Another away trip, another draw as Mansfield failed to convert their chances into victory for the second game in a row. Another recurring theme on the road was a couple more casualties, to take the total walking wounded to double figures. Nevertheless, Mansfield continue to perform well. Let’s round up the weeks events.
Honours even as Stags reel in Mariners
Mansfield came from behind at a sun soaked Blundell Park to continue their unbeaten, but winless start away from home. Manager Nigel Clough was once again heartened by his sides performance but left rueing chances squandered by his side and cursing moments of brilliance from the opposition.
Despite their depleted ranks following the midweek draw at Doncaster, Mansfield’s side still looked strong when the teams were announced on social media at 2pm. Calum Macdonald returned from suspension at left back, Jordan Bowery started at right back, George Maris replaced Aaron Lewis in midfield and Will Swan made his first start of the season in place of Rhys Oates. Oates was revealed to be nursing a hip injury which had prevented him from training for around ten days, but he was fit enough for the bench. Interestingly, Aden Flint emerged from the tunnel wearing the captains armband in just his fourth start for the club.
We are not privy to the final words Nigel Clough said to his team before they left the dressing room, but I think it’s safe to say that his advice was not to go behind to the first shot of the match, not that his chargers had much of a say in the matter. After a game of head tennis just inside the Mansfield half, the ball made it’s way out to Abo Eisa on the left. He carried the ball towards goal, with Jordan Bowery backing away to track an overlapping full back, before unleashing an unstoppable effort into the top left corner from around 30 yards. No chance for Pym, the ball beyond him in a flash for the second time in a few days. There was some criticism of a lack of pressure on the ball but I think generally speaking you’re happy for a player to be shooting from that range, even though Eisa had scored from a similar position versus Salford just a few days earlier. Both efforts were classified as 0.01xG.
In complete contrast to their approach at the One Call Stadium 11 days earlier, Grimsby were pressing hard, making it hard for Stags to settle into the game. The usually icy veined Louis Reed miscontrolled a cross from the right inside his own area and was relieved to see Harry Clifton drag an effort wide. Danny Rose was his usual delicate self, winning free kicks from the slightest of touches whilst engaged in a 50/50 battle with Baily Cargill. Flint was constantly imploring his defensive partner to get tighter to Rose in aerial duels. Cargill was however very impressive in possession, consistently breaking lines with his passes only for his attacking teammates to ruin his good work with heavy touches on a number of occasions. Stephen Quinn and George Maris both had attempts at goal without worrying Jake Eastwood in the home goal.
It took until ten minutes before half time for Mansfield to cause the Grimsby keeper any concern. Lucas Akins turned away from a defender on the left after collecting a throw-in, then passed the ball to Davis Keillor-Dunn on the edge of the box where he seems to come alive. ‘DKD’ shaped to shoot with his right before cutting back on to his left and curling an effort against the crossbar. It was reminiscent of his second goal at Crewe, but the shot had too much lift on this occasion. Moments later, he was sharp to dispossess Conteh in the centre circle and drive forward towards goal, before seeing another left footed effort tipped behind for a corner.
With just a few minutes to go until the break, Grimsby were close to doubling their lead but for a great save by Pym. Eisa dribbled in from the left before setting a ball for Gavin Holohan on the edge of the box, Holohan curled a shot towards the top left corner under pressure from Quinn, but Pym threw up a hand to tip the ball over the bar. Great reactions from Pym.
So Mansfield trudged off at half time trailing by a goal to nil. We had still had the majority of the possession and more shots than the home side, but had not hit the heights of previous performances. I tweeted at the time that we were missing the thrust of Rhys Oates, it all seemed a bit comfortable for the Grimsby back line. Nigel Clough agreed after the game, bemoaning the lack of runs in behind from his front three and the poor hold up play of Lucas Akins. Stephen Quinn, whacked on the knee in his attempt to block Holohan’s aforementioned shot, and Baily Cargill with a tight hamstring, were replaced at half time by Ollie Clarke and Rhys Oates. This meant a reshuffle, Akins moving to right back, Bowery to centre back, and Oates up top, with Clarke taking over the role of Quinn.
The changes seemed to give the Stags more of a threat in behind, and they should have been level 9 minutes into the second half. Lucas Akins’ clearance down the right channel, after a few failed touches from Grimsby defenders, put Davis Keillor-Dunn clean through one on one. He had ample time to make a decision on his finish as he closed in on goal, seemingly opting to wait until the keeper went down before poking a weird dinked finish over the keeper and wide of the target. The finish was greeted with collective disbelief by the Stags fans behind the goal, how had he missed? After the game, Clough was asked if DKD has been caught in two minds, and replied with ‘at least two!’. I turned to my Dad and said he never looked confident of what he was going to do, to which he asked which of our strikers would I want running through on goal like that, and I went for Will Swan. The correct answer was provided 5 minutes later by Rhys Oates.
Having received a short pass from Pym, Jordan Becken-Bowery carried the ball forward for a few strides before lacing a tempting ball over the top for Oates to chase. Luke Waterfall appeared to think his goalkeeper was coming out to clear his lines, which was almost correct as Eastwood began to emerge from his area before hesitating as the ball held up on the dry surface. Just as he had done to the other Grimsby keeper earlier in the season, Oates pounced on his opponents indecision, nipping in and rounding Eastwood before steadying himself and rolling the ball into the unguarded net. It was classic Oates and exactly what Mansfield had been missing in the first half.
It seemed a good bet that Mansfield would kick on in pursuit of a winner and that they did, but without really creating too many clear cut chances. There were sights of goal for Swan, Clarke and Macdonald which were either blocked or poorly connected with. George Maris found himself unmarked in the box but couldn’t climb high enough to get the required direction on a headed effort.
The closest Mansfield came to securing all three points was courtesy of the forehead of skipper Aden Flint. All afternoon, crosses towards him had either been too high or too powerful, but in the 81st minute he got the perfectly delivery from a left sided corner. George Maris floated the ball to the back stick, Flint rose highest, headed down to the near post but saw his effort directed on to the post by the left hand of Eastwood. So close.
A 1-1 draw was the final score. Grimsby failed to trouble Mansfield at all in the second half. They had an appeal for a red card for Jordan Bowery as he appeared to put his hand on Holohan as he looked to go through on goal, but even manager Paul Hurst conceded he wasn’t sure they had a case.
Post match, the gaffer declared himself pleased with the point on the back of more injury disruption, but felt his side again deserved all three points, as they probably have in every game so far this season on the balance of play. He singled out Bowery for praise, calling him the best player in the first half, and equally good at centre back in the second. In a previous edition of this newsletter, I bemoaned the presence of Bowery as a central defender, and whilst I still wouldn’t like him to be a regular fixture in that position, needs must.
Team News - Stockport (H)
The Stags could potentially be without 10 or more players for this weekends clash with last seasons beaten play-off finalists Stockport. One of the pre-season favourites for the title, County have started the season slowly, picking up just 4 points from a possible 12, although this is only 2 less than Mansfield despite our strong performances. Nigel Clough sympathised with Dave Challinor’s side, having experienced the hurt of Wembley defeat the season before last, and acknowledging the impact it can have on the start of the following campaign.
Long term absentees Elliott Hewitt and Stephen McLaughlin remain unavailable, with Alfie Kilgour joining them in that category. Kilgour was receiving surgery during Mansfield’s trip to Grimsby, and all seems to have gone well having viewed the defenders TikTok video posted earlier this week. Callum Johnson, Aaron Lewis and Hiram Boateng will miss 4-6 weeks with various muscle strains. James Gale and John Joe O’Toole are back doing some running, but are both at least a couple of weeks away from being available for selection. George Williams was due to train properly for the first time this week following a thigh issue, having made up the numbers on the bench at the weekend. Baily Cargill and Stephen Quinn were rated as outside chances to make the squad.
Ollie Clarke will be available after managing 45 minutes at the weekend and 62 minutes for the U23’s against Derby on Tuesday, having played no part in any pre-season fixtures due to a calf problem. We know that Rhys Oates is carrying a hip issue which caused his minutes to be limited at the weekend, but there has been no word of any further issues.
Nigel Clough did mention that he hoped to bolster the squad with a loan defender before the weekend, but this is yet to come to fruition. The defender in question is a young defender from a Championship club, negotiations are ongoing, with Mansfield hoping to strike a ‘fairer’ deal than the one currently proposed by his parent club.
It’s a big week ahead, as we take on Stockport and Bradford at home in the league, with a trip to Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.
Fan Preview - Stockport (H)
This weeks answers are kindly provided by Hatters fan Joshua Woodhouse :
What are your expectations for this season? Expectations for this season are promotion, ideally by finishing in the top 3. This is something that has been mentioned by both the board and manager Dave Challinor. Based on the supposed budgets availabele, this is a very realistic and expected outcome. After our first 10 games back in the EFL last season we had won 2, drawn 3 and lost 5 and sat in 17th place. From match day 11 to the end of the season we picked up 70 points, more than anyone else winning 20, drawing 10 and losing only 6. We also during that time had a plus 31 goal difference. We have shown that we can be one of the best teams in League Two and we now have to do it over the course of a full season. If we can do that then we will be there or thereabouts.
How would you rate your summer business out of ten? Summer business has for the most part been strong, with the addition of Nick Powell and Ibou Touray being the standouts. If you can get him playing at his best and keep him fit and interested, Nick Powell is a player that should be far far too good for this level. Touray arrives from Salford as a player who occupied a place in the team of the year last season. He is a strong signing who replaces Chris Hussey on the left hand side of the defence in a back 3. 2 loan players came in, Louis Barry and Jayden Richardson. They are both players who County have been tracking for a while. Louis Barry provides a different option to what we had last year. He is very direct, a good dribbler and a very hard player to get off the ball. Jayden Richardson a right sided wing back. A very quick and physical player who causes defences problems with his speed. From what has been said from Notts County and Aberdeen fans he is someone who struggles on the ball especially in advanced areas. In terms of outgoings, there were not any shocks. The positive for County is the players that have not left. Will Collar was linked with a few Championship clubs over the summer but up to this point remains a County player. The only negative around the fanbase has been not bringing in a target man striker to cover for the injured Kyle Wootton. County were heavily reliant on Wootton last season to be an outlet and a player that could be a threat in the box from crosses. With him being injured until around October to November time, County fans expected an option to come in. Rating 8.5/10
How have you performed so far? Performances so far have been good with one huge flaw, putting the ball in the net! Against Gillingham, Walsall, Bradford and Barrow we have been the better team but have really struggled to score. We have created good chances and had long periods of dominance but not been able to convert our chances. In defence we have for the most part been strong but mistakes have started to creep in and cost us on occasions. You can feel a tension and a concern at games with County not taking their chances and the longer it goes on the more concern and angst will grow amongst the fans and ultimately take an effect on the players.
Thoughts on your manager, Dave Challinor? I’m a very big fan of Dave Challinor, which is a shared view among most at County. Having been a player previously for the club and having lots of success as a manger before joining County, he came in with credit in the bank and that only grew after gaining promotion from the National League. He wants to play football that gets the fans off their seats. It is often high energy and will often be quick paced attacking football.
What formation should we expect? County will more than likely set up in either a 343 or a 352 on Saturday. Both formations this season have been used and involve similar attacking patterns and defensive shapes. County will look to get the ball into wide areas and create lots of overloads before looking to get the ball into the box.
Who will likely catch the eye for Stockport at the weekend? Louis Barry will be the player to keep an eye on from a County point of view. As previously mentioned he is very direct and a good dribbler. He has a very low centre of gravity which makes it very hard to get the ball off him and makes him a very exciting player to watch. He scored his first goal last weekend against Barrow and this will hopefully give him the confidence to kick on and add more to his goal tally.
How do you think Mansfield will do this season? I expect Mansfield to be in the playoffs this season. I think the additions to the squad especially in defence have been strong and add experience to a good back line. Nigel Clough has got this Mansfield Town team creating chances early on in the season and last season they showed that they can score goals so I would expect that against a lot of teams in this league they outscore teams whilst also still remaining solid at the back with some very experienced defenders.
Score prediction? 1-1. I think both teams will look to attack but with both teams seemingly struggling in front of goal at the moment I could see a game that could frustrate both sets of fans. Both defences are good so I can’t see both sets of teams creating lots of chances.