Archived News from March 2022
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ANOTHER LATE WINNER FOR THE STAGS AT OLDHAM
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English Football League - Sky Bet League Two
Oldham Athletic 1 - 2 Mansfield Town Keillor-Dunn 24. Oates 53, Lapslie 90+5 Attendance: 6,045 (1321 from Mansfield) Date: 26 March 2022 Martin Shaw at Boundary Park Mansfield Town made it back-to-back wins in the north-west this afternoon with another late winner, this time at Oldham. Following on from Jordan Bowery’s 86th minute winner at Rochdale on Tuesday night, the Stags left it even later today as substitute George Lapslie turned in the winner after 90+5 minutes, with just 30 seconds of stoppage time remaining, to the delight of the 1300 travelling Stags fans behind the goal. It was looking like the Stags would have to settle for a point but Rhys Oates produced a moment of magic, one of many this season, when he received a throw-in from Stephen McLaughlin on the edge of the area, with his back to goal, surrounded by defenders. He turned and created just enough room for a shot which he crashed against the left post. The ball rebounded favourably for Lapslie who turned it into the net from six yards. Lapslie’s immediate reaction was to turn to the linesman to check he was onside. He was, just, when Oates fired in his shot, and the Stags were able to celebrate in front of the travelling fans. Credit to Lapslie for being alert enough to be in the right place and turn it in. But much of the credit has to go to Oates for that shot. Stunning. Credit also to the linesman for getting a tight call correct. Earlier Oates had got the Stags back into the game when he equalised after 53 minutes after the Stags had trailed at the break. Matty Longstaff found Oates on the edge of the area. Oates took one touch to control the ball and smashed it goalwards, and got a little bit of luck as the shot took a little deflection off Carl Piergianni which might have been enough to take it over the diving keeper. Regardless of whether it would have gone in or not, it was reward for Oates who has been firing in a remarkable number of shots in the last couple of games. Oldham had led at the break. Mansfield had started the game well in the opening 20 minutes with Quinn winning a corner in the opening 30 seconds, Oates cutting inside and firing in a powerful shot that the keeper parried away after 6 minutes, then McLaughlin setting Oates away for a run into the box and Oates got in a left footed shot which the keeper saved with his legs and it unluckily rebounded back off Oates for a goal kick. Oates then miscued a shot straight at the keeper, before Hawkins claimed for a penalty for handball as he headed the ball against Piergianni from a Quinn corner. At the other end, Piergianni headed straight at Bishop from a corner. But Oldham took the lead after 24 minutes, then dominated the rest of the half as the Stags looked ragged and Oldham could have been further ahead at the break. The goal came as Jack Stobbs got away from Stephen McLaughlin down the right and put in a brilliant cross for Davis Keillor-Dunn, one of the smallest men on the pitch, who got away from his marker Hawkins to head into the net from 8 yards. Both McLaughlin and Hawkins should have done better. Nicky Adams then got in a cross from the left which hit McLaughlin and rolled wide. From the resulting corner Will Sutton headed wide. Keillor-Dunn then fired wide from 30 yards, before Hawkins nearly scored an own goal as he headed down an Adams free kick into the ground and as it bounced up towards the roof of the net, Bishop turned it over the bar. Finally Longstaff did well to block a Callum Whelan shot. A half of two quarters as the Stags started well but ended it badly with Oldham right on top. That 20 minutes from Oldham very much belied their position in the relegation zone of the table as they played very well. But they weren’t able to sustain it. Nigel Clough admitted after the game that “We lost our way a little bit towards the end of the first half”, while Oldham boss John Sheridan noted "I told them at half-time how well they'd done and should be possibly two or three up. I can hear Nige (Nigel Clough) giving them a rollicking, he's got into them and they made a couple of changes.” Nigel Clough brought on Jordan Bowery at half time and he made an impact as the Stags went up several gears in the second half. Straight away, James Perch, at right back for the second half crossed and Oates headed straight at the keeper. A minute later, good play on the left from Oates, his cross reached Bowery who pulled the ball back to Longstaff who had a clear sight of goal but his shot was blocked, the rebound fell to Perch who fired over the bar. The Stags then equalised through Oates after 53 minutes with that deflected shot. But that came just a minute after Oldham could have opened up a two goal lead as Hawkins tried to shepherd the ball out for a goal kick, had his pocket picked, and Keillor-Dunn fired straight at Bishop from a good position. Nearly a calamitous goal to concede. After 61 minutes, a good move from the Stags on the right involving Murphy and Bowery, before Oates teed up Bowery for a shot which was saved by the keeper with his legs. It was a great ball from Oates and Bowery was close to scoring. This was so much better from Mansfield. A minute later, Longstaff teed up Quinn for a shot from the edge of the box. The shot was blocked and ballooned up in the air to McLaughlin, who teed up Quinn for another shot from the edge of the area and this time it was towards the roof of the net and the keeper saved it, though only just, above his head. A minute after that, O’Toole stepped forward and played to Oates who turned and shot wide from 30 yards. Then two minutes after that, McLaughlin burst forward from 30 yards out, into the area, and fired a cross-shot inches wide of the right post, with Oates inches away from turning it into the net. The Stags were completely dominating. Bowery headed over the bar from a Murphy corner after 71 minutes, before Hawkins headed inches wide from a McLaughlin free kick after 75 minutes. After 83 minutes, a brilliant run from Oates into the area but he couldn’t get a shot away. On 86 minutes, a superb cross from McLaughlin and Lapslie, only on as substitute after 81 minutes, headed just wide. It looked the like the winner wouldn’t come, but it did finally, in spectacular fashion after 90+5 minutes. Overall the Stags just about deserved the win because of the second half dominance with a glut of chances, 22 in total across the whole game, with 10 on target, to just 13 from Oldham with just 4 on target. But Oldham will feel they could have had something from the game because of their spell in the 20 minutes before half time when they played extremely well and Mansfield were quite poor. Rhys Oates was outstanding and the Oldham defence couldn’t cope with him. We knew he was good, from his form in the play-offs last season for Hartlepool, getting them promoted, but he’s regularly taking your breath away with his brilliance this season. Today was his 11th goal of the season, and I have him on 8 assists too (I’ve credited him with an assist for Lapslie’s goal). Kieran Wallace and Quinn played well in midfield. At the back, Hawkins and McLaughlin were below par in my opinion. The substitutes made a difference, Bowery doing well in the second half, and Lapslie turning in the winner. The Stags are up to 8th place, one point behind the 4 teams in the play-off places, with games in hand over 3 of them, and 2 games in hand over one of them. And the Stags are 4 points behind 3rd placed Northampton with 3 games in hand. The Stags visit Hartlepool on Tuesday night. Hartlepool lost to Northampton today, but I watched them play Newport a week ago and they were impressive in beating them. If you can’t travel to Victoria Park, you can once again watch the game with us on iFollow Stags. DETAILED REPORT IN THE MATCH CENTRE ------------------------- SAT 26 MAR 2022, LEAGUE TWO Oldham Athletic 1-2 Mansfield Town Keillor-Dunn (24'minutes) Oates (53'minutes), Lapslie (90'+5minutes) Assists Stobbs (24'minutes) M Longstaff (53'minutes) https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60803515 Match report supplied by PA Media. Substitute George Lapslie struck in the final minute of stoppage-time to hand play-off-chasing Mansfield a precious 2-1 League Two comeback win at struggling Oldham. Lapslie pounced on a rebound after Rhys Oates' shot bounced out off a post to condemn Oldham to a sixth-straight defeat. Mansfield threatened early on when Oates skipped past defender Jordan Clarke before seeing a 20-yard drive saved by Danny Rogers. Oates was again denied by Rogers soon after. Oldham struck in the 23rd minute when Jack Stobbs crossed the ball in superbly for Davis Keillor-Dunn to head home his 14th goal of the season in all competitions. The home side's tails were up and Keillor-Dunn's speculative 25-yard strike was inches off target. Minutes after the restart, Mansfield loanee Matty Longstaff was denied by a brilliant point-blank save by Rogers. Longstaff then teed up Oates, who rifled home the equaliser clinically via a slight deflection. Stephen Quinn came close to notching a second for Mansfield, as did half-time substitute and midweek match-winner Jordan Bowery. Lapslie headed narrowly wide late on, before then going on to seal victory in such dramatic fashion. Match Stats Home Team Oldham Away Team Mansfield Possession Home 45% Away 55% Shots Home 13 Away 22 Shots on Target Home 4 Away 10 Corners Home 5 Away 6 Fouls Home 9 Away 11 ---------------------- Sub George Lapslie steals last gasp winner as Mansfield Town triumph at Oldham Athletic chad.co.uk, Saturday 26th March 2022 Sub George Lapslie bagged a dramatic last-gasp winner for Mansfield Town to sink struggling Oldham Athletic in a thriller at Boundary Park this afternoon. Lapslie helped a rebound over the line from close range after Rhys Oates’ shot on the turn thumped the post and flew across goal in the final minute of stoppage time. The dramatic victory lifted Stags two places up into eighth, a single point off the play-offs and four off the top three automatic spots but with three games in hand. Stags boss Nigel Clough had made just the single alteration to his starting line-up following the late midweek win at Oldham’s neighbours Rochdale. https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/sub-george-lapslie-steals-last-gasp-winner-as-mansfield-town-triumph-at-oldham-athletic-3628600 Jordan Bowery remained among the substitutes despite his dramatic winner at Rochdale, with Kieran Wallace the player stepping up to replace Ryan Stirk in the only change. In glorious, warm sunshine at Boundary Park, Oates showed early intention for the Stags when he left defender Jordan Clarke floundering before firing in a shot which Danny Rogers saved well. Oldham skipper Carl Piergianni headed straight at Nathan Bishop at the other end, before the hosts struck the opener in the 23rd minute. Jack Stobbs crossed in superbly for Davis Keillor-Dunn, who guided a neat header past a flat-footed Bishop. Buoyed by their impressive opener, Oldham almost added another when Keillor-Dunn this time smashed a 25-yard effort inches off target. Bowery was introduced in place of Elliot Hewitt at the interval, but it was Oates who tested Rogers with a smart header soon after the restart. Matty Longstaff was then denied by a brilliant point-blank stop from the Oldham keeper. But Stags were level in the 53rd minute when Longstaff teed up Oates, who rifled clinically into the top corner via the slightest of deflections to even it up. With the Stags now back in the ascendancy Bowery tested Rogers, as did Stephen Quinn with a curling shot from the edge of the box. Oldham appeared to be crumbling, and Stags sub Lapslie headed a whisker wide. Both sides went for broke at the end, but Clough’s men went on to notch a most memorable of wins thanks to Lapslie’s late, late intervention as struggling Oldham were sentenced to a sixth straight defeat. OLDHAM: Rogers, Clarke, Piergianni, Sutton, Couto (Fage, 67), Adams (Hunt, 67), Whelan, Stobbs (Vaughan, 74), Bahamboula, Hope, Keillor-Dunn. SUBS NOT USED: Leutwiler, Da Silva, Diarra, Hopcutt. STAGS: Bishop, Hewitt (Bowery, 46), O’Toole, Perch, McLaughlin, Longstaff (Lapslie, 80), Wallace (Stirk, 67), Quinn, Murphy, Oates, Hawkins. SUBS NOT USED: Stech, Rawson, Johnson, Akins. REFEREE: Ben Toner. ATTENDANCE: 6,045. ------------------- Latics 1-2 Mansfield Town https://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/news/2022/march/26032022-match-report-mansfield-town/ Latics were left bitterly frustrated as Mansfield Town compounded the ‘boys in blue’ to another defeat on home turf. Oldham had a promising start to the game as Jack Stobbs shaped a fine bit of individual brilliance to provide Keillor-Dunn with assist from the right-hand side. Frustratingly, the Yellows levelled after the restart when Rhys Oates’ strike from the edge of the penalty area was deflected and found its way into the far corner before George Lapslie bundled in a winner in stoppage time. With the visitors in search of back-to-back away wins, Shez opted for two changes from the midweek defeat against Sutton. Most notably, Carl Piergianni returned to the side after serving a two-match suspension and Dylan Bahamboula also returned. As the sun beamed down on Boundary Park, both sides began the encounter with attacking intent which saw Oates cleverly cut inside from the left-wing before he drilled a low effort goalwards, but Danny Rogers comfortably denied the attacker. In typical fashion, Nicky Adams delivered a pinpoint cross towards a towering Piergianni near the penalty spot with Nathan Bishop comfortably keeping hold of the skipper’s header, but it offered Latics positive signs. Following that, Stephen McLaughlin raced down the left-hand side and illustrated immense vision as he sent Oates one-on-one with the Latics shot-stopper, but his low strike was excellently denied by the ‘keeper. In the 24th minute, the terraces erupted as Keillor-Dunn put the hosts ahead after remarkably work from a teammate. Stobbs received possession towards the halfway line, and then, began a skilful dribble down the right-wing in order to supply an outstanding cross to the Sunderland-born man and he steered his header into the bottom corner. Oldham were gathering momentum and forced the visitors into needless errors as the interval neared. Once again, Adams provided an impressive corner onto the head of Piergianni with the ‘keeper parrying the effort over the crossbar. A half-time substitute, Jordan Bowery endeavoured to make an impact on the game, and he almost did just that within a minute of his introduction. The former Aston Villa striker picked up the ball on the byline before he selflessly pulled it back to Matty Longstaff inside the six-yard box, but somehow, Rogers kept him at bay. Latics should’ve extended their advantage as Stobbs won possession inside the area, and then, laid it back to Keillor-Dunn, but the attack-minded individual fashioned a weak attempt which failed to cause the goalkeeper any real problems. As it often is in football, Shez’s men were left to rue their missed opportunities with Oates finding the back of the net with a deflected effort in the 53rd minute to the joy of the away fans and the visiting dugout. The Stags started to apply a vast amount of pressure and were nearly celebrating again when McLaughlin raced into the area, but his fierce low effort dragged past the far post. Then, a corner found Ollie Hawkins inside the six-yard box, and he instinctively flicked goalwards, only to be denied by Rogers. In added time, Latics suffered more heartbreak as Mansfield clinched all three points courtesy of a substitute. Oates blasted his strike off the post before it hit an unmarked Lapslie inside the six-yard box and rolled over the line. In the final seconds, the Stags were determined to remain tight at the back and they managed to see out the result which will be massive in their pursuit of the play-offs. Oldham Athletic XI - Rogers (GK), Clarke, Piergianni ©, Adams (Hunt 67’), Whelan, Hope, Keillor-Dunn, Stobbs (Vaughan 74’), Bahamboula, Sutton, Couto (Fage 68’). Unused Subs: Leutwiler (GK), Da Silva, Diarra, Hopcutt. Goals: Keillor-Dunn 24’ Mansfield Town XI - Bishop (GK), McLaughlin ©, Hewitt (Bowery 46’), Murphy, Hawkins, Perch, Quinn, Oates, Wallace (Stirk 67’), O’Toole, Longstaff (Lapslie 80’). Unused Subs: Stech (GK), Rawson, Johnson, Akins. Goals: Oates 53’, Lapslie 95’ Attendance: 6,042 (1,321 away) Referee - Ben Toner ------------------ |
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