Season 20/21 Stagsnet Match Report
|
|
|
||
|
Mansfield Town
|
|
Bolton Wanderers
|
||
|
O.Clarke 65, Reid 72.
|
John 79, Benning OG 85, Gnahoua 89
|
|||
|
Attendance: behind closed doors
|
||||
|
Date: 17 February 2021
|
||||
|
STAGS LOSE 3-2 TO BOLTON AFTER LEADING 2-0
Martin Shaw at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill Mansfield Town were beaten 3-2 at home by Bolton Wanderers this afternoon thanks to three goals from the visitors in the final 11 minutes, after the Stags built up a two-goal lead midway through the second half. It was an extraordinary final 25 minutes and completely gutting for Mansfield who played pretty well overall but came away with nothing in a very entertaining game. In the first game at the One Call Stadium for six weeks after four postponements due to a combination of Covid, bad weather and a pitch that didn’t have the right preparation in the summer as a result of lockdown due to Covid, the Stags had much the better of the opening 25 minutes and could have been in front. Stephen Quinn’s shot after 16 minutes from 12 yards was blocked by his own man Jordan Bowery, Ryan Sweeney’s header was headed off the line by former Stag Alex Baptiste, and Harry Charsley’s cross was headed over the bar with a diving header from Ollie Clarke after 21 minutes. And on 35 minutes, Bowery headed just wide from a George Maris corner. Earlier, on 13 minutes, the Stags had shouts for a penalty as Quinn went down in the area under a challenge from Marcus Maddison. Nigel Clough said after the game he thought it was a stonewall penalty. He would have looked at footage from the analyst Matt in the West Stand. From the main camera footage from the Bishop Street camera, I think it falls under the category of 'seen them given' but I wouldn’t call it 'stonewall'. Bolton went very close after 30 minutes as former Stags loanee Dapo Afolayan hit the inside of the post from 20 yards. And they went close again after 37 minutes as Declan John’s deflected shot was knocked inches wide by Maddison. A very entertaining first half was goalless at the break. After a quieter opening to the second half, the Stags took the lead after 65 minutes. Bowery found Ollie Clarke 35 yards from goal, Clarke pushed forward and let fly from 25 yards with a blistering shot that was straight at keeper Matt Gilks but Gilks couldn’t keep it out. A great hit from Clarke but a bit of luck that the keeper made a mess of it. Mansfield increased the lead after 72 minutes with a fine goal. Quinn cut inside MJ Williams and laid a wonderful ball forward into the path of Jamie Reid who took a great first touch before burying a clinical finish past the keeper into the bottom left corner of the net. Bolton went close to pulling a goal back after 77 minutes when Declan John’s cross from the left was turned against the near post by Kieran Lee. But Bolton did pull a goal back after 79 minutes with a complete fluke as Declan John’s cross from the left flew over Aidan Stone and into the top corner of the net. Things got worse after 85 minutes as John’s cross from the byline on the left skimmed of substitute Mal Benning’s knee and flew into the net for an own goal. The Stags nearly regained the lead as Charsley’s shot from the edge of the area was deflected just wide, and moments later Reid’s goalbound shot was blocked. But it was Bolton who won it with a fine goal after 88 minutes from former Stags trialist Arthur Gnahoua as he had too much space 20 yards from goal to take aim, and his shot flew into the right corner of the net. Bolton boss Ian Evatt conceded after the game that Gnahoua’s shot took a slight deflection, and it did, off James Perch who dived in trying to block the shot. But that doesn’t take away that it was a great finish from Gnahoua, much as Frank Nouble’s shot was after 88 minutes at Colchester on Sunday. The Stags still had one chance to equalise, two minutes into stoppage time, as Stephen McLaughlin’s goalbound shot from the left was blocked. So the Stags fell to defeat, just the third in 16 games under Nigel Clough, and this was gutting to say the least. The Stags played well for most of the match, and the fluke goal for Bolton went a long way to changing the result when they were 2-0 down with 11 minutes left. On the other hand, Bolton did hit the woodwork twice. The Stags have no choice but to lick their wounds and go again on Saturday as League Two leaders Cambridge are the visitors. The games are coming thick and fast now. The Stags remain 9 points below the play-offs and 11 points above the relegation zone. DETAILED REPORT: The game went ahead at the third time of asking after two previous postponements. It was the first game between the two clubs here for 28 years. At Bolton’s request, there was an unusual kick off time off 5pm. After playing on hard pitches in freezing conditions in the last two away games at Walsall and Colchester, this was a soft pitch in much milder temperatures which made for a better game of football. The Stags were unbeaten for 8 games, with 5 wins and 3 draws, and were unchanged from the draw at Colchester. Lapslie (hamstring), Gordon (knee) and Sarkic (thigh) remained out through injury. The bench was also unchanged. Nigel Clough had said that he would promote Nathan Caine to the bench if he needed a striker on the bench, but Caine is also injured. Bolton had won two and drawn one of their previous three games, since the original game should have been played. Prior to that they had gone six games without a win. They were therefore in much better form than when the original game should have been played. They had made some good January transfer window signings including Marcus Maddison, on loan from Charlton. Maddison had played over 200 games for Peterborough, scoring 50 goals and looked a stellar signing. Bolton boss Ian Evatt had stoked up fury among Stags fans with absurd comments in the media about the previous two postponements. Nigel Clough had referred to the comments as “disrespectful”. Bolton included three former Stags in their starting line-up, Gethin Jones at right-back, Alex Baptiste at centre-half, and Dapo Afolayan in the attacking midfield position. Harry Charsley was booked after just 2 minutes for a foul on Afolayan. Good defending from Sweeney after 5 minutes to hold Maddison off as he broke forward. Two minutes later, Maddison shifted the ball onto his left foot and chipped over the bar. The first chance for the Stags after 10 minutes, following a good move involving Reid to Quinn and on to Bowery but Bowery’s low side-footed shot was weak and easy for the keeper to save. Perch was booked for a foul on Isgrove after 11 minutes. On 13 minutes, the Stags had shouts for a penalty as Quinn went down in the area under a challenge from Maddison. Nigel Clough said after the game he thought it was a stonewall penalty. He would have looked at footage from the analyst Matt in the West Stand. From the main camera footage from the Bishop Street camera, I think it falls under the category of 'seen them given' but I wouldn’t call it 'stonewall'. Quinn’s shot after 16 minutes from 12 yards was blocked by his own man Bowery following Charsley’s good ball into the middle from the byline. Then 3 minutes later, Sweeney’s header was headed off the line by former Stag Alex Baptiste, following a free kick from Maris. Keeper Gilks went down with a head injury in that incident. The referee stopped play, and then restarted play with a drop ball for Charsley on the byline on the right. Charsley’s cross was headed over the bar with a diving header from Ollie Clarke. On 23 minutes, a good clearance for a corner by Perch from Lee’s cross as Isgrove tried to turn the cross goalwards. Three minutes later, Sweeney blocked Afolayan’s shot on the edge of the box. Bolton went very close after 30 minutes as Afolayan hit the inside of the left post from 20 yards. Afolayan was playing better than he ever did for the Stags when on loan with us. He had scored for West Ham in the FA Cup last month before going on loan to Bolton and his confidence seemed to be up. At the other end on 35 minutes, Bowery headed just wide from a Maris corner. Bolton went close again after 37 minutes as Declan John’s deflected shot was knocked inches wide of the left post by Maddison. A very entertaining first half was goalless at the break. The Stags with the better chances early on, but Bolton had hit back going very close twice. Half time 0-0 After 47 minutes, Maddison’s cross-shot from the right looked dangerous but no-one could get on the end of it. After 49 minutes, Bowery shot towards the near post but it was easily saved by the keeper. Good defending by McLaughlin after 61 minutes. Moments later, another dangerous ball across the face of goal from Maddison and once again no-one was there for Bolton. After 63 minutes, McLaughlin’s cross-shot from 25 yards was wide of the right post after his own free kick came back to him. The Stags took the lead after 65 minutes. Bowery found Ollie Clarke 35 yards from goal, Clarke pushed forward and let fly from 25 yards with a blistering shot that was straight at keeper Matt Gilks but Gilks couldn’t keep it out. A great hit from Clarke but a bit of luck that the keeper made a mess of it. Mansfield increased the lead after 72 minutes with a fine goal. Quinn cut inside MJ Williams and laid a wonderful ball forward into the path of Reid who took a great first touch before burying a clinical finish past the keeper into the bottom left corner of the net. A half chance for Charsley after 75 minutes with a shot from 12 yards after good play from Reid on the right to the byline. Charsley’s shot was blocked but looked to be heading wide anyway. Bolton went close to pulling a goal back after 77 minutes when Declan John’s cross from the left was turned against the near post by Kieran Lee. But Bolton did pull a goal back after 79 minutes with a complete fluke as Declan John’s cross from the left flew over Aidan Stone and into the top corner of the net. Mansfield made a change after 83 minutes as Benning replaced Quinn. The same substitution as at Colchester, at just about the same time. Things got worse for the Stags after 85 minutes as John’s cross from the byline on the left skimmed off substitute Benning’s knee and flew into the net for an own goal. The Stags nearly regained the lead as Charsley’s shot from the edge of the area after 87 minutes was deflected just wide, and moments later Reid’s goalbound shot was blocked. But it was Bolton who won it with a fine goal after 88 minutes from former Stags trialist Arthur Gnahoua as he had too much space 20 yards from goal to take aim, and his shot flew into the right corner of the net. Bolton boss Ian Evatt conceded after the game that Gnahoua’s shot took a slight deflection, and it did, off Perch who dived in trying to block the shot. But that doesn’t take away that it was a great finish from Gnahoua, much as Frank Nouble’s shot was after 88 minutes at Colchester on Sunday. The Stags still had one chance to equalise, two minutes into stoppage time, as McLaughlin’s goalbound shot from the left was blocked. At the final whistle, a bit of pushing and shoving from Matt Gilks on Ollie Clarke but it was over in a matter of seconds. After the game, Bolton boss Ian Evatt said: “I think a couple of their players were giving him a bit of stick about the mistake but when they’ve played in the Premier League and had the career that Matt has, maybe they can say something, but for now I’d suggest they keep their mouth shut.” The Stags and their supporters were left shell-shocked to lose the game from leading 2-0 with just 11 minutes left. The Stags had 16 shots to Bolton’s 7, and should have won. But we move on to Saturday. Man of the match: Stephen Quinn |
||||
|
Report by: Martin Shaw at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill
|
||||
|
Line Up:
|
(4-3-3)
Stone 6 Some supporters have blamed him for the first goal. I don’t. I don’t think a goalkeeper can legislate for a cross that flies into the top corner. It was just bad luck. Perch 6 Just a fraction late in trying to block Gnahoua’s shot for the third goal and should have got closer to him. Some other good blocks. Rawson 6.5 Had fewer defensive headers to make than usual. Did ok. Sweeney 7 Some good defending and good blocks. McLaughlin 7 Some good defending and did well on the left. Maris 7 Had a decent game. A couple of decent set pieces. Quinn 7.5 Wonderful assist for Reid’s goal. Really good game. O.Clarke 7.5 A great hit for his goal but a bit of luck that the keeper made a mess of it. Good game. Charsley 6.5 Good cross for Clarke’s diving header over the bar. Reid 7.5 Clinical finish. Good game. Bowery 6 Missed a couple of good chances. |
|
Sub Line Up:
|
Benning (for Quinn, 83 mins) - An own goal within two minutes of coming on.
Subs not used: Stech, O'Keeffe, J.Clarke, O'Driscoll, Law, Sinclair. |
|
Opposition Line Up:
|
(4-2-3-1): Gilks; Jones, Santos, Baptiste, John; Williams, Lee (Thomason 83); Maddison (Delfouneso 62), Afolayan (Gnahoua 72), Isgrove (Miller 82); Doyle. Subs Not Used: Comley, Tutte, Jackson.
|
|
Referee:
|
Antony Coggins 7 Generally handled the game well. In my opinion, he was correct in turning down the Stags appeals for a penalty.
|
|
|