (250 from Slough) Date: 3 November 2012 Martin Shaw and Simon Chamberlain at the One Call Stadium Mansfield Town were held to a goalless draw by Slough Town from the Southern League Central Division, three leagues below the Conference, in the FA Cup first round at the One Call Stadium this afternoon. The Stags had the majority of the possession but were unable to break down a packed and determined Slough defence, and thus Slough earned a replay a week on Tuesday (to be confirmed) at Beaconsfield SYCOB's ground next to Beaconsfield Services on the M40. As a result the game against Luton, a week on Thursday will be moved, probably to the Saturday (to be confirmed). Mansfield had the majority of chances with Howell missing two sitters within the space of ten seconds in the first half and Meikle heading against the bar in the second half, while Slough's only decent chance of the game was a shot from Ed Smith which was very well tipped over the bar by Redmond in the first half. Mansfield were camped in Slough's half for much of the second half without creating many clearcut chances and Slough keeper James Warrington didn't have too many saves to make. Both teams therefore go into the hat for the second round draw at 2.30pm on Sunday. Man of the match: Chris Clements Stagsnet player ratings in the Match Centre ------------------------------------ Mansfield Town 0-0 Slough, FA Cup First Round chad.co.uk report by John Lomas Saturday 3 November 2012 MANSFIELD Town face the tricky task of an away FA Cup replay at minnows Slough Town after being held to a frustrating 0-0 home first round draw this afternoon. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town-fc/mansfield-town-0-0-slough-fa-cup-first-round-1-5092551 Lindon Meikle did head against the Rebels' crossbar after the break. But, despite all the home possession, the Evo-Stick Southern League Central Division visitors defended magnificently to enjoy their day in the limelight as one of the two lowest-ranked clubs left in the competition. Paul Cox's men were inevitably booed from the pitch at the end as the Rebels celebrated with their 250-strong army of fans. Stags made seven changes. In came Shane Redmond, Ritchie Sutton, Lindon Meikle, Louis Briscoe, Chris Clements, Lee Beevers, and Ben Hutchinson. Out went Liam Mitchell, Gary Roberts, Andy Todd, Junior Daniel, Matt Rhead, Jake Speight and Ryan Tafazolli. That left Stags in a 4-2-1-3 formation with Hutchinson playing just in front of Howell and Clements while wingers Meikle and Briscoe flanked Green up front. Mansfield began the afternoon as massive favourites. Jumpei Iida took charge, one of two guest referees from Japan taking charge of FA Cup ties on the day. Redmond had to leave his box to clear ahead of Smith in the opening minute. But Stags soon began to settle and Meikle had a tame shot deflect to safety while Briscoe forced keeper Warrington to gather a dangerous cross as his near post which threatened to swerve under the bar. There were calls for a penalty when Briscoe's cross struck Brown's hand, but it was deemed hand to ball. Green made a good burst only to see his shot deflect wide for a corner which, taken by Clement, saw Warrington fail to catch it and the ball pass through everyone. On 20 minutes Sutton sent Green away down the right, Warrington raced out his box but Green took the ball wide of him but into an impossible angle and, when he finally got the ball across with the keeper racing to get back, Brown blocked Meikle's finish on the line. Soon after Howell had a double chance as Warrington blocked his first shot and then saw the follow-up slotted wide as the home side began to warm to their task. Bowden-Haase sent a header wide from a free kick in Slough's best chance so far on 23 minutes. But Stags roared back and Clements sent a free kick crashing into the Slough wall, Dempster wide with his ambitious overhead follow-up. The Rebels defended two more home corners as momentum began to build and possession was being kept much better by the home side as we hit the half-hour mark. However, Slough could have been ahead on 34 minutes but for a great save from Redmond. Smith wriggled his way inside the box just left of centre and sent a dipping shot on target which the keeper did well to tip away at full stretch for a corner. The visitors comfortably defended four long Geohaghon throws and another from Beevers as Slough stood firm. Beevers was booked for halting a Slough break on 43 minutes. Deeney threw himself into the path of a Briscoe blast in stoppage time as the half-time whistle inevitably brought a few boos from frustrated home fans. Brown was booked for deliberate handball three minutes into the second half, but Hutchinson was too high with the free kick. Hutchinson then swapped passes with Briscoe before the winger sliced a powerful finish wide. Briscoe cut in from the right on the next raid but dragged a low shot at the keeper from 20 yards. Stags came as close as they had all game on 57 minutes as Clements tricked his way past the Slough defence to reach the right by-line and then chip to the far post where Meikle's header smashed against the bar. Soon after Dempster got his head onto a Hutchinson corner but saw it deflect just wide as Mansfield chalked up four quickfire corners without profit. On 67 minutes Stags sent on Wright for Hutchinson as the home fans' frustration grew. Wright put a ball right across the face of goal without anyone getting there, then Clements' shot just wide for a corner. From that, Dempster backheaded towards goal and Green headed up and over from a yard off the line. Green beat Brown to the by-line and lashed another tantalising ball across the goalmouth with no one there to apply a finish. Sutton ended a neat build-up with a poor attempt at glory from 25 yards, the ball flying over to the groans of the home fans. Meikle was wide soon afterwards as the spectre of a replay began to loom large. It was all Mansfield in the closing stages with Slough defending superbly and even threatening a breakaway at one stage. Wright had a low shot deflect wide in stoppage time, but it was the underdogs' day in the end. STAGS: Redmond; Beevers, Dempster, Geohaghon, Sutton; Howell, Clements, Hutchinson (Wright 67), Green, Meikle. Subs: Thompson, Rhead, Roberts, Todd, Stevenson, Daniel. SLOUGH TOWN: Warrington, Fraser, Rhone, Brown, Bowden-Haase, Woozley, Burgess, D. Deeney, Burnell (Sonner 79), Smith, Swift (Logie 84). Subs: Murphy, A. Deeney, Hawtree, Sinclair, Perkins. REFEREE: Jumpei Iida of Japan. ATTENDANCE: 1,686 (250 away). ------------------------------------- Steve Bateman hails Slough defence after FA Cup draw at Mansfield Town By Rob Stevens http://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/sport/matchreports/articles/2012/11/05/64081-steve-bateman-hails-slough-defence-after-fa-cup-draw-at-mansfield-town/ SLOUGH kept their FA Cup dream alive on Saturday after a galiant 0-0 draw at Mansfield Town. Rebels withstood obsessive pressure in the second half to bring Mansfield back to Holloways Park for a mouth-watering first round replay on Tuesday, November 13. Slough supremo Steve Bateman, an FA Youth Cup winner as a player with Everton, hailed his defence after the goalless draw at One Call Stadium. He said: "Mansfield had a lot of the ball for a large amount of the time but we were never out of the game. "We defended like we know we can, the back four were outstanding. They got at us and were direct but we coped with it well. "Mansfield controlled a lot of possession but their keeper pulled off worldly save to deny Ed Smith in the first half." Bateman continued: "We set ourselves up to be hard to beat and that is what we were. "It is a fantastic result and I know a lot of our people enjoyed themselves. "We have got the replay to look forward to now. We're at home and it will be a special day for the football club." Referee Jumpei Lida, an FIFA-listed official from the Japanese J-League, was called into action early to correctly wave away Mansfield appeals for handball against Alex Brown. Slough were often guilty of losing possession and inviting pressure and Stags' best chance to brake the deadlock came when goalkeeper James Warrington suffered a rush of blood to the head. Misjudging a long Louis Briscoe pass Warrington rushed out of his area and was beaten to the ball by Matt Green close to the corner flag. Green cross picked out Lindon Meikle but the midfielder's goalbound effort was cleared off the line by Nathan Bowden-Haase. Warrington made up for his error with a smart stop to deny Anthony Howell who sliced a second effort wide moments later. A rare Rebels attack saw Bowden-Haase head Stuart Swift's free-kick across goal while Ed Smith was unfortunate not to put the visitor's ahead. The summer signing beat Mansfield defenders Exodus Geohaghon and John Dempster and dribbled into the box but his shot, destined for the top corner, was saved superbly by Shane Redmond. Slough spent the majority of the second half on the back as Mansfield launched countless attacks, Briscoe combining well with Ben Hutchinson for the latter to fire wide. Stags almost went ahead on the hour mark when Meikle headed Chris Clements cross against the crossbar, Rebels full-back Dominic Rhone cleared off the line and Green inexplicably fired over from inside the six-yard box. The visitors were almost gifted the lead against the run of play when a mix-up in the Mansfield defence saw Redmond clear just before Smith could poke the ball toward goal. Mansfield continued to push forward with more than a hint of desperation but Slough's defence dealt superbly with a series of corners and crosses. Should the Rebels complete a shock upset their fairytale cup run will continue with a trip to either Lincoln City or Walsall in the second round next month. Lincoln, of the Blue Square Bet Premier, held League One club Walsall to a 1-1 draw at the Imp Sincil Bank Stadium last weekend. Slough return to Southern Division One Central action on Tuesday and a visit from Rugby Town (7:45pm). Bateman's men will also host Ashford Town (Middx) this Saturday (3pm) before the first round replay against Mansfield. Slough: Warrington, Fraser, Rhone, Brown, Bowden-Haase, Woozley (c), Burgess, D Deeney, Burnell (Sonner), Smith and Swift (Logie). Subs not used: Murphy, A Deeney, Hawtree, Sinclair and Perkins. Booked: Brown and Burgess. Att: 1,686 (255 Slough). ---------------------------- |
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