Archived News from February 2015
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MURRAY,BINGHAM,PIDGELEY, JOHN STILL REACTION
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Murray hails players after immense win
mansfieldtown.net, 17th February 2015 Gaffer delighted and able to take many positives after win over Hatters. Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/murray-hails-players-after-immense-win-2277740.aspx#jXhvpABpgTLQhSGR.99 Manager Adam Murray was able to take plenty of positives after our team clinched a valuable three points to climb up the Sky Bet League Two table with a valuable 1-0 victory over promotion-chasing Luton Town at One Call Stadium. Striker Rakish Bingham, on as a substitute for Reggie Lambe with just over a quarter-of-an-hour played, grabbed the only goal of the night when he beat Mark Tyler in a one-on-one following a superb crossfield ball by teenager Jack Thomas. “It was a tough game,” said Murray. “We prepared right, knew what we were up against and we had to get the lads re-energised and re-focussed again from Saturday[‘s 1-1 draw with Northampton Town]. “All credit goes to the boys. They are the ones out there running through brick walls at the minute and I can’t praise them enough.” He continued: “Exhausted is a good word. We’ve got to give credit to the fans too because when we get to 70 minutes in a game like tonight, that’s when we need them and they were tremendous.” Youngster Jack Thomas put in another accomplished display in the middle of the park and won the sponsors’ Man of the Match award for his efforts. It was something that pleased Murray, who believes the 18-year-old has an extremely bright future ahead of him. Our boss continued: “This is what he’s all about. It’s been a case of picking the right time and scenario to put him in and unleash him. “I’ve worked with Jack closely now for the past three years and a lot of credit goes to Richard Cooper (first team coach) too, because we spent a lot of extra hours on the training ground with him and Liam Marsden, and I’m over the moon that we’re seeing the results of that now. Murray added: “What will happen is he’ll go through this spell now with adrenalin and performances will take a dip, then it’s about pulling him out and putting him back in again when he’s re-focussed. “I was there as a kid. I’ve been through it, I’ve done it, so I know exactly how he’s feeling. The big thing will be keeping his feet on the ground. He’s had two good games and nothing more.” Murray was also pleased with the display of Bingham, who he says has returned to One Call Stadium with bags of confidence following a loan spell with Sky Bet League Two rivals Hartlepool United. Our boss said: “With Rakish, it’s a situation where he’s gone out, played 90 minutes week in, week out, in this league. He’s got fit and since he’s come back he’s been like a bottle of pop. “We’ve been desperate to get him in just because we know that we can’t let that pop go flat. The opportunity came on today earlier than expected and he does what he does by scoring the winner.” Our team will be hoping to achieve another good result on Saturday, when they make the journey south to the Kassam Stadium to take on Oxford United. Adam Murray’s full post-match interview will be available on Stags Player later tonight. To subscribe, click here. ---------------- Mansfield Town manager Adam Murray told BBC Radio Nottingham: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30609200 "It was obviously a tough game, but we prepared right and we knew what we were up against. "We had to get the lads re-energised after Saturday but all credit goes to the boys and I can't praise them enough. They're the ones running through brick walls at the moment. "We were exhausted out there and again it was at 70 minutes that we need the fans and they were tremendous. They pulled us over the line and they pulled me over the line." "Billy (Kee)'s been superb in and around the dressing room and he'll come again." Luton Town manager John Still told BBC Three Counties Radio: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30609200 "It was a disappointing result, I thought we were a bit slow first half, second half we were on it. "We had two or three opportunities I thought we could take, particularly Mark Cullen's chance - he's been on fire recently. "The final finish, the final cross wasn't good enough." --------------- Gutsy Stags win over Luton will be massive boost, says boss Murray chad.co.uk, by John Lomas Mansfield Town manager Adam Murray said tonight’s gutsy 1-0 home win that halted high-flying Luton Town’s 10-game unbeaten run would give his side a massive psychological boost. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/gutsy-stags-win-over-luton-will-be-massive-boost-says-boss-murray-1-7112270 The relegation-haunted Stags threw away two vital points on Saturday when they gifted Northampton a stoppage time penalty in a 1-1 draw. Tonight, though, Murray’s walking wounded stood firm against Luton’s intense second half pressure to defend the lead given to them by Rakish Bingham on 32 minutes and maintain an amazing record of never having lost a league game at home to the Hatters. Murray said: “That was a big step, not just the points, but mentally they needed to go through a brick wall and get over the line. It will be a huge psychological boost. “We have taken four points off two top teams this week. Luton are a team with a manager I respect. They epitomise him as they are hard-working, down to earth and quality. So for us to go and beat them I am over the moon. “The crowd were very anxious. But I can’t ask any more from them with how they backed us. Some of my boys were dead out there tonight, but the fans pushed us over the line. “The most pleasing thing for me was our work rate and the pride my players showed in wearing the shirt. They gave everything for this football club. “I am asking people to go through barriers and there were some tired legs out there. That fatigue has cost us with losing Reggie Lambe. We will have to see how he is tomorrow but it doesn’t look good. “We don’t have the biggest squad and in an ideal world we would have freshened things up tonight. So absolute credit to all the lads.” Two of the players out there for Mansfield probably shouldn’t have been, Ricky Ravenhill having returned on Saturday just seven days after pulling a hamstring and Chris Clements with stitches in a nasty ankle gash. Skipper Ravenhill was limping badly for a time after the break but gritted his teeth to see it through and epitomise the home side’s bravery. “Ricky is a monster,” said Murray. “A scan told me he would be out six to eight weeks and he was back in five days. He is a machine and the sort of player I want at this club. “Chris had an infected wound and looked like he would be out for a while. But anti-biotics cleared the infection up quickly, though he is in there having it re-stitched right now. “But we don’t have time to feel tired. We will do our recovery in the right way. “It’s soldier time. It’s war time. If you are 80 per cent fit, you’re playing. I did it as a player and I expect my players to go that extra mile for this club.” Luton boss John Still admitted: “It has been a frustrating night. We didn’t start great, in fact neither team started well. “I felt we were reasonably comfortable all of the game, but we made an error from one end of the pitch to the other and they scored. It was a basic error, one we shouldn’t have made. “In the second half we had wave after wave of attacks. We made enough opportunities to score. “Mark (Cullen) did a fantastic bit of skill, but put the chance past the post. With the form he is in, he would have expected to score that and we expected him to. “We had lots of balls in and around their box and flashing across the goal, but we were unable to get back in it. That’s football, we worked our socks off and we are disappointed, but disappointment’s part of my job. “It was not the perfect conditions to play the perfect ball and perfect pass, but we did enough to have ground it out tonight. “We didn’t for two reasons, because we couldn’t get the finishing touch ourselves and because the other team worked really hard to keep in the game. “It was a dour, gritty home performance, but I thought if we could get one goal we could go on and get another one. “There was maximum effort from everyone . We are still in a fantastic position. I don’t want to do the players a disservice. “I hear people around me going that this player is out and that player is out, but that team did enough to get something from the game. “It didn’t and it is up to the manager to pull something up and then we go again on Saturday.” ----------- Bingham delighted with contribution mansfieldtown.net, 17th February 2015 Goalscorer happy following important victory in quest for survival. Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/bingham-delighted-with-contribution-2277901.aspx#0vyEQELfefL19mHI.99 Striker Rakish Bingham made the best possible impact after coming off the bench early in the first half of tonight’s 1-0 win over Luton Town at One Call Stadium. The youngster finished calmly after latching onto a cross from Jack Thomas for what proved to be the only goal of the game. Speaking after the match, Bingham said he was happy with his performance and what it means for his team. He commented: “It’s a relief to get on the score-sheet again and help the team move up the table. I think we deserve it. “It was unfortunate that Reggie (Lambe) got a knock, but I was ready. I was on the bench mentally ready and luckily I made an impact within the first 20 minutes of being on. “We rode the wave. It’s typical over the last couple of games. You could feel the nerves creeping in, but I felt as a team we handled it well.” Bingham was pleased with the way our team were able to hold onto their lead in difficult circumstances: “Against one of the top sides in the league, it is great credit to the lads and the manager and we’re happy to be able to do that for the fans.” After spending a period on loan at Hartlepool United recently, Bingham is happy to be back contributing to the Stags camp: “Whatever team I’m playing for, I will give my all. I always want to do my best for Mansfield and I’m here now. “We are now going to look to push on. We are a great side on our day and hopefully we have many more of those days.” Commenting on Saturday’s important trip to Oxford United, he said, “If we perform like we did today, I have no doubt that we will get a result from there.” -------------- Pidgeley praises team-mates after important victory mansfieldtown.net, 17th February 2015 On loan shot-stopper delighted after win over high-flying Luton Town. Goalkeeper Lenny Pidgeley was full of praise for his team-mates after their hard fought 1-0 win against Luton Town in tonight’s Sky Bet League Two match at One Call Stadium. Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/pidgeley-praises-team-mates-after-important-victory-2277870.aspx#808IIHFf7Z2ACHq1.99 Pidgeley remained solid as the last line of defence for our team, who took all three points thanks to Rakish Bingham’s calm finish in the first half. When asked about the importance of the win, Pidgeley said: “Luton are doing fantastically this season and to bounce back after the late disappointment on Saturday, it’s a massive three points. I think we deserved it in the end. Sometimes you have to ‘win ugly’ and we saw the game out. “So fair play to the lads. They really dug in and concentration and organisation got us over the line. “We were so disappointed (on Saturday against Northampton) and the best thing to do was to get out there and put it right. A 1-0 win and we looked very solid.” Speaking about his personal form in goal, the ‘keeper said: “I’ve come in and steadied the ship. We haven’t conceded too many goals and it is really only a matter about points. The main thing is that the team is winning. As our team now look to continue to break away from the bottom two, Pidgeley believes we need to keep pushing on: “That was our game in hand tonight and we really needed that one. If we didn’t win, Saturday would have hurt even more. We really needed to get the three points and we just need to build on it now. This will count for nothing if we don’t make account of ourselves this Saturday (against Oxford). “We have some important games coming up. We will take it one game at a time and we’re all focussed on the next game. “I said to the boys, once we start picking up results it will come. The team spirit was massive and I could see that from the first day. Everyone wants to do it for each other. Past results are history now.” ----------------------------------- bedfordshire-news.co.uk, By James Cunliffe Read more: http://www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk/Match-report-Mansfield-Town-1-Luton-Town-0/story-26042459-detail/story.html?#ixzz3S7oQhUmd The Stags' winner - when it arrived on 32 minutes from early substitute Rakish Bingham - came on the counter from a Luton corner. But, in an opening half devoid of any talent from both sides it stood out as a rare moment of class. An anomaly in an otherwise dour evening in which Mark Cullen, after three goals in his last two games, squandered Luton's only real chance in the 73rd minute. "The form he is in, we would have expected him to score," said manager John Still afterwards, who added that the defeat was "frustrating." "I don't think we started great. I don't think either team started great. "I felt reasonably comfortable in the first half. We've made an error from one end of the pitch to the other. It was really an error that we shouldn't make. Basic. Other than that I never felt under pressure from them. "In the second half it was wave after wave. I think Mark's [Cullen] done a fantastic bit of skill and put it past the post. We've had lots of balls in and around their box and not been able to get back in it. There you are, that's football." The Hatters' only effort on target in the first half saw stand-in skipper Jonathan Smith bobble an effort harmlessly towards goal where keeper Lenny Pidgeley unveiled some unnecessary theatrics, diving down to paw away for a corner. From there they conceded. Mansfield would have doubled their lead five minutes before the break but for Alex Lacey's last-ditch block to deny Junior Brown, while in added time at the other end Howells never looked favourite to head Andy Drury's deep cross on target. He didn't. It was no surprise that Oduwa replaced him at the break in a double substitution that saw Shaun Whalley - the scourge of the Stags at Kenilworth Road in November - come on for Robinson to instantly address Luton's pace problem. It was creativity that remained an issue. "I think it was a lack of quality tonight shown up front," said Mark Tyler. ---------------- Tyler believes Town’s lack of quality was to blame lutontoday.co.uk, by Mike Simmonds Hatters keeper Mark Tyler felt a lack of genuine quality cost his side dear during their 1-0 defeat at Mansfield Town last night. http://www.lutontoday.co.uk/sport/luton-town/tyler-believes-town-s-lack-of-quality-was-to-blame-1-6586668 The visitors created one clear-cut chance all night when leading scorer Mark Cullen poked wide as they failed to seriously test Stags stopper Lenny Pidgeley. A disappointed Tyler said: “I think it was a lack of quality that showed up front. “We didn’t play the right ball, the crosses weren’t great. “Cully is on fire at the moment. It’s a shame that didn’t go in because I think we deserved a draw. I don’t think we deserved to win though.” Tyler himself was underworked throughout the evening too, beaten just once when from a Luton corner on 32 minutes, the hosts broke at speed as Rakish Bingham was left all alone to power home the winner. The 37-year-old continued: “We’ve restricted them to one chance and they shouldn’t score from that, especially coming from our own corner. “We’ll have to look at it on a DVD and make our judgements, you can’t concede a goal from that situation. “That’s the way it’s going at the moment. I’ve had nothing to do in the last three or four games but we’re conceding goals so we’ll look to rectify that on the training ground. “We’ve got to be no nonsense at the back, that’s why we don’t concede goals. The pitch was bobbly, but for both teams, so you have to get it forward as quickly as possible and they try to work a bit of magic, it just didn’t happen.” Hatters have never won at Field Mill in their league history, but although that hadn’t been on Tyler’s mind, he was aware Luton had missed a great chance to climb back into the top three after seeing their 10-game unbeaten run ended. He said: “I didn’t know that, but it’s like the York thing. We need to put that to bed as soon as possible. “You don’t think about that when you go on to the pitch though, you go and try and win every game. “We knew the opportunity that we had, we should have taken it, but the lack of quality showed and that’s what has been our downfall. “It’s disappointing to have our run ended. We’ll go back to training on Thursday and go all guns blazing on Saturday.” ----------------- Rakish Bingham @RakishBingham Great feeling, great day. Happy to score the winner and get the 3 points! Jack Thomas @JackThomas06 What a massive win!!! Great support by the fans Martin Riley @LifeofRiley6 Get in there!!!! Massive win! Massive support! On to another big game Sat #stags --------------- |
Latest | February 2015