Archived News from December 2018
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FABULOUS STAGS BEAT BURY
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English Football League - Sky Bet League Two
Mansfield Town 2 - 1 Bury Hamilton 61, Walker pen 79. O’Shea pen 90+6 Attendance: 4959 (516 from Bury) Date: 26 December 2018 Martin Shaw and Simon Chamberlain at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill Mansfield Town put in a fabulous performance to beat in-form Bury 2-1 at the One Call Stadium in a game which was a great advert for League Two football. The first half saw Bury on top in the opening stages with Mansfield gaining the ascendancy as the half wore on with some wonderful attacking moves. It was level at the break, which was a fair scoreline, but Mansfield dominated the second half. The Stags deservedly took the lead on 61 minutes, when the excellent Jacob Mellis chipped a magnificent ball forward for CJ Hamilton who beat the offside trap and his initial shot at goal was well-blocked by the keeper, but Hamilton headed in the rebound. It was Hamilton’s 7th goal of the season. The Stags increased the lead on 79 minutes when, from a Mellis corner, Ryan Sweeney was fouled off the ball by Adam Thompson, while most of the crowd were watching a goalline clearance by Nicky Adams, hacking Danny Rose’s header away. The incident is out of shot on our pitchside footage but clear on the main camera footage as Sweeney is manhandled down. Bury manager Ryan Lowe confirmed after the game that Thompson had his arms around Sweeney’s neck and admitted “you just can’t put your arms round someone’s neck in the penalty area, simple as that”. Tyler Walker coolly converted the spot kick, firing into the left corner as the keeper dived the wrong way. It was Walker’s 15th goal of the season. Bury scored a consolation penalty in the 96th minute after a clumsy challenge from the otherwise excellent Matt Preston on Nicky Maynard, near the byline, and Jay O’Shea fired the resulting penalty into the bottom corner. The referee almost immediately blew the final whistle to signal a thoroughly deserved victory, which should have been by more than one goal. Some blistering football from Mansfield against a really good side in Bury. 22 games gone, and the Stags are into the top 3 for the first time this season. Just one game short of half a season played, and Mansfield have only been beaten once in the league. Mansfield’s unbeaten run is up to 15 games, the club’s best since a 20 game unbeaten run in 1976. It was Mansfield’s first win on Boxing Day for ten years, since a 3-1 win at Kettering in the Conference in 2008 (my match report here). And it was Mansfield’s first win over Bury in any competition for nearly 14 years, since February 2005, when David Flitcroft was in the Bury side (my match report here). Mansfield were unchanged from the side that won at Stevenage on Saturday. The bench was also unchanged. Bury made five changes from their side which beat Tranmere on Saturday. According to our colleagues from iFollow Bury, this was mostly tactical. Nicky Maynard, who was terrific against the Stags at Gigg Lane, scoring twice, was dropped after a poor performance against Tranmere, despite scoring. Influential midfielder Danny Mayor was out through injury. Former Stag Stephen Dawson, sent off here a few weeks ago in the Checkatrade Trophy game, started in central midfield. FULL REPORT IN THE MATCH CENTRE ------------------------------ Boxing Day win over rivals Bury puts Mansfield Town into the top three chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Wednesday 26 December 2018 Mansfield Town ended Boxing Day proudly in the top three of League Two after a superb 2-1 home win over promotion rivals Bury. The visitors had begun the afternoon in superb fashion, dominating the first 15 minutes. But once Stags got into gear they were the better side by the break and in a one-sided second half they were deserved winners through goals from CJ Hamilton on 61 minutes and a Tyler Walker penalty on 79 minutes. Bury’s only reply came from a 95th minute Jay O’Shea penalty, coming far too late to save them after a half in which home keeper Conrad Logan did not have another shot to save as the Stags turned on the style for the big Bank Holiday crowd. The sublime Jacob Mellis once again ran the show in central midfield as Stags showed they are genuine contenders for automatic promotion this season. Unchanged for a third League Two game in a row, Stags almost fell behind in the second minute when Pearce headed a long throw from Miller high into the air in the box. O’Connell met it as it dropped with a powerful header that Logan had to beat away for a corner at his near post. Bury’s confidence was apparent as O’Connell and O’Shea tried to beat Logan from halfway inside a couple of minutes with ambitious efforts and the keeper on the edge of his box. On eight minutes Logan stuck out a hand to block a low Lavery shot from 20 yards as the Shakers piled on the early pressure. Mansfield finally began to tick and Mellis had Stags’ first shot blocked on 15 minutes from their first corner. A minute later he fired another chance into the sidenetting as the home fans also began to find their voice. A White burst down the right ended with Benning flicking his header wide on 19 minutes. Mansfield came even closer on 22 minutes as a mistake by O’Connell gave the ball to Walker, who fed Hamilton. His low cross picked out Bishop, but Dawson was on hand with a crucial, smothering block. On the half-hour White sent Mellis scampering into the box where his superb control saw him able to set up Walker to his left. But the striker scuffed his finish with keeper Murphy easily able to block. Bury answered with a chance on 33 minutes as Lavery popped the ball between Pearce’s legs wide on the left by-line and O’Shea blasted over from a tight angle. A great pass across the box by Benning as the culmination of a great series of Mansfield passes on 40 minutes saw White’s low cross blocked and his follow-up shot hit the sidenetting. In the 45th minute Elsnik had a shot that Walker helped on and Hamilton reached the loose ball first only to see Murphy bravely smother his finish. In the one added minute Mellis was only just wide from 30 yards as Stags ended the half on a real high. Bury began the second half with the game’s first booking on 47 minutes after O’Shea chopped down Mellis. A minute later, in trying to head away a Hamilton cross on the line, O’Connell headed against his own crossbar. Mansfield were finally rewarded for their attacking start to the half with a superb goal on 61 minutes. Mellis floated the pass of the game down the centre as Hamilton burst through, the keeper blocking his first finish only to see Hamilton then nod home the loose ball as it popped into the air. Elsnik was booked for a 65th minute foul, despite his protests. On 69 minutes Rose replaced Elsnik as Stags switched to 3-4-3. On 78 minutes Murphy made a double save to deny Walker and then Rose, both shots from the tightest of angles. But Stags were 2-0 up on 79 minutes. The referee spotted a push on Sweeney from a corner and Walker stepped up to send Murphy the wrong way from the spot high into the left hand side. Atkinson replaced Mellis on 85 minutes and almost immediately burst down the centre only to poke his finish wide. Graham was given the last two minutes in place of Walker. With the five added minutes complete, Stags blotted their copybook as Preston brought down Maynard in the box and was booked before O’Shea slotted home a penalty just inside the left post. But it meant little as the whistle went seconds later to huge cheers. STAGS: Logan; Sweeney, Pearce, Preston; White, Bishop, Elsnik (Rose 69), Mellis Atkinson 85), Benning; Walker (Graham 88), Hamilton. Subs not used: Kean, Khan, Butcher, Law. BURY: Murphy, Miller (Adams 52), Stokes, Aimson, Thompson, O’Connell, Dawson (Danns 58), Styles (Maynard 71), Telford, O’Shea, Lavery. Subs not used: Hudson, Dagnall, Moore, McFadzean. REFEREE: Ollie Yates of Staffordshire. ATTENDANCE: 4,959 (516 away).CHAD STAGS MAN OF THE MATCH: Jacob Mellis. Read more at: https://www.hucknalldispatch.co.uk/sport/football/boxing-day-win-over-rivals-bury-puts-mansfield-town-into-the-top-three-1-9509302 ---------------------- SHAKERS' MATCH VERDICT: Mansfield Town 2-1 Bury By Staff Reporter https://www.burytimes.co.uk/sport/17320576.shakers-match-verdict-mansfield-town-2-1-bury/ BURY boss Ryan Lowe said his side lacked quality and did not want it enough as they lost 2-1 to promotion rivals Mansfield Town on Boxing Day. A strike from CJ Hamilton and a Tyler Walker penalty were enough for the hosts at One Call Stadium, with Jay O’Shea’s stoppage-time spot-kick a consolation for the visitors. Goalkeeper Joe Murphy pulled off a string of fine saves to keep Lowe’s side in it but the manager was still left disappointed. “We weren’t good enough,” he said. “There was a lack of quality, too many touches and (poor) decision making. “The first 10 to 15 minutes I thought we were on it but from then on I thought we were sloppy in possession, sloppy in our units and distances. “I don’t know whether you can put it down to a bad day at the office. "I’ve just told the lads I didn’t really see the desire today to run through those brick walls. “They probably wanted it a bit more, so I’m a bit disappointed by that.” Lowe said the Shakers needed to continue to improve to ensure they stay in the promotion hunt. He made five changes to the side which beat Tranmere at the weekend but some players impressed him more than others, as they dropped down to sixth in League Two ahead of Saturday’s visit to Notts County. Lowe added: “I keep saying we are nowhere near the finished article, we still have long way to go, and I’ve said this to the boys. “We’re in a good position and we have been playing some good football but the hardest thing is staying there and that’s what we are going to do. Work hard to stay there. “We’ve got a good squad and some players gave me a headache and some players didn’t.” The Shakers started like a house on fire, with Eoghan O’Connell afforded too much time in the six-yard box but he could not get enough power in his header and Conrad Logan tipped over. Murphy made a fantastic save just before half time as a series of ricochets sent the ball to the Stags’ Hamilton but it was smothered by the goalkeeper. At the start of the second period a goalmouth scramble saw O’Connell head the ball against his own bar in an attempt to keep the ball out of the Bury net. The Shakers conceded on the hour in unusual fashion as an exquisite ball by Jacob Mellis found Hamilton, he volleyed it against Murphy but the ball popped up off the keeper and Hamilton headed into the empty net with Murphy stranded. Bury tired as the second half progressed and when Hamilton found himself in acres of space he looked set to score but Murphy saved with his legs. Referee Ollie Yates awarded the Stags a penalty with 11 minutes to play when Ryan Sweeney was pulled down by Adam Thompson at a corner, with Walker converting. O’Shea notched the penalty for Bury in stoppage time after Nicky Maynard was felled but the Stags gained revenge for their 1-0 defeat in the Checkatrade Trophy earlier this month. Mansfield Town (3-5-2): Logan; Preston, Pearce, Sweeney; White, Bishop, Mellis (Atkinson 85), Elsnik (Rose 69), Benning; Walker (Graham 88), Hamilton. Subs not used: Kean, Khan, Butcher, Law. Bury (3-5-2): Murphy 9; Aimson 6, Thompson 7, O’Connell 7; Miller 7 (Adams 52, 5), Dawson 6 (Danns 58, 5), Styles 6 (Maynard 71, 5), O’Shea 7, Stokes 6; Telford 7, Lavery 7. Subs not used: Hudson, Dagnall, Moore, McFadzean. Referee: Ollie Yates..... 6/10. Attendance: 4,959. --------------------- |
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