Shrewsbury 1 Mansfield 0
by Martin Shaw at Gay
Meadow
Don`t be fooled by the
score. This was a decent performance by the Stags. For 60 minutes, Shrewsbury
were not even in the game. But then a goal for the home side out of the blue
gave them confidence and the Stags` failure to score all but ended play-off
chances.
Arriving in Shrewsbury
around an hour before kick-off, I saw Stags out-of-favour defenders Ryder,
Hassell and Sedlan queuing for fish and chips at the chip shop next to the
ground. Perhaps an idea for a new pre-match meal? Shrewsbury`s Gay Meadow may
not be top of the league in terms of size or facilities, but it is probably
situated in the nicest location, alongside the banks of the River Severn. Stags
brought a good following of about 200, with most standing behind one goal, and
the rest, including me, in the stand. The view from the stand was reasonable,
in line with the edge of the penalty area and it enabled us to pass comment on
some poor offside decisions against the Stags in the second half.
Mansfield were unchanged
from the team that lost to Exeter, with the exception of young on-loan
goalkeeper Chris Adamson from West Brom, replacing the injured Ian Bowling.
Stags needed to start
positively and they did exactly that as they dominated the first half, creating
a number of good chances. The first chance fell to David Kerr who headed just
wide from 10 yards. Tony Lormor was presented, from a Tony Ford cross, with
what seemed a simple header but, completely unmarked, he headed straight at the
keeper. Steve Harper and Lee Williams both had cracking shots from about 25
yards that stung the keeper`s hands, and David Linighan headed just wide from a
corner. Chris Adamson in the Stags` goal had very little to do, apart from one
save when a Shrewsbury player got free of his marker in the box, but shot
straight at the keeper as the keeper stood up well. Mansfield were well on top,
with Kerr, Williams and Clarke really bossing the midfield, and we clearly
deserved to be a couple of goals in front.
At half-time we were
told that Halifax were beating Scarborough. In fact this turned out to be
incorrect - why do announcers get so many scores wrong?
For the first 15 minutes
of the second half, Mansfield continued to dominate and looked very comfortable
in defence, but then the whole game changed. Completely out the blue, the ball
fell to Shrewsbury striker Kerrigan in the box, and in a flash the ball was in
the net. It was a surprise and ultimately one from which the Stags couldn`t
recover. But it wasn`t for lack of trying. The game now opened out as
Shrewsbury re-gained some of the confidence lost following a 6-1 defeat last
Saturday, and failure to win in 9 games. Christie came on to replace Ford, with
Williams moving to right wing-back, and Peacock moving back into midfield.
Christie looked lively and soon had claims for a penalty, but it was right in
front of us, and it was a clear dive. But in the same incident, the defender
also fell over, and Christie picked himself up and smacked the ball against the
top of the bar. Christie continued to look lively and had another penalty claim
turned down - this time it did look a clear foul, but it was turned down.
Perhaps had Christie not dived so blatantly earlier, he might have had more
chance of getting this one. But the booking of Christie in the second incident,
when he was clearly fouled was unfair. Stags had another penalty appeal turned
down when a Shrewsbury defender handled in the box - the referee seemingly
deciding that it was ball-to-hand instead of hand-to-ball. But the greatest
misjustice against the Stags came when a goal was disallowed for offside as
Lormor (or Christie?) poked the ball into an empty net. I was absolutely in
line and there was no way it was offside. One feels that a goal for the Stags
at that point could quite easily have been followed by a winner.
Stags` new goalkeeper
gave a very accomplished performance and was called upon for a top class save
when a Shrewsbury striker seemed certain to score on the break near the end.
His handling of crosses was good, and his kicking, apart from one straight into
touch, was accurate. The defence was generally solid with Linighan, Peters and
Willis looking a good unit. Harper had a disappointing game on the left, but
Tony Ford looked more dangerous on the right until he was replaced. The whole
midfield was very much improved from the Exeter display. Clarke and Kerr were
perhaps unfortunate to be replaced, by Walker and Schofield. Up front, Peacock
and Lormor held the line well, though Lormor had a poor day in the air,
consistently losing out to the Shrewsbury central defence, and missing the easy
chance in the first half.
At the end of the game,
it was at least nice to see the Stags` players applauded off by the travelling
fans.
So yet another 3 points
have slipped away, and this time it looks terminal. In fact if Swansea win on
Tuesday or Thursday, any lingering hope will finally disappear. But if they
fail to do that, then it will all go to the final day of the season, though
even then it would take a miracle for Stags to make it.
Actually, it is possible
for Stags to finish beneath Plymouth, Exeter and Darlington and hence in the
bottom half of the table.
After the game, I made
my way to the hotel where my girlfriend and I were staying for the night.
During the evening we strolled along the banks of the river, and noticed that
one of the many balls that had been kicked over the low stand and into the
river during the game, was still in the river, a few yards from the bank.
Adamson 7
Ford 7
Harper 5
Peters 7
Wilis 7
Linighan 6
Kerr 8
Clarke 7
Lormor 6
Peacock 7
Williams 7
Subs
Christie 7
Walker 6
Schofield 6