Season 21/22 Stagsnet Match Report
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Mansfield Town
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Barrow
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Rawson sent off 90+6.
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Banks pen 55.
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Attendance: 3,931 (190 from Barrow)
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Date: 2 October 2021
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STAGS BEATEN BY SOFT PENALTY TO GO THIRD BOTTOM
Martin Shaw at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill Mansfield Town were beaten 1-0 at home by Barrow this afternoon in a game with plenty of goalmouth action and entertainment, but it was a bitterly disappointing result for the Stags. The only goal of the game was a very soft penalty awarded for the visitors after 55 minutes as Mark Ellis went down in the area and the referee decided he had been pushed in the back by Harry Charsley. Ollie Banks smashed the resulting penalty into the roof of the net. A win for the Stags would have taken them level with Barrow in the table after 10 games, but as it is Barrow end the day in the play-off places while the Stags end it third bottom, with just Oldham and Scunthorpe beneath them in the relegation spaces, both two points behind. The Stags play Oldham next Saturday. Eight league games without a win for the Stags, they need to turn this around very quickly. To make matters worse for Mansfield, Farrend Rawson was sent off in the sixth minute of stoppage time for clumsily bringing down Josh Gordon as he bore down on goal and denying a clear goalscoring opportunity as the last defender. Rawson will therefore be suspended for one game, that game against Oldham. Mansfield were already without 7 players, 2 through suspension (Quinn and Sinclair, who have 2 further games of their bans to serve), and 5 through injury (Perch, Nartey, Forrester, Gordon, and Stirk). With none of the 5 injured players likely to be back for next Saturday, the Stags will be without 8 players against Oldham, and will obviously be very short of defenders. A positive was that in a day of continuous heavy rain, the pitch, which had a lot of work done to it in the summer, played superbly in the conditions. Last season, the game probably wouldn’t have started, and certainly wouldn’t have finished. Well done to Mez and his groundstaff, and thanks to John and Carolyn for the investment. As for the game itself, there was plenty of goalmouth action. There were 30 shots in total, 17 for Mansfield, 13 for Barrow. Barrow could have been ahead after 4 minutes. Ollie Clarke’s clearance hit Jordan Stevens 25 yards from goal, and ricocheted perfectly into the path of Josh Kay. Kay was goalside of the defence but played onside by Stephen McLaughlin, Kay turned and smashed his shot from 10 yards against the bar. Barrow went close again after 8 minutes. A corner from the right to the far post found James Jones unmarked and his header was headed off the line by George Lapslie. And on 29 minutes, a free kick from the right by Joe Grayson found Ollie Banks unmarked at the far post, he headed down and Nathan Bishop made a magnificent save with his left hand turning it away. Poor marking from Mansfield. For the Stags in the first half, Jordan Bowery shot wide twice, McLaughlin fired wide from a free kick, and Lapslie curled a shot just wide. After 21 minutes, brilliant control by Rhys Oates set up a shooting chance for himself as his first touch was superb to control a ball forward to him, and his low left footed shot was parried away by keeper Paul Farman. After 38 minutes, Oates was unlucky as he worked hard to charge down keeper Farman, the ball could have gone anywhere including straight into the net, but looped up kindly into the keeper’s arms. After 45 minutes, a free kick from the right by George Maris was met by Oli Hawkins who rose well and headed down, but Mark Ellis kicked it off the line. Earlier on 34 minutes, a contentious moment as Ellis slipped and brought Lapslie down just outside the area on the corner of the area on the right. Lapslie would only have had the keeper to beat, albeit from an angle, but no other defender would have got there. The referee only showed Ellis a yellow card, when some referees would have shown a red. Then on 40 minutes, Ollie Clarke was through on goal and about to shoot when the referee stopped play as a player from each side went down with a head injury. On this occasion, the referee made the correct decision by stopping play as he has to do, but it was again unlucky for the Stags. As it was, Clarke carried on and hit the post. Into the second half, and that soft penalty gave Barrow the lead after 55 minutes. The Stags had chances to equalise as Charsley’s shot was blocked following a long throw from Hewitt after 57 minutes. Two minutes later a good shot from Ollie Clarke was parried away by the keeper. Ollie Clarke also went close after 75 minutes when his left footed volley was just wide of the left post. But Mansfield’s best chance came after 90+1 minutes, as Charsley crossed, Rawson flicked it on, and sub Danny Johnson headed just over the bar. He should have scored, or at least got it on target. The Stags wanted a penalty of their own after 63 minutes, when Clarke crossed from the left and it struck the arm of Remeao Hutton in the area some 5 yards away. It would have been a soft penalty but the Stags aren’t getting any breaks in terms of refereeing decisions at the moment. Barrow’s best chance of the second half came after 71 minutes when Jordan Stevens got to the byline on the right, and pulled back to sub Ozzy Zanzala who fired well wide from a good position. Then after 80 minutes, Josh Gordon’s shot was well-blocked by Rawson for a corner. And of course, Gordon was through on goal after 90+6 minutes as the ball flicked off Hewitt’s head to leave him onside and goalside of Rawson and running it goal, and Rawson brought him down 25 yards from goal. Rawson was shown the red card, but that came just a few seconds after a foul on Hawkins was not given which should have given the Stags a free kick 35 yards from goal, and instead they picked up a red card at the other end. A bitterly disappointing afternoon. The Stags certainly didn’t do enough to deserve to win the game, but in my opinion didn’t deserve to lose it either. After the game, Barrow boss Mark Cooper admitted: “If I’m honest, we were a little lucky to come out at the end with a win.” The Stags play against Sheffield Wednesday in the Papa John’s Trophy on Tuesday (7pm kick off). Quinn, Sinclair and Rawson will be eligible to play in this game despite their league bans. It will also be an opportunity for James Clarke, Ryan Burke, Keaton Ward, George Cooper, Jason Law to all play. It is a huge opportunity to put in a good performance and stake a claim to start in the league, where the Stags are so short of numbers, especially at the back. In the previous game in the competition against Harrogate, the younger players really did not take their opportunity. The game against Sheffield Wednesday will be available to view on iFollow Stags with a match pass, as will the game next Saturday against Oldham game (as it falls on an international weekend). DETAILED REPORT : Mansfield made one change against Barrow from the side that drew at Orient. Harry Charsley started in place of Danny Johnson. It was a return to the diamond formation in midfield, with Maris in front of the back four, Charsley on the right, Ollie Clarke on the left, and Lapslie behind the front two of Oates and Bowery. Hawkins was again in central defence, alongside Rawson, with Hewitt and McLaughlin at full back. George Cooper came on to the bench to replace the suspended Sinclair. The Stags were without 7 players through injury or suspension (listed above). Barrow had injury problems of their own, and made one change from their win over Harrogate last weekend, with James Jones replacing Ozzy Zanzala. I said in my last report that Barrow play tippy tappy car park football (as Keith Curle used to call it) under manager Mark Cooper, but they adapted their game here, and keeper Paul Farman smashed plenty of long balls down the middle, probably having studied footage of the Stags in recent games. In the pouring rain, Barrow could have been ahead after 4 minutes. Ollie Clarke’s clearance hit Jordan Stevens 25 yards from goal, and ricocheted perfectly into the path of Josh Kay. Kay was goalside of the defence but played onside by Stephen McLaughlin, Kay turned and smashed his shot from 10 yards against the bar. Barrow went close again after 8 minutes. A corner from the right to the far post found James Jones unmarked and his header was headed off the line by George Lapslie. Poor marking. After 15 minutes, Hewitt got to the byline on the right and put in a powerful low cross, but Lapslie, sliding it, missed it. Three minutes later, Bowery won the ball, showed good power and strength and fired in a shot from 25 yards but it was wide and over. Good play though. After 21 minutes, brilliant control by Rhys Oates set up a shooting chance for himself as his first touch was superb to control a ball forward to him from a very good pass by Ollie Clarke, and his low left footed shot was parried away by keeper Farman. At the other end a minute later, Kay’s low shot from the right gave Bishop an easy save. After 23 minutes, Bowery, with his back to goal, turned and shot, and curled his effort wide of the right post. The players seemed to be taking on board Clough’s comments that players not shooting was driving him mad! After 25 minutes, Lapslie pushed forward and was brought down by Jones 26 yards out. McLaughlin fired low and wide from the free kick. On 29 minutes, a free kick from the right by Joe Grayson found Ollie Banks unmarked at the far post, he headed down and Nathan Bishop made a magnificent save with his left hand turning it away. Poor marking again from Mansfield. Lapslie curled a shot just wide from 22 yards after 33 minutes. A contentious moment on 34 minutes as Ellis slipped and brought Lapslie down just outside the area on the corner of the area on the right. Lapslie would only have had the keeper to beat, albeit from an angle, but no other defender would have got there. The referee only showed Ellis a yellow card, when some referees would have shown a red. If this was given as a red card so early in the game, the result may well have been different. When Mark Cooper said afterwards about his team being “a little lucky”, I think he was probably considering this incident. McLaughlin was booked for bringing down Kay after 35 minutes. After 38 minutes, Oates was unlucky as he worked hard to charge down keeper Farman, the ball could have gone anywhere including straight into the net, but looped up kindly into the keeper’s arms. Then on 40 minutes, Ollie Clarke was through on goal and about to shoot when the referee stopped play as a player from each side went down with a head injury. On this occasion, the referee made the correct decision by stopping play as he has to do, but it was again unlucky for the Stags. As it was, Clarke carried on and hit the post. Lapslie let his frustration boil over as he was booked for protesting to the referee after 43 minutes. After 45 minutes, a free kick from the right by George Maris was met by Oli Hawkins who rose well and headed down, but Mark Ellis kicked it off the line. Plenty of goalmouth action in the first half but goalless at the break. Half time 0-0 Into the second half, and after 52 minutes a Barrow corner came out to Grayson whose low shot was saved by Bishop at the second attempt. Charsley was booked after 53 minutes for a late tackle. The only goal of the game was a very soft penalty awarded for the visitors after 55 minutes as Mark Ellis went down in the area and the referee decided he had been pushed in the back by Harry Charsley. Ollie Banks smashed the resulting penalty into the roof of the net. The decision has divided opinion. Cooper thought it was a penalty, Clough thought it wasn’t. The pundits on EFL on Quest thought it was a penalty. I thought it was soft, and if it is a penalty, then there were others we could have had this season. A minute later, Charsley wanted a penalty at the other end as he was barged off the ball in the area by Brough. That certainly wasn’t a penalty. The Stags had a chance to equalise as Charsley’s shot from 25 yards was blocked following a long throw from Hewitt after 57 minutes. Two minutes later a good shot from Ollie Clarke was parried away by the keeper. After 62 minutes, from McLaughlin’s free kick, Hawkins headed down towards goal, but Farman claimed. The Stags again wanted a penalty of their own after 63 minutes, when Clarke crossed from the left and it struck the arm of Remeao Hutton in the area some 5 yards away. It would have been a soft penalty but the Stags aren’t getting any breaks in terms of refereeing decisions at the moment. As play continued, Charsley fired into the side netting from a tight angle. The Stags made a change after 65 minutes as Johnson replaced Oates. Maris was booked after 67 minutes for a foul. Barrow’s best chance of the second half came after 71 minutes when Jordan Stevens got to the byline on the right, and pulled back to sub Ozzy Zanzala who fired well wide from a good position. Nigel Clough made a positional change after 72 minutes as Hawkins went up front, Charsley to right back, Hewitt to centre half, Bowery to left midfield. A comfortable save for Bishop from Grayson after 73 minutes. Ollie Clarke went close after 75 minutes when his left footed volley was just wide of the left post. Three minutes later, a high looping cross from McLaughlin and Hawkins headed wide. A yellow card for Nigel Clough after 79 minutes. He also got a yellow card a few weeks ago and when I asked him at that time when the last one he got was, he couldn’t remember. Then after 80 minutes, Josh Gordon’s shot was well-blocked by Rawson for a corner. Jason Law replaced Maris after 83 minutes. On 86 minutes, a very good run forward by Ollie Clarke who was blatantly pushed over just outside the area by Remeao Hutton for what should have been a free kick. Great defending from Clarke, getting back to clear after 88 minutes. Mansfield’s best chance to equalise came after 90+1 minutes, as Charsley crossed, Rawson flicked it on, and sub Danny Johnson headed just over the bar. He should have scored, or at least got it on target. On 90+3, a long throw from Hewitt came out to McLaughlin, and his shot from 35 yards was not far wide. Mansfield piled on some later pressure. A minute later, Johnson’s shot from 10 yards was on target but blocked. To make matters worse for Mansfield, Farrend Rawson was sent off in the sixth minute of stoppage time for clumsily bringing down Josh Gordon as he bore down on goal and denying a clear goalscoring opportunity as the last defender. Gordon was through on goal as the ball flicked off Hewitt’s head to leave him onside and goalside of Rawson and running at goal, and Rawson brought him down 25 yards from goal. Rawson was shown the red card, but that came just a few seconds after a foul on Hawkins was not given which should have given the Stags a free kick 35 yards from goal, and instead they picked up a red card at the other end. Rawson will therefore be suspended for one game, against Oldham. Mansfield’s 4th red card in 5 matches. So, another defeat, the fifth in 10 matches this season. Not good enough obviously. Nigel Clough’s options are limited with so many players injured, but I would have started Danny Johnson in this game, with Hawkins having to play at the back. He’s the most likely to get a goal, and then we need the likes of Ollie Clarke, Maris, Lapslie, McLaughlin to feed him some chances. He did get one good chance and put it over the bar, but his ratio of scoring goals to chances created for him was very good at Orient last season, and I think he is our best bet at the moment. Man of the match: Oli Hawkins Here’s a running tally of various stats: Goals: Hawkins, Johnson 3, O.Clarke, Hewitt, Lapslie, Maris, Oates 1 Assists: O.Clarke, McLaughlin, Oates 2, Hawkins, Johnson, Rawson, Quinn 1 (note: in the case of a penalty, the player who earns the penalty gets an assist. In the case of a solo goal, such as Maris against Newport, nobody gets an assist.) Average home league attendance: 4849 (average away fans: 643, average home fans 4206) |
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Report by: Martin Shaw at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill
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Line Up:
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(4-4-2, diamond in midfield)
Bishop 7 One magnificent save in the first half from Banks’ header. Beaten by the penalty, no other difficult saves to make. Hewitt 5.5 Poor marking early on. His flicked header backwards played Gordon onside in the build-up to the red card. Rawson 6 Sent off in stoppage time for a clumsy challenge. One good block. His header set up Johnson’s chance in stoppage time. Hawkins 7 Defended well. Had a header cleared off the line. McLaughlin 6.5 Defended ok. Crossing could have been better. Maris 6.5 Did ok. One good free kick to set up a Hawkins header. Charsley 6 Harshly adjudged to have conceded the penalty. O.Clarke 6 A couple of decent shots in the second half, one saved, one just wide. Lapslie 7 Headed one Barrow chance off the line. Brought down when he would only have had the keeper to beat, albeit from an angle, which should have led to a red card. Oates 6.5 Set up a shooting chance for himself as his first touch was superb to control a ball forward to him, and his low left footed shot was parried away by the keeper. Then unlucky as he worked hard to charge down the keeper, the ball could have gone anywhere including straight into the net, but looped up kindly into the keeper’s arms. Otherwise didn’t contribute enough. Bowery 6.5 Shot wide twice in the first half. Otherwise did not look like scoring. Held the ball up ok. |
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Sub Line Up:
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Johnson (for Oates, 65 mins) - Had Mansfield’s best chance to equalise came after 90+1 minutes, when he headed just over the bar. He should have scored, or at least got it on target. Nevertheless I would have started him in this game, with Hawkins having to play at the back.
Law (for Maris, 83 mins) - Subs not used: Shelvey, J.Clarke, Burke, Cooper, Ward. |
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Opposition Line Up:
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(3-5-2): Farman; Ellis, J Jones, Grayson; Hutton, Banks (Taylor 81), Gotts, Stevens, Brough; Kay (Zanzala 65), Gordon. Subs not used: Lillis, Arthur, White, Williams.
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Referee:
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Tom Nield 5 The penalty was soft. The red card for Rawson was correct in my opinion but that came just a few seconds after a foul on Hawkins was not given which should have given the Stags a free kick 35 yards from goal, and instead they picked up a red card at the other end. Should have showed Ellis a red card when he brought Lapslie down just outside the area on the corner of the area on the right. Lapslie would only have had the keeper to beat, albeit from an angle, but no other defender would have got there.
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