What a brilliant week it has been to be a Stags fan! An away win, players returning from injury earlier than scheduled and wall to wall coverage of a wonder goal across major media outlets. Let us dive in to the happenings of another week.
Stags shine against Stanley
Mansfield recorded their first ever victory at the Crown Ground on Saturday, as they beat Accrington Stanley by 3 brilliant goals to nil.
The Stags were boosted going into the game by the availability of Aaron Lewis and Hiram Boateng, both returning slightly ahead of schedule having recovered from injuries sustained minutes apart away at Doncaster Rovers. Lewis came into the starting line up to replace Ollie Clarke, whilst Boateng was part of a strong looking bench. The only other change came in attack, with James Gale preferred to Will Swan. It was a beautifully sunny afternoon, meaning the players would be permitted drinks breaks halfway through each 45 minutes.
Accrington sat one place behind Mansfield in the table pre-match, only The Stags superior goal difference separating the two sides in the early standings. The Lancashire based side were unbeaten at home and were historically a tough side for Mansfield to conquer away from home.
The first quarter of the half almost passed without incident, both sides trying to establish themselves into the game. The only early talking point was Jay Rich-Baghuelou’s apparent crusade for a red card, as after picking up an early yellow for a foul on James Gale, he managed to emerge cardless from a couple more skirmishes with Gale and Aden Flint.
The first chance arrived on 23 minutes, a swift break from the hosts following a Mansfield corner ended with a Tommy Leigh inswinging cross from the left finding the head of Jake Andrews at the far post, only for the burly striker to head back across goal and wide of the target from 6 yards. A good chance after Leigh’s cross had just evaded the attempts of Lewis Brunt to get a head on it.
Mansfield were ahead on 29 minutes in emphatic fashion. A short throw-in to Davis Keillor-Dunn on the left was switched out to Jordan Bowery at right back. Lucas Akins came short and offered for the ball, holding a defender off before passing to Lewis on the right touchline. Lewis played the ball up the line to James Gale, who worked half a yard before delivering a cross which seemed to take a deflection, causing confusion in the Accrington defence, particularly for Liam Coyle who surely could have done more to intercept it. The ball reached DKD on the penalty spot, the attacker popped the ball into the air off his chest, before finishing within an overhead kick into the top left corner. George Maris’ reaction was all of us, standing with both hands on head in disbelief at the superb execution from Keillor-Dunn. It was Mansfield’s first attempt on goal, and what a goal.
The lead was doubled 6 minutes later following a fantastic move from back to front. From Brunt taking a short free kick on the edge of his own box, the ball was worked over to Bowery via Flint. He dropped the ball inside to Lewis, who played a beautiful pass into the channel for the onrunning Keillor-Dunn. Keillor-Dunn steadied himself before cutting the ball back to the penalty spot for George Maris to steer into the far corner on his left foot. From the always excellent pitchside footage, you can hear Maris screaming for the cut back as soon as the ball arrives with Keillor-Dunn.
Maris' goal from pitchside angle
The hosts had conceded from Mansfield’s first two shots, a welcome reversal on The Stags fortunes in the opening weeks of the season. James Gale had the away sides third shot as half time approached, having latched on to an Akins flick on to be one on one with the last defender. He opted to try and shoot from the edge of the box instead of trying to beat his man, and it was easily blocked.
Accrington had a couple of opportunities as the half came to a close, Brad Hills heading wide at the back post from a free kick, and a long range effort from Jack Nolan was initially kept out and then gathered by Christy Pym at the second attempt. Stanley had not managed a shot from inside the area which was not a header in the whole first period. It had been a pretty even game, with Mansfield’s clinical edge and superior chance creation seeing them in front, whilst not being at their fluent best.
The second half was a lot more open than the first, with space being allowed in midfield by both sides. Accrington skipper Seamus Conneely admitted post match that his team had found it difficult to get to grips with Mansfield’s formation.
Young defender Lewis Brunt learned a valuable lesson when trying to dribble out of defence on 57 minutes. His initial touch to accelerate past a closing Stanley striker was misdirected, he still managed to go past the opposition player but his second touch was heavy and his third touch was a slide tackle against Leigh, with the latter dispossessing him. The ball ricocheted to Andrews, whose shot from the edge of the box was initially pushed out by Pym and Nolan fired over on the rebound from 8 yards. A big chance, very similar to Doncaster’s second goal earlier in the season but lacking the same finish. Disaster avoided for Brunt.
At the other end, Hiram Boateng, on for George Maris who had taken a knock and picked up a yellow card, crossed deep from the left and found the side foot volley of Lewis, who hit the ball into the ground and it was headed away from danger by an Accrington defender. Boateng himself had a chance after good work from Bowery and Keillor-Dunn, but curled wide from 25 yards.
Mansfield wrapped up all three points on 75 minutes with one of the best goals you will ever see. Accrington were attempting to play out from the back, but following good pressing by Keillor-Dunn and Akins, goalkeeper Toby Savin was forced to look for a longer pass. He attempted to drill the ball out to his left where Longelo had made a move. Lewis anticipated Savin’s intentions, shuttling across to his right to intercept. The standard interception would probably have been to take a touch and find a teammate, but Lewis admitted that he was so tired that he went for the first time shot. Lewis hit a first time side foot volley at hip height from 35 yards, time stood still, the ball looked to be on target as it left his boot, and the cue to celebrate was the ball nestling into the top left corner of Savin’s net. An incredible strike form Lewis, prompting several disbelieving reactions from his surrounding teammates. The goal has been replayed all weekend on numerous EFL related social media accounts and television channels, receiving even more attention due to it occurring an international weekend.
Stanley were dead and buried by this point, the best they could respond with was Brad Hills heading well over from a corner when in the six yard box, but it was the away side who had the better chances to add to their tally following a lengthy stoppage, caused by a head injury sustained by a supporter following a clearance into touch. Ollie Clarke had a clear sight of goal in the area before his standing foot gave way as he was preparing to strike. Clarke then turned provider, stabbing a through ball to Will Swan as he was being taken out by an opposition player. A good advantage was played, with Swan progressing into the area on the left, before cutting inside on to his right foot only to see his powerful shot well saved by Savin at his near post. Aden Flint volleyed well wide with his left foot from the resulting corner.
Tommy Leigh probably went the closest Accrington had mustered all afternoon with one of the last kicks of the game, curling wide a free kick from just outside the box. Pym appeared to have it covered.
The final whistle sounded, The Stags emerging as 3-0 victors from a hazardous fixture on paper, a great win. It is funny how a score line can prompt reactions perhaps not quite in line with the reality of the game. I saw some saying this was a dominant performance, and whilst there is no doubt it was a deserved victory, I think it was perhaps the worst we have played away from home this season, albeit against a pretty high standard of previous performance. We didn’t exert our usual control over proceedings, but we were much more clinical than we have been in previous games. Defensively, for once we were not cruelly punished with goals conceded against meagre chances created, as was the case at Grimsby and Doncaster. So whilst no doubt a good performance and result, perhaps a slightly flattering scoreline.
Perch joins familiar faces at Ilkeston
James Perch this week provided some clarity into his future, as he joined Northern Premier League side Ilkeston Town. They are managed by former Mansfield goalkeeper Ian Deakin, who was recently also the Stags commercial executive.
Deakin was only appointed as Ilkeston manager himself 10 days ago, and has quickly utilised his contacts at Mansfield to secure the loan signing of young professionals Taylor Anderson and Jakub Kruszynski. All three played in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat against Worksop Town, although Kruszynski sustained an injury before half time.
Nigel Clough was full of praise for the quality and professionalism of Perch throughout his time with Mansfield Town. He revealed that the door is still open for the defender to help out with Mansfield’s U19’s in the future, although it seems Perch has enough on his hands at the moment, having undertaken some scouting duties for an unnamed Premier League club. An amicable exit for now then, for a player who always gave his all in a Mansfield shirt.
Injury and Transfer Updates
Boss Nigel Clough provided some insight into those players who had picked up knocks during Saturday’s trip to Accrington.
The most potentially serious of which was George Maris, who injured his knee in fouling an opposition player shortly before being substituted. The results of a scan were awaited, as well as observing how the knee settled down during the course of the week. Maris was not ruled out of appearing at the weekend.
Calum Macdonald (ankle), Jordan Bowery (groin) and Ollie Clarke (shin) all sustained knocks too, but it was hoped all would be fit to train late in the week to be fit for Colchester. Callum Johnson was also down to train late this week, and appeared to have a chance of making the bench.
There is to be no free agent signings unless the injury situation should worsen significantly in coming weeks.
Stags on Sky
Mansfield’s trip to Meadow Lane to play local rivals on the 14th October will be shown live on Sky Sports. The kick off has been moved to 12:30 as a result.
It will be the first derby between the two sides since 2019, and looks set to be one of the biggest in years if both teams can maintain their early season form. A mouth-watering prospect.
Reserves beat County 4-1
Speaking of local derbies, Mansfield recorded a comprehensive 4-1 victory over Notts County in midweek.
Baily Cargill, George Williams, John Joe O’Toole and George Cooper all played a part in the game, with Cargill and O’Toole both scoring goals from corners. A fine strike from Finn Flanagan and an opportunists goal from McKeal Abdullah completed the scoring. O’Toole was substituted with an ankle injury.
Colchester (A) - Fan Preview
We head to Colchester this weekend, the scene of our final day win last season, where one more goal would have seen Mansfield secure a play-off spot. Whilst down the table at present, The U’s underlying numbers are impressive, and they come into this came on the back of a dominant win over Tranmere last weekend, recording in excess of 4xG in the process. Thank you to Jamie Wooler (@WoolerJamie), who provides the inside track on this weekends opposition :
What are your expectations for the season? Ben Garner was talking up our chances through the summer and consistently said that promotion was the aim. The owner also stated we would have a top-7 budget, towards the end of last season. Personally, I never saw it that way in what is a much stronger division than it has been in recent years. I predicted a mid-table finish (which would mean progress on previous seasons) and I don’t see any reason why that’s likely to change after our first six games.
How would you rate your summer business out of ten? This Summer was always going to be an important one where a lot of the squad was out of contract and it was clear the club wouldn’t be offering new deals to a number of those players. Overall we’ve seen 14 departures and 12 arrivals. Its also seen a change in transfer policy. Two summers ago, we signed a number of experienced (mostly ex-Ipswich) players with the thinking being that these players will help in a promotion push. This could not have been more wrong with the following two seasons been mostly concentrated on trying to stay in the football league. In fact, during the 21/22 season, we could have fielded an entire XI solely of ex-Ipswich players! Thankfully, the owner learned from that and in 2022 he appointed a new sporting director and head of recruitment. Since then, the average age of the squad has come down significantly and we have built an exciting squad on paper. The permanent signings of Cameron McGeehan & Jay Mingi stand out and we appear to have utilised the loan market well with the additions of Joe Taylor (4 goals in 7 starts) and Owen Goodman (England u20 Goalkeeper) looking particularly shrewd. We saw a couple of significant departures in Junior Tchamadeu (Stoke) and Ossama Ashley (Salford) leaving but both were expected to go and were reportedly sold for significant fees. It’s been widely suggested that Tchamadeu was sold for a seven-figure fee. Overall, we have to be happy with the business done. 8/10.
How have you performed so far? Its been something of a mixed bag so far. The table doesn’t make great reading with 2 wins and 4 defeats from six games, however, the one poor performance so far this season was against Wimbledon, succumbing to a 2-0 home defeat. The two wins against Tranmere & table-topping Gillingham have been impressive with a 5-0 aggregate scoreline whilst the defeats at Bradford and, particularly at home to MK Dons, could have gone either way.
Thoughts on your manager Ben Garner? I’ve been quietly impressed. Its clear he has a major say over transfers, working closely with Ross Embleton (Head of Recruitment) and Dmitri Halajko (Sporting Director) as three of the summer signings have been players he’s coached before. We had an issue in the first few games of this season in transition with gaping holes between our back 3 and the central midfielders. Garner changed to a 4-4-2 which saw Nico Lawrence (centre back) step into the midfield when in possession, giving us a little more protection in transition whilst maintaining an attacking threat. It was a smart tactical adjustment and has seen us become a little less open and our games a little less frantic. The football is more aesthetically pleasing than we’ve seen for some time at the JCS and in a system which plays to the strength of our most dangerous players.
What formation should we expect? We’ve seen three formations since the start of the season and its hard to pick which way we’ll go this weekend due to injuries. Last week we started in a 3-1-4-2 after losing Fiacre Kelleher to injury just before the game. I think we may setup the same way again this week.
Who will likely catch the eye for Colchester at the weekend? Look out for Jayden Fevrier. He’s a very direct wing-back/winger and has had a super start to the season. We saw glimpses of him towards the end of last season and his physical attributes were plain to see but was lacking composure and quality in the final third. Mansfield fans may be familiar with Junior Tchamadeu’s exploits in League Two across the last two seasons and Fevrier is of a similar mould.
What do you make of Mansfield’s start to the season? Very impressive. Worryingly impressive ahead of this weekend in fact! Personally, I think Mansfield have been the best team in the division so far this season and, depending on the data you review, Mansfield have the lowest xG conceded and highest xG scored so far this season which backs that up. You appear to have threats in all areas with the likes of Aden Flint from set pieces and, in my opinion, have one of the best two players in the division at the moment in Davis Keillor-Dunn.
Score prediction? Both sides come in with some injury concerns. Significantly for us, Arthur Read came off injured with his arm in a make-shift sling last weekend. He’s been one of our stronger performers so far this season and would be a big miss. Despite Mansfield’s injury worries, it still feels like a good time to be playing us. McGeehan & Mingi still need to get match fit and neither are likely to feature for 90 minutes on Saturday. If Read is missing it leaves us light in the midfield. We’re also low on numbers at centre back with Dallison, Lawrence and Kelleher all injured. Zach Mitchell made an impressive debut last week against Tranmere, but this weekend will be a far sterner test. I think we’ll still have a threat but I hate to say I think Mansfield will be too strong on the day. 1-2.
I just don't want us to lose the 'Essex Stags Derby'
Come on YOU Stags
0-3 (Gale to score)
Thanks for a super write-up. I wonder if the Accrington victory is a turning point? We scored some great goals, kept a clean sheet, away from home, against a very difficult team. When we get more of the squad available the only way is up. Come on you Stags