Archived News from October 2018
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FLITCROFT, MELLIS, PAUL TISDALE REACTION
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Draw was fair result in committed contest - Stags' boss mansfieldtown.net, Saturday 27 October 2018 Stags’ boss David Flitcroft has described this afternoon’s 1-1 draw with high-flying MK Dons as a ‘committed’ display from two ‘very good football teams.’ Midfielder Jacob Mellis opened the scoring with a thunderous strike on 17 minutes, before Jordan Houghton’s long-range effort wrapped up the afternoon’s scoring less than ten minutes later. It was a tightly-contested affair throughout, and despite believing his side should have been awarded a penalty, the manager described the 1-1 final scoreline as a fair result. “[Stags and MK Dons] are two very good football teams,” said the Stags’ boss. “Both sets of players committed to an end-to-end game of football. “We had two teams that went to try and win the game and go for the jugular. MK Dons are, in terms of style of play, one of the best teams in the league. https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2018/october/gaffer-post-mk-dons/ “I’m not going to say I am happy with the point. When he [Mellis] scored I knew what it meant to him. I just wanted the three points for him and he deserved to get that. It was a goal worthy of winning a game. “On the flip side, you could say their goal was deserving of equalising the game. They were two fantastic strikes. “On reflection, it’s probably a fair result. But it was a real committed performance from both teams. “I was disappointed not to get a penalty. When a defender makes a mistake, and Tyler [Walker] gets in, he almost has to make a second mistake to correct the first one. “He is out of position, Tyler has got in and had a touch. Why would a striker who is desperate to score for us go down? He’s ready to pull the trigger and is bundled over.” The Stags’ boss was delighted with the way his players started the contest, and heavily praised Mellis’ sumptuous strike. “They [MK Dons] are the best team we have come up against,” added the manager. “I thought first half we were really good. It was dominant and we asked questions of them. “We have to make sure that we hit the target [with our chances]. We’re doing a lot of work on it at the minute. That’s probably the only disappointing aspect from the game. “I said to them [the players], connect with the fans and have an aggressive start, and they did. They really took the game to MK Dons. It was a fast, aggressive start. “The goal [by Mellis], if you see that at the top level we’d be talking about it all night. It probably won’t get the justice because we’re League Two. “It was football that I wanted to see, and we caused them lots of problems in the first half. We looked like a really good team. “We lost our way a little in the second half, possibly with Otis [Khan] coming off. About ten minutes before half-time, he had a problem with his Achilles tendon. We probably lacked a bit of creation and a ball-carrier from then.” Mansfield have the joint-best defensive record in the league [alongside MK Dons], and manager David Flitcroft once again spoke highly of his ‘brilliant’ back-line. “[We’ve] not [had] enough wins, but we will get them and they will come. I’m a big believer in performance and making sure the performance has been good, which it has been. “To really drive us up the league now, those back-to-back wins are important. The players need to understand that they are a good set of players. “The back-three again today, against a fantastic forward line, I thought were brilliant. If we get that penalty and score that second goal, it would have been a long way for them to come back.” Lastly, the manager touched on an injury to goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik, after the Stags’ stopper went down holding his leg midway through the second half. “That’s the type of injury [to Olejnik] that tightens up over time. We’re going to have to spend a lot of time tonight and look after the injury site. We won’t know until tomorrow. “They are injuries that you leave today. It’s an injury that stiffens up and we just have to be mindful of that tomorrow.” iFollow Stags subscribers can watch the manager’s interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later today. ------------------- Flitcroft pleased with Mansfield Town display in Dons draw chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Saturday 27 October 2018 David Flitcroft was delighted with Mansfield Town's display against an MK Dons team he believed were the best side Stags have faced all season as the sides draw 1-1 this afternoon. Jacob Mellis smashed home a 25-yard blast on 17 minutes for a spectacular opener only to see Jordan Houghton net an equally spectacular equaliser on 24 minutes in an end to end spectacle. Dons arrived with five wins a row under their belt and second in the table, and Flitcroft said: “It was possibly a fair result. “It was two very good football teams and a really committed game. Both sets of players committed to an end to end game of football. “They are the best team we have come up against and I thought first half we were really good, dominating on the front foot and asking questions of them. We really took it to them. Read more at: https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/flitcroft-pleased-with-mansfield-town-display-in-dons-draw-1-9416923 “When you're playing the top teams you make sure you don't lose it. “In every league you get some teams that want to spoil proceedings, but today you had two teams who wanted to go and win a game and go for the jugular. “They moved the ball around the pitch well. In terms of style of play MK Dons are probably one of the best teams at it in the league. They have a brilliant manager who understands that philosophy.” Flitcroft said the Mellis strike was spectacular and he felt it was a shame it hadn't won the game as he believed Mellis would have dedicated it to the midfielder's late mother. He said: “If you saw that goal at the top level you'd be talking about it all night. It probably won't get justice because we are League Two. “With what Jacob has been through personally, I desperately wanted that to win the game. “As soon as he scored it and celebrated, he knew what it meant to us and I knew what it meant to Jacob, thinking about his mum. “But their goal was deserved in equalising a game. “They were two fantastic strikes. He wasn't closed down and it was in the back of our net with the wind coming down our throats.” He also believed Tyler Walker had won a spot kick, which ref Seb Stockbridge waved away. “We should have had a penalty,” he said. “Why would a striker who is desperate to score for us go down when he is ready to pull the trigger and gets bundled over. I thought the referee bottled it at that point.” Stags return to action at Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday night looking to go a ninth game unbeaten. --------------- Injuries worries for Mansfield Town ahead of Crewe trip chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS Mansfield Town will check on the fitness of goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik and midfielder Otis Khan ahead of tomorrow night’s trip to Crewe Alexandra (7.45). Khan came off at the break during Saturday’s 1-1 home draw with MK Dons with an Achille’s heel problem while Ojenik soldiered on until the end after a nasty collision with big striker Chuks Aneke left him finishing the game in pain. Conrad Logan will stand by to replace Olejnik in goal if needed and on the keeper’s injury, boss David Flitcroft said: “It’s the type of injury that tightens up over time and there will be a bit of a internal bleed in there. “So we are going to have to spend a lot of time looking after the injury. “Conrad Logan nearly came on. But the adrenalin had kicked in and Bobby didn’t want to come off.” Calum Butcher will be on stand-by to replace Khan. Defender Hayden White will also need to prove his fitness today after Saturday came too soon for him to return. Stags’ game at Crewe is one of their two games in hand after games were postponed due to international call-ups. Mansfield will hope to further extend their current new club record unbeaten away sequence to 11 games and make up ground on the play-offs. But Crewe, managed by ex-Stag Dave Artell, have had a decent October with three wins and two draws in six games so far, losing only to leaders Lincoln City. After yet another draw on Saturday, Flitcroft said: “We need to have belief. We’ve only lost something like once in 20 games. “We haven’t had enough wins, but they will come. “I am a big believer in performance and making sure a performance is good - and it was on Saturday. “But to really drive you up that league, back-to-back wins are important. “We have to make our players understand and believe. They are good players. “I thought our back three were brilliant again against MK Dons, who have a fantastic forward line.” ------------------- Mellis: Goal was best of my career mansfieldtown.net, Saturday 27 October 2018 Midfielder Jacob Mellis says his goal against MK Dons was one of the best of his career after today’s 1-1 draw at One Call Stadium. Mellis netted the Stags’ only goal with a thunderous effort to open the scoring in a tightly-contested encounter. The visitors sat in second place before the meeting and were in fine form having won their last five league games on the bounce, with Mansfield now making it eight games unbeaten in all competitions following the match. Mellis, speaking of his opening goal, said: “I think it’s probably the best [goal], maybe one other like against Hull but I don’t really shoot that much from outside the box. “It just came to me on the edge and Futch [Ben Futcher, assistant manager] has been talking to me about shooting more so he was telling me before the game to shoot so I hit that one and caught it right so luckily it went in. https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2018/october/mellis-post-mk-dons/ “We’ve been practicing on end product, shooting from distance and creating chances from crosses so thankfully it came off for me today.” When asked about the Stags’ performance, he said: “We were on it from the start today and they’re a good team, but we are as well, and I think we proved that today we can go toe-to-toe with the best in the league. “In the first half we got on top of them and I think we should’ve had a penalty and we had a couple other chances, but second half was a bit more even and I don’t think there were as many chances. “They played the right way, and the gaffer made no mistake telling us how they play and how they move the ball, so we were prepared for that and I think from the front to the back we pressed them well and didn’t let them play too much.” Mellis also spoke about his start to the season and how he has worked to improve. “It has been a disappointing start, the suspension was hanging over my head, but I’ve got that out the way now and I’ve been working with DT [Daryl Taylor, fitness coach], the gaffer [David Flitcroft] and working on my fitness. “I think I’ve come back better and sharper and obviously I’ve scored a couple now and I want to keep scoring.” The 27-year-old stated Mansfield need to ‘turn teams over’ as the Stags look forward to Crewe on Tuesday night in Sky Bet League Two. “I think that we can turn teams over three, four or five we just need to do it now and stop talking about it. “Focus is straight onto Crewe now and they’re a good team if you let them play as well so we need to be on that and turn this good point today into three on Tuesday.” iFollow Stags subscribers can watch Jacob Mellis' interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later today. ---------------------- Mansfield Town midfielder Mellis: We proved we can battle with the best chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Saturday 27 October 2018 Jacob Mellis believes Mansfield Town proved they can match the very best in League Two as they fought out a thrilling 1-1 home draw with Milton Keynes Dons. Mellis scored a fantastic 25-yard goal to open the scoring on 17 minutes, only to see an equally spectacular Jordan Houghton goal level it up seven minutes later. But the Stags are now eight game unbeaten after matching the division's second-placed side and Mellis said: “You could see it we we were on it from the start today. “They are a good team, but so are we and we proved we can go toe to toe with the best. Read more at: https://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town-midfielder-mellis-we-proved-we-can-battle-with-the-best-1-9416936 “When we do start finishing chances we will turn teams over three, four, five goals. We just have to do it now and stop talking about it.” On his goal, Mellis said manager David Flitcroft and assistant Ben Futcher had been encouraging him to shoot more. He said: “It came to me on the edge and Futch has been talking to me about shooting more. So I hit that one and I caught it right, so luckily it went in. “I couldn't see if it was going in as (Ryan) Sweeney's big head was in the way to be fair, so I was looking round him! “I think it's probably my best goal, apart from maybe one against Hull. I don't shoot that much from outside the box. But the gaffer and Futch have been telling me to shoot and today I did.” On Houghton's equaliser, he added: “To be fair their boy caught it well as well. “I don't think you see too many games with two goals like that. “We got on top of them first half and, to be fair, we should have had a penalty as well. “Second half was a bit more even and not too many chances. Flitcroft pleased with Mansfield Town display in Dons draw “The first half was very difficult with the wind, but we just had to get on with it. Second half we could pin them in a bit more.” Mellis had a three-game ban to contend with aftreb the pre-season brawl with Sheffield Wednesday but believes he is back better than ever. “I've had a disappointing start with the suspension hanging over my head,” he said. “I've got that out the way now. I've been working on my fitness through that period and I think I have come back fitter and sharper.” ------------------ Tis not disappointed after MK Dons' winning-streak comes to an end by TOBY LOCK, Milton Keynes Citizen, Saturday 27 October 2018 There will be no sleep lost by Paul Tisdale after his side's winning streak came to an end in a thrilling 1-1 draw with Mansfield on Saturday. Two sensational goals earned each side a share of the spoils - first from Jacob Mellis and then from Dons' Jordan Houghton - but it saw their five-game run of wins come to an end, though remaining undefeated through October. "I'm not disappointed about today," said Tisdale afterwards. "It was always going to finish at some point. IT has been a good month for us - the players have upped their game, and we'll take this point. Mansfield are hard to beat, it's a good point. "It was a fabulous game. It was real winter conditions and two teams who wanted to win it. There was no point where we wanted to settle for a point. I'm not happy - I wanted to win it but I'm comfortable with the way we played. We were very competitive, it could have gone our way, but at 1-1 anything can happen. We come away with a good point I think. Read more at: https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/sport/football/mk-dons/tis-not-disappointed-after-mk-dons-winning-streak-comes-to-an-end-1-8684586 "It's not a big pitch, it was bouncy, the referee was letting a few challenges go. We made it into a football match with the courage to play out, and that was how we were going to win it., It was a strong defensive display. We march onto the next game." While Mellis' goal was a contender for goal of the season on 16 minutes, Houghton's effort eight minutes later may well have trumped it with an equally fierce strike from 25 yards. But Tisdale said he wasn't expecting Houghton to get too many goals this season. He said: "He hit one at Swindon that hit the bar too - I don't think he'll be up there in those positions too often but his game is developing, it needs to be all-encompassing. When he gets the opportunity, he's a safe pair of hands when it comes to striking the ball. It was a sweet strike, he let the wind take it - it was a lovely goal." --------------- Dons boss Tisdale praises both sides after entertaining draw with Mansfield chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Saturday 27 October 2018 MK Dons manager Paul Tisdale praised both sides for pressing hard for victory in a 'fabulous game' after this afternoon's thrilling 1-1 draw at Mansfield Town. The sides boast the division's meanest defences and both were only pierced on the day by spectacular 25-yard blasts in a game of many chances. “It was a fabulous game with sides trying to win it,” he said. “At no point in the game did we think we'd take a draw so am I happy? No, I wanted to win. “But am I comfortable with the way we played? Yes, we were very competitive and it could easily have gone our way.” On Jacob Mellis' superb 17th minute strike for the Stags, he said: “It's very hard to criticise anyone when the ball is rocketed in from 25 yards. “Maybe should have cleared it a bit better from the original clearance. “But it was a windy day and I thought our players did extremely well to tidy the play and we certainly managed to play good football, despite the conditions. “So I am really proud of them. I liked the way we played and we did enough to score a second. “But they also worked really hard for their point too. I am not belittling the effort Mansfield put in and how hard they tried to win the game too.” Jordan Houghton then blasted in an equally spectacular equaliser on 24 minutes and Tisdale said: “I don't think he will be up there in those sort of positions that often. But his game is developing and when you get the opportunity he is a safe pair of hands when it comes to striking a ball. It was a sweet strike and a lovely goal.” He added: “It's a small pitch, the wind was really strong, the pitch was bouncy and the referee let a challenge or two go. “It needed a lot of courage to bring the ball down and play. We showed that and made it into a football match. That was how we were going to win it. “It didn't work out like that but it was a strong defensive display.” Read more at: https://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/sport/football/dons-boss-tisdale-praises-both-sides-after-entertaining-draw-with-mansfield-1-9416910 ------------------- Houghton made amends with sensational Mansfield goal TOBY LOCK, Milton Keynes Citizen, Saturday 27 October 2018 Jordan Houghton might not have scored many better than his strike at Mansfield on Saturday, but the midfielder believes he should score more. The 22-year-old scored with a sensational strike in the 1-1 draw at Field Mill - his first for MK Dons since moving from Doncaster in the summer. And the midfielder said he needs to add goals to his game, but felt he had to make amends for his role in Mansfield's opener. "To be honest, it was my mistake for their goal," said Houghton. "I slipped when trying to clear it, made a bad connection and he's put it in, so I was keen to make up for the mistake. I had one away at Swindon which was similar, where I picked it up and drove with the ball and hit one. "It's something I need to add to my game, I can strike a ball well, so I need to get into those positions and hopefully score more from that distance. But I'm pleased with the goal." Dons' five game winning streak came to an end at Field Mill, but their undefeated record was stretched to seven games in League 2 as they closed the gap to leaders Lincoln City to just two points. Houghton though felt Dons did enough to beat the Stags. He said: "We'd have liked to have come away with the three points, we had some good chances and a lot of good play. But looking back, they're a good side and conditions were really bad, so I think a draw is a good result. The three points would have been lovely but we're in a good run. "The first half was difficult with the wind and ball up in the air - a few times I'd misjudged where the ball was! The second half, the wind was in the other direction! It was a battle in midfield, the pitch wasn't great so it was another thing to take onboard. "At times, we played some nice stuff, we played confidently out from the back, and it settles crowds down which helps massively. There was a lot of positives to take, and we can look forward to next week." Read more at: https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/sport/football/mk-dons/houghton-made-amends-with-sensational-mansfield-goal-1-8684595 ------------------ John Radford post on facebook On our way home... i player is good but it’s always better live. Huge thanks to Martin and Dean for taking us through the game #coysforlife (he means iFollow of course, not iPlayer) --------------- |
Latest | October 2018