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Martin Shaw at
Whaddon Road
Stags opened
the new campaign with a creditable draw at sunny Whaddon Road in Cheltenham.
Mansfield went behind after 15 minutes but equalised 5 minutes later with a
Chris Greenacre effort that will probably be Stags' goal of the season, if not
Division 3 goal of the season come May. Ten minutes from time, Mark Blake slid
in a goal for the Stags despite appeals for offside, to raise hopes of an
opening day victory, but within 5 minutes, the home side gained a deserved draw
after Stags' keeper Ian Bowling appeared to be fouled in dropping a high ball which was then poked into
the net.
Stags included debuts for central defenders Stuart Hicks, left wing-back Martin
Pemberton, and left-sided midfielder Wayne Corden. Midfielder
Les Robinson was playing his first game in a new spell at the club. Chris
Greenacre played as a lone striker, and surprisingly keeper Ian Bowling was
chosen in preference to Bobby Mimms.
Cheltenham started strongly with Stags looking nervy and it was no surprise on
15 minutes when Cheltenham took the lead. A right wing cross was met by the head
of Stags midfielder Mark Blake who, in trying to clear the ball, only succeeded
in powering it into the top left hand corner. Stags were well and truly
under the cosh, but Mark Blake almost immediately nearly atoned for his own goal
when his shot from 25 yards only just cleared the bar. But on 20 minute
Stags did find an equaliser completely out of the blue in extraordinary
circumstances. Following a goal kick from Ian Bowling, Chris Greenacre,
positioned on the edge of the centre circle, and finding himself the furthest
forward Stags player with few attacking options, let fly with a powerful shot
that rose and dipped sharply over Cheltenham keeper Steve Book who was
positioned just a few yards off his line. As the ball dipped under the bar and
into the net, Stags' fans, players, management team and chairman Keith Haslam
danced like headless chickens scarcely believing what they had seen. It was an
extraordinary goal and one which will probably not be bettered this season in the Third Division.
For a few minutes, Cheltenham were stunned and Stags gained the ascendancy with
Wayne Corden showing some nice touches on the wing. But gradually the home team
gained the upper hand again and Stags had to rely on some good defending,
particularly by Hicks and Andrews to maintain parity at half time. There was one lucky let-off for Alistair Asher when he miscued a
clearance, and Jamie Victory was presented with a free shot from 15 yards which
luckily he put a yard wide of the post. Greenacre tried another shot later in
the first half from around the same distance as his goal, but this time it hit
the Stags dugout on the half way line. This could possibly lay claim to the
widest miss of all time.
During the second half, the Stags again found themselves under pressure, with
Cheltenham having by far more of the ball, but in truth, the home side failed to
create many chances. In one incident, Cheltenham left back Jamie Victory fired
inches over the bar from the edge of the box. But when, midway through the
second half, Cheltenham brought on new strikers Jason Wright and Julian Alsop,
the home side started to look more dangerous. But 10 minutes from time,
Stags took a surprise 2-1 lead. Les Robinson played a ball over the top of the
Cheltenham defence and Mark Blake found himself in acres of space to slide the
ball past the advancing keeper from 8 yards on the half-volley. Cheltenham
players protested for offside in vain and after the game, home manager Steve
Cotterill was upset that the goal had been allowed.
But the Stags could not hold on to their lead and conceded an equaliser 5
minutes before the end of normal time, again in controversial circumstances. A
throw-in was headed on by tall substitute Julian Alsop and as keeper Ian Bowling
went to catch the ball, he appeared to receive a nudge from Cheltenham player
Neil Howarth and dropped the ball for the grateful Howarth to slam it into the
net from a yard. It was clear to me that despite the nudge, Bowling should
certainly have held on to the ball but his drop was to cost the Stags 2 points. After the game, several Stags
players and manager Billy Dearden furiously surrounded the referee to vent their
anger at the goal.
Cheltenham had a chance to win the game when Jason White out-paced the Stags
defence but fortunately fired high and wide. As the game ended, I noticed
Mark Blake celebrating as though Stags had won the game which I found slightly
surprising as I felt desperately disappointed that the Stags had conceded the
late equaliser. Overall Stags though could not claim to have deserved the 3
points.
My man of the match was Chris Greenacre who put in a fine performance as the
sole striker and ran himself into the ground before being replaced with 20
minutes left. There were also fine displays in defence from new boy Stuart Hicks
and John Andrews. Wayne Corden had some nice touches in left
midfield but tended to drift in and out of the game, and was probably the first
booking of the Nationwide League season as he was booked within the first 90
seconds for kicking the ball away at a free-kick. Les Robinson, playing between
the back 3 and the midfield, had a quiet game. The other new boy, Martin
Pemberton, looked very accomplished at left wing back. Mark Blake was very solid
in midfield but could have been red-carded for a couple of wild two-footed
challenges. Lee Williams had a good game in midfield while Darrell Clarke was very disappointing.
Man of the Match - Chris Greenacre
Bowling 6 Had a reasonable game but will be disappointed he did not hang on to
the ball to prevent the second goal
Asher 6 Lucky to escape one howler in the first half but recovered composure
well
Hicks 8 Commanding performance, very much in the George Foster mould
Andrews 7 Looked solid with new blond-haired look
Williams 7 Good performance in midfield
Robinson 6 Quiet throughout
Blake 6 Made amends for his own goal with opportunist goal
Clarke 5 Failed to make any impression on the game
Corden 6 Some nice touches but drifted in and out of the game
Greenacre 9 Extraordinary goal and excellent performance on his own up-front
Subs
Boulding (for Greenacre) 6 Barely got into the game
Lomas (for Clarke) Came on for the last couple of minutes
Not used: Mimms, Hassell, Bacon.
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