Season 13/14 Stagsnet Match Report
|
|
|
||
|
Newport County
|
|
Mansfield Town
|
||
|
Zebroski 30.
|
Clucas 67
|
|||
|
Attendance: 3709 (212 from Mansfield)
|
||||
|
Date: 7 September 2013
|
||||
|
STAGS FIGHT BACK TO EARN DRAW AT NEWPORT IN FIESTY GAME
Martin Shaw at Rodney Parade Thought for the day: Today is #nonleagueday. Last season Newport v Mansfield Town was a non-league game. Today it is Football League. Thank you John Radford Manager Paul Cox made one change from the side that beat Dagenham as Matt Rhead came in for Ollie Palmer. He stuck with the 3-2-2-1-2 formation. Paul Cox shares a joke pre-match and your reporter even got a mention #noshavewhileonunbeatenrun, audio here 
Newport included Adam Chapman, who got warm handshakes before the game from the Stags players he knew from last season, and Tom Naylor. The Stags are in all blue. Marriott is in a purple kit, hit third different kit of the season after orange and black. 3 Chapman long throw is unnecessarily put out for Newport corner by Rhead. Corner somehow goes through crowd of players and screws off a Stags defender into Marriott’s grasp. 4 Rhead headed down for Clucas, whose cross evaded everyone 7 Late tackle by McGuire right on edge of box. Yellow card for McGuire. Willmot sends the resulting free kick well over the bar. 9 Great tackle Clements to halt a menacing Willmott run 12 Stags ball forward, and Clucas knocks it down for Hutchinson who shoots just wide of the left post 12 Jolley cuts inside Jennings on the left and fires wide of the left post. 15 Poor free kick floated in from Clements from 40 yards is too close to the keeper. 16 Dempster chests a cross back to Marriott #coolasyoulike 20 Clucas shoots well wide, ball is cleared back to Jennings, who crosses and Clucas heads well wide. Newport’s noisiest fans are right behind Paul Cox. One chant of “Coxy is a w***er” goes up. 21 Jolley is booked for a foul on McGuire. 22 Riley does well to block a Willmott shot on the edge of the box. Then Minshull’s cross-shot is easily taken by Marriott low down. 23 Newport are up to 5 long throws already, taken by Chapman and Jackson. 24 McGuire threads through to Clucas who controls well, and has a sight of goal from near the penalty spot, but his shot is saved. 26 Newport coaching staff (not Edinburgh though) are trying to get McGuire sent off, during a drinks break as a player is treated. The 4th official warns the coaching staff. Now the Newport fans chant “McGuire is a w***er”. It’s spicy out there. Minshull is having a headband wrapped on. 30 1-0 Chapman’s corner from the left is headed home by Zebroski at the near post. Jennings complains to the ref, not clear what about. Zebroski got away from his marker. Good corner from Chapman. Bad marking, bad goal to concede. (After the game, Sutton held his hand up for bad marking). 33 Clucas controls well and tees up Rhead who shoots low just past the left post from 20 yards. 35 Great cross from Hutchinson from the left, perfect for Rhead, who powers a header goalwards from 6 yards and the keeper tips it over. Paul Cox turns away in anguish. Rhead should have buried it. 41 Jennings’ little dinked free kick sits up for Dempster who heads tamely wide at the left post. 45+3 As the half time whistle goes, Minshull pushes Hutchinson, off the ball. Not spotted by the ref. A bad-tempered first half, which has been very even. Clucas and Hutchinson have caused Newport’s back line some problems. Rhead really should have scored with one glorious chance. Stags have defended solidly apart from one fatal error from the corner for the Newport goal. HT 1-0 52 Hutchinson’s ball in from the left is just cleared. The temperature has dropped just a fraction. The Newport fans chant “Coxy Coxy what’s the score”. 58 Rhead is booked for protesting a throw to Newport. It was right in front of the Stags fans and the throw was clearly the other way. The ref calls over Stags captain Dempster into the discussion. The ref is having a bad game. 62 Rhead’s fine cross is just tipped away by the Newport keeper 63 Hutchinson does well to charge down Willmott’s shot 64 Sub Palmer for Beevers. Clucas goes to left midfield. Sutton to right back. 4-4-2 now. 66 Zebroski shoots over from an awkward position After a fiesty first half, the second half has been quiet and with little goalmouth action. 67 1-1 Hutchinson’s corner from the left is turned in by the head of Clucas from 3 yards after a touch off defender Pipe (confirmed later on TV replay). Clucas celebrates putting his finger to his lips, as if to shut up the noisy home fans. A deserved equaliser. 69 Sub Washington for Jolley for Newport 70 Marriott comfortably saves Zebroski’s shot from 19 yards 71 Dempster is booked for a foul on Washington. No arguments. 73 Rhead nods down to Palmer who does really well to find Clucas, whose shot is blocked. What a chance! 74 Sub Meikle for Hutchinson, whose is abused by the home fans, and blows a kiss back in response. 75 RED CARD. Minshull is red-carded, straight red, for clattering Riley with an elbow. Riley is treated for a cut head. No surprise to get a red card in this game. What we don’t need now is one for the Stags. The home crowd are momentarily silenced. 79 Jennings gives us away an unnecessary corner, then miscues for another. 80 RED CARD From the resulting corner, Rhead gets a second yellow for a late tackle. Harsh, but he gave the ref a decision to make. Stupid from Rhead. And it hands the initiative back to Newport. Chapman puts the resulting free kick harmlessly out for a goal kick. 82 A free kick from Clements skips off the surface and is well claimed by the keeper. 84 Sub Burge for Chapman for Newport 90+1 Riley is booked after initially doing well to win the ball, but then trying to dribble into the Newport half he loses it and commits a foul. FT 1-1 A good reception for the Stags players from the Stags fans at the full time whistle. A good point for the Stags and undoubtedly a fair result. Had Rhead not got himself sent off, the Stags might have had the momentum to go on and win it at the end, against 10 men, after the home fans had been momentarily silenced. Newport created almost nothing from open play, though did bombard us with corners, free kicks and long throws. The Stags defence generally stood up to that well. At the other end, Clucas caused Newport lots of problems, and could have had more than the one goal he did score. Some good performances from the Stags players, including the 3 central defenders, McGuire and Clements in central midfield, and Hutchinson just behind the front two. Clucas just edged man of the match for me. For Newport, Adam Chapman created danger with some long throws, like he used to for Mansfield, and his corner for the goal was a cracker. But he faded badly after that and several set pieces were dreadful. Tom Naylor didn’t have a great game at centre half for Newport. All in all a good performance and a satisfying result. On to York. Come on Mansfield! Man of the match: Sam Clucas, pictured in post match interview  |
||||
|
Report by: Martin Shaw at Rodney Parade
|
||||
|
Line Up:
|
Marriott 7 Very sound. No chance with the goal. No saves to make but good handling.
Sutton 7 Very good game apart from the goal, for which he held his hand up. Dempster 8 Very good performance. Riley 8 Very good game, and ended the game with a lump on his head the size of an egg following an elbow from Minshull which saw the Stags with a man advantage. Had an aberration in stoppage time when he tried to dribble the ball, lost it, and gave away a foul putting us under pressure (plus a yellow card). Beevers 6 Did ok. Jennings 6 Ok. McGuire 7.5 Terrier-like display. Got booked early on but it didn’t stop him play his normal game. Clements 7.5 Worked very hard, and got stuck in, typified by one fine tackle to halt a menacing Willmott run. Some good quality going forward. Hutchinson 7.5 Did well. His corner led to the Stags equaliser. Great cross to put a header on a plate for Rhead. Also tracked back well. Clucas 8 Second goal in successive games. Man of the match performance, giving the Newport defenders trouble throughout. Probably should have had a goal in the first half and another in the second. Rhead 5.5 Stupidly got himself sent off, just as Mansfield had got some momentum and silenced the home fans. Had been a bit unlucky with his first booking. Should have scored with a header in the first half. Did cause Newport problems though. |
|
Sub Line Up:
|
Palmer (for Beevers, 64) -
Meikle (for Hutchinson, 74) - Subs not used: Mitchell, Daniel, Howell, Stevenson, Andrew. |
|
Opposition Line Up:
|
Pidgeley; Pipe, Hughes, Naylor, Worley, Jackson; Willmott (Flynn 76), Minshell, Chapman (Burge 84); Zebrowski, Jolley (Washington 69). Subs not used: Yakubu, Crow, Stephens.
|
|
Referee:
|
Dave Phillips 5 Poor game. Never looked in control, like a rabbit in the headlights.
|
|
|