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Archived News from May 2018

FLITCROFT, ANGOL, DARREN WEY REACTION
4th May 2018 23:25




Stags' boss praises players' fight following dramatic comeback
mansfieldtown.net, by Saturday 28 April 2018

Stags’ boss David Flitcroft has praised his team for the fight they showed in a pulsating second-half against Yeovil Town, coming from behind twice to take all three points back to Mansfield.

Substitute Lee Angol scored a brace for the Stags, including a stunning free-kick in the 79th minute which turned out to be the winning goal.

Stags found themselves 1-0 down at half-time, and the manager revealed he had to give his players some ‘tough love’ during the break.

“Certainly [in] the second-half performance, there was more tempo, more honesty, more drive. There was more belief and more of that fight that I want week in, week out. I’m delighted with the result.

“Once we spoke to them [the players] at half-time and told them what we needed from them, they certainly rose to the occasion.

https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2018/april/flitcroft-post-yeovil/

“The players need that tough love, and there was that at half-time. I’ve been honest with this group of players and I’ll keep being honest with them because it’s the only way that I know.

“They dusted themselves off and came out absolutely fighting, but they should’ve been fighting from minute one. The game plan was to have that intensity which we had in the second-half.

“The [Yeovil] penalty, whether it is or it isn’t, we haven’t let our heads go down and we kept fighting.

“If it’s a blatant push and the referee’s seen it then so be it. He was in a better position than us, but I was disappointed with it at the time. With ours, if he’s handled it and stopped it going goal-bound, then it’s a definite penalty.”

The Stags’ manager was full of praise for two-goal Angol after the win, saying he changed the course of the game following his half-time introduction.

“The goal to win the game is absolutely outstanding,” he said. “The technique and the courage to get up there and take it I thought was outstanding.

“I think the turning point was definitely Lee [Angol], he started off the half really well. He started to really upset them, and that’s what we need week in, week out. He’s got to be consistent.

“CJ [Hamilton] nearly started today and he probably should have. There are games where it doesn’t fall for you, and Alfie struggled to get to the tempo of the game. I had to make a decision early and inject that pace.

“It’s a League Two game where you’ve got honesty and sincerity. Yeovil could argue that they weren’t really playing for much today. They fought hard and fought to the last minute.

“It’s their last game of the season at home and they wanted to show the fans that they were fighting for them. That’s what you get with League Two.”

Manager Flitcroft also reflected on the results elsewhere in League Two today, and insists that Stags must only focus on what they need to do ahead of the final game of the season against Crawley at One Call Stadium next week.

“It looks like Coventry have really put their foot down and gone for them [Cheltenham]. I’d expect Accrington [to win], I think John [Coleman] and what he’s built there deserves to win the league.

“I think it will mean a lot to John to be champions and go and win the league.

“The league always throws up results, we said today was a must-win game to put pressure on the teams we are chasing down.

“We have to prepare the team now and concentrate on our business and commit to what we are going to do. The rest takes care of itself, if we do what we do right, there can be twists and turns.”

iFollow Stags subscribers can watch David Flitcroft’s answers in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later today.

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Flitcroft: ‘It’s a three way shootout next week... we must come out the blocks quickly’
chad.co.uk, by Saturday 28 April 2018

Mansfield Town boss David Flitcroft has called on his players to make a fast start against Crawley Town next Saturday, after the Stags overcame Yeovil Town to keep their hopes of reaching the League Two play-offs alive. A second half turnaround saw Mansfield twice come from behind through Lee Angol and Kane Hemmings before half-time sub Angol snatched an all-important winner at Huish Park to take their fight for a top seven spot to the final day.

Stags sit just outside the play-offs in eighth after the 3-2 win over Yeovil, three points behind Coventry City who thumped Cheltenham 6-1 away and Lincoln City who lost 1-0 at Accrington Stanley on a day which also saw Wycombe Wanderers clinch automatic promotion.

And, after the win over Yeovil, Flitcroft said: “It was a good win. The lads fought tooth and nail to try and gain the three points today.

“I explained to them it was the last away game of the season and the travelling fans, who have been unbelievable since I’ve been here, have come a long way to be a part of this today and they deserve the chance to applaud the players after the game.

Read more at: https://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/sport/football/flitcroft-it-s-a-three-way-shootout-next-week-we-must-come-out-the-blocks-quickly-1-9140183

“We do forget sometimes it costs a lot of money to follow football teams, especially away from home with the trip as lengthy as Yeovil, and our players certainly fought hard in that second half to enjoy that moment with the fans.” A change in Stags shape caused the hosts problems. “The change in shape came just before half time. We had to give them more problems and play with a better intensity. First half we didn’t. We were waiting for something to happen as opposed to going to make it happen. “I believe in telling the truth to everyone. The players got a truth pill and after the game as well. I’ve told them football and life are exactly the same. I’ve been brought up very lucky to have a dad who told me exactly how it is. “The older generation accept it because that’s where we’re from. The younger generation I’m not too sure they get told and they get brought up with that level of truth in this day and age. Certainly there was more of an honesty about us second half. “There was definitely a tempo and we knew if we turned up with a tempo then we’d cause Yeovil problems and second half we did,” said Flitcroft, who was pleased with goalscorer Angol performance. “We’ve got to get the best out of Lee Angol,” he added. “Managers have told him in the past what they want from him and he’s delivered and then not delivered. Football is a quick time. It goes faster than any other time. You are retired so soon. “At 32, 33, 34 your career could be finished. When someone’s got that youth, energy, speed and power that he has got, he’s got to use it and use it all the time. It’s a gift he’s been given and he’s got to use it everyday to improve and use it every game. “You’ve got to look like you’re fighting and earning your money for a football club. That’s my duty to try and get that out of Lee. Today is probably the start of me and Lee Angol’s relationship where he understands where I’m coming from.” Angol’s goals helped to take Stags’ fight to get in the play-offs until the last day. Flitcroft said: “It’s a three way shootout next week - that’s where we wanted to get to. We’re there. Now we’ve got to focus on the next task at hand and make sure we’re right and the energy is there next week. We’ve got to make sure we come out the blocks quickly.”

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Stags' striker 'over the moon' after match-winning brace
mansfieldtown.net, by Saturday 28 April 2018

Super sub Lee Angol claimed he was ‘over the moon’ after coming off the bench at half-time to score a brace and help Mansfield Town to a 3-2 victory over Yeovil Town this afternoon.

The Stags were behind at the break after Bevis Mugabi headed home for the Glovers but three minutes after making his introduction, Angol drew Mansfield level as he bobbled the ball home.

The home side went ahead once again when Francois Zoko converted a penalty just before the hour mark, before Kane Hemmings scored Mansfield’s equaliser with a penalty of his own after Angol’s well-struck free-kick hit a Yeovil hand in the wall.

There was nothing the wall could do about Angol’s next free-kick however as, in the 76th minute, he struck a brilliant effort in off the crossbar to give Mansfield the three points.

Speaking post-match, the forward expressed his delight at being the match winner.

“[I’m] over the moon,” he said. “The changing room’s all happy. We came from behind twice and again showed character all game. To win it, for me, I’m buzzing.

“Throughout the season it’s always a squad [game], it’s never just the starting 11 so you’ve always got to be prepared to come on and do your bit.

https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2018/april/angol-post-yeovil/

“We still work hard in training every week. We train for these moments, they don’t just happen so we just kept going to the end and today it was a good result.”

Angol’s free-kick taking ability had a big effect on the game, playing a crucial role in Mansfield’s victory, and the 23-year-old claims his skills are a result of hard work on the training ground.

“The first [goal] I scuffed it a bit but the most important thing was to get it on target. The second one was my favourite.

“There’s never no luck, there’s always hard work. I do it on the training ground and then just put it on the pitch, that’s it.”

Mansfield heads may have gone down after going into the interval a goal behind, but Angol believes his goal early in the second-half, mixed with the Stags’ desire to make the Sky Bet League Two play-offs, inspired their second half performance.

“Time’s ticking, games are running out. We [knew] that Coventry and Lincoln could be winning so we had to look at ourselves and make sure that we’re giving our best and doing as much as we can to get the win.

“Sometimes it takes a goal for example for a team to get a lift and maybe it was the goal that I came on and scored that made everybody start believing again and just keep pushing until the end.

“We’re trying to get the play-off spot so we know that’s our target. Once we got the one goal, we all started believing, all got on the same page and just kept believing that we can make it.

“We can only go out there next week and not worry about [the other results]. Just give our best, get the three points and let the table worry about itself.”

iFollow Stags subscribers can watch Lee Angol’s answers in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later today.

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Darren Way Speaks To The BBC After The 2-3 Defeat Against Mansfield Town
http://www.ciderspace.co.uk/ASP/features/interview.asp?InterviewId=2158

Yeovil Town manager Darren Way spoke to local journalist Chris Spittles, in an interview for BBC Somerset, after his side had lost 2-3 against Mansfield Town on Saturday 28th April 2018.

CS: Darren, a crazy game, and ultimately you ended up on the wrong end of a scoreline today.

DW: Yes, a crazy game and end-to-end. We knew it was going to be like that. Unfortunately I think the game will be remembered for the wrong reasons with the referee. I think he lost control of the game, which is a little bit unfortunate. But having said that, I felt the players gave absolutely everything, and we had some very good chances. I thought the Zoko penalty was a stonewall penalty, but because of his decision-making, I don't think he knew what he was doing at some stages of the game. So it's unfortunate because I just wanted that last game to be remembered for the right reasons. But having said that, I spoke to the players and as I've said that amount of effort and energy that went into it made it a good game to watch.

CS: He's already awarded the two penalties. Do you think that when Francois goes down that's on his mind, and he's wary of giving a third?

DW: Yes, I mean it's laughable. Everyone in the stadium was laughing. So hopefully he will review himself. I'm sick of talking about them, to be honest. I did say refereeing is at it's lowest point right now. It's unfortunate but again you could see that the game from both staff's agreement - we were both in joint agreement, whether it was our decisions or their decisions, nine times out of ten they are getting them wrong.

CS: How did you see the two penalties that we awarded today?

DW: Well on the (defensive) wall, I've always told the players to block. For how close it is, when you look at the jump that I think Lewis Wing has done, all he's done is to protect his face. As I've said because he's given a penalty away before, he's almost questioning his decision-making, so he's got to make up for it. Unfortunately, that's what he has done throughout the whole of the second half.

CS: Omar Sowumi was sent off. He'll miss two games, so the last game of this season and the first one of next season. How did you see the two yellow cards that he received?

DW: Well he didn't have to. He set the tempo at the start of the game. He booked Alex Fisher, and he didn't have to do that. Once you do that early on, you then have to keep giving yellow cards. If you look at his stats for how many cards he's given away this year, it's frightening.

CS: Six games without a win here at home. We've just had the presentations, player of the season and the warm rounds of applause. But how disappointed are you that you can't send these fans away with a positive result?

DW: Well, you're always disappointed as a manager, because you want to win as many games as possible. But haven't said that, we've had a tough run. Some of the younger players have had to share a massive workload. You look at the back four and I was really impressed with Shaun Donnellan today. I thought for a 22 year old to come in, and handle the situation like he has, he's been playing like a real man. Omar Sowunmi and Tom James won all the awards, and all I can say as far as the future is concerned, we've got some fantastic young talent. What I've got to get is more experience to make sure with that young talent, that if they make mistakes, they know about it. All of the top teams that we've played, they've got a wealth of experience and they know game management. My players will only get that over a period of time. I know what I've got to do next year. I know I'm under pressure and I've got to get the team in the top seven, but I can only do that with a little bit more support, and perhaps a little bit more help from upstairs, just so we can really push.

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Latest | May 2018