Season 04/05 Stagsnet Match Report
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Mansfield Town
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Cambridge United
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Attendance: 3557 (172 from Cambridge)
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Date: 11th January 2005
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Well, this is going to be brief. It is true that the blustery wind didn't help, but this has to be one of the worst 90 minutes of football I have seen in 30 years following the Stags, and believe me, there is quite a lot of competition!! The Stags made one enforced change from the side which beat then league leaders Scunthorpe 8 days ago, Paul Warne, recalled by Rotherham, was replaced by Simon Brown. Please come back Paul!!
Bottom club Cambridge could have taken the lead in the opening few minutes, a break caught the Stags defence totally square and only an excellent save by Pilkington prevented an opening goal. The rest of the half was instantly forgettable - one nasty clash of heads between two Cambridge players, a shot into the saide netting by Brown and a near post header just wide by Larkin after good work from Brown, the only moments worthy of note. Generally, it is now that I'd go on to write about the 2nd half, the problem is, the Stags mustered one goal mouth scramble which I don't think ended in a shot on goal and barely strung two passes together. Cambridge were not a great deal better, but they were better and perhaps if they had a bit more belief, would have taken all three points. To a chorus of boo's, for once probably deserved, the Stags left the pitch, though few of the 3,500 crowd noticed the players leaving, they'd headed off to the warm fire and a glass of the medium sweet!! Times like this you do wonder why, but then again, without the suffering the highs wouldn't be so high. A truly appalling 90 minutes of sheer hell for supporters which can only partially be blamed on the weather. The Stags did not have one corner, no shots on target, had the minority of the possession and had no Plan B, nothing from the sidelines, no bright spark from the bench to liven things up, just 5 blokes still in their track-suits. Alex Neil was just about the only player to come out of the game with any real credit, mostly for his good first half showing, if any player deserves a real pat on the back it is Alex, for since being told he was surplus to requirements, he has been outstanding. Man of the Match: Alex Neil |
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Report by: Rob Wheldon
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Line Up:
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K Pilkington 6 One good save, a few dodgy kicks in the wind
J Buxton 6 Did OK defensively but lacked quality in the opposition area L Dimech 5 Often caught out by the long ball over the top but did defend well at times A Baptiste 4 Poor distribution, probably his worst game for the Stags A Neil 7 The pick of the side, without doubt, tried to get things going and pushed forward well W Corden 4 Very poor and looks devoid of confidence A Murray 6 Shone a little in the 1st half but failed to stamp his authority on the game F McLachlan 4 Completely anonymous S Brown 5 Lively but no end product C Larkin 4 Poor control, created nothing and no attempts on goal R Barker 5 Battled hard, but nothing went right |
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Sub Line Up:
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Subs not used: White, Wood, Lloyd, Maxwell, Kitamirike.
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Opposition Line Up:
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J Ruddy, D Gleeson, A Duncan, S Rea, S Bimson, J Walker, D Quinton, M Somner (24 S Wardley) , J Easter, J Turner, D Webb (86 A Konte)
Subs: S Marshall, I Latte-Yedo, S Tudor. |
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Referee:
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D Drysdale 7 Handled the game well
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