Pies pummelled by magnificent Mansfield
Mansfield thumped local rivals Notts County 4-1 in front of a sell out crowd at Meadow Lane, which consisted of nearly 4000 jubilant Stags fans. It was a day which will live long in the memory, and I’m sure I speak for many Mansfield fans of a similar age when I say it was up there with one of the best days I have had as a Stags fan.
Nigel Clough turned back to the same eleven which outplayed Wrexham a week or so earlier, with experienced heads Calum Macdonald and Ollie Clarke getting the nod ahead of Lewis Brunt and Will Swan. Notts County were without regulars Kyle Cameron and Jodi Jones, and opted for Sam Slocombe between the sticks ahead of former Mansfield keeper Aidan Stone. The game was a lunchtime kick off and would be played out in front of the Sky Sports cameras, with injured Stags defender Alfie Kilgour providing punditry from the studio. Clough amusingly described Kilgour as ‘looking a million dollars’, and it’s hard to disagree.
The stage was set, but Mansfield were fluffing their lines during the opening scenes as The Magpies took an early lead. Aaron Nemane received the ball on the right touchline. Calum Macdonald got square on and invited the winger inside, Nemane duly accepted, jinking his way towards the edge of the box. His low cross was half intercepted by Baily Cargill on the stretch but looked to be running into the path of Langstaff before Flint got a telling toe on the ball. Unfortunately, it ran into the path of Crowley who lifted his shot high into the net via the chest of Flint. Stags fans could be forgiven for thinking they were in for a long afternoon.
Unfortunately for those of a black and white striped persuasion, any notion that Mansfield would be rattled out of their stride was fanciful. This was not a side who had gone 17 without loss so far this season without demonstrating an admirable resilience. They were quickly causing problems for Notts at the right end, Aden Flint heading down a floated free kick for George Maris to play into the feet of Lucas Akins. Akins showed quick footwork to make room for a shot which lacked power and trickled through to Slocombe. On 14 minutes, Ollie Clarke broke up possession with a trademark surge before laying off to Maris and continuing his run. Maris smuggled the ball back through to Clarke who was quickly surrounded by Notts defenders 25 yards from goal, he tried a shot but dragged it wide of Slocombe’s left hand post.
Danger man Davis Keillor-Dunn went close to an equaliser three minutes later. A clever exchange of passes between Macdonald and Clarke left the latter with space to drive into. He sprayed a pass out to Keillor-Dunn on the left touchline, the attacker allowed to carry the ball towards goal and into the box on the left by a retreating Brindley. Keillor-Dunn moved the ball onto his right foot before trying to catch out the keeper at his near post. The ball rebounded off the upright, off the back of Slocombe and out for a corner.
County settled into a defined pattern of play, slow build up from the back involving the defenders, central midfielders and the goalkeeper. Some would call it patient, but Mansfield were pressing intelligently, containing County and in turn frustrating them. This would be their undoing on 23 minutes, as Slocombe wanted too long on the ball on the edge of the box. He was hurried into a sliding clearance by Louis Reed, which only reached the feet of Keillor-Dunn 35 yards from goal. Bostock did well to prevent DKD shooting for the unguarded goal, but it was only a temporary pause as Reed quickly got the ball back to Keillor-Dunn on the edge of the box. Keillor-Dunn went for the shot, which was heading for the target but was well blocked by Baldwin. The Pies had not learned their lesson however, as they tried to play out again on the left hand side with Bostock. Bostock hit the deck after Akins grabbed for his arm but the referee waved play on. Akins slid the ball into Maris inside the area, Maris spotted an arriving Reed to his left, rolled the ball to him and Reed passed the ball calmly into the bottom right hand corner. A composed finish from Reed, in complete contrast to the pandemonium he had ignited in the Jimmy Sirrel stand. There were no complaints from the Notts players or manager relating to the ‘challenge’ on Bostock, and the Sky pundits also agreed there was nothing in it.
The goal sparked a small reaction from Notts, an impressive carry out of defence by Rawlinson down the left could not be halted by Maris despite an attempted trip, he found Langstaff on the edge of the area, who worked the space for a shot but he curled his left footed effort wide.
For the next 20 minutes, the game turned into a bit of a chess match, returning to Notts attempting to play out from the back and being forced backwards by Mansfield. There were ironic cheers from the Stags faithful every time the ball ended up back with Slocombe. By the end of the game he had racked up 117 touches of the ball, whilst his opposite number Christy Pym had just 19.
County had a really good chance to go in at half time with the lead and it again fell to Dan Crowley. Rawlinson again carried the ball strongly down the left and to the edge of the area, where he slipped in Austin. Austin’s cross to the back post was met on the volley by Crowley and cleared off the line by Macdonald.
Half time at Meadow Lane and it was honours even. The home side had retained 64% of possession but Mansfield had attempted double the shots of their opposition. It was a fair scoreline.
The second half started in the same vein as much of the first, both sides content in their way of playing, but around ten minutes in the tide started to turn in favour of the Stags. George Maris low cross from the right almost saw Akins turn the ball home from inside the six yard box, but Baldwin was on hand with another crucial block, one of eight that he managed throughout the game. More joy down the flanks, this time down the left with Ollie Clarke marauding forward, pulling back towards Maris who could only stab an effort straight at Slocombe.
The lively Nemane should have done better on 69 minutes. Louis Reed missed an interception on the halfway line, allowing David McGoldrick to spread the ball out to Nemane on the right. He dribbled into the box before lashing a shot into the side netting at the near post.
Set pieces have not been a fruitful pursuit so far this season, but the Stags picked the perfect time to make one count on 70 minutes. Davis Keillor-Dunn delivered an outswinging corner on to the head of Baily Cargill 8 yards from goal, who rose highest to power home his first goal for the club. The ball was past Slocombe before he had chance to react, such was the force of the header.
Just like London buses, a second goal for a corner was quick to follow. It even arrived via the same route, from the right and delivered by Keillor-Dunn. This time it was a diving Lucas Akins who met the cross, directing a header towards the bottom right corner only to be denied by a combination of Slocombe and the post. The ball fell invitingly to Aden Flint, who had been celebrating what he thought was an Akins goal, to take the back of the net off from 4 yards. He slid in front of the delirious Mansfield faithful with a beaming smile, having finally got off the mark for the club.
Like their famous song, the wheels had well and truly fell off by this stage for County. The two quickfire goals had knocked the stuffing out of them and they now looked resigned to defeat. They continued, as if on autopilot, trying to pass out from the back but were now being picked off at will. Louis Reed stepped on to a loose Brindley pass before finding Macdonald in the area. The full back cross for Lewis who leaned back as he shot well over from 13 yards when it really should have been four.
As it happened, there was not long to wait for the fourth. On 81 minutes, Ollie Clarke arrowed a left footed switch over to Keillor-Dunn. The attacker, inside the box on the right, initially looked to cut inside but found his path blocked by three Notts defenders. He didn’t panic, holding on to the ball whilst waiting for an option to appear. It did, Lucas Akins making a run through the centre of the box was picked out perfectly by Keillor-Dunn and helped the ball over Slocombe on the slide. A deserved goal for Akins who had played a role in the first and third. It was the strikers first league goal in over two months.
The Mansfield fans were in party mode. It even seemed to spread to the players as Aden Flint tried to score from the half way line. As those in the Jimmy Sirrel stand revelled, they were pretty much oblivious to a couple of County attempts to find a way back into the game. Substitute Jim O’Brien missed a sitter from 3 yards as he sidefooted a chance wide, whilst the last act of the game was McGoldrick seeing his shot blocked from the edge of the box.
Aden Flint led the post match celebrations, saluting the Mansfield crowd whilst gesturing for more noise to acknowledge the performance of him and his teammates. Nigel Clough, not usually one to soak up the adulation of the crowd, was clearly appreciative, and stood proudly applauding the fans whilst nodding in a manner which recognised the support his team had been given on the day.
County boss Luke Williams was very forthcoming in his praise for Mansfield, labelling them the best he had faced during his tenure as Notts manager, and the best team in League Two.
The final shot count was 9 v 21, a telling indication of which team was superior on the day. In the midst of a long and gruelling season it may only be one result, but the performance was such that the memories from the 14th October 2023 will last for a long time beyond May 2024. Notts County 1-4 Mansfield Town.
Injury update
Stephen McLaughlin and Rhys Oates are nearing a return, with the EFL Trophy game against Everton on the 7th November earmarked as a possible return date. Stephen Quinn and Elliott Hewitt are currently on dog walking duties, with Quinn expected to be back around the start of December, and Hewitt still targeting February. Alfie Kilgour is continuing his rehab and is having to be dragged away from the gym to prevent overexerting himself.
Home fans in the North Stand
Fans are able to purchased tickets in blocks A and B of the North Stand for this Saturdays encounter with Forest Green, for the first time in many years. This is being explored given the recent rise in demand for tickets, having seen a few games sell out of late. The onus is now on those fans who opt to sit in the North Stand to behave acceptably, and not give an excuse to the powers that be to revoke their privilege.
Reserves lost to Derby academy
Mansfield reserves lost 4-0 to a youthful Derby side on Wednesday afternoon. First team squad members George Williams, George Cooper, Callum Johnson, Hiram Boateng, James Gale and Will Swan all featured in the game.
Forest Green Rovers (H) - Fan Preview
The Stags welcome 23rd placed Forest Green Rovers to Field Mill on Saturday. They were last at the One Call Stadium in 2022, when the sides played out a 2-2 draw. A lot has changed at Forest Green since then, perhaps best underlined by the fact they’re on their third different manager since that game. Mansfield will be without the suspended Baily Cargill for the game, with Lewis Brunt expected to come in. Rovers fan Alfie Ryan (@AlfieRJourno) provides the preview on this weekends opponents :
What are your expectations for the season and have they changed since the opening day? I would say that my expectations at the start of the season were that we would finish around mid-table. Of course, relegation from League One has played a massive part in our start to this season with a change of head coach in pre-season which is never really ideal for any club. I would probably still argue that mid-table is still kind of an expectation but due to our start so far this season I think a season of stability wouldn’t be an awful thing.
How would you rate your summer business? In terms of summer transfer business I think we ended the window quite well, as previously mentioned the change of management in pre-season is never particularly helpful. However, to bring in the likes of Troy Deeney, Fankaty Dabo, Callum Morton and Marcel Lavinier when we had started our business particularly late I would personally say is quite impressive.
How have you performed so far? I think we have performed fairly well for where we are at, at the moment. To be sat 23rd I think is a slightly false position, if we tighten up a bit defensively I think we’ll move up the table a bit. With Jordan Moore-Taylor beginning to return from injury we could stand a far greater chance of this happening.
Thoughts on your manager, David Horseman? I do really like David Horseman, I think he sticks to his beliefs in terms of playing high-pressing football, we haven’t quite seen it in full motion yet but after Saturday’s impressive win against Colchester, you do question whether this is maybe the sort of David Horseman team we expected to see earlier on in the season. Of course, losing the previous six in the league before Saturday is never ideal and a few fans were questioning the management, but I think a string of results could turn a few heads. David speaks really well in the press and isn’t afraid to answer questions very honestly.
What formation should we expect? I would probably expect to see the 4-2-2-2 system that we have seen for the majority of the season, but this could easily switch to a 4-3-3 with Charlie McCann returning from international duty this weekend.
Who will likely catch the eye for The Dons at the weekend? I think Kyle McAllister would seem the obvious choice here, having really been Rovers’ star man this season so far. His excellent dribbling skills are really one to watch this season, and he also scored on Saturday, the first this season for him. I also think that Matty Stevens is worth a shout, having only made a 15 minute substitute appearance on Saturday the front man still scored two goals and looks to be finding his feet once more after his ACL injury at the end of the 21/22 season.
What do you make of Mansfield’s start to the season? From what I have seen of Mansfield so far they look undeniably impressive. Obviously, having not lost a game yet this season is a pretty impressive start regardless. To travel away to Notts County and win 4-1 is certainly impressive at this stage of the season. I have quite closely taken an interest in Mansfield over the last few seasons and I believe that they could have been promoted in previous seasons.
Score prediction? I think I’ll go for a 2-1 win for Mansfield, purely just on the reasoning of your unbeaten streak. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if Forest Green do put in a good performance after last Saturday’s win.