Season 16/17 Stagsnet Match Report
|
|
|
||
|
Cambridge United
|
|
Mansfield Town
|
||
|
Maris 8.
|
Legge OG 43, Pearce 58, Coulthirst 73
|
|||
|
Attendance: 4,211 (307 from Mansfield)
|
||||
|
Date: 21 January 2017
|
||||
|
SUPER STAGS COME FROM BEHIND TO WIN AT CAMBRIDGE
Martin Shaw at the Abbey Stadium Mansfield Town came from 1-0 down to produce a fantastic 3-1 at in-form Cambridge United this afternoon. Cambridge were unbeaten for 8 league games, including 6 wins and 2 draws, a run that had catapulted them to the verge of the play-off zone. And Cambridge looked good to continue that run taking an early lead and then edging a tight first half. The Stags were fortunate to be level on 43 minutes through an own goal and then completed the turnaround in the second half with a tremendous display with two more goals, and it could have been more. After Stags debutant Shaq Coulthirst missed a great chance on 6 minutes, Cambridge took the lead after 8 minutes. Mingoia was given far too much space by CJ Hamilton to cross from the right, high to the far post where Maris rose above Hayden White to head home inside the six yard box giving Jake Kean no chance. Poor from Hamilton and poor from White. It was the first goal Kean had conceded after clean sheets in his opening four games. The Stags were level on 43 minutes. Joel Byrom crossed from the left, Rhys Bennett headed forward from the edge of the area, and Leon Legge in trying to clear, shanked the ball past his own keeper. It seemed that Bennett’s header was not on target and hence it should be an own goal, though after the game Bennett tweeted that he was pleased to get his second goal of the season! Video evidence from the main camera and our pitchside camera does not really help. The Stags took the lead on 58 minutes. A fine corner from the right by Byrom, which Krystian Pearce attacked and headed down into the ground and into the roof of the net from 6 yards. Terrific from Pearce and great delivery again from Byrom. The Stags increased the lead on 73 minutes, White fired in a good shot from the edge of the area on the right, the keeper got down low to make a save, but could only parry it straight to Coulthirst who bundled into the net from about a yard. Right place at the right time for Coulthirst on his debut. Mansfield saw the game out very professionally winning numerous free-kicks, corners and throw-ins and giving Cambridge nothing with which to get themselves back into the game. So great character from Mansfield to come from behind to win and in the end, thoroughly deserved after that excellent second half showing. Plenty of really good performances throughout the side, with the entire defence looking very solid, nullifying the real threat of big striker Uche Ikpeazu and attacking midfielder Luke Berry, with the exception of the Cambridge goal where White could have done better. Contributions from the defenders in all three goals too, with Bennett’s header for the first, Pearce’s header for the second, and White’s fine shot for the third. In midfield, Lee Collins had another fine game in front of the back four, and Byrom oozed quality from set pieces and had a decent game from open play as well. Coulthirst had a difficult first half but improved hugely after the break, and netted a goal on his debut. Mansfield made two changes to the side that disappointingly drew at Notts County. Green and Arquin hadn’t delivered at Notts County and hence were dropped by Steve Evans, who brought in Danny Rose and new signing Shaq Coulthirst, signed on loan from Peterborough with a view to a permanent move in the summer. It remained a 4-1-3-2 formation. If you’ve lost track of the ins and outs in the transfer window, then to summarise: six players have come in (Kean, White, Byrom, Whiteman, Coulthirst, Arquin). And six have gone out (Iacovitti, M.Rose, Gobern, Clements, Henderson, Yussuf) (although arguably it’s only five as Yussuf was already out on loan). Meanwhile, Mansfield have bid £300k plus extras for a player, and Steve Evans expects to hear back on that by Wednesday or earlier. Separately Mansfield have had permission from a chief executive of another club to speak to a different player, which Steve Evans will do on Sunday. Cambridge were unbeaten in 8 league games (6 wins and 2 draws) and just one point outside the play-offs. Former Stags full back Greg Taylor was out injured, with a groin problem picked up 7 days ago. Surprisingly, another former Stags full back Blair Adams, didn’t take his place and was left on the bench as a young academy player Leon Davies came in for his first start. Jake Carroll started for Cambridge, having played against Stags for Hartlepool earlier in the season. The Stags meanwhile were unbeaten in 5 league and cup games, including four consecutive clean sheets in keeper Jake Kean’s first 4 games. The game went ahead after pitch inspections in the morning. There was an area in the goalmouth at the end where the Stags supporters sat, that was still hard after a cold week, but by midday the referee was satisfied that it was playable. It was actually a mild day today, 3C at 9am with no overnight frost. On Friday morning, when we arrived in Cambridge it was -4C. So had this game been played on Friday, I think we can say that it would have been off. After 2 minutes, Whiteman slid a super ball forward to Danny Rose just inside the area. As Rose turned, Legge took his legs from beneath him and possibly got a bit of the ball too. The referee waved away appeals for a penalty, with Steve Evans furious on the touchline. On 6 minutes, Mansfield should have been in front. Whiteman headed the ball to Coulthurst who scuffed straight at the keeper from 7 yards with only the keeper to beat. Cambridge took the lead after 8 minutes. Mingoia was given far too much space by CJ Hamilton to cross from the right, high to the far post where Maris rose above Hayden White to head home inside the six yard box giving Jake Kean no chance. Poor from Hamilton and poor from White. It was the first goal Kean had conceded after clean sheets in his opening four games. Berry laid off to Ikpeazu who forced his way to the edge of the area, and White did well to block his shot. On 20 minutes, Byrom fed Collins who burst forward. Collins tried to play a 1-2 with Whiteman, but instead the ball came off Max Clark back to Collins, and just as Collins was about to shoot, Leon Legge put in a fine tackle, which hit Davies and rebounded straight to the keeper. On 30 minutes, a free kick by Maris into the Stags box, Bennett headed out as far as Berry who hooked the ball over his shoulder and well wide of the net. Cambridge had certainly shaded the opening half hour. Hamilton made a great run down the left on 36 minutes to win a corner and give Mansfield a spark. On 39 minutes, a ball into the Cambridge box but Coulthirst wasn’t quite able to get to the ball. On 41 minutes, Whiteman played the ball forward down the line for Coulthirst who got into the area and swung a boot at it but fired wildly into the Cambridge fans behind the goal. The Stags were level on 43 minutes. Byrom crossed from the left, Bennett headed forward from the edge of the area, and Leon Legge in trying to clear, shanked the ball past his own keeper. It seemed that Bennett’s header was not on target and hence it should be an own goal, though after the game Bennett tweeted that he was pleased to get his second goal of the season! Video evidence from the main camera and our pitchside camera does not really help. On 45+1 minutes, Ikpeazu broke into the Stags box and it took a great tackle by Bennett to stop him. A minute later at the other end, Byrom’s free kick into the Cambridge box created danger as Bennett headed on and it was just cleared. The Stags fortunate to be level at the break as Cambridge certainly shaded it but the fortunate goal had the Stags right back in it. Nothing was going right for Stags new signing Shaq Coulthirst. Half time 1-1 On 46 minutes, a long goal kick forward from Norris, Kean came out of his area on his right and didn’t get there but White did superbly to spare his blushes blocking a cross-shot from Maris. On 56 minutes, Maris got to the byline and Pearce did well to block for a corner. The Stags took the lead to make it 2-1 on 58 minutes. A fine corner from the right by Byrom, which Pearce attacked and headed down into the ground and into the roof of the net from 6 yards. Terrific from Pearce and great delivery again from Byrom. On 61 minutes, Whiteman fired in a powerful shot from 25 yards straight at the keeper. A yard either side and it would probably have been in. Kean made a great catch from a high cross from Davies on 64 minutes. Jack Thomas replaced Danny Rose on 71 minutes. Danny Rose had received some rough treatment from the defence. The Stags increased the lead on 73 minutes. White fired in a good shot from the edge of the area on the right, the keeper got down low to make a save, but could only parry it straight to Coulthirst who bundled into the net from about a yard. Right place at the right time for Coulthirst on his debut. On 74 minutes, Ikpeazu went down in the area but the referee waved away appeals for a penalty. From the video, it was definitely no foul. A minute later, Whiteman forced his way to the edge of the area and fired just wide of the left post. Two minutes after that, the Stags pushed forward down the right and Whiteman fed Coulthirst who shot wide from a tight angle. A rare second half chance for Cambridge on 80 minutes as Davies pulled back to McDonagh who chipped wide of the left post. Then on 87 minutes, Carroll played a good one two to the edge of the area but hit the roof of the stand with his shot. Meanwhile the Stags had been winning numerous free-kicks, corners and throw-ins and giving Cambridge virtually nothing with which to get themselves back into the game. Hoban replaced Coulthirst on 89 minutes. He’d had a good second half after a disappointing first half. Baxendale replaced Whiteman on 90+3 minutes. The Stags comfortably held on for a fully deserved victory. So on to Tuesday and the quarter-final of the Checkatrade Trophy, and just two games from Wembley as Wycombe come to the One Call Stadium. Four players are cup-tied (White, Whiteman, Byrom, Coulthirst) and by my calculations Mansfield will need to bring the likes of Zayn Hakeem and Kieran Harrison on to the bench to make an 18 man squad. Man of the match: Joel Byrom FURTHER REFLECTIONS (MY WEEKLY BLOG FOR THE CHAD NEWSPAPER): Mansfield Town produced a fantastic 45 of minutes of football in the second half at Cambridge United on Saturday to come from behind and convincingly beat a team that was unbeaten for 8 league games, including 6 wins and 2 draws. Mansfield have so far brought in 6 new players during the transfer window and 5 of them contributed heavily to this impressive victory. Goalkeeper Jake Kean conceded his first goal in a Stags shirt after clean sheets in his opening four games. But he had no chance with an early close range header when Stags new full back Hayden White allowed George Maris to get above him and head home. It was a rare mistake from White who otherwise had a very good game with plenty of good defending including a couple of good blocks. White also got forward well and played a big part in Mansfield’s third goal. Cambridge had edged a tight first half when the Stags were fortunate to be level on 43 minutes through an own goal as Rhys Bennett headed forward from the edge of the area from Joel Byrom’s cross and defender Leon Legge in trying to clear, shanked the ball past his own keeper. It was the stroke of luck Mansfield needed as it sparked a great second half performance. The Stags went in front as a fine corner from the right by Byrom, was attacked by Krystian Pearce who thumped a header down into the ground and into the roof of the net from 6 yards. Terrific from Pearce and great delivery again from Byrom. The Stags increased the lead when White fired in a good shot from the edge of the area on the right, the keeper got down low to make a save, but could only parry it straight to Shaq Coulthirst who bundled into the net from about a yard. Right place at the right time for Coulthirst on his debut. He’d signed on loan from Peterborough a few days before the game and had a difficult first half including a bad miss, but improved hugely in the second half. Mansfield saw the game out very professionally winning numerous free-kicks, corners and throw-ins and giving Cambridge nothing with which to get themselves back into the game. So great character from Mansfield to come from behind to win and in the end, thoroughly deserved after that excellent second half showing. Plenty of really good performances throughout the side. The other new boy in the side, Ben Whiteman, created numerous good moments in the game including firing in a couple of decent shots. He really is looking a top class player who will go back to Sheffield United next season and surely be knocking on their first team door. The entire defence looked very solid, nullifying the real threat of big Cambridge striker Uche Ikpeazu and attacking midfielder Luke Berry, apart from that Cambridge goal where White could have done better, and CJ Hamilton should have made a better attempt to stop the cross coming in. Contributions from the defenders in all three goals too, with Bennett’s header for the first, Pearce’s header for the second, and White’s fine shot for the third. In midfield, Lee Collins had another fine game in front of the back four, and Byrom oozed quality from set pieces and had a decent game from open play as well. The Stags are now unbeaten in 6 league and cup games, back into the top half of the table, and just three points behind the play-offs now in a congested league. Steve Evans is getting together an impressive side. |
||||
|
Report by: Martin Shaw at the Abbey Stadium
|
||||
|
Line Up:
|
(4-1-3-2)
Kean 6 Conceded his first goal for Mansfield after 4 clean sheets, and had no chance with it. One great catch. One error of judgement when he came out of his area and didn’t get the ball but was bailed out by White. Had no shots to save. White 7.5 Very good game apart from poor play as he allowed Maris to get above him and head the Cambridge goal. Plenty of other good defending though including a couple of good blocks. Got forward well, including a good shot which led to the third goal. Bennett 8 Defended well, including one great tackle. His header led to the first goal, and he’s trying to claim it, posting on facebook in response to the goal video “I'll take that :-) “ and tweeting that he was pleased to get his second goal of the season. Pearce 8 Defended well, with one good block. Thumping header for his second goal of the season. Benning 7 Solid game. Collins 7.5 Another fine game in front of the back four. Whiteman 8 Created numerous good moments. Fired in a couple of decent shots. He really is looking a top class player who will go back to Sheffield United next season and surely be knocking on their first team door. Byrom 8.5 Oozed quality from set pieces, including the corner for the second goal, and had a decent game from open play as well. Hamilton 6 Poor play to allow the cross so easily for the Cambridge goal. One fine piece of play to earn a corner which started to get Mansfield going in the first half. Coulthirst 7 Difficult first half including a bad miss, but improved hugely after the break, and netted a goal on his debut. D.Rose 7 Worked hard as a battering ram and in turn received some rough treatment from the defence. |
|
Sub Line Up:
|
J.Thomas (for D.Rose, 71 mins) - Nice and lively, having earned a place coming on as sub with a fine performance for the U21s in midweek. Helped run the clock down expertly.
Hoban (for Coulthirst, 89 mins) - Baxendale (for Whiteman, 90+3 mins) - Subs not used: Shearer, Hemmings, Arquin, Green. |
|
Opposition Line Up:
|
(4-4-1-1): Norris; Davies, Legge, Roberts, Carroll; Mingoia, Dunne, Clark (Lewis, 70 mins), Maris (McDonagh, 61 mins); Berry; Ikpeazu. Subs not used: Gregory, Adams, Wharton, Newton, Williamson.
|
|
Referee:
|
Gavin Ward 7 Generally handled the game well and got most decisions right.
|
|
|