EFL League 2
at Field Mill AKA The One Call Stadium
Mansfield Town (0) 2
George Lapslie 51
Riley Harbottle 59
Hartlepool United (0) 2
Joshua Umerah 62, 89
Attendance: 6,891 (inc. 302 away fans)
Mansfield Town:
Pym, Gordon (Bowery, 83’), Hewitt, Hawkins, Harbottle (Perch, 90+1’), McLaughlin, Clarke, Maris (Law, 90+1’), Quinn (Wallace, 86’), Lapslie (Swan, 83’), Akins
Unused subs - Flinders, O’Toole,
Hartlepool United:
Killip, Tumilty (Patterson, HT), Murray, Lacey, Menayese, Ferguson, Sylla (Oduor, 89’), Shelton (Umerah, 61’), Crawford, McDonald (Hamilton, 75’), Ndjoli (Cooke, HT)
Unused subs - Letheren, Grey,
Since I last saw the Stags in action, against Doncaster Rovers at the beginning of September, they've picked up seven points out of a possible nine from their three most recent League Two games, which has seen them climb steadily towards the upper rungs of the table.
By contrast, Hartlepool arrived at Field Mill sitting uncomfortably at the very bottom of League Two, 92nd out of 92, knowing that if they didn't win tonight, they would equal a club record (set in 2012) of going twenty EFL games without a win... so following tonight's score-draw, Tuesday's home game against Doncaster Rovers will now have an added significance.
Pools have recently parted company with manager Paul Hartley and replaced him with Keith Curle in a bid to get themselves away from the foot of the table.
Here's another one of those statistics that makes you realise just how quickly time passes by and makes you feel old: It's been eighteen years (and six subsequent managerial positions) since Curle left his job as the Stags manager... the least said about the circumstances surrounding his departure the better.
Ditto, the subsequent ten month spell that his replacement: Carlton effing Palmer, spent in the Field Mill hot seat.
On Saturday, Curle's first game in charge saw his side pick up a point from a goalless draw at Victoria Park against Gillingham. While a late comeback and subsequent 2-1 victory at Crewe Alexandra, marked Mansfield's fiftieth win under the tenure of Nigel Clough, who will have been in the Field Mill hot seat for exactly two years on November 6th.
Over the course of the night, I've read some fairly scathing stuff on social media about the Stags, which, in the main, was written by people purporting to be supporters of the club.
So, for purposes of clarification: it was disappointing that Mansfield hadn't won tonight after being in a such a commanding position, two goals to the good with thirty minutes remaining. But, on the whole, they played well for the majority of the game and but for the heroics of Ben Killip in the Pools goal might've already had the game sewn up by half-time, such was the balance of play.
After a string of saves from the visiting keeper during the virtually one-sided first-half, which were supplemented by two near misses and a disallowed goal (Stephen Quinn, marginally offside), Hartlepool went into the break by sounding a warning of what can often happen to any dominant side who fail to make good of their lion's share of possession in the final third, when Christy Pym turned a thumping thirty yard strike by Euan Murray against the post.
If the fifty-fourth minute, a moving tribute to my old friend Steve Hartshorn, who sadly passed away recently was observed. Steve was one of four Stags fans to be remembered tonight, along with: Tony Lorimer, Colin Parry and Jeanette Whittaker, I offer my condolences to all concerned.
The club also belatedly honoured the passing of their legendary former manager Dave Smith prior to kick-off.
Fittingly, Steve's tribute was bookended by two second-half goals that had appeared to give the Stags a convincing lead. I think he would've liked that and can imagine that he'd probably even have had a little chuckle to himself, that this being Mansfield Town that two goal lead proved not to be quite so convincing after all.
In the fifty first minute, the Stags finally broke the deadlock, when Kellan Gordon broke forward and picked out George Lapslie in space with a defence splitting delivery, and he added the finishing touch to beat the hitherto resilient Killip.
Six minutes later, Gordon once again stole some space and found Lapslie with another telling cross, but this time Killip got his frame in the way and the ball ricocheted off of him and went behind for a corner.
Hartlepool only half cleared the flag-kick delivery and as the ball was returned into the mix a scramble ensued, during which the it sat up nicely for Riley Harbottle who bulged the net with his third goal of the season, since Joining the Stags on loan from Nottingham Forest.
Chucking caution to the wind, Keith Curle made what proved to be an inspired substitution, when he replaced the Pools defender Mark Shelton for an attacker, in the shape of Joshua Umerah.
The visitors number nine had only been on the pitch for two minutes, when he was gifted a chance as Harbottle's under hit back pass to Pym presented the striker with the chance to take the ball round the Stags keeper and roll it into the net from an angle.
On such a foul night as this weather-wise, it might have been prudent to buck the current trend of goalkeepers taking short goal kicks to defenders and faffing about with the ball in front of their own goal, which is exactly what created this gift of a chance for Umerah. Hmm, Keith Curle benefitting from 'tippy-tappy football', the bloody irony of it, eh!?
Creating danger where there wasn't any versus minimising risks and launching the ball into the relative safety of the opposition half, when you're looking to see out a game and preserve a two-goal advantage, in difficult conditions, seems to be a no-brainer.
Harbottle was at fault but there was no need for him to have been put in that position in the first place. But hey! Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing
And besides, if Mansfield had been more ruthless in front of the visitors goal, or more to the point, if Killip hadn't put in a man of the match performance for Pools, this game could and should have been over as a contest well before Umerah scored his first goal.
But now the Stags were facing a nervous finish to the contest... and it showed.
Umerah burst forward on the left and homed in on Pym's goal, but he crashed the ball high and wide of the target. Err, methinks this guy needs dealing with, fairly urgently.
It was edge of seats stuff for the Field Mill faithful as they checked their watches and consulted that big daft scoreboard in the vainglorious hope that it was time up.
In the very last minute of the scheduled ninety, Umerah collected a Alex Lacey's long-ball from inside the Hartlepool half and motored forward. Harbottle, caught in two minds, was hesitant and let Umerah in behind him and was left in the powerful striker's wake as he surged on and nudged the ball under Pym to equalise, as Elliott Hewitt's last ditch attempt at a goal line clearance was all in vain.
Moments later Harbottle was substituted, as a goal scoring hero quickly took on the guise of a sacrificial lamb, who would ultimately be blamed for the Stags not claiming all three points tonight.
He must be feeling pretty shitty about that... let us not forget, football is a team game, collectively responsibility and collective blame rules apply. Mansfield were unlucky not to have won handsomely tonight. Keith Curle's substitutions and game management were spot on tonight as his side ground out a result against all the odds. The catalyst for the Stags only getting a draw, which in the circumstances almost felt like a defeat, when they relinquished a hard won lead, was their own failure to build up an unassailable lead when they were on top.
FT: Mansfield Town 2 v Hartlepool United 2
People will no doubt want to use Harbottle as a scapegoat, and to be frank neither of his defensive lapses were pretty, but he wasn't guilty of squandering his goal-scoring opportunity when it came along and in no way should he be held solely responsible for the way that Hartlepool were afforded a way back into the game.
To that end, though I'll probably be burned on a cross by some of my Stags supporting friends for saying such a thing; credit where it is due to the visitors too, whose 'never say die' attitude and application when they had been second best on the night by quite a long way. surely deserves some plaudits.
The 'Monkey Hangers' are fighting for their Football League survival and the teams directly above them in the table will be now be looking cautiously over their shoulders, well aware of the fact that regardless of the aesthetics, Hartlepool have picked up a point from both of Curle's games in charge.
The Stags face Derby County in a EFL Trophy game on Tuesday night, before returning to league action next Saturday when they travel to Barrow who are currently one-point above Nigel Clough's side in the table. Despite only drawing tonight, Mansfield will travel to Cumbria on the back of a five game unbeaten run in League 2.
