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Archived News from October 2019

DEMPSTER, SHAUGHNESSY, GRAHAM ALEXANDER REACTION
27th October 2019 22:46




Game lost in both boxes - manager
mansfieldtown.net, 22 October 2019

Although stating his belief that the Stags were the better side in tonight’s loss to Salford, manager John Dempster says he is ‘very frustrated’ at the two goals his team conceded at One Call Stadium.

Mansfield fell just short of a second successive two-goal comeback in Sky Bet League Two after striker Nicky Maynard pulled a goal back following efforts from Jake Jervis and Adam Rooney.

The boss says he is left with a feeling of ‘disappointment’ after his side conceded two goals against the run of play and squandered a number of good opportunities late on.

“I think the best team lost,” he told iFollow Stags. “It was disappointing to concede that first goal because it was from a boot down the pitch.

https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2019/october/gaffer-post-salford/

“The second goal was a throw-in high up and it’s just basics that we can do a lot better with. To find ourselves 2-0 down at home is shocking.

“We have to be better in our defensive box, but the amount of shots we’ve had and opportunities to get a decent cross in, we should score more.

“I’m very frustrated. I think in general play, if we play like that, we’ll dominate teams. We dominated Salford tonight but we can’t defend like that and concede goals like that.

“The two goals were so easy for them to find themselves two up and we were trying so hard to get the ball in the back of the net. That’s what the difference was tonight.

“I think Salford will be rubbing their hands together and thinking it’s smash and grab.

“Some of our play was good but when you’re vulnerable and concede goals, to say I’m disappointed is an understatement.

“The opportunities were there to get back into the game and win it. The way the game was going, I felt like we were going to get back into it or win it.

“As it turned out, we created the opportunities but didn’t take them. It’s difficult because we’ve been dominant.

“Salford came tonight and had a game plan - we’ve been very naïve and not good enough in both boxes.”

The manager made one alteration to the side during the match, with West Ham loanee Dapo Afolayan replacing midfielder Alex MacDonald.

“You’re always considering [making more changes],” said the boss. “But if you feel that the game is going a certain way and you’re going to create chances and score goals, you have to be brave and stick with it.

“As it turned out, I was right because we did create chances. But we didn’t put the ball in the back of the net.

“I’m sure of the substitutes will be disappointed not to be able to get on and affect the game, but as a manager you have to make certain decisions which you live and die by.”

John Dempster also spoke of the Mansfield supporters, who he understands will be disappointed after this evening’s defeat.

“We will [get a run together]. We’ll keep going. We’re not going to win every football match that we compete in but it’s always disappointing to lose at home.

“I think the supporters expect to see a level of application that they saw tonight. They like to see our team pass the football and work it into good areas, which they saw tonight.

“But they also expect to see their team win at home, week in, week out, and tonight we’ve fallen short of that.”

iFollow Stags subscribers can watch John Dempster’s interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later today.

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Mansfield Town boss John Dempster said ‘best team lost’ after Salford City ‘smash and grab’ win
chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Tuesday 22 October 2019

Mansfield Town boss John Dempster believed the best team lost in tonight’s 2-1 home defeat by Salford City which he described as a ‘smash and grab’ by the EFL new boys.

Stags wasted a wealth of chances and conceded two soft goals after the break before Nicky Maynard’s reply set up a grandstand finish.

“I think Salford will be rubbing their hands together thinking it’s been a smash and grab,” said Dempster.

“I think the best team lost - Salford have done a real job on us.

https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/mansfield-town-boss-john-dempster-said-best-team-lost-after-salford-city-smash-and-grab-win-1-10063846

“They were continuously fouling us and breaking our rhythm, which they were allowed to do.”

On the two goals conceded, he said: “They played forward quickly and it was disappointing to concede that first goal as it was just a boot down the pitch that we expect to deal with a lot better.

“The second was a throw in high up that is just ‘bobby basics’ we can do better with.

“To find ourselves 2-0 down at home is shocking and we have to do a lot better defensively. They were soft, powderpuff goals.

“But look at the amount of shots we’ve had, chances to get crosses in and possession. I am very frustrated.”

Dempster added: “In general play if we play like that we will dominate teams as we dominated Salford tonight. But we can’t defend like that.

“Look at the desire the Salford players had to show to defend against us and then they just get two easy goals like it’s no one’s business.

“They had a game plan and we have been very naive and not good enough in either box.

“We will keep going. We won’t win every game we play, but it’s disappointing to lose at home where fans expect to see us win week in and week out.”

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'Fine details' reason for defeat - midfielder
mansfieldtown.net, 22 October 2019

Midfielder Conor Shaughnessy believes Mansfield Town did enough to take three points against Salford City but were ultimately punished by ‘fine details’ at One Call Stadium.

Despite a positive first-half for the Stags, it was the away side who found both the breakthrough and second goal on Tuesday evening.

Jake Jervis curled home via the inside of the post before Adam Rooney slammed home with a volley from inside the area.

And while the amber and blue threatened a second successive comeback through striker Nicky Maynard’s finish, Shaughnessy was left frustrated with small facets of their play.

“It’s small details - we had a chat after about the two goals and we’ve taken responsibility for them,” he told iFollow Stags.

“I’m sure we’ll look into it on Thursday when we’re back in about the fine details going towards Saturday.

“It’s simple things like putting the ball in the back of the net when we’re creating that many chances.

“All we can do now is learn from it and move onto Saturday.”

https://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/2019/october/shaughnessy-post-salford/

The Irishman, on loan from Leeds United, then touched upon a positive individual display that saw him collect the match sponsor’s Man of the Match.

“It might have been [one of my best performances] but it’s difficult to be happy when we’ve lost the game.

“But hopefully I can keep consistent with these performances and we’ll get the results too.

“I think it’s a part of my game [attacking] that maybe you haven’t seen as much from myself.

“The lads know I can bring that out as well, so I was happy to do that but as I say it’s difficult to come away from that happy.

“Everyone wants as much space as possible, I guess. I love getting on the ball, driving forward and playing the passes that get us going. It was an ideal game for that.”

In addition, the 23-year-old believes his side created enough chances to win the contest, yet conceded they must improve in both boxes.

“I thought we should have come away with at least a draw,” the former Hearts loanee said. “We dominated the game enough to come away with all three points, really.

“Like the gaffer has said, we need to work on both boxes - defending for those two goals and then putting the ball in the back of the net.

“You can see yourselves, we created enough chances to win the game and we didn’t defend well enough for their two only good chances in the whole game. We were punished for that.

“It’s so frustrating. We come into the game knowing we need to win because they [Salford] are in a similar position in the table - we let ourselves down there.”

iFollow Stags subscribers can watch Conor's interview by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later today.

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We shot ourselves in the foot against Salford admits Mansfield Town man of the match Conor Shaughnessy
chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Tuesday 22 October 2019

As Salford City leapfrogged Mansfield Town in the table with their smash and grab 2-1 win at the One Call Stadium last night, Stags midfielder Conor Shaughnessy admitted the home side had shot themselves in the foot.

Stags dominated the possession and the chances, but poor finishing and a couple of defensive lapses proved so costly in the end.

“It’s so frustrating. We went into the game knowing we needed to win because Salford were in a similar position in the table - we let ourselves down there,” said the Leeds loanee.

“We shot ourselves in the foot a little bit. But all we can do is learn from it and move on to Saturday

https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/we-shot-ourselves-in-the-foot-against-salford-admits-mansfield-town-man-of-the-match-conor-shaughnessy-1-10065063

“I thought we should have come away with at least a draw. We dominated the game enough to come away with all three points, really.

“Like the gaffer has said, we need to work on both boxes - defending for those two goals and then putting the ball in the back of the net.

“We created enough chances to win the game and we didn’t defend well enough for their only two good chances in the whole game. We were punished for that.”

Shaughnessy added: “It’s just small details - we had a chat after about the two goals and we’ve taken responsibility for them.

“I’m sure we’ll look into it on Thursday when we’re back in about the fine details going into Saturday.

“It’s simple things like putting the ball in the back of the net when we’re creating that many chances.”

Shaughnessy was a dominant figure in centra midfield, rightly winning man of the match after his best game so far in the Amber & Blue.

However, he said:

“It might have been one of my best performances, but it’s difficult to be happy when we’ve lost the game.

“Hopefully I can keep consistent with these performances and we’ll get the results too.”

Most fans believed Shaughnessy had been signed as defensive cover, but last night he showed just how at home he can be in the centre of midfied.

“I think it’s a part of my game that maybe you haven’t seen as much of,” he said.

“The lads know I can bring that out as well, so I was happy to do that but as I say it’s difficult to come away from that happy when you’ve not won the game.


“Everyone wants as much space as possible. I love getting on the ball, driving us forward and playing the passes that get us going. It was an ideal game for that.”

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Salford City boss Graham Alexander delighted with his side’s intelligence and grit in win at Mansfield Town
chad.co.uk, by JOHN LOMAS, Tuesday 22 October 2019

Salford City manager Graham Alexander described his side’s performance in the 2-1 win at Mansfield tonight as one of intelligence and grit.

The EFL newcomers soaked up long spells of home pressure before hitting them with two sucker punch goals after the break.

Nicky Maynard did pull one back to set up a thrilling finish in which Alexander’s men did him proud defensively.

“The quality of the finishes of our two goals were superb,” he beamed.

https://www.chad.co.uk/sport/football/salford-city-boss-graham-alexander-delighted-with-his-side-s-intelligence-and-grit-in-win-at-mansfield-town-1-10063871

“We know that some games are a grind, but if you keep in there, do the right things and keep it level, we feel we’ve got really good quality in our squad to score goals. That was evident tonight.

“Mansfield put us under a lot of pressure, especially after they got the goal back to make it 2-1.

“It went really basic then and we had to defend our box with our lives. To be fair, to a man, the players did that and there were some fantastic challenges and blocks.

“That’s what it’s going to take. It was a performance of intelligence and one of grit.”

Alexander felt Mansfield edged much of the game though was also upset with many of the free kicks the referee awarded the home side.

“Mansfield probably shaded it in possession and opportunities but I thought they were given a lot of cheap free kicks,” he said.

“We had to switch on to that and be more intelligent in our defending as the slightest touch and they were over. It was pressure for us.

“We had to make sure we saw the game out and play with discipline and composure in our thought process, and I think the players did that.”

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REACTION: Mansfield Town 1-2 Salford City
salfordcityfc.co.uk

Graham Alexander, Salford City, Mansfield Town 1-2 Salford CitySalford boss Graham Alexander was ‘delighted for everyone’ after his team held on for a 2-1 win at Mansfield Town on Tuesday night.

The Ammies’ third win in four games came courtesy of goals from Jake Jervis and Adam Rooney, who assisted one another in the first 20 minutes of the second half.

Stags top scorer Nicky Maynard pulled a goal back with 13 minutes to go and there were a couple of late scares, but Salford clung on and defended valiantly to take three points which take us up to 15th in Sky Bet League Two.

“We had to learn our lesson from Saturday, there were certain things that we didn’t do in the first 15-20 minutes that we spoke about and we had to start the game in that fashion, and to be fair to the players they did that.

https://salfordcityfc.co.uk/mansfield-town-1-2-salford-city-reaction-22101920/

“That for me is as important as anything, that we’re learning from negative actions, negative times as Saturday was for us, and try to improve every time and I thought we did that tonight.

“The quality of the finishes from the two goals was superb, and sometimes we’ve spoke about some games are a grind but if you keep in there and do the right things, keep at a level, then we feel we’ve got the quality to score real good goals and that was evident tonight.

“Mansfield put us under a lot of pressure, especially after they got the goal back to make it 2-1, and to be fair it went really basic then, we had to defend our box with our lives, and to be fair to a man the players did that.

“There were some fantastic challenges and blocks and that’s what it’s going to take. It was a performance of everything really, but one of intelligence and another of grit.

“For me the biggest thing was the start of the game was a massive improvement on the start of our game on Saturday, and even though both games the first 20 minutes was 0-0, the way we did things tonight was much better.

“That shows that the players are taking on board valuable lessons and putting that into practice in games and it was great to see after a disappointing Saturday for ourselves and our supporters that we gave them something to cheer about, and they saw their team come here and put on a real strong performance and win the game so I’m delighted for everyone involved with our club tonight.”

LATE STOPPER
Mark Howard, Salford City, BlackpoolSalford were forced into one change as goalkeeper Mark Howard made his debut, hours after completing an emergency loan from Blackpool. The 33-year-old made an important save late on to deny Krystian Pearce, and Alexander was happy with the experienced stopper’s contribution.

“We only got clearance for him at half four!

“Unfortunately Kyle’s picked up an injury which could keep him out for a while, Chris Neal’s not back yet so we had to do a lot of phone calls, make a lot of phone calls yesterday [Monday], we were up quite late last night trying to get it done, it followed into this morning but we’re really happy to get Mark in.

“He’s someone that we know about anyway, he’s vastly experienced and we’ve come up against him many times in the past, but he was just introduced to the players when we got to the bus at Moor Lane this afternoon to travel over so he’s still getting to know their names but we know what he can give us as an experienced goalkeeper and I thought he did that today really well and I think he’ll improve.”

ROONEY
The captain assisted Jervis for the opening goal before scoring the pick of the bunch with a volley from inside the area.

“I score a decent goal every couple of years!

“I’m happy with that tonight, it felt right and I just connected with it well but it was nice to get the second goal, try to take a bit of the pressure off and then we were hoping to just see the game out but obviously they rallied and got the goal, put pressure on, but the main thing was just to get three points again.

“It’s not just about the forwards or the wingers scoring, we try and play a a team, we try and attack as a team and try to defend a a team, but you see everyone in the last couple of minutes there nearly, everybody bar Mani, Mani was left up at the top on his own, they were throwing their bodies in the way of shots, blocking crosses, and doing the basics we needed to do tonight to see the game out.

“It’s important not to drop any points after going two goals up and we wanted to see it out, and get another three points, get another win, that’s three wins in four now and hopefully we can continue in that form.”

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Latest | October 2019