Archived News from November 2018
|
HAMILTON CRACKER AS STAGS BEAT PORT VALE
|
 |
|
English Football League - Sky Bet League Two
Mansfield Town 1 - 0 Port Vale Hamilton 41. Oyeleke sent off 64 Attendance: 4316 (459 from Port Vale) Date: 17 November 2018 Martin Shaw at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill Mansfield Town beat Port Vale 1-0 at the One Call Stadium to register back to back wins in the league for the first time this season, and rise to 5th in the table, just one point behind third place. Mansfield were much the better side but had to rely on a single goal for the victory. The only goal came on 41 minutes as Hayden White, who had a fabulous game, slid the ball inside for CJ Hamilton on the right, Hamilton took one touch before blasting a great shot across the keeper and into the left corner of the net from about 16 yards. It was a goal worthy of winning the game. Hamilton had been unlucky earlier when he fired another fine effort from the right across the keeper and against the left post. Hamilton is in wonderful form at the moment and it was the second game running where he scored one and hit the post with another effort. The Stags had several other good chances with Neal Bishop having a shot blocked after more good play from Hamilton, and Tyler Walker had a close range effort which just hit the keeper on the line after great play on the right by Craig Davies. Then, after Port Vale had been reduced to ten men on 64 minutes with Manny Oyeleke sent off for two blatant fouls, the Stags had more chances to seal the win. Substitute Danny Rose had a glorious chance when he chased down a lost cause as the keeper was about to clear, the keeper slipped and Rose seemed to only have to roll the ball into the empty net, but the keeper somehow recovered to make the save. Rose then burst through and was denied as the keeper made a great save to tip his shot wide. And finally a brilliant run by White into the area set up a great chance for Rose who had the chance of a free shot at goal but surprisingly elected to dummy the ball instead. However the missed chances weren’t costly as Vale created only one real effort of their own, and that came as early as the second minute of the game when Tom Conlon fired wide from 17 yards. Bobby Olejnik didn’t have a save to make, and it seemed that Vale’s only chance of a goal might come from a number of long throws into the box by Leon Legge but the Stags general defended them well. A well-deserved victory for Mansfield. Both White and Hamilton were in great form and I don’t want to separate them for my man of the match. On to the Valley on Tuesday night and that mouth-watering FA Cup replay against Charlton, at a ground where we haven’t played for 40 years. On a statistical note, it was Mansfield’s first win against Port Vale at home since 1987, though there have only been four games since then, up to this game. The Stags are now unbeaten in 14 league and cup games, have lost only two league and cup games this season, and have lost only one league game in the last 23 league games going back to last season. Mansfield were unchanged from the FA Cup draw with Charlton, and continued with the 3-4-3 formation. It was another international weekend but only Omari Sterling-James was called up on this occasion. There was no game for Ryan Sweeney’s Republic of Ireland U21, while Krystian Pearce was not called up by Barbados for their latest qualifier. Port Vale made one change from the side that lost to Sunderland in the FA Cup and there was no place in their squad for Ricky Miller, who was with the Stags last season. Port Vale’s obvious dangerman was striker Tom Pope. FULL REPORT IN THE MATCH CENTRE ---------------------- REPORT: Mansfield Town 1-0 Port Vale chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Saturday 17 November 2018 Mansfield Town finally achieved back-to-back League Two wins for the first time all season as CJ Hamilton's 41st minute strike secured a hard-earned 1-0 home win over Port Vale today. That made it 14 games unbeaten for the Stags as they shut out a Vale side that ended with 10 men after Manny Oyeleke was sent off for a second bookable offence on 64 minutes. Stags were not at their silky best against a dogged Vale side that refused to roll over, but Mansfield defended so well that keeper Bobby Olejnik did not have a real save to make all afternoon. The win kept Stags in the play-off places. Mansfield reverted to the XI that took on Charlton Athletic in the FA Cup last Sunday, reversing the 10 midweek changes for the Checkatrade Trophy clash with Scunthorpe United. As last weekend, they started with a 3-4-3 formation. Stags had a long Legge throw to deal with in the opening minutes and Conlon pulled a 20-yard shot wide as Vale began the game on the attack. Pope then went down very easily as he and White stood together as the ball came in, but the referee was having none of it. It took Mansfield 15 minutes to fashion a chance as Mellis pulled a low shot into the near sidenetting from the edge of the box. A minute later Hamilton got into the box on the right and made space for a low shot across the keeper that struck the base of the far post. Conlon was booked for bringing down White on 21 minutes. And 10 minutes later Oyeleke was added for a similar offence as he pulled down Walker when he threatened to break away. On 35 minutes Pearce had his own keeper stretching upwards after he had sliced the ball when cutting out a Whitfield cross from the right and it threatened to loop over Olejnik. But a poor half sprang to life four minutes from the break when Hamilton opened the scoring. Slipped into the box by White's pass on the right of the box, Hamilton smashed a superb left-footed finish across keeper Brown and inside the far post. Walker almost doubled the lead three minutes after the break. Davies drilled in a low cross from the right by-line and right in front of goal, Walker saw Brown get in the way of his cheeky backheeled attempt at finishing. Rose replaced Davies in the home attack on 54 minutes. A quickly taken free kick saw Mellis send White to the right by-line, but no one was able to turn it home, then Brown took the ball off Hamilton's toe before he could capitalise on Walker's through ball as Stags stepped up their hunt for a second goal. Another excellent low cross from White was flicked into the sidenetting by Benning on 62 minutes. Vale were reduced to 10 men when Oyeleke's foul prevented Bishop bursting into the box and, having already been booked, he was shown red for a second yellow card offence. Hamilton's pace was too much for Dodds on 69 minutes as he was added the book for bringing him down and tempers began to rise a minute later when Montano hacked down Mellis for another caution. Sweeney was withdrawn on 77 minutes, Elsnik coming on as Stags reverted to a 4-4-2 to halt a spell of Vale pressure. It should have been all over on 82 minutes when keepr Brown slipped and gave the ball to Rose in front of goal, but he managed to desperately block the striker's finish and Walker blazed the follow-up over the bar. Pope was added to the book for a flare-up in the centre circle on 86 minutes just before Graham replaced Walker up front. Hannant was the next in the book on 87 minutes for yet another foul, Bishop joining him a minute later as the first Stags yellow of the game, also for a foul. In five added minutes Rose forced Brown into a fine save to his right when the home side suddenly found themselves two on two. MANSFIELD: Olejnik; Sweeney (Elsnik 77), Pearce, Preston; White, Mellis, Bishop, Benning; Walker, Davies (Rose 54), Hamilton. Subs not used: Logan, Atkinson, Butcher, Graham, Smith. PORT VALE: Brown, Joyce, Legge, Oyeleke, Pope, Hannant, Rawlinson, Smith, Conlon (Dodds 55), Clark, Whitfield (Montano 55). Subs not used: Horby, Kay, Quigley, Vassell, Hardcastle. REFEREE: Martin Coy of Durham. ATTENDANCE: 4,316 (459 away). CHAD STAGS MAN OF THE MATCH: Jacob Mellis. Read more at: https://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/sport/football/report-mansfield-town-1-0-port-vale-1-9449761 ------------------ Mansfield 1, Port Vale 0 Verdict: No disgrace but this was a reminder of Vale's limitations By Michael Baggaley https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/mansfield-1-port-vale-0-2232054?fbclid=IwAR3HOlOxz8IcQchxQR7-hJrKBiwrhKlH-bYBZnwBIeV_mU4r_ixE89SbOuc One defeat in five league games is no disgrace, but this result was a reminder of Vale's limitations. They could hardly have worked harder but, away to one of the better sides in the division, just didn't create enough to seriously threaten a result. The fact Vale have now played all the top seven and have a record of six defeats and a solitary draw, at home to Exeter, suggests Neil Aspin's rebuilding job at Vale has some way to go before they can compete in that company. They might get the odd result against a top seven side with a bit of luck and a crucial refereeing decision in their favour, but when that doesn't happen, as was the case on Saturday, then the gap in quality will tell. Neither should we be fooled by the fact Vale had to play the final 26 minutes of this game with ten men once Manny Oyeleke was sent off for a second booking. Mansfield were already 1-0 up and on top by that point. In fact, the home side looked more nervous against ten men than they had against eleven as Vale, to their credit, kept going and the Stags couldn't get the goal to finish them off. Apologies if that all sounds rather gloomy, it's not meant to. Vale played considerably better in this 1-0 defeat than they had in pinching a 1-1 draw at Mansfield last season, a result that secured their place in the Football League with three games to go. Aspin has undoubtedly improved the squad since then and there should be no repeat of last season's frantic scrap to avoid dropping into non-league. However, actually challenging for a top-seven place could take another couple of transfer windows, no matter how organised Aspin gets the team and how hard his players work. Certainly if the manager can make a few more transfer finds like Scott Brown and Leon Legge, who didn't deserve to be on the losing side here, then Vale should continue to improve. Manny Oyeleke has to be put into the category of free transfer hits, even though he had his worst afternoon in a Vale shirt here as he was sent off for two deserved bookings. His two yellows were among seven collected by Vale which means they face the letter from the FA and possible fine which comes from getting six bookings in a game. But they will be far less aggrieved about the bookings and paperwork than the major decision that didn't go in their favour when Tom Pope appeared to be pulled down as he went for a ball across the area. The game was goalless at that point so who knows how it would have panned out had Vale got a lead to hang on to? They had actually been the better side for the opening ten minutes and then defended well to ensure Scott Brown wasn't seriously tested before the home side scored an excellent goal through CJ Hamilton on 41 minutes. Hamilton played for Neil Aspin and Lee Nogan on loan from Sheffield United at both Halifax and Gateshead so they knew he was capable of the skill he showed when he made the most of a shooting chance 16 yards out by bending the ball across Brown and inside the far post. That was little harsh on Vale, but Mansfield started the second half much the stronger and Brown had to make a point-blank save to deny former Valiant Tyler Walker before Vale's task got considerably tougher when Oyeleke got his second booking, and marching orders, for a trip on Neal Bishop 25 yards out. Vale rallied impressively to take the game to Mansfield, without actually looking like scoring. Instead the Stags had the two best chances late on, first when Scott Brown denied Danny Rose after the keeper had slipped to gift the striker possession, and then when Brown tipped Rose's shot away after the substitute had broken clear of the defence. Late goals would have been cruel to Vale who put in a tremendous shift just to stay in the game with ten men. Oyeleke will serve a one-game ban and miss next Saturday's game at home to Swindon, which means a selection decision for Aspin who had recalled the fit-again midfelder to his starting line up, dropped Theo Vassell to the bench and changed from a 3-5-2 formation to a 4-4-2 with Connell Rawlinson and Mitch Clark at right and left back respectively and Luke Hannant and Tom Conlon playing wide right and left of midfield. We'll see what Aspin can come up with but, without wishing to tempt fate, the next six opponents - Swindon, Yeovil, Morecambe, Cheltenham, Macclesfield and Grimsby - are all below the 16th-placed Valiants in the table. Those games might be better test of Vale's steady improvement than away to a Mansfield side who look likely to finish in the top seven. -------------------- |
Latest | November 2018