Archived News from February 2019
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STAGS BEATEN AT NEWPORT
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English Football League - Sky Bet League Two
Newport County 1 - 0 Mansfield Town Willmott 15 Attendance: 3133 (362 from Mansfield) Date: 9 February 2019 Martin Shaw at Rodney Parade Mansfield Town were beaten 1-0 at Newport County this afternoon in what turned out to be a terrible day for the Stags. Not only did the Stags lose, and Newport were certainly the deserved winners, but Danny Rose suffered a horrific facial injury, the extent of which is not known at the time of writing, though players on the pitch at the time were visibly shaken by it. Hopefully the injury will not be as serious as it looked. Get well soon Danny. Ryan Sweeney was also booked and will therefore be suspended for the next two games, starting with the huge local derby at Notts County next Saturday. The Stags didn’t get to grips with a muddy pitch that didn’t suit the likes of players Jorge Grant, Jacob Mellis, CJ Hamilton etc, and Mansfield created very few goalscoring chances in the game. Newport are used to playing on this pitch and it’s no coincidence that their home record is excellent (10 wins, 4 draws and 1 defeat from the last 15 home games prior to today in all competitions), while their recent away record is terrible. The only goal of the game came on 15 minutes with a well-worked corner. Dan Butler’s short corner along the byline was knocked back by Joss Labadie to the edge of the area where Robbie Willmott ran onto it and smashed it into the net. Willmott was in acres of space thanks to poor defending from the Stags, though it was clever from Newport to achieve this space with Tyreeq Bakinson blocking off Neal Bishop from getting out to the edge of the area. Newport had a goal disallowed on 25 minutes as Butler’s free kick into the area was headed down by Jamille Matt for Labadie to knock into the net. From the video, Matt was a fraction offside as the free kick was taken so that was the correct decision. Newport put the Stags under considerable pressure in the first half with a succession of set pieces and long throws from Mickey Demetriou and the Stags struggled to cope. The Stags had just two chances in the first half as CJ Hamilton put in a super cross from the right to Nicky Ajose who fired a great chance over the bar. That came inside the opening 20 seconds. And with the last touch of the first half, Ryan Sweeney rose above the defence to head a corner over the bar. The second half, with Rose’s horrific injury coming just 7 minutes after coming on as a half time substitute, saw very few chances for either side. However Mansfield should have had a penalty on 83 minutes. CJ Hamilton played a good 1-2 with Grant to get into the box on the left. Hamilton then knocked the ball over defender Demetriou. Demetriou was late on his challenge and took out Hamilton’s foot. Both players’ feet were slightly raised, and were at exactly the same height when Demetriou caught Hamilton, from studying the pitchside footage. It was a stonewall penalty. The referee gave a free kick to Newport to the astonishment of the Stags players. That was really just about the only time Mansfield looked like scoring in the second half, apart from a header just wide by Ryan Sweeney, and despite 11 minutes of stoppage time, mostly added on for the Rose injury, Newport comfortably held on. Not many Mansfield players came out from the game with much credit. Jordan Smith was my man of the match for good handling and one or two good saves, especially in a 1-on-1 with Matt in the second half. Substitute Willem Tomlinson gave a decent account of himself in midfield, coming on after the Rose injury. By and large a very bad day for the Stags who will desperately want to bounce back in that huge game next Saturday. Notts County will be a completely different proposition from the side that has struggled all season, having made one or two remarkable signings in January, notably the excellent Michael Doyle in midfield. However the Stags are having a brilliant season, with poor performances so few and far between, and I’m hopeful of a good result. Mansfield were unchanged from the side that beat Macclesfield. New central defender Ben Turner is not yet fit. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be fit for the next Saturday to replace Sweeney, or whether Benning will have to move into central defence, or whether the Stags revert to 4 at the back. Willem Tomlinson, signed on an 18 month deal after leaving Blackburn, was on the bench in place of Jason Law. Newport were unchanged from the side that beat Middlesbrough in the FA Cup on Tuesday with a magnificent performance. The pitch was very muddy. This suits Newport. Boss Michael Flynn joked on Tuesday that he was hoping there would be a couple of rugby matches on it before the FA Cup game against Manchester City. Mansfield were in their third kit of all green, used in away games at Cambridge and here this season, to avoid a colour clash. FULL REPORT IN THE MATCH CENTRE ---------------------- MATCH REPORT: Mansfield Town miss out on going top after defeat at Newport County chad.co.uk, Saturday 09 February 2019 Mansfield Town missed the chance to go top of League Two with a 1-0 defeat at Newport County this afternoon. The Stags would have leapfrogged leaders Lincoln City on goal difference after Danny Cowley’s charges were held to a draw against Northampton. David Flitcroft’s men slipped to their first defeat against Newport in six outings as the club’s five-game unbeaten streak also came to an end. Robbie Willmott bagged the only goal of the game in a scrappy affair at Rodney Parade which saw Stags an away game for only the second time this season. David Flitcroft named the same side which saw off Macclesfield last weekend. The ground observed a minute’s silence in memory of Emiliano Sala and pilot David Ibbotson before the game. The Stags hit the ground running as Nicky Ajose squandered the visitor’s best chance of the first half by firing over in the first minute. Down the other end Joss Labadie lifted over the bar from close range. But Flitcroft’s charges found themselves behind on the quarter of an hour mark. The ball fell kindly for Willmott in the box, with the 28-year-old blasting his second goal in as many games into the roof of Jordan Smith’s net. It was seemingly two 10 minutes later, only for Labadie to be ruled offside after an easy tap-in. Jacob Mellis lashed marginally post the post from long range as the frustrated Stags tried to create something, making two changes at the break. There was a seven minute delay early in the second half after a nasty clash of heads for Danny Rose. Newport 1-0 Mansfield Town: Match Gallery Newport County v Mansfield Town: Fans... A positive for Flitcroft is that Rose was able to walk off the pitch, despite a stretcher being called for. Things just didn’t fall for the Stags on the day. Tyler Walker couldn’t quite get on the end of CJ Hamilton’s cross at the front post. Jacob Mellis and Willem Tomlinson both had strikes deflected for corners as the game opened up with 20 minutes left. Smith kept the Stags in the game with a fantastic low save from Jamille Matt’s drive. Ryan Sweeney headed just wide after being sent forward as a target man at the death as Stags missed out on top spot, though remain in second place. Newport: Day, Demetriou, Poole, O’Brien, Willmott (Dolan, 88), Bakinson, Bennett, Labadie, Butler, Matt, Amond. Unused subs: Townsend, Hornby-Forbes, Kennedy, Crofts, Sheehan, Marsh-Brown. Mansfield: Smith, Preston, Pearce, Sweeney, Hamilton, Mellis, Bishop, Grant, Benning (Jones, 45), Walker, Ajose (Rose, 45, Tomlinson, 59). Unused subs: Logan, Smith, Khan, Atkinson. Attendance: 3,133 (362 away). Referee: Graham Salisbury. Read more at: https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/match-report-mansfield-town-miss-out-on-going-top-after-defeat-at-newport-county-1-9585731 ------------------ |
Latest | February 2019