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Archived News from July 2013

FRIENDLY: WORKSOP 4-1 STAGS
15th July 2013 21:06


Worksop Town 4-1 Mansfield Town
Mettam 21 mins, Denton 63 mins, Dempster OG 89, Mullen 90+1. Jordan Robertson (Stags trialist) 74 mins.

Wed 10 July 2013, at Sandy Lane, Worksop

Mansfield Town:
1. Ian Deakin
15. Ritchie Sutton
2. Martin Riley
5. John Dempster
3. Paul Black
7. Lindon Meikle
18. Adam Murray
4. Keiran Murtagh
14. Louis Briscoe
10. Ben Hutchinson
9. Ross Dyer
Subs :
12. Trialist Mitch Hanson (ex Derby, Notts Co(loan), Oxford, Eastwood defender)
6. Trialist Jordan Robertson (ex Sheff Utd, Scunthorpe striker)
Trialist Evan Garnett (ex Burton striker, aged 19)
11. Trialist Nathan Arnold
6. George Pilkington
17. Godfrey Poku

Stags in new away kit of blue shirts, amber neck.

Worksop include Connor Higginson.

kick off at 7.42pm

Paul Cox, Richard Cooper and John Ramshaw in Stags dugout.

6 mins Dyer shoots, left footed half-volley, just over the top, from Briscoe's flick

20 Worksop corner, Deakin spills it

21 Hutchinson shoots, keeper Ben Hallam saves. Not enough conviction in Hutchinson shot.

1-0 21 Phil Rowe cuts it back, Leon Mettam taps in from 4 yards. Worksop lead. Poor defending.

23 Briscoe ferocious shot wide and high.

27 Dyer flicks header from 2 or 3 yards wide

Paul Black impressive for Stags so far. But Worksop looking the better side since the goal.

35 Meikle's curling shot is headed away by Gaughan, before Murtagh's powerful follow up is blocked by Hill

42 Not long until the break. Paul Black has had a penalty appeal turned down and the Stags are seeing plenty of the ball.

HT 1-0 Stags have had the better chances but Worksop lead at the break.

2nd half starts 8.43pm

HT subs:
Nathan Arnold for Briscoe
Godfrey Poku for Hutchinson
Jordan Robertson for Dyer

4-5-1 formation, with Robertson up front

51 Good interchange between Nathan Arnold and Jordan Robertson, Robertson shoots, keeper Ben Hallam tips around for corner. Riley's header is comfortably caught from Murray's resulting corner.

54 Left footed shot from Arnold trickles wide. Arnold has started well.

60 Glorious curling effort from Murtagh just wide from 19 yards

63 2-0 Tom Denton latches on to long ball, after Riley misses it, knocks it past Deakin and strokes into empty net. Worksop lead 2-0.

70 Poku shoots wildly wide - awful.

70 Sub Evan Garnett for Meikle.

71 Worksop shot rifled into the side netting. Good effort.

73 Excellent ball for Murtagh, Arnold bursts forward into box, but Hallam makes a very good save.

74 2-1 Murtagh's low ball in from the right is tapped home by trialist Jordan Robertson from close-range.

75 Ball into box just evades Murtagh at far post.

78 Stags trialist Evan Garnett's shot is blocked

89 3-1 Worksop long ball forward, Dempster back header, no communication with Deakin, trickles into net. Dempster furious with Deakin. Comical own goal.

90+1 4-1 Deakin beaten again, poor Stags defending as they stand off, and Tom Mullen curls an effort into the top corner.

FT Worksop 4-1 Stags
Some Stags players on floor, not happy with that.

comment from Craig Priest:
Deakin - hot and cold, should have done better with the first three goals.
Robertson - scored, looked lively. Didn't get in box enough for a striker.
Garnett - got pace, but perhaps not got into right areas.
Arnold - had an excellent game.

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Report: Worksop 4-1 Stags
mansfieldtown.net report by Andrew Webb

Mansfield Town slumped to a shock 4-1 defeat to Worksop Town earlier tonight.

Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/report-worksop-4-1-stags-907093.aspx?#ClYEAuxcyQ3ZkODp.99

The Stags could take few positives from a lacklustre performance in which they were out-thought and sometimes out-fought by the rampant Tigers.

The anticipated script at Sandy Lane failed to go to plan from the outset as kick-off was delayed by 10 minutes due to Worksop’s late pre-match warm up.

In the early exchanges, Ross Dyer, making his first appearance since suffering knee ligament damage almost a year ago, blazed over following an intelligent flick on by Louis Briscoe.

At the other end, Leon Mettam’s snapshot was comfortably caught by Ian Deakin as Worksop wasted their first chance on the quarter-hour mark.

Mettam’s striker partner Tom Denton soon came closer, however, when his powerful near-post header following a left-sided corner, forced Deakin into a full-stretch fingertip stop.

Chances were being created at frequent intervals and Ben Hutchinson was the next to try his luck with a low drive, only to be denied by Ben Hallam.

On 21 minutes, the deadlock was finally broken - and it was by the hosts!

Phil Roe weaved his way inside from the left flank and his low cut-back was swept into the bottom corner by a grateful Mettam, who wheeled away in celebration.

The Stags had been given a wake up call and threatened a quick response with both Briscoe and Lindon Meikle firing wide prior to the half-hour mark.

Meikle and summer signing Keiran Murtagh came no closer as The Stags began to dictate play, whilst Paul Black also had an appeal for a spot-kick waved away.

After the re-start, substitute Jordan Robertson had a low shot turned around the post, before Martin Riley’s header from Murray’s resulting flag kick, drew a comfortable catch.

Mansfield continued to press forward and the lively Godfrey Poku helped set-up Muratgh in a move which ended with Murtagh firing just over the woodwork.

With The Stags pressing men forward there was always a danger that Worksop could add a second on the counter-attack, and that’s what proved to be the case.

On 63 minutes, Denton was put clean through and the big man did well to round a grounded Deakin inside the area and slot into the net from an acute angle.

Jack Muldoon whistled a shot into the side-netting before Mitch Husbands’ 30-yard drive was palmed away by Deakin, as The Tigers threatened to add a third.

But just as it looked the match may peter out without further incident, The Stags halved the deficit with a quarter-of-an-hour remaining.

Nathan Arnold advanced goalwards having been brilliantly put through by Murtagh, but his powerful low drive was diverted away by Hallam at the expense of a corner.

At this point, Murtagh was again instrumental as his inviting ball across the six-yard box was tucked away by Robertson, with Riley and trialist Evan Garnett also close to the incident.

Nevertheless, any hopes that Mansfield may have harboured about a comeback were shattered on the cusp of added time when The Tigers struck again in bizarre circumstances.

Hallam’s long set-piece was headed backwards by John Dempster, but Deakin, too far advanced off his goal-line, watched in horror as the ball trickled into an empty net.

And Mansfield’s miserable night went from bad to worse deep into stoppage time as Tom Mullen curled a delightful right-footed effort into the top corner.

Mansfield: Deakin, Riley, Black, Murtagh, Dempster, Sutton, Meikle, Murray (c), Hutchinson, Dyer, Briscoe. Subs Used: Arnold, Robertson, Garnett, Poku

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Stags boss Paul Cox slams side after 4-1 friendly defeat at Worksop Town
chad.co.uk report by John Lomas

Mansfield Town manager Paul Cox was furious as his side capitulated to a 4-1 pre-season friendly defeat at Evo-Stik NPL Premier neighbours Worksop Town tonight.

http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/stags-boss-paul-cox-slams-side-after-4-1-friendly-defeat-at-worksop-town-1-5841898

Two late goals flattered the Tigers, but Cox, who will play a different XI in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Stevenage tomorrow (1pm), was unimpressed by some of the displays at Sandy Lane.

“One or two haven’t done themselves any favours tonight,” he said. “I have mixed the players up into two teams and it’s my job to put the jigsaw together from those.

“Tonight there was no heart, no desire and no application. We are talking about doing the basics right.

“There are standards that need to be met and there were probably one or two players out there tonight who don’t know what we are about yet. Our standards tonight were atrocious.

“We had enough chances of our own, the ball was around the box that many times.

“But our basic defending was poor. I don’t think Ian Deakin did that much wrong in goal tonight. But the defending in front of him was poor.

“We won the championship last year by being rock solid at the back, yet tonight we looked vulnerable. But I would rather these situations happened pre-season than when the league starts.”

Deakin has now signed for the season as back-up keeper and will not remember his ‘debut’ with much affection.

But Keiran Murtagh was a giant in midfield with a superb display while fellow new boy Paul Black looked very fit, bombing on at every opportunity.

Also, Ross Dyer will have been delighted to get through his first 45 minutes since that awful knee injury in the first game of last season, though was beaten in the air more often that usual and still looks short of being fully back fit.

Of the trialists, ex-Sheffield United and Dundee striker Jordan Robertson played the second half and put Stags back in it at 2-0 with a goal while former Burton striker Evan Garnett also showed some good touches.

Ex-Stags winger Nathan Arnold also impressed in the second half as did Godfery Poku, who failed to make the Stags side after joining last summer, and Cox said ‘never say never’ when asked if the ex-Luton man could yet force his way into this season’s plans.

Former Derby defender Mitch Hanson was also on the bench, but didn’t get a chance to play.

On what became a chilly night at Sandy Lane, Mansfield were making their first appearance on English soil since winning the BSBP title in April, though drew 0-0 at Naxxar Lions in Malta on Saturday.

The Stags made the first real chance on six minutes when Dyer flashed a good effort across goal on the turn from 18 yards.

But on 17 minutes a long ball forward deceived Riley, who missed his header, allowing Mettam to go in on goal only for the Tigers man to tamely lift his attempted lob straight into Deakin’s arms.

There was more work for Deakin three minutes later as he dived full length to his right to block a firm far post header by the towering Denton from a left wing corner.

Hutchinson had sight of the home goal a minute later, from Briscoe’s pass, but his low finish from a central position 12 yards out was straight at Hallam.

Instead, within 60 seconds, it was the Tigers who roared ahead as Mettam was first to react to a low ball in the box and dispatch a low finish under Deakin for a 21st minutes lead.

Briscoe did well to wrong-foot Roe on the edge of the home box before rifling a powerful right foot shot over the bar.

Then Meikle was wide of the far post with a low effort after cutting inside from the left.

Deakin showed some excellent handling as he cut out a powerful low right wing cross, then took command of a high forward ball as he came forward to claim amid several players.

Meikle and Murtagh had shots blocked in quick succession, but Worksop held onto their lead at the break.

Arnold, Poku and Robertson replaced Dyer, Briscoe and Hutchinson for the second half - and all three made a positive impact.

On 52 minutes Riley got up for a powerful header at goal from a Murray corner, only to find keeper Hallam perfectly placed.

Arnold shot low and wide of the far post soon after as Stags looked for a quick reply.

The impressive Murtagh switched feet from right to left to blast a superb effort only just over from 20 yards.

However, on 63 minutes Mansfield were caught pushing up by a through ball that allowed Denton to race away, lure Deakin towards him, and then round the keeper before crashing the ball into the net as defenders tried to quickly get back.

Arnold was too high with his shot on the turn from distance as was Poku a few minutes later.

As Garnett came on for Meikle, Muldoon flashed a shot into the Stags sidenetting from the right while Deakin then had to beat away a swerving long distance effort from Husbands.

However, Mansfield were back in the game on74 minutes.

Murtagh drilled in a low ball from the right by-line and Robertson turned it in from close range.

Stags put on some late pressure, but it was the Tigers who sealed the win a minute from time, thanks to a Dempster own goal.

Dempster calmly nodded a long forward ball back towards Deakin. But it bounced wide of the keeper, who seemed slow to react, and watched in horror as the ball bounced past him and into the net as he tried to give chase in vain.

There was even still time for Mullen to grab the goal of the night a minute into stoppage time as he held onto the ball along the edge of the box and looked up to swerve a superb 18-yard finish round Deakin and under the top right hand angle to put the seal on a good night for the Tigers.

WORKSOP: Hallam, Miller, Roe (Jackson 66), Davies (Mullen 81), Gaughan (McKenzie 57), Hill, Muldoon (Jordan 81), Clarke (Husbands 68), Denton (Wall 76), Mettam (Forbes 60), Higginson (Barnett 57). Subs not used: Cottingham, Forbes, Jepson.?STAGS: Deakin; Sutton, Riley, Dempster; Black; Briscoe (Poku ht), Murtagh, Murray; Hutchinson (Arnold), Dyer (Robertson), Meikle (Garnett 71). Sub not used: Hanson.

REFEREE: Mr D. Tracey

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