I can’t really say that Mansfield is the cultural capital of Nottinghamshire but being a Lutonian, it’s places such as Mansfield and Stevenage that convince you that my dear old home town is not such a bad place after all. As ever the great attraction at Mansfield yesterday was not the One Call Stadium, an example in how not to redevelop a ground with wide open corners that give an excellent view of Mansfield; but rather the attraction was the excellent Railway Inn.
The Railway Inn is a very old fashioned town pub that keeps it’s ales so well within a good cellar and has a kitchen that produces fine quality meals: everything at Midlands value; steady, I could just get to like Mansfield. Of course, the pub being so popular draws a lot of football supporters from both the home and away sides but never a problem, just a good if crowded atmosphere. After such a super lunchtime and with the sun trying to shine, what could possibly go wrong! For the game, our little tinker man made two changes. Firstly, favourite “dematerialisation man” Cook, unavailable through injury and secondly the struggling for form Marriott dropped to the bench. Their replacements were Dan Potts coming in for his first game since Carlisle and Isaac Vassell. The first half was really looked like a contest between two fairly average mid-table sides each struggling to create a worthy chance on goal. Ok, we can feel a touch hard done by for the referee not giving us a penalty following some good work by Pelly and a cross into the box that made contact with that long hand like limb that stretches down from the shoulder but these things have a way of evening themselves out. Now, as much as Luton did not look a threat, neither did Mansfield yet it was Mansfield who took the lead after about 25 minutes when an initial shot was blocked only to rebound out to Potter to hit the ball past Stuart Moore; maybe our closing down could have been a touch better. So for the first half that was about it for excitement; virtually no service to Hylton or Vassell yet with the Hatters looking fairly comfortable in the defence, winning some of the midfield but incapable of any creativity; it really did not look like the quality you would expect to see from a promotion contender. Fortunately, the second half was much better with both sides going for the win. In terms of luck with penalty decisions, the balancing of said luck came about when the referee awarded a penalty for handball and Hylton very calmly slotted the ball right down the centre with keeper Kean diving over to his right. I would say that between the time of that equaliser and the 80th minute we had our best sustained period of the game and unlike the first half, chances were actually being created with a couple of decent headers from Hylton and Vassell coming close. All in all, that was a good period of the game for the Hatters with some of the midfield actually linking up well and creating something for the strikers. In the final 10 minutes of the game Mansfield really upped a gear and came at Luton and whilst we occasionally looked a little stretched on the flanks, we defended well. In that final period, each side could have snatched the winner with Mansfield coming the closest when Green almost connected with a nice low cross from our left flank and Moore did well to divert away a powerful shot. So, that was it a point apiece for the painted lady Evans and our little tinker-man. Overall Impression: It was a fair result on the day between two average L2 sides with promotion ambitions but possibly without the quality to deliver on those ambitions. Our defending was good but the service from midfield to our strikers only functioned occasionally. When you look back 9 games ago when for a moment promotion was within our hands without having to rely on others fouling up, our form has been poor with 11 points from those 9 games whereas Portsmouth who were promoted yesterday, managed 22 points from their last 9 games. Unfortunately, those numbers tell the tale of our season in terms of a top three place. At the start of the season, I would have been happy enough with a playoff place and that’s where we are likely to be so let’s get on and enjoy it. Yet I can’t help feeling that with a little less Jones stubbornness, a little less tinkering and better mentoring by an experienced assistant we could have done better in this rather weak L2. Yet in the end, the three quality clubs have been automatically promoted and good luck to them. A few thoughts on individual performances: Moore: I thought he did well enough in handling anything that reached him. Justin: competent game and tried to get forward when he could especially in the second half. Cuthbert: he really had his work cut out against some giant Mansfield players and did very well. One thing he really does need to try to avoid is that grabbing hold off opponents in the area. Rea: very determined game and I thought he did well. Sheehan: brave as ever and that left clog always tries to get a move started: recovered well from one horribly misplaced pass late in the game to make a good clearance. Potts: had a good defensive game: he could be quite a star in a 442 formation but unlikely to happen with the Hatters. Lee: after three good games could we expect a fourth? Well almost; he did quite well and also took several corners all of which were so much better than Cook’s usual efforts. D’Ath: played well; he really does work hard for the team: decent signing in my opinion. Pelly: a day for the flip-flops and the beach possibly: time for a fire to be lit under Pelly’s bum! Vassell: tried hard but unable to really get a break through. Hylton: please just button it; that’s my first comment. As for his play, a fair game but he looks really knackered. The Subs: Palmer: he always looked a danger when he came on against one of his former clubs. O’Donnell: did ok in his few minutes on the field replacing the cramp victim Potts TheTeams Mansfield: Kean, Bennett, Benning, Pearce, Taft, Coulthirst, Potter (Hamilton 77), White (MacDonald 60), Byrom, Whiteman, Rose (Green 80). Subs: Jensen (GK), Collins, Howkins, Arquin Yellows: Rose, Kean Luton: Moore, Justin, Rea, Cuthbert, Sheehan, Potts (O'Donnell 84), Pelly, Lee, D'Ath, Hylton, Vassell (Palmer 64). Subs: Smith, Gray, Marriott, Gambin, King (GK) Ref: Mark Brown: not that good to be honest.
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Hi there, welcome to my site where I chronicle various things about the Hatters, a team I have followed since the mid 60’sArchives
December 2017
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