Retford United 0 v Mansfield Town 6 - PSF

Saturday 9th July 2022

Pre Season Friendly

At Cannon Park

Retford United (0) 0

Mansfield Town (5) 6

Lucas Akins 10, Jordan Bowery 26, 34, James Gale 28, 

Stephen Quinn 31, Ryan Oates 51

Attendance: 912

Retford United: 

Crosby, Ludlam (C), White, Booth, Fieldsend, Turner (L. Thompson), Mylnarski, Priestnall (K. Thompson), Baird (Morton), Frost, Smith

Unused subs - Holmes, Earnshaw

Mansfield Town: 

Flinders (Mason 46), Cooper, O’Toole (Hawkins 46), McLaughlin (Collins 46) (C), Akins (Gordon 46), Boateng (Lapslie 46), Davies (Maris 46), Quinn (Clarke 46 (C)), Bowery (Law 46), Gale (Deakin  66), Swan (Oates 46)

With Mansfield Town utilising a compliment of twenty one players, in heatwave conditions at Cannon Park, against Ryan Hindley's CMFL North hosts; the final and inevitable outcome speaks volumes for itself and it barely warrants any kind of report to describe just how one-sided this pre season encounter turned out to be. Particularly when you take into consideration that the Badgers keeper: Tom Crosby, pulled off a string of eye-catching stops to restrict the visitors to a mere six goals and maintain a modicum of respectability about the full time score.

Three Summer signings to bolster the Stags ranks all played for the opening forty-five minutes, before Nigel Clough made nine substitutions at half-time. Hiram Boateng who arrived at Field Mill from MK Dons made an immediate impression, And young Will Swan who has come in from neighbours Nottingham Forest on a twelve month long loan looked lively, but it was difficult to make any sort of judgement as regards the incoming goalkeeper Scott Flinders, who Mansfield have brought in from Cheltenham Town, because he never really had much to do apart from staying hydrated. 

The same applied to Owen Mason, the youthful shot-stopper who replaced Flinders after the interval, as the visitors tactic of playing five across the middle of the park in both halves, pretty much thwarted any kind of creativity, build up play and attacking intentions that United might have harboured from the outset.

It was always a question of when... and not if, Mansfield would start turning their dominance into goals and having short narrowly over during the opening exchanges, Jordan Bowery put in a hanging cross from the left that Lucas Akins got up among a clutch of defenders, including one who had an uncanny resemblance to 'Brian bloody Blessed', to glance a well placed header inside the right-hand post.

James Gale had a shot blocked and Bowery was denied when Crosby positioned himself well to get behind the Stags' hitman's smartly struck shot. 

But then the floodgates opened and the Badgers were rocked by a four goal salvo in the space of just eight minutes.

Slow it down a bit you lot, I'm trying to write all of this down, while working out who is who, because of the lack of numbers on the back of those amber shirts.

Of course, I had my erstwhile sidekick alongside me to whose 'helpful' interjections aided me in filling any gaps: "That tall one passed it to the one in black boots, he shot but that guy that looks like Emperor Ming stopped it and the ball rebounded to that other one who scored". Apparently, she was actually watching the same game as me, though you would never have guessed it.

For purposes of clarity, in the twenty-sixth minute Boateng shot from twelve yards out, but his effort was was blocked, and Bowery ceased the loose ball and added the finishing touch to double the Stags lead.

From their next attack the visitors were soon three goals to the good when Swan drilled the ball across the face of Crosby's goal from out on the right and Gale stretched to divert it into the back of the net.

The ever lively Boateng got himself into a pocket of space and unleashed a shot that Crosby did well to keep out. But the Badgers respite was short-lived and just after the half hour mark, the visitors added a fourth when Boateng picked up the ball in the centre-circle and delivered a precision ball into the path of Stephen Quinn's run, who advanced on United's goal and scored via Crosby's outstretched hand.

The impressive Boateng (what a damn good signing he looks to be) knocked the ball to Bowery who clipped a long range drive into the right hand corner of the net, Crosby stretched and got his fingertips to the ball, but the well placed shot was just beyond his reach.

With half time approaching Bowery put the ball wide of the post from Swan's pass and the Stags had to be content with content with just the five at the interval, following their four goal smash and grab raid during a high intensity eight minute invasion of United's final third.

HT: Badgers 0 v Stags 5

It was good to see Kellan Gordon getting a run out for the Stags in the second-half following a lengthy lay off through injury and it was he who almost added to the visitors goal count when he made a timely run to reach George Lapslie's delivery from the right, but once again the hosts had Crosby to thank for denying the rampant and goal-hungry visitors.

But six minutes after the restart, Mansfield added a sixth when Ollie Clarke lofted a forward pass over the hosts defence for Ryan Oates to run onto and he dinked the ball over the advancing Crosby (above).

Oates tried his luck from distance but fired wide, while Crosby thwarted Lapslie, initially parrying his shot but then smothering the ball at the second attempt.

Retford rode their luck several times as Mansfield laid siege to their area, Gordon's cross from the right skidded across the face of Crosby's goal evading the clutch of Stags players moving in to add a decisive touch, but the workhorse Jason Law chased the ball down and pulled it back to Clarke who shot wide.

Late in the day Gordon limped out of play and Mansfield played out the last five minutes with ten men. Thankfully, I hear told that the former Derby County defender's tweak isn't anything too serious and he will be available for selection when the Stags resume their pre season action with a visit to Matlock Town on Tuesday night,

In the final minute Oates dragged the ball inside on the edge of the area and drilled a low shot that Crosby got down to field fairly easily (above).

FT: Retford United 0 v Mansfield Town 6

The Badgers will doubtless be grateful that they won't have to endure what was effectively a chasing against such strong opposition from seven divisions above them again this season. But as a stamina building exercise, both teams will have benefitted enormously from maintaining such a decent tempo throughout the afternoon in such intense heat.

Retford United's army of volunteers (and I include those inside the ground and those organising the car-parking in that equation) deserve a special mention as the afternoon ran smoothly without a hitch.

I tip my hat to the low-key and friendly stewards who approached their jobs with good humour too.

Financially, I'm sure that the game was a roaring success for Retford United, but i do think that they missed a trick by not producing even a rudimentary programme, or even a simple A4 photocopied team sheet for spectators to purchase, because the kind of supporters that turned out in such large numbers for a fairly obscure fixture such as this, are the sort that would gladly have snaffled up such keepsakes in decent numbers. Just saying ;-)