Archived News from July 2019
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PRE-SEASON: MANSFIELD 2-2 HULL
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Pre-Season Friendly
Mansfield Town 2 - 2 Hull City Bishop 44, Hamilton 54. Bowen 27, Dicko 46. Attendance: 1799 (283 from Hull) Date: 20 July 2019 Martin Shaw at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill Mansfield Town’s second and final pre-season game against Championship opposition produced an encouraging 2-2 draw, with several Stags players catching the eye, but two defensive mistakes gifted Hull City a draw. It was very much Hull City’s first team, so the Stags can be pleased overall. A mistake by Ryan Sweeney after 27 minutes allowed Hull an easy goal to take the lead with Grosicki crossing low for Bowen to score. The Stags were level after 44 minutes. CJ Hamilton was brought down from behind by the last defender when through on goal and in a league game it should have been a red card, but the referee correctly decided there was no point in sending a player off when it is not serious foul play in a pre-season game. The impressive Otis Khan drove the resulting free kick from 25 yards against the bar (the second time he’s hit the woodwork from a free kick in two games), and the ball came out to Neal Bishop just inside the area who showed great technique to fire the rebound into the net like a missile. But just 12 seconds into the second half, another calamitous defensive error, this time from Matt Preston as he tried to play the ball back to Conrad Logan, and was dispossessed by Nouha Dicko, who rounded Logan to score. So Mansfield’s normally reliable back three of Pearce, Sweeney and Preston have now each given away a calamitous goal in the last two matches. The Stags levelled again after 54 minutes, as Khan played forward to Hamilton who surged into the area and fired a right footed shot across the keeper into the left corner of the net. It was the sort of goal we became accustomed to seeing from the outstanding Hamilton last season. The Stags could have won it when Andy Cook’s shot was saved by the keeper’s legs after 61 minutes. Early in the game, after 7 minutes, Cook also went close when his side-footed shot was blocked. At the other end, Hull had been unlucky after 14 minutes when Grosicki floated a shot against the inside of the right post. Conrad Logan made a magnificent save after 30 minutes, saving with elastic arms to take the ball off Grosicki. Logan made another magnificent save after 81 minutes when he tipped a header from de Wijs over the bar. The offside flag was actually up on that occasion but that shouldn’t detract from the quality of the save. Logan is continuing in pre-season as he ended last season, in superb form. At the back, Hayden White and Mal Benning impressed at full back, Sweeney and Preston both made bad mistakes but otherwise did ok. Young Alistair Smith again impressed in midfield. Cook won plenty of headers and is a physical presence, and twice came close to scoring. Young James Clarke came on as substitute at right back, and again did not look out of place. He looks to me to be doing enough to be considered part of the first team squad. Otis Khan provided “assists” for both goals and I expect him to be an important player this season. This was today’s team: (4-4-1-1): Conrad Logan; Hayden White, Matt Preston, Ryan Sweeney, Mal Benning; Omari Sterling-James, Neal Bishop, Alistair Smith, CJ Hamilton; Otis Khan; Andy Cook (new signing from Walsall). Subs: James Clarke (young right back signed from Burnley) (for White, 46 mins) Krystian Pearce (for Preston, 63 mins) Alex MacDonald (for Bishop, 63 mins) Lewis Gibbens (for Sweeney, 80 mins) Subs not used: Aidan Stone (new young keeper, to be understudy to Logan, until Olejnik fit) Nicky Maynard (new signing from Bury), Danny Rose. Not involved today: Bobby Olejnik (injured, hopefully back October), Willem Tomlinson (sustained minor knee ligament damage against Blackburn and will be out for four weeks), Jacob Mellis (ill), Jordan Graham (injured), Craig Davies (injured), Dion Donohue (new signing from Portsmouth, not quite fit, but not far away), Jamie Chisholm (from last season’s youth team), Noah Stokes (picked up a bad knee injury at Bradford PA), Jason Law (was ill prior to Alfreton game), Tyrese Sinclair (from last season’s youth team), Tom Fielding, Jimmy Knowles (from last season’s youth team, just signed pro deal). No trialists were involved today. No confirmation of what this means though it may mean they have left. Confirmation on Monday or Tuesday. Hull had former Stags Ryan Tafazolli on the bench. He has just signed for Hull from Peterborough. FULL REPORT IN THE MATCH CENTRE -------------------------------------- Report from Mansfield Town 2-2 Hull City as Stags hold Championship side chad.co.uk, by STEPHEN THIRKILL, Saturday 20 July 2019 Mansfield Town showed their fighting spirit as they twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw in Saturday’s friendly with Hull City. Neal Bishop emphatically levelled just before the break following a good spell of pressure to cancel out Jarrod Bowen’s opener. https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/report-from-mansfield-town-2-2-hull-city-as-stags-hold-championship-side-1-9889314 And CJ Hamilton did exactly the same in the second half with a tidy finish as Stags rallied from conceding one minute after the restart. But. while their resilience will no doubt offer encouragement, their defensive lapses will cause concern in equal measure. Bowen was allowed to open the scoring after Ryan Sweeney failed to make a routine clearance. And Matt Preston was caught napping at the start of the second half as Nouha Dicko put the visitors ahead seconds after coming on. The Championship side started brightest with Tom Eaves firing into the side-netting on two minutes. Erich Lichaj produced a brilliant block five minutes later to keep out a goalbound Andy Cook effort following a superb counter-attack. But it was the visitors who continued to set the pace with Bowen blazing over on 12 minutes after Kamil Grosicki picked him out. Grosicki went even closer two minutes later when he hit the woodwork with a delicate curling effort that left Logan rooted to the spot. Eaves headed over at the back post after he ghosted in between two defenders from a 23rd minute corner. But the pressure finally paid off when Bowen put City ahead on 27th minutes following a defensive error by Sweeney. Sweeney failed to clear the danger and Bowen made no mistake as he smashed a cut-back into the empty net. George Long saved smartly with his feet to keep out Otis Khan on 39 minutes following a good one-two with CJ Hamilton. Jordy De Wijs was lucky to escape with just a talking to after bringing Hamilton down when he was about to go through on goal. It would no doubt have been a red card had it been a competitive fixture. But he was properly punished by Bishop who alertly hammered home on 43 minutes after Khan had smacked the free-kick against the crossbar. Sub Dicko scored within a minute of coming on after the break following a howler from Preston. The Stags defender failed to clear the ball and Dicko made no mistake as he took the ball in his stride to outpace the chasing Preston and slot home cooly past Logan. It didn’t take long for Mansfield to level thanks to a smart finish from Hamilton, who drilled a low effort into the far corner on 54 minutes. Long parried an Andy Cook snapshot on 59 minutes which would perhaps been one of the best team goals of the season had it gone in. It would have ended a brilliant move which started with a pin-point long clearance by Logan to the half-way line before the home side swept the ball up the pitch to create the chance. Cook failed to find the target on 68 minutes after Mal Benning picked him out with a cross. Benning was forced to head over from under his own crossbar following a dangerous Jackson Irvine cross, before Khan had a shot easily saved. Former Mansfield Town defender Ryan Tafazolli returned to his former home for the final two minutes to applause from the home fans. Mansfield Town: Logan, White, Presto (Pearce 60), Sweeney (Gibbens 79), Benning, Sterling-James, Smith, Bishop (MacDonald 60), Hamilton, Khan, Cook. Subs: Stone, Maynard, Rose, Clarke. Hull City: Long; Lichaj (McKenzie 60), de Wijs, Burke, Kingsley; Stewart, Irvine, Henriksen (Bowler 73); Bowen, Grosicki (Toral 60), Eaves (Dicko 45). Subs: Ingram, Milinkovic,Tafazolli, Fleming, Sheaf, Greaves, Lewis-Potter. Referee: Michael Salisbury. Stags man of the match: Otis Khan. Att: 1,799 (283 away) ------------------- REPORT: MANSFIELD TOWN 2 HULL CITY 2 20 July 2019 https://www.hullcitytigers.com/report-mansfield-town-2-hull-city-2/ HULL CITY MAINTAINED THEIR UNBEATEN PRE-SEASON FORM WITH AN ENTERTAINING 2-2 DRAW WITH MANSFIELD TOWN ON SATURDAY. Jarrod Bowen and Nouha Dicko were both on the scoresheet for Grant McCann’s side, who produced a performance full of attacking intent only to be be twice pegged back by their League Two hosts. McCann handed a first start to summer signing Tom Eaves after naming a full-strength side at the One Call Stadium. Eaves, signed from Gillingham on a free transfer, leads the Tigers’ attack and is supported by Kamil Grosicki, who only returned to pre-season training on Monday. Josh Bowler was named on the bench two days after joining on a season-long loan from Everton, along with fellow new boy Ryan Tafazolli. A bright opening from the Tigers saw the men in white create the first chance of the afternoon with less than two minutes played. After some patient play at the back, Jordy de Wijs’ ball over the top caught the home defence napping and set Eaves away, although the big front-man was unable to guide his effort on the half-volley on target. It wasn’t all one-way traffic though and the Stags carved out a decent chance of their own on seven minutes following a swift counter-attack. A string of passes saw the ball find its way to Omari Sterling-James wide on the right and his low centre found Andy Cook, who saw his strike on goal was bravely blocked by Erich Lichaj. The end-to-end action continued as neat play from Kamil Grosicki down the left saw the Polish international send a low ball into the box which was met by Jarrod Bowen, but the wide-man saw his effort under pressure fly over the bar. Only the frame of the goal prevented the Tigers from taking the lead on 14 minutes. After the home side had failed to clear their lines from Bowen’s corner, the ball eventually came to feet of Grosicki inside the box, who saw an audacious chip come back off the post with Conrad Logan in the Mansfield goal rooted to the spot. Both sides were keeping the ball moving well on a slick surface at the ground formerly known as Field Mill but it was another ball over the top - this time from Lichaj inside his own half - that caused problems for the Mansfield backline. The full-back’s pass - looking for the run of Eaves - was perfectly weighted and almost gathered by the striker inside the box but Logan was quickly off his line to snuff out the danger. Eaves was once again causing problems for the Stags defence when showing good strength to hold his marker to get on the end of Grosicki’s delivery from a right-wing corner, only to guide his header narrowly over. The deadlock was finally broken on 27 minutes with the Tigers grabbing a fully deserved lead. Grosicki was the creator, driving his way into the box and the byline before cutting the ball back to Bowen, who made no mistake with a clinical finish from close-range. The League Two side looked to produce an immediate response to falling behind though. Stephen Kingsley was forced to put Otis Kahn’s teasing cross behind at the back post, with the resulting corner easily dealt with and cleared by the Tigers. Kahn was looking dangerous once again six minutes before the break, with only a smart stop from George Long preventing the Stags’ number ten from levelling the scores. Bowen was denied what looked like a clear-cut penalty on 43 minutes after being pulled back as he looked to get shot away and it proved to be a costly decision by the officials as the home side grabbed an equaliser moments later. After de Wijs was adjudged to have fouled CJ Hamilton 25 yards from goal, Kahn’s free-kick cannoned back off the crossbar and fell nicely into the path of Neal Bishop, who produced a fine first-time effort to lash the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the box. It was a frustrating end to what had ultimately been a positive first 45 minutes of football for the Tigers, which had seen McCann’s men dominate. The Tigers’ Head Coach made one change at the break with Nouha Dicko replacing Eaves up top, and it took the striker just 15 seconds to make his mark! The home defence somehow managed to lose control of the ball straight from kick-off, allowing Dicko to race through, round Logan and slot the ball into an empty net to restore the Tigers’ lead. That lead lasted just nine minutes though as the Stags equalised for a second time through Hamilton, who found the bottom corner with a low strike after being afforded both time and space inside the box. Putting their disappointment and frustration firmly behind them, the Tigers went in search of an immediate response. Stewart won the ball midway inside his own half before releasing Bowen down the right. The winger burst forward and cut back onto his left-foot before curling a shot on-target, only to see it easily claimed by Logan. The hosts had a great opportunity to take the lead for the first time when Sterling-James’ cushioned header found Cook, but thankfully Long came to the Tigers’ rescue as he produced an important block to deny the Mansfield man. Both sides made changes just past the hour mark as Grosicki and Lichaj were replaced by Jon Toral and Robbie McKenzie, while the hosts introduced Krystian Pearce and Alex MacDonald in place of Matt Preston and goalscorer Bishop. The Tigers continued to put pressure on the home defence as Dicko forced Logan into a smart save with a fierce half-volley, before Bowen failed to collect Toral’s dangerous ball in from the left. Mansfield were also looking dangerous going forward as well though and came close to a third goal when Cook fired wide under pressure from Kingsley after being picked out by Mal Benning. McCann made his fourth switch of the afternoon with new arrival Bowler brought on in place of Henriksen with 16 minutes to play. The loanee went straight out to the left flank, with Toral moving into the middle of the park. Logan produced a fingertip save to push de Wijs’ goalbound header over the bar - although it wouldn’t have counted had it gone in with the assistant’s flag raised for offside - before Bowler’s first real involvement saw the winger beat his man, only to be left frustrated as his attempted cross went straight out for a goal kick. Reece Burke picked up a knock whilst making a crucial clearance but thankfully returned to his feet after lengthy treatment, although no risks were taken with the centre-back who was quickly replaced by Tafazolli. The Tigers had the chance to win it in stoppage-time as Dicko ventured forward, but his pull-back failed to find a player in white, allowing the home defence to clear the danger as the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the match. Mansfield Town: Logan, White (Clarke 46), Benning, Preston (Pearce 63), Bishop (MacDonald 63), Khan, Sweeney (Gibbens 80), Cook, Hamilton, Sterling-James, Smith. Hull City: Long, Lichaj (McKenzie 61), Kingsley, Burke (Tafazolli 87), de Wijs, Stewart, Henriksen (Bowler 74), Irvine, Bowen, Grosicki (Toral 61), Eaves (Dicko 46). Subs Not Used: Ingram, Milinkovic, Fleming, Greaves, Sheaf, Lewis-Potter. Att: 1,799 (283 Hull City fans) ------------------------- |
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