Saturday 29th December 2001 - Kick-off 3pm

Nationwide League Division 3

Attendance:  2, 550

On loan striker Matt Piper was, as expected, ruled out of the trip to Macclesfield with flu, Shayne Bradley took his place in attack for the only change after Allen Tankard was declared fit after earlier in the week struggling with a hamstring injury.  For the first time Stags fans were able to use the new Stand at Moss Rose, a mighty fine addition to the ground it is too.  Additionally, the home side have a black plastic cover for the ground which meant that whilst most of Macclesfield was under snow, the playing surface was just about perfect. 

Stags skipper Les Robinson won the toss and changed ends meaning Macc keeper Wilson had to face the low sun.  The Stags began very brightly and dominated the early exchanges, Corden perhaps the most dangerous of the Stags players out on the left, cutting in several times to produce dangerous crosses.  The closest the Stags came to the early goal was when Bradley chased down a long through ball from Hassell, headed the ball past Wilson but the Macc keeper recovered well to tip the ball behind for a corner.  Bradley was again involved in the next Stags effort, neatly pulling back a deep Robinson cross for Greenacre to side foot just past the near post.  At the other end Pilkington was twice called upon to make saves from Glover, both time the former Forest man turned well but his low shots were both dealt with well by the Stags keeper.  Lawrence then missed the Stags best chance of the half, after combining well with Bradley he seemed to get the ball stuck under his feet and could only chip a right foot shot wide from 15 yards.  Bradley was then cautioned from a very officious referee, presumably for persistent infringement, though to be honest the referee was interfering in the game so much it was hard for supporters to follow his decisions.  As the half drew to a close Corden almost provided the strike the Stags dominance had deserved, once more cutting in from the left he fired a low curling shot which just beat Wilson's far post.

Half Time:  0-0

Macclesfield could hardly play worse in the 2nd half and as expected they did raise the tempo.  An error from skipper Les Robinson, trying to shepherd the ball out of play, gave Lambert the chance to find a Macc player in the area, however, his cross was poor and the outstanding Barrett cleared.  Indeed Barrett had handled anything the home side had thrown at him with considerable aplomb.  The Stags eventually got their game together and the match became quite an entertaining battle which could have gone either way.  Greenacre twice fired wide when released by Disley whilst Lambert was well wide with a volley.  Referee Parkes, forever trying to be the centre of attention, eventually got his way when turning down what looked a stonewall penalty.  Hassell picked the ball up inside his own half, beat two Macc players, exchanged passes with Greenacre before falling down after a challenge by Hitchen.  Granted we didn't have the very best angle but it looked a clear penalty, the reaction of the Stags players said it all.  The irony being that Parkes was the same referee that awarded probably the worst penalty decision ever in the Stags LDV Vans tie with Blackpool at Field Mill earlier on in the season.  Hassell was booked for dissent.  It looked like both sides would have to content with a draw after the board indicating 3 minutes of added time was raised.  However, this was merely the signal for a dramatic finale and one which could be absolutely crucial at the end of the season.  First of all Lambert superbly volleyed a right wing cross which seemed to be destined for the back of the net when Pilkington produced a save of stunning quality - rightly Assistant Boss Stuart Watkiss was seen applauding the keeper.  Then in the next attack, with time running out, the Stags forced a corner.  Lawrence's right wing out-swinger was met by the head of Tankard and flew into the bottom left hand corner of Wilson's goal.  The 600 or so travelling Stags fans were delirious with delight and the Stags held on for the last minute or so to snatch the points.

The Stags were clearly the better side and definitely had considerably more attempts on goal than the home side.  However, the shooting was at times very poor and the cutting edge, so clearly visible a few weeks ago, seems to have deserted the side for now.  There were some outstanding performances though, Corden was excellent in the first half on the left, Pilkington made probably his save of the season at the end, Shayne Bradley looked strong and held the ball up well in attack and Bobby Hassell continued his excellent form at right back.  However, man of the match was clearly Adam Barrett, a colossus at the back and did not put a foot wrong.

Man of the Match:  Adam Barrett

Report by Rob Wheldon

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