Tuesday 13 February 2018

Mansfield Town 5 v Newport County 0 - EFL League 2

Tuesday 13th February 2018
SkyBey EFL League Two
at Field Mill/One Call Stadium
Mansfield Town (4) 5
Danny Rose 6
Alfie Potter 9, 28, 61
Alex MacDonald 34
Newport County (0) 0
Attendance: 2,866 (inc 57 away fans)
The Stags started the night in sixth place, three points behind the automatic promotion places and seven ahead of tonight's visitors, play off chasing Newport County, who will no doubt have been aware of their hosts recent form, whereby Steve Evans side have lost just once in their last ten league games, when they went down by a solitary goal to nil at Swindon Town on Saturday.
The Exiles, who were actually playing in what will be their final midweek game of the season tonight, arrived in Nottinghamshire off the back of back to back league defeats on the road at Colchester United and Lincoln City... though of course, in between times, they have also played against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup twice, when they went down 2-0 at Wembley Stadium after drawing 1-1 at Rodney Parade, a game that the South Wales based side had actually taken the lead in, before England striker Harry Kane equalised with just eight minutes to go.
But I'm sure any grief that Newport felt about it was offset with the massive amount of cash that they will have made from the replay.
One can only imagine what the kind of score there might have been when Mike Flynn's side played against the in form Premier League club, if they had defended as badly as they did in the first half tonight against them.
Talking after this one sided game, the Exiles manager said: Mike Flynn: "Let's not dress it up, six nights ago at Wembley I was the proudest manager in the country, tonight I'm ashamed.
"When you let in goals like that... it is the first time this season they've let themselves down like that and it will be the last time."
Though to be fair, as poor as the visitors were, that shouldn't take anything away from the manner in which the Stags effectively tore them to pieces from the very outset. In actual fact, the damage inflicted on County could've far worse had it not been for the agility and bravery of their keeper Joe Day.
With ten League 2 games taking place on this icy cold Tuesday night, both teams would've been mindful of the fact that they would need a good result to keep in touch with all the other sides who have similar aspirations. And prior to the game I had said that it was the three points that mattered, not the level of performance, or even any kind of entertainment factor; but it was a massively pleasing night when the Stags juxtaposed all three composite elements, to convincingly and comprehensively claim the victory, in a game that they had already effectively won hands down, inside the opening thirty four minutes.
Newport had already been subjected to an all hands to the pumps rearguard action before succumbing to Danny Rose's sixth minute strike, as the home side went for the jugular from the word go, with CJ Hamilton mesmerising the opposition defence with his power, touch and speed, while Kane Hemmings and Alfie Potter both went close, as Krystian Pearce and Mal Benning provided them with the ammunition. Indeed it was Pearce who set up the goal that broke the deadlock, when he crossed from the dead ball line to Rose who added the finishing touch.
Three minutes later Hamilton burst past the visitors defence, leaving them standing in his wake like a group of bewildered spectators, before knocking the ball sideways to Potter who drilled the ball past Day from ten yards out, as the Exiles keeper sprung to his feet and lambasted his defence and demanded to know if there was the slightest chance of them giving him a hand tonight.Newport tried to recover from the early doors invasion of shock troops into their midst, but a weak finish by Frank Nouble was easy meat for Conrad Logan.
Rose stretched to meet a delivery from Hamilton, who was absolutely rampant tonight, but guided the ball narrowly past the wrong side of the upright.
Very much, in fact severely against the run of play, the visitors netted a goal , just after the twenty minute mark, when Matt Dolan's free kick deflected into the path of Joss Labadie, but he had already been flagged for offside when the kick was taken and subsequently his close range effort was ruled out.
Benning was relishing getting forward to add his presence to the Stags attack and Day would've been mightily relieved to see the Mansfield number three's crashing half volley clear his crossbar.
Hamilton won the ball from Scot Bennett and tore Newport apart down the flank once more before crossing to Rose whose first shot was blocked and then hit the crossbar as he reacted quickly to get a touch onto the rebound, and despite Dan Butler's best efforts to clear the ball Alfie Potter crashed it into the roof of Day's net.
Three nil up inside half a hour!?
Somebody pass me the smelling salts I'm feeling all giddy.
Newport won a corner... at last something for the 57 hardy souls in the North Stand who'd made a three hour journey north to cheer about. But the joy was short lived as their hosts efficiently cleared their lines and broke forward quickly from box to box, to force a corner in front of the Quarry Lane End in the 34th minute. Potter swung it in to the danger zone to where the ball found its way out to Alex MacDonald who belted it into the back of the un-sighted Day's net, who must have been thinking by now that all of those Newport players standing between him and MacDonald were only there for ornamental purposes.
Even at four goals to the good, the Stags kept piling on the pressure, with Rose and Potter both almost adding to their tallies, while Paul Anderson was unlucky not to add a fifth.
HT: Stags 4 v Exiles 0
We, that is my good self and the two eminently charming (and quite inquisitive) Central Midlands League committee people who had joined me for the night, all rose spontaneously to applaud Mansfield off of the pitch at half time, by which point Newport must've wished that they could apply cricket rules to the game and declare while they were still only four goals behind, and eff off home sharpish.
Newport belatedly adopted a damage limitation approach to the game after half time, but still rode their luck a couple of times, as Rhys Bennett thumped the ball against the post from MacDonald's free kick and Hemmings advanced forward from Rose's lay off but scooped his chance over the bar.
In the 61st minute Rose scuffed Hamilton's cross into the path of Potter, who claimed his hat trick for the night (and the first of his professional career) with a low shot that touch a slight bounce and deflection in front of Day and ended up in the back of the net.
MacDonald lined up another free kick and 'bent it like Beckham' (Vicky 'Posh Spice' Beckham) into the side netting with Day well beaten.
I think the visitors goalie would've been entitled by this point to walk off and tell his team mates that they could play Mansfield on their own, just like he had been doing for long spells of the game.
Inside the closing ten minutes Rose worked hard wide of the goal to set up second half substitute Ricky Miller, but Day denied him when he saved from close range with his legs.
Day then almost created a chance for the Stags sixth goal, when he came off his line and under hit a punt down the field which fell to Adam King in the middle of the pitch, and as the home crowd as one yelled "Shoot!" in unison, the Swansea City U23 loan player, launched the ball back over the Exiles keepers head, who back pedalled furiously to tip the ball over.
Good for him, the poor bugger deserved a lucky break or two tonight.
Day was well placed to catch MacDonald's stoppage time free kick and probably didn't talk to any of his defence all the way home, as the final whistle sounded and the Stags moved up a place in the play off positions and finished the game still three points off of an automatic promotion berth.
For the record, Notts County, who also won tonight, they were recently eleven points clear of Mansfield, and their fans were indulging in a whole load of "mind the gap!" type taunts.
Well that gap is now a single point, so unless they want to cop for a big fat custard humble pie in their collective faces when the 'Pride of Nottinghamshire' visit Meadow Lane next month, I suggest that you Pies shurrup!!
As for Mansfield's other local rivals, Chesterfuckingfield, well they lost again, inevitably and won't be a Football League club for much longer... and I won't miss them one bit, so hey ho!
FT: Mansfield Town 5 v Newport County 0