Archived News from August 2021
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CLOUGH, OLLIE CLARKE, FLYNN REACTION
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Stags showed ‘resolve’ to see out win - manager
mansfieldtown.net, Saturday 14th August 2021 Boss Nigel Clough says the Stags showed ‘determination and resolve’ to secure victory against Newport County AFC this afternoon, making it back-to-back wins in Sky Bet League Two to start the season. George Maris’ early goal was quickly cancelled out by Robbie Willmott, before Ollie Clarke fired home on the cusp of half-time, a thunderous strike which turned out to be the winning effort. The manager says that the early ‘signs’ in Stags’ season are positive, and that Mansfield will continue to improve as time progresses. https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2021/august/stags-showed-resolve-to-see-out-win---manager/ “It was a tough game again, we’ve had two unbelievably tough home games in the league so far but I thought we deserved it again,” he told iFollow Stags. “I still think, similar to last week, that we can play better. We can be better with and without the ball, but we’re finding a way to win. “I don’t think we’ve reached our best, but we’ve won both games in the league, which is a very good sign. “The last five or ten minutes, when we had to dig in, they didn’t create too many clear cut chances against us. “That’s what we like at the moment, the determination and the resolve to see a game through. “We’ve brought in a lot of new players who are still getting to know each other, so when you put that into context, it’s going to take a few months to really look as though we’re a well-oiled team. But the signs are there and the signs are good.” Speaking of the game’s three goals, the boss added: “We scored two good goals, certainly the second one, which was a lovely goal. The only way we’re making life hard for ourselves is giving goals away. “You shouldn’t concede straight from a goal kick. It’s gone straight down the middle, it’s bounced in our penalty area, which shouldn’t happen. “We’re trying to [shoot more], once they get within 20 or 25 yards, [we’re telling them] to get shots off. “His [Maris’] tackle [led to the goal]. We took a corner, then he got back in straight away and won a tackle. “I thought his tackle deserved a goal. He’s hit the target, the goalkeeper [Joe Day] maybe should’ve saved it, but the tackle and winning the ball back immediately was the thing that pleased us most. “When he [Clarke] hit it, I think the back of the net actually lifted. He had a chance to shoot with his left in the second-half, and after scoring that one, I thought he might have shot a couple more times.” Looking ahead to Tuesday night’s trip to Colchester United, the manager says the squad will be assessed on Monday morning ahead of the journey to Essex. “We’ll see how the lads are looking on Monday when they come into training before we travel and assess it from there. “The two home games we’ve had have been emotionally charged. The crowd have been right behind us, which is brilliant. “So we’ll have to see who is in good enough shape to start on Tuesday.” iFollow Stags subscribers can watch the manager’s interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow. -------------------- Nigel Clough - much more to come from Mansfield Town chad.co.uk, By John Lomas, Saturday 14th August 2021 Nigel Clough was particularly happy to watch his Mansfield Town side see off another expected promotion rival without hitting top gear this afternoon. Stags followed up last week's win over another of the big guns, Bristol Rovers, with a 2-1 win over Newport County today to make it back-to-back home wins to start a season for the first time since 1994. “The best thing is I don't think we are playing as well as we can but we are finding a way to win which is a very good sign,” smiled the manager. https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/nigel-clough-much-more-to-come-from-mansfield-town-3346795 “We have not 100 per cent hit our stride yet and we've got six points in the bag. “We are seeing little patches of play, a few glimpses of what we can do here and there. We just need to do them more often. “I wish it hadn't been so close again after winning in the last minute last week. “We were not exactly hanging on in the last minutes but they were putting pressure on as you would expect.” George Maris had put Stags ahead before poor defending quickly saw Newport level. But skipper Ollie Clarke almost burst the net with a winner. “It lifted the net up at the back, he hit it with such ferocity. “He had a couple of other chances to shoot in the second half and turned them down which surprised us when you've scored that sort of goal. “Although the keeper should probably have stopped our first goal, I thought the way George Maris won the ball back and hit the target with a shot deserved a goal.” On the Newport equaliser, Clough added: “It was a very, very poor goal to concede. We have to stop those mistakes. “It was down to the two centre halves. The ball has gone straight down the middle from a goalkick and we've not made contact with it. That can't happen.” ------------------------ We 'dug deep' for win - skipper mansfieldtown.net, Saturday 14th August 2021 Ollie Clarke praised the Stags’ ‘dogged’ performance to overcome a physical battle and see out a slender victory over Newport County at One Call Stadium. The Mansfield skipper netted his first goal of the season, latching onto a Danny Johnson lay off in the 43rd minute to rifle the ball past Joe Day in the Newport goal. The 29-year-old hopes the Stags can build on the positives of their performance and continue their good start. https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2021/august/ollie-clarke-post-newport-h/ "They're a big strong team,” said Clarke. “They probably changed their style slightly from last season where they were more possession based but we knew they’re big and strong and were always going to try and get balls up to the front man. “We dug in deep, we scrapped and fought for everything and at times I thought we weren't at our best. “In the end it was a good outcome. We got what we wanted and probably what we deserved. “The boys were digging in deep, fighting for each other and sticking their bodies on the line towards the end. It wasn't pretty but we got the job done and I think that bodes well for the season. “We utilised Oli [Hawkins] well today, he won a lot of flick ons and that's where our goal came from, Maris had another chance where he got through one on one. “It's one of those we'll look to build on in terms of progression over the season but today it was a dogged performance and one we were glad to see out." The experienced midfielder put Stags ahead on the stroke of half time, a moment he was pleased to share with the fans. "Once I got through I thought 'I'll leather this' with my left foot. To be honest I didn't see it go in but it was a nice feeling to hear the roar of the crowd. “I was kind of off balance and it ended up with me in a pile inside the box, but it was nice feeling to score a first goal especially in front of the fans. "I probably should have had a few more shots but it was nice to score one and when you're feeling confident you've got to try haven't you? "It's something we're always practicing in training and to be honest I kicked a few of them over the stands yesterday, but that's what we do, we practice and when it pays off it's a great feeling.” The captain’s focus is now on Mansfield’s games ahead. "We've got to build on that now and keep moving forward. “It'll be a tough game on Tuesday, a long trip down to Colchester so obviously the boys will be recovering and doing what they can to get ready for Tuesday, it's another one to look forward to. "I think the style of play, we want to improve on that, at times we knock the ball around well but our final product at times was sloppy. “It’s something that we'll be looking to build on and develop over the course of the season, but the first two games of the season are out of the way and we've got six points on the board, it's definitely something positive to build on." iFollow Stags subscribers can watch the manager's interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow. ---------------------- Mansfield Town skipper Ollie Clarke praises home fans helping them dig deep for victory chad.co.uk, By John Lomas, Saturday 14th August 2021 Mansfield Town matchwinner Ollie Clarke praised the wall of noise by the home fans that got them over the line in today's hard-earned 2-1 win over Newport County. Clarke gave Stags the lead for a second time just before the break and the home side then had to withstand late pressure to hang on for a second successive victory. “When the fans get behind you in that last 10-15 minutes you dig deep - and I think the boys did that well,” said the Stags skipper. https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town-skipper-ollie-clarke-praises-home-fans-helping-them-dig-deep-for-victory-3346807 “It wasn't the prettiest game of football but we dug deep. “I think a lot of teams are going to come here and try to stop us playing and we have got to be resilient and show why we are trying to push for the top end of the table. “It won't be pretty football week in, week out, we know that - it's League Two. “We just know we have to be consistent in ourselves, try to do the right things, and when we have to put our bodies on the line, try to win the game in different ways.” On his winning strike, Clarke added: “We tried to play but at times we had to utilise the big man, Oli Hawkins, and he's won pretty much everything today. “He flicked it on to DJ (Danny Johnson), he span it round the corner and I just managed to run onto it and catch it clean. “To be honest I didn't even see it go in as I was on the floor. I just take them as they come and I am glad it was the winning goal in the end. “We have managed two wins against two good teams without being at our best with our performances.” ---------------------- Michael Flynn: Poor goals cost Newport County at Mansfield southwalesargus.co.uk, By Chris Kirwan NEWPORT County AFC gave manager Michael Flynn reason for optimism despite suffering a 2-1 defeat to Mansfield Town. The Exiles were edged out at Field Mill with all the goals coming in the first half, George Maris and Ollie Clarke for the hosts either side of Robbie Willmott’s neat finish. County started the season with victory at Oldham Athletic and then beat Ipswich Town 1-0 in the Carabao Cup to earn a tie with Premier League Southampton. They may have suffered a first loss of the campaign but Flynn wasn’t too disheartened at losing to a well-drilled Stags side. https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/19514320.michael-flynn-poor-goals-cost-newport-county-mansfield/ The manager fielded seven summer signings and was without stalwarts Matty Dolan and Mickey Demetriou through injury. “We played quite well against a strong Mansfield team and ultimately our poor defending on the two goals gave them the points, because I felt we were the better team,” he said. “They were two poor goals to concede from our point of view. “We have a few injuries and had to change things around but the way that we played against a strong team has given me a lot of confidence, people came in and did very well. “It’s the second game of the season, it’s been a long week and the boys gave me their all. That’s all I can ask of them. “We are a work in progress. It will take us a while to get to our best and all three performances have been good. Not outstanding but good, they have been solid. “There were a lot of positives to take away from that game and on a different day we defend better and win that 1-0. “A couple of times our decision-making let us down - we crossed when we should have shot, we shot when we should have crossed - so it’s just about finding that right blend. We played some really good stuff and got in some very good positions. “The boys did well, it’s a tough place to come and while we didn’t quite do enough to win it, we definitely shouldn’t have lost.” Flynn, who opted against giving an injury update on Mickey Demetriou to keep next opponents Tranmere guessing, is relishing a week of graft ahead of the trip to Birkenhead. “We have a lot of work to do on the training pitch and need to rest up as well for another tough away game at Tranmere,” said the manager. --------------------- Newport County boss Mike Flynn happy with depleted side in Mansfield Town defeat chad.co.uk, By John Lomas, Saturday 14th August 2021 Despite the 2-1 defeat, Newport County boss Mike Flynn was pleased with how his depleted side played against Mansfield Town today. Forced into making four changes due to injury, the Exiles pushed Stags all the way and Flynn said: “I thought we played quite well against a strong Mansfield team. “Ultimately our poor defending on the two goals gave them the points as I thought we were the better team. https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/newport-county-boss-mike-flynn-happy-with-depleted-side-in-mansfield-town-defeat-3346793 “We started going a bit long in the last 15 minutes which wasn't the point of my substitutions. I wanted them to build and get more crosses in the box. “Scott Bennett was absolutely superb today. We had a few injuries so we had to change things around so that has given me a lot of confidence with the way we played. “People have come in and done extremely well.” He continued: “It's only the second game of the season so I am not getting carried away with it. It's been a long week, but the boys have given me their all. “We have a lot of work to do on the training pitch this week but we have to rest up too as that is just as important.” -------------- |
Latest | August 2021