Mansfield Town 0 v Lincoln City 0 - EFLYA

Tuesday 24th January 2017
EFL Youth Alliance (North East)
at Clipstone FC
Mansfield Town (0) 0
Lincoln City (0) 0
Flickr photo gallery from this game HERE

Mansfield Town:
Sam Wilson, Teddy Bloor, Henri Wilder, Cain Smith (C), Kane Baldwin, Morgan Ratcliffe, Tom Marriott, Luke Morgan (Aiden Walker 73), Nyle Blake (Harry Bircumshaw 73), Jason Law (Devante Reittie HT), Jake Dumbleton
Unused subs - Xavier Sundby, Steve Johnson

Lincoln City:
Regan Start, Archie Moyes, Ryley Thompson, Keilen Gretton, Luke Anderson, Jack Fixter, Reece Robinson James (Jon Smith 79), Danny Horton, Luke White, James Hugo (Declan O'Hare 69)
Unused sub - Michael Antkowiak

Many thanks to old thingy, Barry, Jim and Malc at Clipstone FC
for their hospitality and ensuring that today's game went ahead.

The young Stags, playing with several enforced changes from the side that won at Rotherham on Saturday, with two players withdrawn to take their place on the subs bench at tonight's Checkatrade Trophy quarter final game and others rested in prepartion for tomorrow afternoon's U21/Reserve team Central League fixture against YorkCity at Rainworth (2pm kick off); drew a blank against a very well organised Imps team, that contained quite a few first year players
A stalemate ensued, as fairly lacklustre and scrappy game unfolded, that was bereft of very many clear cut chances, for either side.
Mansfield made an encouraging start, when Tom Marriott's right wing corner found it's way through to Jake Dumbleton, who was only denied a second minute goal, by a great reflex save from Regan Start.

The Stags pushed forward again when Teddy Bloor released Dumbleton down the right flank, who linked up with Marriott, but his attempted cross cleared the bar.
The home side got lucky when Jack McMenemy broke free through the left channel and fired an angled shot across the face of Sam Wilson's goal. that crashed against the inside of the right hand post and rolled along the goal line, before Henri Wilder hooked it away.
The referee looked to his assistant, Lee Clarke, who decreed that not all of the ball had crossed the line, despite Lincoln's understandable appeals.

Stagsnet veterans Kernow and Martin Shaw

To be fair, the Imps probably had good reason to feel aggrieved, but these sort of decisions and scenarios balance themselves out over the course of the season. Or so I am told.
Luke Morgan, making his first start in the EFL Youth Alliance for Mansfield this season, did well to block McMenemy's goal bound shot and then headed clear from Archie Moyes corner kick.
Lincoln pushed forward right at the end of the first half and went close when Wilder's clearance from inside the Stags penalty area, fell to Keilen Gretton, whose first time strike flew just wide of the right hand upright.
HT: 0-0

Nyle Blake combined with Dumbleton, as the Stags looked to open up a resilient Lincoln defence, which was being well marshalled by the workaholic Jack Fixter, but they were getting very little scope to make any space, by a determined Imps back line.
Marriott picked up the ball thirty yards from goal and rolled it sideways to Smith, who strode forward before shooting over the bar from the edge of the area.
The Stags went close to taking the lead when Ryley Thompson was a whisker away from turning the ball into his own goal from Wilder's left wing cross, while Luke Anderson intercepted Marriott's resulting corner, that was aimed towards Nyle Blake.

Reece Robinson Jones scuffed a shot when he was well placed in front of the Stags goal and Morgan had to move quickly put the ball behind for a corner as McMenemy moved in. The Stags onlt half cleared the flag kick as far as Anderson, who crashed the loose ball over the bar.
Gretton and McMenemy linked up on the left flank, but Aiden Walker a second half substitute for the Stags, intercepted the ball and calmly cleared the danger away.
It has been a while since Walker got a run out, but in blended in seamlessly and added no small amount of composure out on the right for the home side where he had a good understanding with one of the unsung heroes of the current campaign, Kane Baldwin.

Walker and Dumbleton exchanged passes and freed Devante Reittie on the right hand side of the area and his pass across the area to Bloor and Smith caused a few moments of panic in the Imps defence, before the Fixter and Anderson partnership closed ranks again.
Wilder fed the ball forward to Dumbleton, he in turn laid it off first time to Smith, who lobbed a pass into the path of Devante Reittie, and the Lincoln defence collectively held their breath, as the ball rolled agonisingly across the face of goal after the lively front man held off the attentions of Fixter and diverted a shot from an acute angle.
It was Lincon's turn to get lucky this time!
In stoppage time, Smith threaded a pass through to Marriott on the right hand side of the Imps goalmouth, who raced forward before nicking the ball past the advancing Start, but alas, it flew inches wide of the left hand post too.
FT: Mansfield Town U18 0 v Lincoln City U18 0