Archived News from January 2008
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HAMSHAW GOAL GIVES STAGS AWAY JOY AT LAST
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Chester City 0 - 1 Mansfield Town
Hamshaw 49 Attendance: 2092 (296 from Mansfield) --------------- Click here to watch video highlights on virginmedia. ------------ Click here to listen to highlights from Mansfield 103.2 commentary by Jason Harrison and Jake Buxton. Includes Jake Buxton on: going behind, new signings, the fans, and not getting back into the side next week! editted by Martin Shaw ------------------- Teamtalk report: Hamshaw strike sinks Chester Matthew Hamshaw's goal was enough to give Mansfield a 1-0 win at Chester and renewed hope of climbing out of the relegation places. In a dour game with few chances, the Stags picked up a precious away win against a Chester side who are now in free-fall. The winner came four minutes after the interval when Simon Brown slipped the ball inside a static Chester defence to set up Hamshaw who fired a low shot which flicked off the legs of Chester goalkeeper John Danby before finding the back of the net. In the first half Kevin Ellison was denied by a great save from Carl Muggleton and on the half-hour mark Stephen Dawson had a great opportunity to put the visitors ahead but slid the ball past the onrushing Danby and the wrong side of the post. Chester's best chance for a leveller came 13 minutes from time when Ellison's bullet header was superbly tipped over by Muggleton as his side held on for the win. --------------- report from http://www.chestercityfc.net The mysery of Mansfield Chester City v Mansfield Town The Stags record their first away win of the season at The Deva Stadium in front of just 2092 spectators. Chester City's New Year hangover continued at home to Mansfield Town on Saturday after the struggling visitors recorded their first league victory on the road this season. Early on, City took the game to Mansfield in the first half and came close in the fifth minute when Richie Partridge's long cross found Kevin Ellison only for the tall winger to shoot straight into the arms of the visiting goalkeeper, Carl Muggleton. Mansfield were forced to play in their own have for long spells but soaked up the City pressure well. At the other end Ian Holmes forced John Danby into his first save of the match in the 24th minute but moments later City responded with Ellison forcing Muggleton into a great save from his thunderous drive. Simon Brown sent a speculative effort over the bar as the visitors began to get a foothold in the game. Brown continued to cause confusion in the Chester defence and did well to set up Holmes who shot straight at Danby. Then Stephen Dawson almost opened the scoring for the Stags on the half hour mark when he slid the ball past the City shot stopper only to see his effort bobble out of play. After soaking up the Mansfield pressure, the Blues fought back and almost opening the scoring when Laurence Wilson rasped a 25-yard drive narrowly wide of the left upright. With the majority of possession in their favour, City continued to push forward and came close again when Partridge latched onto a through ball only to a send his effort high over the Mansfield bar as the game remained goalless at the interval. After the break, it was the visitors who pushed forward and after a couple of aborted attempts, the Stags, who haven't won on their travels this season, opened the scoring. The goal came in the 49th minute when Brown picked up the ball from James Vaughan. Brown set up Matthew Hamshaw, who made no mistake side footing the ball through the legs of the City keeper to give the visitors the lead. Kevin Roberts had a shot blocked by Muggleton on the hour mark but then play had to be stopped with referee Danny McDermid required treatment after a receiving a Kevin Ellison cross in the face. With the clock ticking down, Chester made a couple of substitutions and stepped up a gear with twenty minutes remaining when Roberts sent another speculative effort wide of the right post. Moments later Ellison forced Muggleton to palm his powerful header over the bar five minutes later as City went in search of an equaliser, but it never came. At the other Mansfield came close to doubling their lead when captain John Mullins latched onto a cross to shoot just wide of Danby's goal with the Chester defence at sixes and sevens. Chester City :Danby, Vaughan, Kelly, Linwood, Wilson, Partridge (70 McManus), Hughes (75 Rutherford), Roberts, Welsh, Ellison, Holroyd, Unused substitutes: Palethorpe, Marples, Newton Mansfield Town: Muggleton, Wood, Jelleyman, Mullins, Martin, Hamshaw, D'Laryea, Dawson, Bell, Brown, Holmes (76 Boulding) Unused substitutes: White, Goward, Arnold, Sleath ----------------- Chester City 0 Mansfield Town 1, Saturday, 12th January 2008 CHAD report by John Lomas At long last Mansfield Town celebrated an away win as Matty Hamshaw's 49th minute strike earned maximum away League points for the first time since 3rd March at Lincoln. It was the depleted Stags' 13th away League game this season and it provided a win that was thoroughly deserved on the day. Stand-in skipper John Mullins was immense at the back, Ian Holmes had the game of his life up front and Hamshaw was back to his best on the right. Overall it was a scrappy game on a cold afternoon but none of the noisy Stags away following will care as their side quickly consigned the dreadful midweek 4-0 home drubbing by Wycombe to memory. It didn't get any better for Mansfield's depleted squad as the side did not contain a single recognised centre half with Jake Buxton suspended, Alex John-Baptiste already out injured and Martin McIntosh failing a fitness test. That left Billy Dearden having to pair full backs Mullins and Jelleyman in the centre with youngster Wood drafted in at right back. Holmes continued as the central striker with Brown and Hamshaw on the wings and a central midfield three of Bell, Dawson and D'Laryea. Arnold was dropped to the bench. Both Roberts and Wilson were warned for early challenges on Dawson. Ellison wasted a good chance to put Stags under pressure when, after controlling a superb cross field pass from Partridge in space on the left, he floated a hurried cross straight into Muggleton's arms. Stags were comfortable for the first 20 minutes and played some neat controlled football without really threatening Danby's goal, an audacious 40 yard volley by Bell which dropped over the top their only goal attempt. But on 25 minutes Stags carved out two good chances. First a good run by Hamshaw saw Brown help on his pass to Holmes whose low shot was saved by Dancy. And seconds later Brown crashed a half volley just over. That sparked City into life and Ellison batled through Jelleyman's challenge to send a rasping shot on target from just inside the box which Muggleton did extremely well to both parry and cling on to. Holmes again threatened on 28 as Jelleyman got up well to head to Brown who tried to slip Holmes clear. He cut inside a defender but saw Danby down again to smother his low finish. But Dawson really should have broken through on 31 minutes. Brown cushioned Bell's pass towards Dawson who missed the target from eight yards with only Danby to beat. Former Stags loanee Wilson was only just wide of Muggleton's near post from 20 yards on 34 minutes. Martin stayed down for lengthy treatment after he fouled Vaughan as he turned him and was lucky to avoid a booking when he finally got back to his feet. Partridge went on a thrilling run on the left, dancing past Martin and Dawson but finally skying a big finish well over the top as an impressive first half by the visitors ended all square. Mansfield made the best possible start to the second half with a goal on 49 minutes. Martin fed Holmes down the left touchline and he turned neatly to find Brown. Brown held play up while Hamshaw overlapped him and threaded a pass through to him in the box. Keeper Danby got his hands to the winger's finish but could not prevent it finding the net. A cross-cum-shot from almost an impossible angle on the right by Brown saw Danby have to fist away on his line. Then Hamshaw set up a chance for Bell which was blocked. But Muggleton did have a save to make on 59 minutes as Roberts made space in the box before firing low straight at the keeper. Referee Mr McDermid had to stop the game on the hour after taking a clearance full in the face. Chester won a free kick 25 yards out in a central position only for Ellison to hit it straight at the Mansfield wall. Muggleton confidently fisted away the game's first corner on 66 minutes. Stags survived some Chester pressure to break quickly and D'Laryea offered Holmes a run. But his finish clipped a defender's leg which took the pace off it and Danby saved easily. Hughes saw a hopeful overhead effort drop wide for the increasingly desperate home side. Holmes had been superb in his lone strike role all afternoon and was given a break for the last 14 minutes when he was replaced by Rory Boulding. Chester almost levelled on 77 as Roberts got to the right byline and crossed high and long for Ellison to get away a powerful on-target header that Muggleton had to turn over his bar. Linwood saw the game's first yellow card on 81 minutes after chopping down Boulding. The free kick finally came in from Hamshaw and Mullins went up at the far post to nod inches wide. It would have been a goal to cap a magnificent captain's performance from Mullins. Mullind then headed away a Wilson free kick in front of goal in the 90th minute as Stags comfortably survived the three minutes added at the end. CHESTER: Danby, Partridge (Mcmanus 70), Ellison, Hughes (Rutherford 75), Wilson, Linwood, Holroyd, Vaughan, Roberts, Kelly, Welsh. Subs not used: Palethorpe, Marples, Newton. STAGS: Muggleton, Mullins, Jelleyman, D'Laryea, Bell, Dawson, Brown, Martin, Holmes (R. Boulding 76), Hamshaw, Wood. Subs not used: White, Goward, Arnold, Sleath. REFEREE: Danny McDermid of London. ------------- Press Assoc report: Mansfield Town produced a dogged display to earn a precious win at Chester City which gives them hope of climbing out of the relegation places. Matt Hamshaw's goal was enough to grab the points and inflict yet another defeat on a Chester side that are now in free-fall. The game was a dour affair, with few chances. In fact, it took until the 25th minute for the first real threat on goal when Ian Holmes found space to fire an effort on goal which was easily claimed by keeper John Danby. A minute later Simon Brown followed this up with a volley that flew over the bar. At the other end Kevin Ellison stumbled past two defenders and the ball ran kindly allowing him time to measure up a left-foot effort which was well saved by Carl Muggleton. Holmes also tried his luck with a low shot from the edge of the box on 27 minutes, but this did not trouble Danby who was easily able to claim the ball. On the half-hour mark Stephen Dawson had a great opportunity to put his side ahead and he slid the ball past the onrushing Danby but also the wrong side of the post. The deadlock was broken on 49 minutes when Simon Brown slipped the ball inside a static Chester defence to set up Hamshaw who fired a low shot which flicked off the legs of the Chester keeper before finding the back of the net. Neat footwork by Kevin Roberts created a half-chance for the midfielder and his shot through a crowded penalty area was parried by Muggleton. A break in play came on the hour mark when the referee was caught full in the face by Kevin Ellison's attempted pass, the force of blow leaving the official requiring attention before he could continue. The Stags were increasingly on the back foot as Chester looked to get back into the game, but the home side produced little in the way of a goal threat. The best chance for a leveller came 13 minutes from time when Ellison's bullet header, after he had been expertly picked out by Roberts, was superbly tipped over by Muggleton. ------------------- report from theonion-bag Chester City fanzine City 0 Mansfield 1 By - 12/01/2008 21:20 City's dreadful form continues with a home defeat to bottom of the league Mansfield, a side who had previously failed to win away from home this season. Suspension to Paul Butler meant Sean Kelly was handed a place in the centre of defence, Laurence Wilson dropped back to left back whilst the returning Kevin Ellison returned on the left of a five-man midfield. Chris Holroyd operated up front. No doubt put off by the recent form and manager Bobby Williamson's public lowering of expectations for the season in the press this week, just over 2,000 people witnessed a truly awful fixture which showed just why Mansfield are battling relegation and City are a side falling down the league without a trace. City started brightly with Ellison wasting a good chance by firing straight at Stags' goalkeeper Carl Muggleton after a good cross from Richie Partridge. Packing the midfield and with the busy trio of John Welsh, Mark Hughes and Kevin Roberts, City were in control although far from dominant against Billy Dearden's side. Chances were at a premium with the Stags best chances coming from distance. Ian Holmes was determined to get on the scoresheet yet his shoot on sight policy did little to worry John Danby. At the other end Ellison attempted to redeem his earlier miss with a trademark bullet shot that Muggleton did well to tip around the post for a corner. Before the break Partridge was played in the clear by a tidy through ball by Hughes, with time and space to waste the winger needlessly hurried his effort and sliced it both high and wide to ensure the game was goalless as the referee blew for half-time. The restart saw the visitors come out the stronger, no doubt after words in the dressing room that the game was there for the taking. James Vaughan's hesistation on the ball cost him when the dangerous Simon Brown nipped in and fed Matthew Hamshaw. The former Sheffield Wednesday man produced a cool finish through the legs of Danby to give his side a rare away lead. City's weak attempts to gain something out of a game which should have been a home banker were pathetically vain. Paul Rutherford and Paul McManus were both thrown on to inject some zest into the team but their efforts were futile. Kevin Roberts' had a shot blocked on the line and Holroyd saw a header flash just wide of the post but with Brown threatening to run riot on the counter attack, it was the visitors who looked the more likely to score than City. Without Butler and John Murphy City looked like boys against men, but that's not a good enough excuse. Two men do not make a team. The wage capping issue has once again caused problems and the question remains why, once more, was the cloth not cut accordingly in the first place? Chester City :Danby, Vaughan, Kelly, Linwood, Wilson, Partridge (70 McManus), Hughes (75 Rutherford), Roberts, Welsh, Ellison, Holroyd, Unused substitutes: Palethorpe, Marples, Newton Mansfield Town: Muggleton, Wood, Jelleyman, Mullins, Martin, Hamshaw, D'Laryea, Dawson, Bell, Brown, Holmes (76 Boulding) Unused substitutes: White, Goward, Arnold, Sleath |
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