Archived News from March 2015
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MURRAY, McGUIRE, NEAL ARDLEY REACTION
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Boss hails spirit after massive three points
mansfieldtown.net, 17th March 2015 Gaffer reflects on exhausting win over AFC Wimbledon. Manager Adam Murray was delighted with how our players dug in and showed exceptional spirit to record a priceless three points with a 2-1 victory over AFC Wimbledon at One Call Stadium. Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/boss-hails-spirit-after-massive-three-points-2341347.aspx#4JBOQwahbJR9WPP6.99 After a goalless first half, the Stags went ahead through a deflected Lee Beevers shot, before Wimbledon drew level from the penalty spot through George Francombe. The Dons then squandered a couple of good chances to take maximum points, before Rakish Bingham stole the show with a match-winning strike in the 87th minute. “I’m emotionally exhausted,” said our boss. “We make it hard for ourselves and in the end, we dug in and the team-spirit was fantastic. “You saw from the first minute that the boys were trying to play at a high tempo and get the speed of the game going and create an atmosphere ourselves. “Towards the end, [the players] were just gone - they were physically gone. Within a 4-4-2, the way we played takes a lot out of you, and we had to be dynamic. When we got to 70 minutes, physically we hit a brick wall and mentally that got affected as well. “We had a couple of lapses defensively towards the end which could have killed us, but the boys dug in. “The biggest word from me tonight is ‘team’. The lads came on and changed the game for us and it was a massive three points. “We needed to freshen things up, so we did it all at once and it had the impact that we wanted it to.” Murray continued: “Sometimes we’re still getting caught in how we’re playing. We over-play sometimes in the wrong areas and then play long when we should play short. “We’ve got six weeks and four days to go [until the season finishes], and I am counting. Let’s get this over the line, let’s finish this job off and then we’ll build again and put an outfit together that we can all be proud of.” On match-winner Bingham, our boss said: “I’m ‘over the moon’ for him. Rakish is someone that I’ve got a good relationship with and he’ll have a bright career. “He went out on loan earlier in the season for a certain purpose. It served him well, he’s come back in and is someone that I think will score goals as time goes on. The more experience he gets, he’ll get better and better. “So I’m ‘over the moon’ for him and all credit goes to the boys, but lets not get carried away. It’s three points, nothing more, we move on, and the focus is on staying in the Football League.” ------------------ Tired and emotional Stags boss Murray can’t wait for season to end chad.co.uk, by John Lomas A tired and emotional Mansfield Town boss Adam Murray tonight said he couldn’t wait for the season to end as Stags inched nearer to League survival with a hard-earned 2-1 home win over AFC Wimbledon. http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/mansfield-town/tired-and-emotional-stags-boss-murray-can-t-wait-for-season-to-end-1-7160440 After Lee Beevers had given them the lead, it looked like Stags had thrown two points away when they gifted the Dons an equaliser from the penalty spot with 21 minutes to go. But three changes to his tiring team in as many minutes did the trick for Murray as sub Rakish Bingham bagged an 87th minute winner. “I am emotionally exhausted,” admitted Murray. “We make it very hard for ourselves. But at the end we dug in and the team spirit was fantastic. “From the first minute we set about playing at a high tempo. But when you play like that in a 4-4-2 it takes a lot out of you and when we got to the 70-minute mark we hit a brick wall. “It affected us mentally as well and we had a couple of defensive lapses which could have killed us. I want to get the job finished so we can go again and build an outfit we can all be proud of “We needed to freshen things up and I did it all at once and it had the impact we wanted. “I just want the season over with now as I want time with my team to be able to prepare them and get them to play in a way everyone knows their roles. “There are six weeks and two days left - yes, I am counting - and I just want to get us over the line. “I want to get the job finished so we can go again and build an outfit we can all be proud of. “As the game went on the pitch was digging up and caused us a few problems. It caught Tafazolli off guard and I think he had about eight hands on the ball. There was no arguments over the penalty. “All credit to the boys tonight. But let’s not get carried away. It is only three points and it’s back to work tomorrow as we focus on staying in the Football League.” On matchwinner Bingham, he added: “I am over the moon for him. “I have a good relationship with him and I know he will have a really bright career. “The period we sent him out on loan served him well and the more experience he gets the better he will be.” Man of the match for Mansfield was midfield terrier Jamie McGuire, who had a real battle with Dons’ giant striker Adebayo ‘The Beast’ Akinfenwa. McGuire smiled: “I was told to get in front of Akinfenwa and upset him a bit. I can be a little pest can’t I? “I think I won more headers than him. But he is a big boy to be honest. He is a nice lad to talk to off the field. “That was a massive three points for us tonight and everyone is buzzing. “I felt sorry for Taff as the ball bounced up against his arm for the penalty. But we showed good character to come back and the subs made a difference. “It was a massive response by all the players after Saturday’s defeat and now roll on Saturday.” Stags will now prepare for a trip to bottom club Hartlepool United on Saturday. ----------------- McGuire reflects on important win mansfieldtown.net, 17th March 20154 Midfielder wants team to keep pushing on after positive result. Midfielder Jamie McGuire was pleased with the character and resolve that our team showed as they responded to Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Bury with a battling 2-1 victory over AFC Wimbledon. Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/mcguire-reflects-on-important-win-2341751.aspx#h8DUm3L250fUPAKe.99 Our team looked set to pick up a point after George Francombe’s spot-kick cancelled out an opener by Lee Beevers, but Rakish Bingham stole the points in our favour with a strike in the 87th minute. In his post-match interview, McGuire said: “[The result] is all that matters - three massive points. The result could have gone either way, but we’ve won and we move further from the relegation zone “There was some great character from the lads to come back after they scored the penalty. “The subs made the difference. You saw Rakish (Bingham) when he scored that goal, the lads and the whole stadium was buzzing. It was a great three points and that’s all that matters.” The 31-year-old admitted he was pleased to take part in tonight’s match, having not been in the starting line-up over the past couple of weeks. “I got chosen to play in the game,” added the midfielder. “The gaffer put me back in today and I gave one hundred per cent for the team like all the other lads.” McGuire had his hands full marking Dons’ star man, Adebayo Akinfenwa, for a portion of the match: “The gaffer just told me to stay in front of him and upset him a bit in terms of goal kicks and throw-ins. “I can be a little pest and I think I got into his head,” he added. The Stags now move up to 16th place in the table after tonight’s positive result. McGuire continued: “I think the gaffer said during the week that it isn’t about anyone else - it’s about us and the main thing is to get three points. The midfielder was pleased with the response his team showed after Saturday’s loss at home to Bury: “It was a massive response. You want a reaction and that’s what we did today. “When we started the game, all we wanted was the three points “There was a bit of emotion. We played really well for 70 minutes, but had a spell where we had to dig in as a team.” He added: “Fair play to the back four lads. They had to dig in and showed a lot of character. In the last 15 minutes we bombarded them and got our goal.” ------------------ AFC Wimbledon manager Neal Ardley told BBC London 94.9: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31810036 "I can't fault the effort and competitive edge we showed. We got better as the second half went on and had the setback of the goal, but came back. "We lost the game because we missed three one-on-ones at 1-1 and should really have been out of sight. "We got punished, but that is the way football goes. "All I can fault is a little bit of know-how and poor finishing because we should have won." ------------------- Neal rues missed chances Author: Chris Slavin afcwimbledon.co.uk What could have been a hard-earned point and even three has ended up being nothing Neal Ardley, Tue 17 Mar 2015 Post-match reaction from the manager Neal Ardley said his players must produce better quality in front of goal after Wimbledon paid the price for missed opportunities at Mansfield. Read more at http://www.afcwimbledon.co.uk/news/article/neal-rues-missed-chances-2342087.aspx#0KBLe4buBD84VODI.99 The Wimbledon manager could not fault his side for effort and commitment, but he was frustrated with a lack of conviction in attack as the Dons slipped to a third successive away defeat. Speaking during an interview for Dons Player, Neal Ardley said: “It was a harsh defeat, but we did not see our jobs through and we have lost the game because of it. We knew they would be hurting after their defeat and we tried to take the game to them. It was a scrappy game on a bobbly pitch but after 15 minutes of their pressure I thought we grew into the game. “At the end we have been punished for sloppy defending and we missed four or five one-on-ones. If you are not good enough in their box and not good enough in your own box then it will be tough to win. We need more quality in front of goal and that seems to be a problem at the moment.” Neal added that the players were “devastated” with the manner of defeat and he believes that they more than matched a side scrapping for points to guarantee safety. “I thought the boys gave everything,” Neal said. “If I was a fan watching this game then I would have seen the boys run hard and put themselves about in a bruising encounter. It was a passionate performance, but we have missed one-on-one chances and they are the moments that change games. What could have been a hard-earned point and even three has ended up being nothing.” Ross Worner returned in goal for his first League 2 game of the season and Neal Ardley hailed his performance as “excellent” at the One Call Stadium. However, there was a blow for Wimbledon in the first half with Callum Kennedy withdrawn due to a thigh strain and Neal Ardley said it was too early to assess the extent of the damage. ------------- Rakish Bingham ?@RakishBingham The team performance from the lads deserved a win. Happy to score the winner for us. #MTFC #glorytogod JAMIE MCGUIRE ?@JAMIEMCGUIRE23 Great fighting team spirit from the boys tonite dug in when needed buzzing for 3 points #greatteamperformance @mansfieldtownfc Reggie Lambe ?@ReggieNaldo Big win tonight good fight from the lads. Jeffrey Monakana ?@JeffreyMonakana Get in!!! Great win.. @RakishBingham all that extra work after training paid off Callum Elder ?@CallumElder_ Massive win tonight, huge effort from the boys! @mansfieldtownfc ------------------- |
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