Mansfield
5 Lincoln City 2
After
the alarming defeat at Macclesfield, this was a game Stags really needed to
win. And what a performance it was to claim a thumping victory, that by the
admission of Lincoln manager John Reames could have been even more emphatic.
Chris Greenacre, on loan from Machester City, made his debut up front in a
3-4-3 formation, alongside trainee Danny Bacon and former Lincoln striker Tony
Lormor. Ian Bowling returned in goal, as Carl Muggleton had been recalled by
Stoke, and John Andrews, given a one month contract to impress manager Dearden,
made his debut in central defence.
The
opening half hour saw a succession of missed chances for the Stags. First Danny
Bacon had a shot saved by former Stags loan keeper Barry Richardson, then
Lormor blasted over from 6 yards following a corner when it seemed easier to
score. Next Lee Williams headed a ball against the top of the crossbar, and
then Tony Lormor had a great shot from the edge of the box fantastically tipped
around the post by Richardson . Lincoln had little to show in attack apart from
a couple of corners which caused havoc in the Stags box because Ian Bowling
inexplicably remained rooted to his goal-line. But on 31 minutes, Mansfield
took a deserved lead. Following a corner, Lormor headed the ball down for Danny
Bacon to crack a shot home on the turn off the underside of the bar and just
across the line. Within 30 seconds, Mansfield had a golden opportunity to make
it 2-0. Chris Greenacre showed a clean pair of heels to the Lincoln defence and
with just the keeper to beat, shot straight at Richardson, with Darrell Clarke
completely unmarked to his right. Had Greenacre passed, it would have been a
certain goal, but one could argue that he showed a goalscorer’s instinct to
take a shot himself. Five minutes later, the Imps were level when a corner was
cleared to the edge of the box and Lee Philpott hit a tremendous left footed
volley as the ball dropped from an awkward height, and then whistled through a
cluster of players into the bottom corner of the net. It was a sickener for
Stags and came completely out of the blue. For a while Mansfield lost some
composure, though Greenacre nearly scored with a deflected shot that seemed to be
looping over Richardson before the keeper clawed it out of the air, and Clarke
had a shot from the edge of the box which was blocked. But it was a surprise
when Mansfield themselves scored out of the blue with virtually the last kick
of the first half. Darrell Clarke picked up a ball outside the box, cleverly
moved himself into a shooting position and curled a magical shot over the
diving Richardson into the far corner of the net.
Incredibly,
within 20 seconds of the start of the second half, it was
3-1.
Greenacre received a ball from a mis-placed backwards
pass, and ran from just inside the Lincoln half to thrash a fierce shot from
inside the box that flew into the top left hand corner, despite a touch from
keeper Richardson. Stags then dominated for long spells of the second
half and increased the lead on 71 when Clarke took a long ball from Roscoe that
was headed on by Greenacre, and slotted a precision effort left footed inside
the post. Then on 85, Greenacre embarked on a great run and surrounded by 2
defenders still managed to slip the ball just inside the far post, when
initially it looked to me like his shot was going wide. Mansfield were really
on fire and could have had further goals as Clarke, sensing a hat-track,
blasted over a free shot from the edge of the box. Lincoln brought on former
Field Mill hero Phil Stant for the last 30 minutes but he failed to make an
impression, and it was purely a consolation goal on 88 minutes to make it 5-2
when Gordon tapped in from a tight angle after Bowling had palmed away a long
range shot.
So
overall a great performance from Mansfield against a Lincoln side with only 1
defeat in their 9 previous games. The key to Stags’ win was consistently
getting balls in behind the Lincoln defence for Bacon, Lormor, Greenacre and
Clarke to run onto which caused real problems for the Imps’ defence, which
defended very badly, it has to be said. Stags had 24 goal attempts today, with
13 on target, and could have had more than 5 goals.
After
the game a delighted Stags’ boss Billy Dearden said he was very pleased with
the magnificent performance having had to “shake one or two up” following the
mauling at Macclesfield.. He particularly commented how well young Danny Bacon had done, but was annoyed at
conceding the late goal. He was especially pleased with the clinical finishing,
and the movement of the front 3.
Man
of the Match: Tough call between Clarke, Greenacre and Bacon, but I’ll give to
Greenacre since it was his debut.
Bowling 5 Looked very shaky. From
a supporter’s point of view it was very unnerving to see him staying on his
line on every occasion when crosses floated into the 6 yard box. Not 100% match
fit according to Dearden in post-match interview. Lincoln should be
disappointed they didn’t put him under more pressure.
Andrews 7 Comfortable performance and looked solid. Even though didn’t have a lot to do
Richardson 8 Much better
performance, commanded the back line well.
Linighan 7 Solid performance, and
didn’t give anything away
Williams 7 Not a lot of defending
to do. Looked good going forward.
Roscoe 6 Much better game than
recent performances, and had enough confidence to attempt a volleyed cross.
Clarke 9 Outstanding running from
midfield, really got a grip of most of the match. Two fantastic goals
Porter 6 Fair performance, didn’t
let Lincoln get a grip of the game.
Lormor 8 Played slightly behind
Greenacre and Bacon and had a very good game.
Greenacre 9 Outstanding debut,
with 2 fantastic goals. Get him signed permanently Billy before someone else
does!
Bacon 9 Outstanding full home
debut. Never stopped running, showed composure on the ball, passed well and
thoroughly deserved his goal.
Subs:
Asher (for Williams, 81)
Tallon (for Clarke, 86). Great to
see Gary back in action, albeit very late on in the game. Could have been
booked for one very late tackle.
Not Used:
Chris Gibson (goalkeeper), Cowling, Boulding.
For ftybr:
Mansfield
5 Lincoln City 2
By
Martin Shaw at Field Mill
After
the alarming defeat at Macclesfield, this was a game Stags really needed to
win. And what a performance it was to claim a thumping victory, that by the
admission of Lincoln manager John Reames could have been even more emphatic.
Chris Greenacre made his debut up front in a 3-4-3 formation, alongside trainee
Danny Bacon and former Lincoln striker Tony Lormor. Ian Bowling returned in
goal and John Andrews made his debut in central defence.
The
opening half hour saw a succession of missed chances for the Stags. First Danny
Bacon had a shot saved by former Stags loan keeper Barry Richardson, then
Lormor blasted over from 6 yards following a corner when it seemed easier to
score. Next Lee Williams headed a ball against the top of the crossbar, and
then Tony Lormor had a great shot from the edge of the box fantastically tipped
around the post by Richardson . Lincoln had little to show in attack apart from
a couple of corners which caused havoc in the Stags box because Ian Bowling
inexplicably remained rooted to his goal-line. But on 31 minutes, Mansfield
took a deserved lead. Following a corner, Lormor headed the ball down for Danny
Bacon to crack a shot home on the turn off the underside of the bar and just
across the line. Within 30 seconds, Mansfield had a golden opportunity to make
it 2-0. Chris Greenacre showed a clean pair of heels to the Lincoln defence and
with just the keeper to beat, shot straight at Richardson, with Darrell Clarke
completely unmarked to his right. Five minutes later, the Imps were level when
a corner was cleared to the edge of the box and Lee Philpott hit a tremendous
left footed volley as the ball dropped from an awkward height. For a while
Mansfield lost some composure, though Greenacre nearly scored with a deflected
shot that seemed to be looping over Richardson before the keeper clawed it out
of the air, and Clarke had a shot from the edge of the box which was blocked.
But it was a surprise when Mansfield themselves scored out of the blue with
virtually the last kick of the first half. Darrell Clarke picked up a ball
outside the box, cleverly moved himself into a shooting position and curled a
magical shot over the diving Richardson into the far corner of the net.
Incredibly,
within 20 seconds of the start of the second half, it was
3-1.
Greenacre, looking suspiciously offside, received a ball from the back and ran
from just inside the Lincoln half to thrash a fierce shot from inside the box
that flew into the top left hand corner, despite a touch from keeper
Richardson. Stags then dominated for long spells of the second half and
increased the lead on 71 when Clarke took a long ball from Roscoe that was
headed on by Greenacre, and slotted a precision effort left footed inside the
post. Then on 85, Greenacre embarked on a great run and surrounded by 2
defenders still managed to slip the ball just inside the far post, when
initially it looked to me like his shot was going wide. Mansfield were really
on fire and could have had further goals as Clarke, sensing a hat-track,
blasted over a free shot from the edge of the box. Lincoln brought on former
Field Mill hero Phil Stant for the last 30 minutes but he failed to make an
impression, and it was purely a consolation goal on 88 minutes to make it 5-2
when Gordon tapped in from a tight angle after Bowling had palmed away a long
range shot.
So
overall a great performance from Mansfield against a Lincoln side with only 1
defeat in their 9 previous games. The key to Stags’ win was consistently
getting balls in behind the Lincoln defence for Bacon, Lormor, Greenacre and
Clarke to run onto which caused real problems for the Imps’ defence, which
defended very badly, it has to be said. Stags had 24 goal attempts today, with
13 on target, and could have had more than 5 goals.