Season 18/19 Stagsnet Match Report
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Mansfield Town
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Oldham Athletic
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Attendance: 3829 (411 from Oldham)
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Date: 2 October 2018
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STAGS PLAY OUTSTANDING FOOTBALL BUT CAN’T SCORE AGAINST OLDHAM
Martin Shaw at the One Call Stadium, Field Mill Mansfield Town were held to a 0-0 draw this evening by Oldham Athletic in as one-sided a game as there is likely to be in League Two all season. The Stags were absolutely outstanding from open play with a wonderful exhibition of passing football, and battered Oldham, but couldn’t convert any of the host of glorious chances. It was so frustrating for the Stags to put in a performance like this and come away with yet another draw, the sixth in 10 league games this season. However over the course of a season, if the Stags keep this performance level up, then wins should follow and the Stags should climb the table. But the finishing has to improve. And if there is one criticism other than finishing, it would be that set pieces need to be better and the Stags should be scoring more goals from set pieces. The Stags near-misses started early, as Oldham veteran defender Peter Clarke nearly turned an Otis Khan free-kick into his own net on 4 minutes, with keeper Daniel Iverson making a great save to turn it wide. On 8 minutes, Khan somehow hit the bar from 6 yards when it looked easier to score. It was a great move as Danny Rose found CJ Hamilton on the right with a fabulous diagonal pass, Hamilton then laid a great ball across to Khan who only had to knock the ball into an empty net with the keeper out of position, but instead hit the bar. On 19 minutes, Rose flicked a header on perfectly into the path of Tyler Walker. Walker’s first touch was good but he fired wide from a great position just inside the box when he should have scored. On 28 minutes, a great run down the right by Hamilton, he cut inside and fired in a powerful left footed shot which the keeper tipped over. On 34 minutes, the keeper saved well again from Walker’s powerful shot from the right. Walker flicked a header wide from Elsnik’s cross on 42 minutes. On 44 minutes, Rose found Hamilton and again his powerful shot from the right was tipped wide by the keeper. From the resulting corner from Elsnik, Walker flicked wide of the far post. An outstanding first half from the Stags, 45 minutes of superb football with 8 near misses. Certainly the best 45 minutes of football in the league since the Stags beat Newport 5-0 last season under Steve Evans. If it had been a boxing match, the referee would have had to have stopped it because Oldham had been battered. Will Atkinson replaced Walker at half time, with Hamilton moving further forward. On 50 minutes, Hamilton floated a wonderful cross from the right to the left where Benning smashed a volley from a tight angle into the side netting. On 54 minutes, Hamilton cut inside from the right, and his left footed shot was on target and deflected for a corner. On 57 minutes, Timi Elsnik tried his luck with a shot, it looped up off a defender, over the keeper, and landed just wide of the post. Great skill from Atkinson on 72 minutes and he was brought down but it was a foot outside the area. Elsnik fired the resulting free kick disappointingly over the bar. On 85 minutes, Atkinson should have won the game. Davies and Hamilton combined on the left and Davies crossed to Atkinson who headed wide of the left post when he should have scored. Total frustration for the Stags not picking up the three points but what a great performance this was. The Stags however need to improve their finishing and set pieces. On to Bury on Saturday, and hopefully another performance as good as this one, but with a better result! Mansfield were unchanged from the side that beat Northampton 4-0. Alex MacDonald and Hayden White remained out with injury. MacDonald had his operation this morning and is expected to be out for 6 weeks. Get well soon Macca! Jacob Mellis was back in the squad after his three match suspension, replacing Jordan Graham. The Stags again lined up in a 3-4-1-2 formation with Elsnik alongside Bishop in front of the defence, and Khan in a floating role behind Walker and Rose. Craig Davies, who signed for the Stags from Oldham, was again on the bench. Oldham included Callum Lang, who scored for Morecambe against the Stags in both league games last season. They also included Chris O’Grady who spent last season helping Chesterfield get relegated to the Conference. Oldham were without leading scorer Sam Surridge, on loan from Bournemouth, who was poor against the Stags last season for Yeovil. Oldham had only conceded one goal in five league away games before tonight, so it is one league goal in six away games now. That might point to a tight defence. But the number of chances the Stags created suggests anything other than a tight defence. It was a breezy evening, though that did not seem to affect that game, and I think the wind dropped soon after kick off. On 4 minutes, a free kick for the Stags 35 yards from goal. Otis Khan curled it into the area and Oldham defender Peter Clarke nearly turned it into his own net, with keeper Daniel Iverson making a great save to turn it wide. On 8 minutes, Khan somehow hit the bar from close range when it looked easier to score. It was a great move as Rose found Hamilton on the right with a fabulous diagonal pass, Hamilton then laid a great ball across to Khan who only had to knock the ball into an empty net from 6 yards with the keeper out of position, but instead hit the bar. A good move from the Stags on 11 minutes. Walker pulled the ball across the area from the byline on the right, but it was too powerful for Rose to get on the end of it, and it went out for a throw-in. An impressive start from the Stags. On 19 minutes, Rose flicked a header on perfectly into the path of Walker. Walker’s first touch was good but he fired wide from a great position just inside the box when he should have scored. On 22 minutes, Preston knocked the ball forward, Rose chested down and fired well over the bar. Two minutes later, Hamilton crossed in from the right and it nearly fell for Benning, but not quite. A great move on 27 minutes, Benning crossed to the far post, Rose got up well but headed wide. On 28 minutes, a great run down the right by Hamilton, he cut inside and fired in a powerful left footed shot which the keeper tipped over. On 34 minutes, the keeper saved well again from Walker’s powerful shot from the right, after good play by Rose intercepting a loose back header from Missilou. Bishop was booked for a late tackle on 34 minutes. Walker flicked a header wide from Elsnik’s cross on 42 minutes. Then on 44 minutes, Rose found Hamilton and again his powerful shot from the right was tipped wide by the keeper. From the resulting corner from Elsnik, Walker flicked wide of the far post. On 45+1 minutes, a good header back from Pearce to Olejnik. Oldham had not had a single meaningful attack. An outstanding first half from the Stags, with 8 near misses. The Stags were working hard, as well as playing great football, closing Oldham down every time they got the ball. Half time 0-0 Oldham made two changes at the break, including bringing on Jose Baxter, formerly of Everton and Sheffield United. They needed to change something as they were being battered. The Stags also made a change. Will Atkinson came on for Walker. Atkinson went in at right wing-back, Hamilton pushed further forward. On 50 minutes, Hamilton floated a wonderful cross from the right to the left where Benning smashed a volley from a tight angle into the side netting. Oldham’s first attempt on goal came on 51 minutes. Baxter volleyed just high and wide. Two minutes later, another attempt from Oldham, Rob Hunt turned and fired just over the bar. On 54 minutes, Hamilton cut inside from the right, and his left footed shot was on target and deflected for a corner. Straight to the other end, and a powderpuff shot from Baxter. On 57 minutes, Timi Elsnik tried his luck with a shot, it looped up off a defender, over the keeper, and landed just wide of the post. A good tackle by Benning on Miller on 58 minutes. Elsnik laid off to Rose on 61 minutes, and Rose chipped a left footed shot over the bar. On 65 minutes, Baxter shot well wide from 20 yards. Davies replaced Khan on 67 minutes. A great tackle by Sweeney on 71 minutes. Great skill from Atkinson on 72 minutes and he was brought down but it was a foot outside the area. Elsnik fired the resulting free kick disappointingly over the bar. Mellis replaced Elsnik on 74 minutes. Elsnik left to a standing ovation. On 77 minutes, Rose miscued a volley well wide. A minute later, a great move on the right involving Atkinson, Mellis and Hamilton, but Hamilton slipped over. There were one or two players slipping over on the evening on the heavily watered surface. Olejnik was well out of his area on 81 minutes, he initially miskicked, but belted the ball away over the Bishop Street stand before the loose ball could be nicked away. Hamilton gave away a free kick on 82 minutes. It was Oldham’s first set piece in the Stags half. Oldham made a pig’s ear of the free kick, in keeping with their overall performance. On 85 minutes, Atkinson should have won the game. Davies and Hamilton combined on the left and Davies crossed to Atkinson who sent a diving header wide of the left post when he should have scored. On 90+3 minutes, Olejnik slipped in attempting a clearance from the edge of his own six yard box, O’Grady picked up the loose ball, but then gifted the ball back to the Stags. Pathetic from ex-Spireite O’Grady who was nothing short of rubbish all evening. Full time and it remained 0-0. Total frustration for the Stags. Man of the match: CJ Hamilton |
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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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(3-4-1-2)
Olejnik 6 Had the quietest of evenings until stoppage time when he slipped in attempting a clearance from the edge of his own six yard box. Got away with it. Preston 7 Solid match under little pressure from Oldham’s non existent attack. Pearce 7 One good header back to Olejnik under pressure. Solid. Sweeney 7 One great tackle. Good game. Hamilton 8.5 Great ball across for Khan who hit the bar early on. Great cross for Benning’s shot in the second half. Two shots well saved by the keeper in the first half. Then another shot on target which was blocked in the second half. Exciting performance and overall gave the Oldham defence a tough evening. Bishop 8 Really good game. Never wasted a pass. Elsnik 7.5 Good game. A couple of good crosses for Walker headers. Disappointing shot from free kick in second half. Benning 6.5 One good cross and one good tackle. Khan 6 Should have scored from 6 yards early on. The Stags created a hatful of chances on the evening, but unusually he wasn’t involved in many of them. Walker 6 Fired wide from a great position after a good touch in the first half. But then brought a good save from the keeper with another shot. Flicked two efforts wide from Elsnik crosses. Rose 7.5 Great pass for Hamilton to cross for Khan’s effort. Good header to set up the golden chance for Walker. Good pass to set up a chance for Hamilton. |
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Sub Line Up:
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Atkinson (for Walker, 46 mins) 7.5 Some really good play down the right in the second half.
Davies (for Khan, 67 mins) - Mellis (for Elsnik, 74 mins) - Subs not used: Logan, Gibbens, Sterling-James, Butcher. |
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Opposition Line Up:
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(4-4-2) Iversen, Hunt, Clarke, Edmundson, Taylor, Dummigan (Graham 45’), Gardner, Missilou, Lang (Baxter 45’), Miller (Maouche 76'), O’Grady. Subs not used: De La Paz, Benteke, Branger-Engone, Nepomuceno.
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Referee:
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Thomas Bramall 7 Got most decisions right. Should have added on more time for Oldham’s time-wasting.
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