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Archived News from December 2016

EVANS AND PAUL TISDALE REACTION
24th December 2016 17:38



Stags' boss rues missed chances
mansfieldtown.net, 17th December 2016

Stags’ boss Steve Evans was left to rue a number of missed opportunities during today's 2-0 defeat to Exeter City after seeing his side dominate much of the second half.

A goal in each half from the Grecians’ Ollie Watkins was enough to ensure the points stayed in Devon despite Stags having a number of second-half chances to turn the game on its head.

And the boss was disappointed to leave St James Park empty-handed after witnessing a second half performance which he feels merited a victory.

“I think the second half is an injustice that we’ve lost here. I think we’ve absolutely dominated from the first minute of the second half to the last minute and you can’t miss the chances that we miss - we missed open goals and we missed simple headers," the manager said.

Read more at http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/2016-17/stags-boss-rues-missed-chance-3474719.aspx#jVlCAHKlSPOdcU0E.99

“I think it (Stags' second-half performance) deserved to win the game, not just equalise. I don’t think they’ve got out their half many times in the second half and you can see what it meant to them and we wish Paul [Tisdale] well.

“Paul Tisdale said to me at ‘time-up’: no-one’s played like that here. We’ve absolutely dominated so you’ve seen the worst of us and perhaps the best of us.

“His words are always honest as mine are with his and he knew my disappointment but he reiterated to us, no-one’s dominated; they’ve lost games here but no-one’s battered them like that.”

Despite believing his side did enough to win the game in the latter 45 minutes, the former Rotherham United man says missing too many chances will always prove costly.

“If you miss open goals and you miss simple chances and you don’t defend properly, you’ll never win a game.

“I’ve just looked at it, Lee Collins misses a chance that my nine-year-old grandson would score, but that happens. That’s football, you miss chances and you score chances.

“I was pleased with a lot of the second half; our dominance, our control of the game, our width, our energy, our pace, the whole thing that we didn’t have in the first half.”

After seeing a potential foul in the build-up to the second goal as well as left-back Mal Benning receiving a second yellow card for a foul in second half stoppage time, the manager feels as though both decisions should have gone in his side’s favour.

“When your centre-back gets his heels clipped, I’ve just looked, he gets his heels clipped on the halfway line and he goes on to score a goal, but we lost the game 1-0 anyway, so it counts less but it still painful with the domination we had [in the] second half.

“I thought the first one was a booking. I thought the second one, the boy’s played for it.”

Supporters can view Steve Evans’ post-match interview on Stags PlayerHD.

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Steve Evans interview with Charlie Slater on BBC Radio Nottingham:
Charlie: Were you surprised by that first half performance?
Steve Evans: No. We were not brought in here because we're very good. We were brought in here because it's not very good. And that's why the change has been made. My Mrs could have given us more than our front two in the first half.
Charlie: What can you do about these chances, there were plenty of chances in the second half?
Steve Evans: Sign some players that can score.
Charlie: You revealed in the week that you signed some players, can you tell us anything about them, their positions?
Steve Evans: No

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Stags boss Evans reflects on ‘game of two halves’ in defeat to Exeter
chad.co.uk, Saturday 17 December 2016

Mansfield Town boss Steve Evans said it was a game of two halves that saw his side lose 2-0 at Exeter City.

Goals in either half from the home side’s Ollie Watkins was all that separated the two teams at St James Park.

Evans said: “First half we were nowhere near the level we should be. We went a goal down and probably deservedly to them.

“I’ve got no complaints at half time but if players don’t apply themselves properly you’ll never win a game.

Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/stags-boss-evans-reflects-on-game-of-two-halves-in-defeat-to-exeter-1-8294774

“We changed it around at half time and in fairness to our team dominated the second half completely.

“As their manager said at the end of the game, he’s an honest man, no-one has done to them what we had done in the second half.

“But you get nothing for that and you can’t turn up at half-time in any competition, let alone League Two.”

And added: “We were brought in here because it wasn’t very good. That’s why the change has been made.

“We need to make sure the best go forward with us and we bring additional resources in to make sure we have a much better second half to the season.

“We won’t win every week but we will have a better second half to the campaign.”

Pat Hoban and Kevan Hurst started the game in two changes to the Stags team but were replaced by CJ Hamilton and Darius Henderson at the break.

“Maybe they were lacking game time but we changed our shape a little bit,” said Evans.

“We saw first half the deficiencies they’ve got. “I think we exploited that and we should have won the game. You can’t miss the level of chances we’ve missed.

“These are clear cut open goals when the goalkeeper is at the other end of the goal and you volley it over the other end.

“We know there is a lot of work to do.”

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Evans stays tight-lipped on ‘new signings’
chad.co.uk

Manager Steve Evans says two new players have agreed deals to join Mansfield Town in January - but won’t yet be revealing who they are.

The transfer window reopens on January 1 and Evans is keen to bolster the Stags squad after an indifferent run of results that has seen them fail to win a league game since the Scotsman’s first two victorious matches in charge.

And speaking after the 2-0 defeat to Exeter on Saturday, Evans says that while the new faces may not be costing the club huge amounts of money, he is confident they will make a big difference.

He said: “We’re going to sign some players. I’m not saying we’re going to get every one of them right but we’ll do everything we can to try and make sure that they’re right.

“They’re not what I’d call marquee or big-named signings because the club doesn’t have that kind of budget and it’s not what this project is about.

Read more at: http://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town/evans-stays-tight-lipped-on-new-signings-1-8296816

“When I was at Rotherham there wasn’t what you’d call a ‘marquee signing’ at the whole club and we still got promotion.

“It’s about bringing in players we think can improve the team significantly.

“They won’t all come in and produce the kind of performance levels that we’ve seen them operate at but there’s a fair chance they’ll come in and improve us as a team.”

If the new faces are announced on January 1, they could make their debuts in the match at Blackpool the following day. Before that, the Stags host Morecambe on Boxing Day and Doncaster on New Year’s Eve.

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Exeter City 2 Mansfield Town 0: Was Stags boss Steve Evans watching the same game as everyone else?
exeterexpressandecho.co.uk, By David_Byrom, December 17, 2016

Steve Evans felt Mansfield Town's second-half performance warranted all three points against Exeter City

Exeter City recorded their first home league win of the season on Saturday, overcoming Mansfield Town 2-0 in a result that infuriated Stags boss Steve Evans.

The controversial Scotsman argued that his side's second half performance was enough for them to win the game, with the Stags seeing plenty of the ball and forcing City on to the back foot.

However, his comments over the chances his side were unable to take are likely to cause bemusement amongst fans, with City keeper Christy Pym being forced to make just one save all match - their only other clear chance of the game falling to Lee Collins, who harmlessly volleyed over from close range.

Read more: Exeter City 2 Mansfield Town 0: Social media reacts to City's first home win and new scoreboard

"I think the second half is an injustice that we've lost here. I think we've absolutely dominated from the first minute of the second half to the last minute and you can't miss the chances that we miss - we missed open goals and we missed simple headers," Evans said.

Read more at http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/exeter-city-2-mansfield-town-0-was-stags-boss-steve-evans-watching-the-same-game-as-everyone-else/story-29990998-detail/story.html#WKzBB3oKmTwMJs7Z.99

"I think the second half performance deserved to win the game, not just equalise.

"I don't think they've got out their half many times in the second half and you can see what it meant to them and we wish Paul Tisdale well.

"Paul Tisdale said to me at full-time that no-one's played like that here.

"We've absolutely dominated so you've seen the worst of us and perhaps the best of us.

"His words are always honest as mine are with his and he knew my disappointment but he reiterated to us, no-one's dominated; they've lost games here but no-one's battered them like that."

He added: "If you miss open goals and you miss simple chances and you don't defend properly, you'll never win a game.

"I've just looked at it, Lee Collins misses a chance that my nine-year-old grandson would score, but that happens. That's football, you miss chances and you score chances.

"I was pleased with a lot of the second half; our dominance, our control of the game, our width, our energy, our pace, the whole thing that we didn't have in the first half."

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Exeter City 2 Mansfield Town 0: Paul Tisdale's reaction as Grecians record first home league win
exeterexpressandecho.co.uk, By David_Byrom, December 17, 2016

Paul Tisdale was full of praise for his Exeter City players as they recorded their first home league win of the seasonPaul Tisdale was delighted with how his players stuck to the task as Exeter City recorded their long overdue first home league win of the season, overcoming Mansfield Town 2-0 at St James's Park.

Despite dominating the first half, City were only able to go into half-time 1-0 up thanks to Ollie Watkins' strike and they came under some serious pressure from the Stags in the second period.

However, a late second goal from Watkins sealed the win, leaving Tisdale beaming.

"I'm delighted, really delighted, as you can imagine," he said. "I'm sure it will be spoken about again, our home record, but it had to come at some point and we did it today.

"In many ways, that was hideous to watch - I loved the last two minutes but, other than that it was hard work. We've got it and the boys deserved it with how they've continued their work.

"It's fantastic and against what I thought was a really strong team.

"They didn't half put us under pressure in the second half and, in many respects, they outplayed us in the second half, but we stuck to it."

Read more at http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/exeter-city-2-mansfield-town-0-paul-tisdale-s-reaction-as-grecians-record-first-home-league-win/story-29990905-detail/story.html#oVSo5cXrpgDVubVg.99

Tisdale added: "There was no particular strategy, it wasn't that clever.

"It was about fighting, battling and teamwork.

"They set the tone, as their first 10 minutes was awesome and they forced us into a battle.

"We got the upper hand in the first half as we changed our shape after about 10 minutes and got going.

"Everything has an influence from the opposition and, I have to say, with the home games we've had this year, I don't think we've had a game where we've been outplayed for as long a period of time as in that second half.

"We were outplayed but we actually defended very well - we shouldn't forget how strong our defensive performance was under extreme pressure.

"Steve Evans made two changes at half-time and you could see that they were going to be a really strong team - they upped their tempo and their purpose and we had to stick with it.

"Centre-back is one place we've struggled all year with consistency but we had two strong centre-backs and we've just got another performance today from Troy Brown, who was marvellous - I'm so proud of him, he was brilliant."

City came close to doubling their lead on three separate occasions midway through the first half, but were unable to find the back of the net, and, due to the fact they were unable to, Tisdale said he always felt their second would be on a breakaway in the second period.

He said: "It was our moment - half an hour in, we had some solid breaks into their final third, which ended up with Lee Holmes having a couple of shots.

"That was our opportunity to get a second and then, in the second half, it was going to be a breakaway.

"Ollie Watkins scored a brilliant second goal - he'd been trying that all second half but he just keeps going and he's got an amazing ability to just keep running under extreme pressure.

"Out of breath and tired, he managed to score a fantastic second and, as I say, I very much enjoyed that final two minutes after the goal went in."

The Grecians are now unbeaten in four matches, taking 10 points from 12, and Tisdale says the hard work does not stop now.

He said: "We have to look at taking 10 points out of the next 12 - that's what you have to do, you've just got to keep going.

"The squad's being strengthened all the time with returning injured players and we've got some spirit about us.

"The supporters were very supportive today and they stuck behind us - just as much as the players defended well, the supporters kept going.

"It was a really good day at the Park and I loved it."

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