 |
| Crawley Town badge? Whoops! |
SkyBet EFL League Two
at Field Mill (the One Call Stadium)
Mansfield Town (0) 2
Tyler Walker 50, 82
Tyler Walker 50, 82
Grimsby Town (1) 1
Mal Benning 36 OG
Attendance 4,118 (inc. 544 away)
Mal Benning 36 OG
Attendance 4,118 (inc. 544 away)
This game was rescheduled for tonight, after the original fixture was cancelled, due to Mansfield Town having three players away on international duty on the original date.
Although you could be excused for not knowing that Shoezone, PC World and Poundland were actual countries, with the requisite FIFA co-efficient to warrant such a postponement.
But, in the event, while the Mariners game was put on hold, in spite of an apparent player shortage, David Flitcroft still managed to cobble enough personnel together, to play a behind closed doors friendly against Birmingham City, who also had a blank weekend because of the international break.
The Stags FA Cup First Round game this coming weekend is also subject to change, because the Football Association have dictated that their home tie against Charlton Athletic shall be played at 12.45PM on Sunday, to cater for overseas European television coverage.
I'd wager that the sports bars in Brussels, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Podgorica and Zagreb, will be packed to the rafters, with clientele who're eager to watch the Stags v the Addicks in action, although I might have resorted to using an unhealthy amount of sarcasm on this here blog tonight.
The fact that the Mansfield v Charlton game coincides with a local Armistice Day parade, and many other nationwide gatherings, that are being held to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the cessation of World War One, matters not to the authorities, but it's caused upset and unrest among a good number of Mansfield Town supporters, who want to attend the centenary event to honour the fallen, who 'gave their today, for our tomorrow'. Besides which, I would've hoped that the United Kingdom isn't the only place in Europe holding commemorative ceremonies on Sunday, so where exactly is the demand to screen this game live at such a time actually coming from?
Personally, I believe that the Sunday game should kick off at least a couple of hours later than it is doing, both as a mark of respect and to allow people the time and choice, to be at the parade until it's conclusion... and then go to the match afterwards if they choose to do so.
That said, the cup game against Charlton, is one of eight games that will be sharing the same kick off time on Sunday. And to reiterate, Mansfield Town Football Club no input into, or choice about, the decision making process that deemed when the game would be played. And nor for that matter, did Charlton Athletic, whose supporters face an even bigger dilemma than those based in Nottinghamshire itself.
I will be paying my respects at the traditional time of 11AM, as I always have done; before heading over to Field Mill, to watch the Stags in action against their League One opponents.
Of course, with the town's Football League club being railroaded into playing on the Sunday, it means that anybody who is at a loose end on Saturday afternoon, and fancies seeing a game elsewhere, to scratch their football itch, could head across to watch AFC Mansfield, who are playing Pickering Town in the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Trophy at the Forest Town Arena (NG19 0EE), in a game that has a traditional kick off time of 3PM.
Elsewhere around Mansfield, about a mile up the road from the Forest Town Arena, Clipstone are entertaining in form and title chasing Newark Flowserve in an EMCL fixture at the Lido Ground, while Rainworth Miners Welfare are also at home against Clifton All Whites, in another EMCL fixture. Both of the EMCL games kick off at 3PM too.
And, of course, the Stags U18 side, who are looking to win their fourth league title in a row this season, have a Saturday home game (at Pleasley) against Huddersfield Town at 12 noon.
 |
| Malc Storer - local football guru and oracle type person. |
Malc Storer's ON THE ROAD blog, will have plenty of other local non league alternatives listed on it by the end of the week too.
But that's enough prevarication and free advertising for one night, I'm at Field Mill for two games this week and herein, is an almost unbiased overview about the first of them: Mansfield Town v Grimsby Town.
Since losing 1-2 at home to Exeter City on September 15th, the Stags had chalked up a ten game unbeaten run in the build up to this game, during which time they had clawed their way up to tenth in the table, with a game in hand (AKA: this one) over all of the teams above them. While ten points adrift of their hosts, as of at 7.45PM, the Mariners have had a mixed bag of results thus far and a lack of consistency saw them start the night in twenty first place in League Two, with just Notts County, Cheltenham Town and Macclesfield Town beneath them in the table
Since losing 1-2 at home to Exeter City on September 15th, the Stags had chalked up a ten game unbeaten run in the build up to this game, during which time they had clawed their way up to tenth in the table, with a game in hand (AKA: this one) over all of the teams above them. While ten points adrift of their hosts, as of at 7.45PM, the Mariners have had a mixed bag of results thus far and a lack of consistency saw them start the night in twenty first place in League Two, with just Notts County, Cheltenham Town and Macclesfield Town beneath them in the table
The goalless draw at Meadow Lane, between County and Oldham Athletic tonight, meant that Grimsby remain in twenty first place; while the Stags, in spite of only having just turning up after arriving fashionably late, have finally gatecrashed the play off party, albeit only on goal difference, for the time being.
A crowd of 4,118 (inc. 544 from Grimsby) turned out to watch this League 2 fixture, that was also being shown on EFL's iFollow service, for a one off fee, that cost less than half the price of a match ticket. I reckon, that if the game had been played on a Saturday, you would have expected twice that many Mariners fans attending.
Football used to be called 'the people's game', but even in the basement division, it is now owned by broadcasting companies, who have become a rather large tail wagging a rather feeble and all but toothless dog. At this rate, the only direct income stream that league teams will be receiving directly from their own supporters, will come from selling armchairs in club shops.
The Stags manager ruthlessly changed his team around at the break, making a double change, which saw Craig Davies and Hayden White enter the fray in place of Matt Preston and the aforementioned Elsnik. Immediately White offered more width on the right, which gave the Stags attack a more balanced look and stetch the visitors defence enough to all Benning to get forward down the left flank and cross towards Tyler Walker, who finished well from close range, to claim his fourth goal in three games, to level things up.
During the first half, Mansfield had placed too much emphasis on knocking square balls across their own defence numerous times, as part of a patient strategy of building play up from the back, but Grimsby had quickly got wise to this game plan and allocated a man per defender to implement a high press, but after the half time substitution, the Stags were getting the ball forward more quickly down both flanks,
A crowd of 4,118 (inc. 544 from Grimsby) turned out to watch this League 2 fixture, that was also being shown on EFL's iFollow service, for a one off fee, that cost less than half the price of a match ticket. I reckon, that if the game had been played on a Saturday, you would have expected twice that many Mariners fans attending.
Mansfield began the game in the front foot and James McKeown was kept busy throughout the first half keeping Danny Rose, Tyler Walker at bay Jacob Mells at bay, as the home side laboured and made hard work of puncturing Grimsby's back-line, while the Mariners knocked the ball around well, to all intents and purposes, they were all fingers, thumbs and foreplay with zero penetration.
Ten minutes before half time,Wes Thomas, having just narrowly failed to add the finishing touch, as he slid in at full stretch to meet a Ben Pringle delivery into Bobby Olejnik's goalmouth, accelerated past the Mansfield captain Krystian Pearce and struck the ball low and hard across the face of the Stags goal, from a tight angle beside the left hand side bi-line, where it whipped off of the diving Bobby Olejnik's boot and rebounded into the goal off of Mal Benning, who was rushing back to provide cover behind his keeper.
A minute after Thomas' goal, McKeown saved to deny Danny Rose again and as the game reached the halfway stage, David Flitcroft's side went into the break a goal down, in spite of having a string of chances across the opening forty five minutes and having both Timi Elsnik and Ryan Sweeney went close in the later stages of the half.
During the first half, Mansfield had placed too much emphasis on knocking square balls across their own defence numerous times, as part of a patient strategy of building play up from the back, but Grimsby had quickly got wise to this game plan and allocated a man per defender to implement a high press, but after the half time substitution, the Stags were getting the ball forward more quickly down both flanks,
However, for a passage of the game following Walker's equaliser, Grimsby had a good spell of possession, but were shifting the ball around in areas of the pitch that weren't really hurting their hosts, which prompted their followers in the North Stand to chant: "Attack, attack, attack".
Davies curled a free kick past the upright, while CJ Hamilton was growing into the game on the left, and indeed it was he who set up Walker for his second goal, swinging a well weighted cross towards the back post, that the Stags number nineteen dispatched emphatically past the impressive McKeown.
Having created the winning goal, Hamilton almost added one for himself with a solo effort, before Walker set up a chance for the Stags Under 18 product Jordan Graham who was a whisker away from adding to the score, after he's come on late in the day to replace Danny Rose, who had taken a knock in the second half and looked out of sorts.
FT: Mansfield Town 2 v Grimsby Town 1
 |
| The only way is up? |
Just about a fair result in the end, all told, in my humble opinion. But Grimsby hadn't looked like a side flirting with the also rans at the bottom of the table at times, though they will have to show as much application in the final third of the pitch as they did elsewhere, if they want to move up the table. It wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing of wins for the Stags, but it's all about results and staying in touch with the play off places right now... and to that end, they delivered and did what they had to do, three points is three points.
Both sides now have home FA Cup games at the weekend, followed by EFL Trophy matches next Tuesday night. The Stags play Charlton on Sunday and Scunthorpe on Tuesday, while the Mariners host MK Dons on Saturday and Newcastle United U21 in midweek.
