Saturday 2nd
May 2015
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 3 –
0 Rossington Main
The Bulls completed the season with another win to make it 7
games unbeaten with a 3-0 score line against Rossington Main. Grant Allott grabbed a brace and Dean Rick
netted his 23rd goal of the season to become leading goalscorer 3
years on the trot.
Rossington made it a difficult first 45 minutes for the home
side as they competed for every ball.
Dan Green saw his low drive easily saved on 11 minutes and 2 minutes
later Dean Rick had his header parried by Jordan Wildey and Joe Lamplough’s
follow up cleared the bar in a busy opening 15 minutes.
The game became a bit of a midfield battle with neither side
claiming an advantage and it wasn’t until the 36 minute that another chance
worthy of a mention came about. Jordan
Hatton forced Jason White into a save which saw Captain Chris Timons hook away
the loose ball for a corner.
White was in action again on 40 minutes with a double
save. His first was to parry Hatton’s
low drive from just outside the box and then recovering to deny Green with the
follow up from point blank range.
At the other end Craig Mitchell saw his shot turned around
the post for a corner on 41 minutes and from the resulting kick Mitchell fired
over the bar.
The breakthrough came in the final minute of the half, a
Ryan Williams corner was not dealt with by the visitors and when the ball
eventually dropped to the feet of Grant Allott he fired into the roof of the
net to put The Bulls in front.
The 2nd half was completely different to the 1st
with AFC Mansfield dominating from start to finish, Rossington looked to have
run out of steam.
The Bulls doubled their lead on the hour mark when an Ashley
Kitchen long throw beat the defenders and Rick was on hand to loop the ball
over Wildey and into the net.
Three minutes later and the game was effectively over when
Grant Allott rose above the pack to plant his header into the net from a Jimmy
Ghaichem corner.
Allott missed his hat-trick by inches when he headed over on
78 minutes and Phil Buxton saw his edge of the box effort clear the bar a
minute later.
Other chances went begging at both ends but there were to be
no more goals and after 6 minutes of added time the referee blew to end the
match and the season for both sides.
AFC Mansfield: White, Ludlow (Kitchen 45),
Lamplough, Allott, Timons (c), Buxton, Williams, Naylor D, Rick (Wood 63),
Mitchell (Wilson 80), Ghaichem. Sub not used:
Brewin
Rossington Main: Wildey, Farrar, Bathgate (Marquis
77), Johnson J, Woodhall, Holmes, Green, Hatton, Johnson C, Townsend,
Stokes. Subs not used: Cowe & Brennan.
Referee: Mr Wayne Cooper (S.Yorks.)
Assistants: Mr Graham Taylor (Notts.) & Mr
Tony Tierney (S.Yorks.)
Attendance: 75
Man of the Match: Grant Allott
*********************************************Saturday 25th April 2015
The Toolstation Northern Counties East League
Division One
Pontefract Collieries 2 – 4 AFC Mansfield
The Bulls completed the double over promoted Pontefract with another disciplined performance. Goals from Mark Ward, Dean Rick, Ryan Williams and Craig Mitchell did the damage with consolation goals for the home side coming from Nigel Danby and Matthew Marsden.
There were a few heavy showers before the kick-off but
thankfully the rain cleared and it was a pleasant if not slightly cloudy day at
The Urban Sports Stadium.
With the hosts still in with a chance of the league title a
tough game was expected and tough it turned out to be. AFC Mansfield had the better of the early
exchanges, taking the game to Pontefract.
Joe Naylor saw his header from a Jimmy Ghaichem corner just
clear the bar and a minute later Mark Ward tried his luck from just outside the
box but Craig Parry had it covered.
It was then the home sides turn to threaten and Jason White
got down well to deny Liam Radford’s crisp low drive on 14 minutes. White was in action again saving from a Lee
Bennett shot and then saving at the feet of the same player as the game reached
the 25 minute mark.
Mark Ward fired straight at Parry on 31 minutes from a Joe
Naylor pass, 2 minutes later he went one better after latching onto a Jimmy
Ghaichem through ball the striker hit a dipping shot that flew over parry and
into the top corner to open the scoring.
Unfortunately for Ward this signalled an end to his game limping off
with a knee injury to be replaced by top scorer Dean Rick.
More good work in midfield from Joe Naylor and Ghaichem
sending Rick clear, the strikers cross just eluding Mitchell and Williams on
the far post.
5 minutes into the restart and Rick made his intentions
clear when his 10 yard drive was saved point-blank by Parry. When Joe Naylor was fouled just inside the
Pontefract half a quickly taken free kick by Ghaichem found Rick who turned and
shot in one movement finding the right hand corner of the net to double The Bulls
lead.
Pontefract then reduced the arrears on 62 minutes when Nigel
Danby rose above the pack to put a powerful header past White from a free kick
on the right flank.
Any hopes of a comeback were quickly dispelled by Ryan
Williams. In a move that Williams
started in his own half the winger found Joe Naylor with a superb cross field
ball. Naylor progressed down the right
before firing in a low cross which Mitchell stepped over wrong-footing the home
defence and Williams who had made a 70 yard run hit the ball first time curling
it past Parry and into the far corner of the net.
Joe Naylor went close again on 74 minutes his stinging shot
from outside the box going inches wide with Parry fully stretched.
The Bulls got their 4th on 79 minutes, Rick raced
down the right flank before planting his cross on the head of Craig Mitchell
who headed past the keeper from 8 yards.
A Danny Naylor superb through ball found Mitchell who fired
agonisingly wide on 81 minutes.
Pontefract got their second on 83 minutes, Matthew Marsden
was allowed a second bite of the cherry by some slack defending and he
gratefully accepted and placed the ball beyond White and into the net.
White had the final say getting down well to turn a 20 yard
drive from Marsden around the post.
The Bulls finish the season with a home game against
Rossington Main next Saturday.
Pontefract Collieries: Parry, Heeley, Corbett,
Danby (c), Danville, Forgoine, Marsden, Bennett (Rouse 57), Radford, Moxam,
Whitehouse. Subs not used: Lindley &
Robinson
AFC Mansfield: White, Wilson, Lamplough (Brewin
81), Allott, Timons (c ), Naylor J, Williams, Naylor D, Ward (Rick 33),
Mitchell, Ghaichem. Sub not used: Wood
Referee: Mr Paul Tomes (Sth Yorks.)
Assistants: Mr Callum Gough (Sth Yorks.) &Will
Cavanagh (Sth Yorks.)
Attendance: 95
Man of the Match: Joe Naylor
Saturday 18th April 2015
The Toolstation Northern Counties East
League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 2 – 0 Penistone Church
Two 2nd half goals secured the points for The
Bulls against fellow league debutants Penistone Church.
A strike from top goalscorer Dean Rick and a superbly hit
free kick from Ryan Williams sealed the win for the Mansfield side. Both players had been missing from the team
for some time and marked their return in the best way possible.
The game started tentatively with the first real chance not
coming until the 15th minute when Phil Buxton fired his effort high
and wide from the edge of the box.
Dean Rick saw his header parried by keeper Joe Green and
then collected before the striker could follow up. At the other end Mark Crossfield header wide
from a Duncan Richards free kick.
Rick shoots wide of the mark on the half hour mark and then
3 minutes later Andy Ring for the visitors saw his volley well saved by Jason
White.
Ash Ellis then tested White, again the keeper well placed to
collect the headed effort. The half finished goalless and both teams were
evenly matched.
7 minutes into the restart and Jason White pulled off a
superb one handed save to deny Crossfield.
This seemed to spark the home side into action and they took the lead 2
minutes later when Dean Rick fired past Green from a Ghaichem through ball to
give The Bulls the lead.
Penistone were nearly level on 56 minutes when Grant Allott
gave the ball away to Crossfield, the striker however dallied on the ball
allowing Kitchen to get in a telling tackle and the danger was eventually
cleared.
The Bulls were starting to get the game under control,
Williams saw his effort turned around the post and from the resulting corner
Grant Allott had a header blocked on the line with the follow up from Ash
Kitchen shaving the crossbar.
Declan Brewin was fouled just outside the box on 75 minutes
and Ryan Williams stepped up to take the free kick. His low curling effort beat the fully
stretched Joe Green and went in off the post to double the home sides lead.
Mark Ward produced some good footwork in the box to hold the
ball up and then play a neat back heel to Williams who fired inches wide of the
far post on 83 minutes.
Another good 3 points for The Bulls and sets them up for the
midweek League Cup Semi-Final against Handsworth Parramore on Wednesday night
at The Forest Town Arena.
AFC Mansfield: White, Ludlow, Wilson, Alott (c),
Kitchen, Naylor D, Williams, Buxton, Naylor J (Mitchell 45), Rick (Brewin 66),
Ghaichem (Ward 81). Subs not used: Wood
& Lamplough.
 |
| Man of the Match Ash Kitchen |
Penistone Church: Green, Jones, Young, Ellis,
Whitehead, Lovett (c), Richards (Almond 82), Exley, Crossfield, Ring (Moore
82), Riley. Subs not used: Lee &
Briggs.
Referee: Mr Martin Chester (Lincs.)
Assistants: Mr Luke Lazenby (Sth Yorks.) & Mr
John Stevens (Derbys.)
Attendance: 101
Man of the Match: Ash Kitchen
******************************************
Wednesday 15th April 2015
The Toolstation Northern Counties East League
Division One
Dronfield Town 0 - 5 AFC Mansfield
AFC Mansfield made it 5 games unbeaten when they confidently put 5 goals past Dronfield Town without reply on Wednesday night.
Taking a two goal lead into the break with Declan Brewin and Joe Naylor finding the back of the net. The Bulls then increased the scoreline in the 2nd half with a goal from captain Grant Allott and a brace from Mark Ward.
It was a quick turnaround for the hosts having played at home on Monday night against Selby and securing a 2-1 win. This though was probably a game too far and they were outplayed throughout the 90 minutes.
In the opening minutes Joe Naylor squandered a glorious opportunity to put The Bulls ahead firing over the bar. At the other end Ritchie Marples curled his effort wide of the far post from the edge of the box and Craig Mitchell failed by inches to get on the end of a Declan Brewin cross.
It was apparent that Brewin was going to cause Dronfield some problems with his pace and it was Brewin that opened the scoring on 14 minutes. But not before Mitchell had hesitated in front of goal and Richard Henson had dived bravely at his feet to deny the striker. It was Mitchell who turned provider, threading the ball through to Brewin who took a touch and then fired past the advancing Henson.
Joe Naylor was unlucky not to double the score on 18 minutes his header crashed against the bar and then unbelievably his follow up hit the post before being hacked away to safety.
It was Naylor who doubled the lead but not until the 40th minute when he rose in the box to head home a Brewin cross.
Mitchell fired over the bar on the hour mark as the visitors continued to dominate play. Mitchell thought he had his goal on 70 minutes when he finished from close range after Mark Ward had rattled the post with a header and Jimmy Ghaichem had the follow up parried by Henson. But luck wasn't with the striker and an assistants flag denied him.
Ward looked hungry for a goal and on 72 minutes saw a rasping drive turned around the post by Henson. Mitchell was again denied by the keeper before Ward finally got the third getting the final touch in the six yard box from a Kyle Ludlow long throw.
The fourth goal came on 83 minutes when Grant Allott volleyed home from a Ghaichem corner that Henson only half cleared.
The home side were all at sea in the final minute when AFC Mansfield were awarded a free kick on the right flank. While they were still arguing amongst themselves the kick was quickly taken and Ward rifled his low drive past Henson and into the corner of the net to complete the scoring.
Dronfield Town: Henson, Dickinson, Butler (c), Sezarano, Darlow, Morley, Bebbington, Jones, Mulgrew, Marples, Moverley Gray. Subs not used: Savage & Horsfield
 |
| Man of the Match Grant Allott |
AFC Mansfield: White, Wilson, Dudley, Allott (c), Lamplough (Ludlow 45), Naylor D, Brewin, Buxton, Naylor J (Ward 65), Mitchell (Wood 75), Ghaichem. Sub not used: Timons.
Referee: Mr Jamie Macleod (London)
Assistants: Mr Stephen Lazenby (South Yorkshire) & Mr Mehdi Najefi (South Yorkshire)
Attendance: 56
Man of the Match: Grant Allott
******************************************************
Saturday 11th April 2015
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 2 –
2 Louth Town
A lapse in concentration 10
minutes from the end of this game cost The Bulls a home win at The Forest Town
Arena on Saturday. Substitute Dan
Kilmore fired past Jason White to give ‘The White Wolves’ a share of the points.
AFC Mansfield were leading
2-1 with goals from Grant Allott and Joe Naylor after going behind to an early
goal from Jack Wightwick.
The opening goal came on 8
minutes when Callum Hyland flicked on a long ball and Wightwick outpaced The
Bulls central defenders to fire past Jason White from 12 yards.
Captain Grant Allott had the
perfect opportunity to bring the scores level on 12 minutes but hoisted the
ball over the bar from just 10 yards.
The home side continued to
have more of the ball and were awarded an indirect free kick on 25 minutes when
keeper Scott Drury picked up a back pass under pressure from Craig
Mitchell. The initial free-kick was
blocked and also the follow up effort from Mitchell.
Mitchell wasted chances on
the half hour mark and 35 minutes as AFC Mansfield continued to press for an
equaliser.
Jason White was in action
just before the break when Jordan Smith found himself in acres of space and
looked well offside. The wide player’s
effort was well saved by White with no flag coming.
The 2nd half
began with the home side again pushing for a leveller. But things didn’t change until Declan Brewin
was bought on for Mark Ward on the hour.
After just 2 minutes of being on the pitch Brewin headed home Jimmy
Ghaichem’s cross only to be denied by the assistants flag.
The Bulls finally got their
reward on 64 minutes when Captain Grant Allott headed home Ghaichem’s corner.
Joe Naylor should have put
AFC Mansfield in front on 66 minutes when Mark Dudley’s low cross found him
just 3 yards out. Somehow the midfielder
managed to slice his effort wide of the target.
At the other end Allott had
to head off the line and then White made a point blank save from Luke
Rayner-Mistry as the visitors reminded AFC that they were still a threat.
A superb jinking run from
Ghaichem took him past four defenders and to the line where his low driven
cross found Joe Naylor and this time he did not miss and The Bulls were in
front.
Another cross from Ghaichem
found the head of Brewin but the ball flew wide of the left hand post on 77
minutes.
The sucker punch came on 81
minutes when a lapse of concentration let in Dan Kilmore and the substitute
fired a low drive past White to bring the sides level.
Declan Brewin thought he had
won the game on 84 minutes, receiving the ball from Danny Naylor his fierce
drive beat Drury in the Louth goal but cannoned off the post.
AFC Mansfield:
White, Wilson, Dudley, Allott (c), Lamplough, Naylor D, Ward (Brewin 60),
Buxton, Naylor J, Mitchell, Ghaichem.
Subs not used: Wood, Rick & Ludlow
Louth Town:
Drury, Lowe, Lill (Rawlings 65), Stevens, Martin (c), Hyland, Smith (Kilmore
72), Andrews, Coulson, Wightwick, Rayner-Mistry. Subs not used: McSpadden, Armstrong & Aldrich.
Referee:
Mr Matthew Tyers (South Yorkshire)
Assistants:
Mr Mehdi Najefi (South Yorkshire) &
Mr Jack Fewster (South Yorkshire).
Attendance:
72
Man of the Match: Danny Naylor
Wednesday 8th April 2015
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East
League Challenge
Cup
Quarter Final
Staveley Miners
Welfare 0 – 1 AFC Mansfield
AFC Mansfield booked a place in the semi-finals of The NCEL
Challenge Cup with a hard fought 1-0 victory against Staveley MW on Wednesday
night. A goal from Craig Mitchell 4
minutes into the 2nd half was all that separated these two sides.
The Bulls had a penalty shout turned down on 7 minutes when
a defender took a wild swing at Joe Naylor, missed the ball and caught the
midfielder across both shins in the box.
A minute later Declan Brewin went close with a better first touch
needed.
Sam Finlaw saw his long range effort go high and wide on 25
minutes and at the other end Danny Naylor fired his 20 yard effort over the bar
after good work down the right flank from Brewin.
Staveley were awarded a penalty on 35 minutes after Jason
White had brought down Kurtis Morley.
Jahmal Smith fired the spot kick wide of the keeper’s right hand post
and the scores remained level.
Good approach work from Mitchell set up Joe Naylor who’s low
drive seemed to get a touch off Hernandez but no corner given on 40
minutes. A minute later Mark Dudley’s
looping header was easily collected by Hernandez.
The Bulls went in front 4 minutes into the restart, Brewin
played the ball forward to Mitchell who rode a strong challenge from a defender
before racing clear. Hernandez came out
to close the angle but Mitchell fired a low drive into the back of the net.
Grant Allott went close 5 minutes later, picking up the
loose ball from a Ghaichem corner he turned in the box but Hernandez did well
to turn his effort over the bar.
Staveley had a good period of play around the 75 minute mark
when they forced 3 corners in a row with Mark Dudley having to head one
inswinging effort off the line.
Joe Naylor fired over the bar on 80 minutes after linking up
well with Ghaichem and Ward on the right flank.
Mitchell and Chris Wood carved out a chance on 85 minutes, with
Hernandez doing well to save at the feet of Wood.
A heart in the mouth moment in the dying minutes when a
route one ball caught AFC Mansfield napping the ball eventually coming to Ellis
Wall who’s goal bound header hit the top of the bar and went out for a goal
kick.
The Bulls held on and thoroughly deserved their victory
against Premier Division opposition, a sterner test awaits them in 2 weeks time
when they take on Handsworth Parramore in the Semi-Final at The Forest Town
Arena.
StaveleyMW: Hernandez, Watters, Magee (Poulton
45), Goodwin, Fisher, Pugh, Morley, Finlaw, Smith, Eagers, Wall. Subs not used: Finnigan, Bates, Butt &
Gamble.
AFC Mansfield: White, Ludlow (Ward 50), Dudley,
Allott, Timons (c) (Lamplough 12), Naylor D, Brewin (Wood 79), Buxton, Naylor
J, Mitchell, Ghaichem. Sub not used:
Wilson.
Referee: Mr Tim Walker (Derbys.)
Assistants: Mr David Webb (Derbys.) & Mr Clive
Lawrence (Derbys.)
Attendance: 254
Man of the Match: Grant Allott
********************************************************************************
Saturday 4th April 2015
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
Lincoln Moorlands
Railway 0 – 4 AFC Mansfield
A comfortable victory for The Bulls against basement side Lincoln Moorlands as expected on Saturday. Goals from Joe Naylor, Glyn Cotton and a brace from Craig Mitchell were only half of the story because it could so easily have been double figures.
AFC Mansfield were still
without Ryan Williams and Ash Kitchen but in fairness did not need their
strongest side in this game.
The Bulls had a couple of
efforts go wide in the opening minutes as they pushed deep into Lincoln’s
half. On 14 minutes Grant Allott saw his
header hooked of the line and 2 minutes later Captain Chris Timons saw his
headed goal ruled out for a push on a defender.
Phil Buxton fired high and
wide from 20 yards on 18 minutes as AFC Mansfield dominated the play. The first goal came on 20 minutes, a Jimmy
Ghaichem cross found the head of Craig Mitchell and the ball nestled into the
right hand corner of the net.
The floodgates should have
opened but they didn’t, time after time The Bulls were left frustrated in front
of goal.
Allott headed home from
another Ghaichem cross on 28 minutes only to see the flag go up for offside.
More chances went begging
before Joe Naylor hit a rasping drive on the turn only to see Chris Stanley in
the Lincoln goal make a superb fingertip save to push the ball onto the bar and
away to safety on 43 minutes.
The pattern of play
continued in the 2nd half and on 50 minutes Ghaichem was felled in
the box. Craig Mitchell stepped up for
the spot kick but Stanley guessed correctly to deny the striker with another excellent
save.
The visitors finally got
their second goal, Timons flicked on a Ghaichem corner and Joe Naylor got the
final touch in a goalmouth scramble.
The 3rd goal came
10 minutes later, another superb Ghaichem cross and an acrobatic bicycle kick
volley from Mitchell left Stanley rooted to the spot as the ball hit the back
of the net.
The Bulls had yet another
goal disallowed on 78 minutes, Allott heading home from a Glyn Cotton free kick
with an offside flag again denying the visitors.
The final goal came on 85
minutes and it was worth waiting for.
Ghaichem found Tristan Whitman on the right flank with a cross field
pass. The striker turned inside two
defenders before feeding Glyn Cotton in the box. Cotton then proceeded to lead the Lincoln
defence a merry dance leaving 3 defenders sat on the ground before he sent
Stanley the wrong way with a superb reverse chip to complete the scoring.
AFC Mansfield now head to
Staveley in midweek to face Premier Division Staveley MW in the Quarter Final
of the League Cup.
Lincoln Moorlands: Stanley, Radford
(Hyatt 80), Leeder, McGovern, Simpson, Hindmarsh, Gregory, Omelia, Parker, Schofield
(Wilson M 12) , Reeve.
AFC Mansfield:
White, Wilson, Dudley (Lamplough 64), Allott, Timons (c), Naylor D, Wood
(Cotton 60), Buxton, Naylor J (Whitman 69), Mitchell, Ghaichem. Subs not used: Brewin & Ward.
Referee:
Mr Nick Cook (Lincs.)
 |
| Man of the Match - Jimmy Ghaichem |
Attendance:
50
Man of the Match: Jimmy Ghaichem
Saturday 28th March 2015
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 4 –
1 Knaresborough Town
AFC Mansfield got back to winning ways with a confident 4-1 win over Knaresborough Town. Goals from Jimmy Ghaichem, Joe Naylor, Craig Mitchell and Grant Allott did the damage with the visitors getting a consolation goal a few minutes from the end through a Colin Heath free kick.
The Bulls had the usual
array of players missing through injury or illness Joe Lamplough, Ryan
Williams, Ash Kitchen and Kyle Ludllow were all unavailable.
The home side started with a
strong wind at their backs and were immediately on the offensive. It was no surprise that they got an early
breakthrough. Jimmy Ghaichem hitting a curling
20 yard effort that flew into the top corner leaving Jack Rushworth rooted to
the spot. It was no more than the tricky
winger deserved his clever footwork tormented the Knaresborough defense
throughout the game and deservedly secured the Man of the Match award.
The perceived floodgates did
not open for the home side as their possession should have warranted. Buxton had the ball in the back of the net on
the half hour mark but was disallowed for offside and then 5 minutes later
Rushworth superbly saved the midfielders edge of the box drive to keep the
advantage down to a solitary goal.
Many thought that
Knaresborough would mount an assault on the AFC Mansfield goal in the 2nd
half, aided by the strong wind at their backs.
This however did not come to pass,
The Bulls doubled their lead 3 minutes into the re-start when Joe Naylor
rose above the pack to head home a Mark Dudley cross.
Craig Mitchell hit a low
drive from the edge of the box that beat a fully stretched Rushworth on 68
minutes to make it 3-0.
A rare chance fell to
substitute Colin Heath on 73 minutes but the striker fired wide of the mark
from 15 yards.
Declan Brewin saw his effort
hooked off the line and Joe Naylor’s follow up crashed against the bar 10
minutes from the end.
Not for the first time Ghaichem
was upended just outside the box on 81 minutes.
He then delivered an inch perfect cross for Grant Allott to power his
header past Rushworth to make it 4-0.
Colin Heath made amends for
his earlier miss when on 87 minutes he curled a 20 yard free kick into the top
right hand corner of the net to complete the scoring.
The Bulls will be on their
travels next Saturday when they go to Lincoln Moorlands and will be hoping to
continue their winning ways.
AFC Mansfield:
White, Hannigan (Cotton 67), Dudley, Allott, Timons (c), Buxton, Whitman
(Brewin 71), Naylor D, Naylor J, Mitchell (Wood 75), Ghaichem. Subs not used: Wilson & Ward.
Knaresborough Town: Rushworth, Parkes, Littlefair, Duerden, Radcliffe,
Bradley, Walker, Wilson, Hamilton (Lancaster 71, Atkinson (Heath 65),
Whitehead. Sub not used: Gray
 |
| Man of the Match |
Referee:
Mr Andrew Price (South Yorkshire)
Assistants:
Mr Steve Clarkson (Sth Yorks.) & Mr Neil Allsop (Notts.)
Attendance:
82
Man of the Match: Jimmy Ghaichem
***************************************************************
Saturday 21st March 2015
The
Toolstation Northern Counties East League
Division
One
Hemsworth
MW 2 – 1 AFC Mansfield
AFC Mansfield suffered their 3rd successive league defeat at promotion hopefuls Hemsworth Miners Welfare on Saturday. Without injured Ryan Williams and Ash Kitchen and captain Chris Timons serving a one match ban Manager Rudi Funk had some changes to make. Into the side came U21 players Brad Wilson and Declan Brewin along with Tommy Hannigan who was returning from injury.
Once again The Bulls had the majority of play in the game and
once again they came up against a tough defensive outfit. The Bulls need to learn how to convert
possession into goals.
The first effort of the game came on 7 minutes, Glyn Cotton
firing a 25 yard effort well wide of the mark.
Joe Naylor did the same on 18 minutes, again not testing the home
keeper.
Tommy Hannigan went closer on 22 minutes his flicked header
from a Cotton free-kick shaved the bottom of the right hand post.
AFC Mansfield looked most likely to score and Jimmy Ghaichem
had his effort turned around the post after a flick on from Craig Mitchell on
26 minutes.
It was a fiercely competitive game with both sets of players
getting stuck in, but play continued in the same vein with The Bulls having the
chances and wasting them at regular intervals.
Joe Naylor turned neatly in the box on 43 minutes from a
Cotton through ball but again his low drive went narrowly wide.
Hemsworth looked brighter at the start of the 2nd
half, an in swinging corner from Adam Wilson saw it cannon back off the
crossbar before being cleared up field.
Both teams made changes on 70 minutes but it was the home sides
substitution that made the difference.
Dominic Blair firing home on 75 minutes after indecision between White
and Wilson at the back for AFC Mansfield had allowed Nick Guest to square the
ball for the youngster.
The Bulls continued to look the better side, Joe Naylor had
his header saved superbly by Bentley from a Ghaichem cross on 82 minutes.
The visitors were hit with a sucker punch 2 minutes from time,
pushing for an equaliser they were caught on the break when a Dudley corner was
cleared up field and Blair confidently lifted his effort over White to double
his tally.
The goal that AFC Mansfield were desperately searching for
came a minute later, Danny Naylor finding Tristan Whitman in the box and the
striker finished from close range.
The Bulls pushed until the final whistle, Joe Naylor having
two efforts turned over the bar for corners.
But it wasn’t to be and once again missed chances have cost AFC
Mansfield as the season is beginning to fizzle out.
Rudi Funk takes his side to Retford on Tuesday night for a
friendly and hopefully they can iron out some of the problems in front of goal.
 |
| Joe Naylor Man of the Match |
Hemsworth
MW: Bentley, Tonks, Clark (Viggars 85), Swift, Colbear, Steers,
Connolly (Pugh 89), Yates, Guest, Crapper (Blair 70), Wilson A. Subs not used: Haywood & Dixon
AFC
Mansfield: White, Wilson, Dudley, Hannigan, Allott (c), Naylor J,
Brewin (Naylor D 77), Cotton, Wood (Whitman 70), Mitchell, Ghaichem. Subs not used: Ward, Buxton & Lamplough.
Referee: Mr Paul Tomes
(South Yorkshire)
Assistants: Mr
Stephen Lazenby & Mr Luke Lazenby
Attendance: 112
Man
of the Match: Joe Naylor
Saturday 14th March 2015
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 1 –
2 Clipstone
In truth neither side deserved anything from this game as they served up a feast of non football for the 176 in the crowd. But it was Clipstone, courtesy of goals from Richard Mintoft and Rob Paling that took the points. Tristan Whitman did pull a goal back for AFC Mansfield and also had an equaliser chalked off for an offside.
The Bulls had the first chance of the game when Grant Allott
put his 10 yard header over the bar on 3 minutes. A minute later a great run by
Matt Ord down the left forced a corner.
Paling delivered to the far post and Mintoft looped a header back across
goal and into the right hand corner to open the scoring.
Unfortunately for the crowd that was as good as it got in the
1st half. AFC Mansfield had
plenty of possession but did nothing with it and Clipstone looked dangerous
down the left with Ord’s runs.
Two injuries forced both sides into changes in the 1st
half. Dan Wood came out worst in a 50/50
challenge with Mark Dudley. Wood had to
be stretchered from the field to be replaced by Levi Walker.
On 42 minutes Bulls winger Ryan Williams felt the full weight
of keeper Nick Siddons on his foot after chasing a loose ball in the box. Williams was replaced by Tristan Whitman
after being carried from the field.
The 2nd half served up the same unedifying fodder
as the first. Again the lion’s share of
possession fell to The Bulls but they did little with it.
A rare error from keeper Jason White which just about summed
up the day on 75 minutes when attempting to clear the ball he only managed to
find the feet of Rob Paling. Paling went
past White on the edge of the box and rolled the ball into an empty net to
double the advantage.
Two minutes later and AFC Mansfield pulled a goal back;
Tristan Whitman volleying home from 8 yards from a Mitchell lay off.
Whitman had the ball in the back of the net again a few
minutes later but was denied by a linesman’s flag and the final effort came
from Danny Naylor who hit a 30 yard drive which Siddons held comfortably.
It was not much of an advert for local football but Clipstone
took another ugly 3 points on their way to the league title. AFC Mansfield have 8 games left to secure a
top six finish in their first year at step 6.
They will have to improve drastically on today’s showing.
AFC
Mansfield: White, Kitchen, Dudley, Allott, Timons (c), Naylor D,
Ghaichem (Wood C 84), Cotton, Lamplough (Naylor J 62), Mitchell, Williams
(Whitman 42). Subs not used: Buxton
& Ward.
Clipstone: Siddons,
Shaw, Paling, Baugh, Mintoft (c), Hill, Wood D (Walker 25), Austin, Gibson,
Brown, Ord. Subs not used: White D,
Whitehead, Carrig & Owen
Referee: Mr David
Evans (South Yorkshire)
Assistants: Mr
Charles Cresswell-Hibbert & Mr Glyn Kissane
Attendance: 176
Man
of the Match: AFC Mansfield – Mark Dudley, Clipstone – Richard Mintoft
**************************************
Tuesday 10th March 2015
The Toolstation Northern Counties East League
Division One
Hallam 3 - 2 AFC Mansfield
AFC Mansfield threw away any chance of promotion with a lacklustre performance against a battling Hallam side on Tuesday night.
It is always difficult for away sides at Hallam with the pronounced slope and so it proved for The Bulls. With the lions share of possession and looking the most likely to score in the opening 20 minutes the visitors were rocked by 2 goals in a five minute spell.
Goalscorer Michael Blythen got the final touch in the box for the first goal on 20 minutes after Jason White had pushed Simon Mirfin's header onto the bar. In the ensuing scramble Blythen got the decisive touch to open the scoring.
The 2nd came 3 minutes later when Blythen was allowed time to drive the ball low past an outstretched White to double Hallam's lead.
AFC Mansfield were now chasing the game and to their credit they pulled a goal back just before half time. Jimmy Ghaichem volleyed home after some sustained pressure on the Hallam goal.
Kicking down the slope and it was all AFC Mansfield but the tactics of hoofing the ball into the Hallam box at every opportunity was bread and butter to the hard working defence.
Tackles became wilder and eventually centre half Jack Hall made two that stood out and received a yellow for both reducing The Countrymen to 10 men.
Five minutes from the end AFC were back on level terms, a rare moment of passing football and a good delivery into the box found Tristan Whitman who's deft header beat an impressive Jack Dennison in the Hallam goal.
But it really wasn't The Bulls night and with very little time left Danny Flynn received the ball on the left cut inside firing a low drive that squirmed past White on his near post and the points went Hallam's way.
AFC Mansfield: White, Kitchen, Dudley, Allott, Timons (Whitman 75), Naylor D, Ghaichem, Cotton (Buxton 75), Wood (Ward 80), Mitchell, Williams. Subs not used: Wilson & Hassan
Referee: Mr Ricky Taylor (South Yorkshire)
Man of the Match: Jason White - AFC Mansfield & Jack Dennison - Hallam.
**************************************Saturday 7th March 2015
The Toolstation Northern Counties East League
Division One
Bottesford Town 1 – 1 AFC Mansfield
The Bulls had to settle for a point away at Bottesford on
Saturday. Having dominated the game for
long periods they lost ground in the promotion race dropping to 5th
in the table.
The visitors were without Grant Allott, Ryan Williams and
Joe Naylor but all three will be available for the trip to Hallam on Tuesday.
It was the home side that had the first chance on goal after
just 3 minutes when Dan Boulton headed well wide from a Craig Bridge cross.
It wasn’t until the 30th minute that the next
serious attempt at goal came when Craig Mitchell was denied by Leigh Herrick in
the home goal. Herrick got down well to
Mitchell’s low drive after a clever flick on from Chris Wood had sent the
striker clear.
A minute later a big shout for handball by Lee Ridley at the
back for Bottesford was waved away by the referee. Ridley then did well to cut out a Wood cross
to an unmarked Mitchell 8 yards out.
The second half was only 2 minutes old when AFC Mansfield
took the lead. A corner from the right
was headed down by Chris Timons and the ball eventually fell to the feet of Ash
Kitchen who drilled the ball through Herrick’s legs to give The Bulls the lead.
The visitors should have increased their lead as several
chances went begging in the next 15 minutes.
However, AFC Mansfield were dealt the first of two blows on 72
minutes. Captain Chris Timons was
dismissed for a 2nd yellow card and The Bulls were now on the back
foot.
The second blow came on 85 minutes when the home side
equalised with a header from Lee Ridley.
The Bulls had one final chance to take the points when
Declan Brewin broke into the box, he squared the ball to Mitchell who would
have had the simplest of finishes but Ridley superbly slid in to knock the ball
behind for a corner and save a point for his side.
AFC Mansfield have to dust themselves down and go again on
Tuesday night when they visit Hallam.
Bottesford Town: Herrick, Gibbons, Smith (Thompson
78), Ridley, Johnson, Barwick, Pembleton, McDonald, Boulton, Bridge,
Graves. Subs not used: Kirk, Robinson,
Snow & Harle.
AFC Mansfield: White, Kitchen, Dudley, Lamplough,
Timons (c), Naylor D, Buxton (Wilson 74), Cotton, Wood (Brewin 81), Mitchell,
Ghaichem. Subs not used: Ward, Whitman
& Vilums.
Referee: Mr Danny Jarvis (South Yorkshire)
Assistants: Mr Steve Beresford & Mr James Fox
Man of the Match: Ash Kitchen
Attendance: 85
*************************************************
Saturday 28th February 2015
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 5 –
0 Grimsby Borough
The Bulls completed the double over visitors Grimsby Borough in emphatic style. Goals from debutants Joe Lamplough and Chris Wood were complimented by a double from man of the match Glyn Cotton and probably the goal of the game from Tristan Whitman.
New signings Lamplough Wood and Grant Allott all started and
made promising starts for The Bulls.
Wood showed his ability in the opening 5 minutes with some good touches.
The other two debutants combined for the first goal on 10
minutes. A long throw from Ash Kitchen
was headed on by Allott, the ball was only half cleared. This allowed Lamplough to direct a looping
header over two defenders and the keeper with the ball hitting the underside of
the bar before going in.
The floodgates were expected to open against bottom club
Grimsby, but this didn't happen. In a
frustrating first half the home side had numerous chances to extend their lead
but didn't take them.
Gareth Johnson did well on 18 minutes to deny Chris Wood
after the striker had got on the end of a Jimmy Ghaichem cross.
Phil Buxton thought he had doubled the score on 26 minutes
when he hit a 20 yard volley that beat the keeper but crashed against the post
before being hooked away by Tom King.
Buxton went close again on 34 minutes but this time fired wide of the
mark from the edge of the box.
Johnson was again the hero on 37 minutes turning Cotton’s
low 25 yard drive around the post for a corner.
Just before the break Grant Allott hit another low drive from the edge
of the box that whizzed past the right hand post.
Woods and Mitchell both went close in the opening minutes of
the 2nd half as The Bulls dominated proceedings.
The home side eventually got their second goal on 62
minutes. Craig Mitchell was upended 20
yards out and Cotton stepped up to drill the free kick low and into the bottom
left hand corner.
Cotton curled another free kick around the wall on 70 minutes,
with Johnson well beaten the keeper was happy to see the ball crash against the
post.
It was 3-0 on 76 minutes, a poor back pass left Johnson
stranded as Chris Wood was quickest to react rounding the keeper before firing
past King on the line.
Cotton got his second on 83 minutes firing home from 12
yards after being set up by Tristan Whitman.
2 minutes later Cotton turned provider passing to Whitman in the
box. The striker wriggled past 2
defenders before blasting his 15 yard effort past Johnson to complete the
scoring.
Another fine display by The Bulls that lifts them up to 3rd
place and the promotion chase is well and truly on. They will be hoping to take this form into
nest week’s away trip to Bottesford Town.
AFC Mansfield: White, Kitchen, Dudley (Whitman
78), Allott, Timons (C), Lamplough (Naylor D 65), Buxton, Cotton, Wood,
Mitchell (Ward 80), Ghaichem. Subs not
used: Brewin & Wilson B
Grimsby Borough: Johnson, King, Wilson L, Hall,
Unsworth (C), Bensley, Fuller J, Wood D (Sparrow 75), Flint (Blendell 75),
Waugh, Fuller P. Subs not used: Allenby
Referee: Mr Josh Bramhall (Sth Yorks.)
 |
| Man of the Match GLYN COTTON |
Assistants: Mr Jerzy Banasik (Lincs.) & Mr
William Murray (Lincs.)
Attendance: 71
Man of the Match: Glyn Cotton
*******************************************************************
Saturday 21st February 2015
The Toolstation Northern Counties East League
Division One
AFC Emley 1 – 1 AFC Mansfield
This was a result that suited neither side as both lost
ground in the promotion push. The Bulls
were without Ryan Williams who was starting a 3 match ban and top scorer Dean
Rick due to work commitments.
The home side began the game kicking down the slope and with
the wind at their backs and it didn’t take long for that advantage to
show. On 9 minutes a half cleared ball
fell to Max Leonard 20 yards out, his low drive beat an outstretched Jason
White and nestled in the bottom right hand corner of the net.
Craig Mitchell had a chance to get The Bulls level on 15
minutes but fired his effort high over the bar.
White was in action on 27 minutes, turning Leonards 15 yard
effort around the post.
The last chance of a fairly even first half fell to Tommy
Hannigan who’s volley from the edge of the box looped just over the bar.
With the advantage reversed AFC Mansfield began to pile on
the pressure in the second half and it was only going to be a matter of time
before they scored.
On 57 minutes a Jimmy Ghaichem cross found Mark Ward on the
back post. The striker turned his man
only to see his goal bound effort turned around the post by Sam Jerome.
The equaliser came on 63 minutes, a short back pass was
pounced on by Craig Mitchell and he drilled the ball past the stranded Adam
Lawlor from 12 yards.
Mitchell had the ball in the back of the net 10 minutes
later but the goal was chalked off for an infringement back on the half way
line.
Declan Brewin was sent clear by Mitchel on 75 minutes and
with just the keeper to beat fired over from the edge of the box. It really was all AFC Mansfield now and cross
after cross was delivered into the home box.
Ash Kitchen’s long throw skill was also utilised and the
Emley defence took a pounding. But, a
combination of brave keeping from Lawlor and some superb defending from captain
Paul Sykes kept The Bulls at bay.
Glyn Cotton thought he had made the break through on 78
minutes. Sent clear by Brewin his low
drive was superbly forced around the post by Lawlor.
Joe Naylor fired wide on 80 minutes from another corner that
was half cleared. The referee found more
added minutes that were comfortable for the home side but they held on and took
a share of the points.
AFC Emley: Lawlor, Ingham, Starkey, Leech, Jerome S, Sykes
(C), Townend, Leonard, Kenworthy (Flynn 74), Tunnacliffe (Podmore 74), Jerome R. Subs not used:Brook & Brown
AFC Mansfield: White, Hannigan (Wilson 45), Dudley, Kitchen,
Timons (C), Naylor J, Naylor D, Cotton (Buxton 83), Ward (Brewin 74), Mitchell,
Ghaichem. Subs not used: Whitman &
Vilums.
Referee: Mr Ian Thornton (west Yorkshire).
 |
| Man of the Match |
Assistants: Mr Paul Saunders (Sth Yorks.) & Mr Tony
Clubb (Sth Yorks.)
Man of the Match: Craig Mitchell
Attendance: 150
******************************************
Saturday 14th February 2015
The Toolstation Northern Counties East League Division One
AFC Mansfield 3 – 0 Yorkshire Amateur
The Bulls continued their push up the table with a comfortable 3-0 win against Yorkshire Amateur at The Forest Town Arena. The goals came from Glyn Cotton, Craig Mitchell and Tristan Whitman. The visitor’s woes were further compounded when Chris Hitchin was dismissed late on and manager Richard Addy removed from the dugout.
AFC Mansfield were feeling the effects of a busy programme
and watching from the side lines were injured Jimmy Ghaichem, Tommy Hannigan,
Mark Dudley and Dean Rick, while Craig Mitchell made his return from injury on
the bench.
The Bulls got off to the perfect start after just 4 minutes
with a Glyn Cotton 25 yard free kick.
Keeper Suwara Bojang got a hand to the low drive to push it onto the
post, unfortunately the ball came back hitting the keeper and ended up in the
goal.
That was probably the highlight of the half apart from Chris
Hitchins high tackle on Cotton that could so easily have been a straight red
instead of the yellow card given.
Hitchins did try his luck with a 30 yard free kick on 18
minutes the ball fizzing past Jason whites right hand post.
The 2nd half started in much the same vein and it
looked as if the game would finish with just a solitary goal. But the home side brought on Mitchell after
65 minutes and within 10 minutes of coming on he had doubled their lead. The ball delivered into the box by Declan
Brewin with Mitchell’s first effort blocked by Shane Harding only to get a
second bite of the cherry and the striker drove the ball home from 10 yards.
The third goal came 4 minutes later, Whitman making a run down the right flank, he then turned his marker sent another defender the wrong way and rifled the ball past Bojang on his near post from 12 yards.
It got worse for the visitors, reduced to 10 men on 80 minutes when Hitchin received his second yellow for dissent.
Declan Brewin could have increased the lead on 84 minutes,
racing past 2 defenders before seeing his effort turned around the post by
Bojang. The youngster then headed wide
from a Brad Wilson cross on 88 minutes.
The final chance of the game fell to Tristan Whitman, his
curling effort from the edge of the box was saved by Bojang at full stretch.
AFC Mansfield: White, Wilson, Ludlow (Brewin 74), Kitchen,
Timons, Naylor D, Buxton, Cotton, Ward (Mitchell 69), Whitman, Williams (Vilums
80). Subs not used: Tighe & Naylor J
Yorkshire Amateur: Bojang, Wadsworth, Harding,
Rose, Freeman (c), Hitchin, Marsden, Blakey, Hughes, Heard Craig, Shaw. Subs: Donaldson, Heard Carl, Hammond.
 |
| Man of the Match Brad Wilson |
Assistants: Mr Carl Jones & Mr Tony Tierney
Man of the Match: Brad Wilson
Attendance: 69
***********************************
Toolstation Northern Counties East League Division 1
Wednesday 11th February 2015
AFC Mansfield 2 Worsborough Bridge Athletic 1
On a night when a number of chances went begging AFC Mansfield continued to apply the pressure on the top four in the league.
The game started at pace with AFC Mansfield having the first chance within the first minute with a shot from inside the box forcing a save from the Worsbrough keeping conceding a corner, from which Tommy Hannigan heads over the bar.
AFC Mansfield continued the pressure up until the 11th minute when Worsbrough had there first real venture up field and scored the opening goal of the evening through central defender Declan Lycett, following a scramble in the box from a corner which AFC Mansfield were unable to clear.
AFC Mansfield went straight back on the attack in search of an equaliser through Dean Rick who fired wide of the near post after good work from Ryan Williams. The next 10 minutes produced further pressure from AFC Mansfield with various changes going begging.
Then in the 33rd Minute Ryan Williams plays a ball over the Worsbrough Bridge defence into the path of debutant Mark Ward who fires his effort over the bar. The next attack came from a long throw from Ash Kitchen from the right hand side into the middle of the penalty box, with bodies everywhere Dean Rick is unable to get his shot away and the pressure is defused by Worsbrough.
The first half ends with AFC Mansfield on the attack with a number of corners, but no finish is forthcoming and we head to the dressing rooms with Worsbrough leading by a goal to nil in a half which has seen nearly all the chances fall to AFC Mansfield.
The second half starts in much the same way as the first half ended with a number of corners for AFC Mansfield. Then in the 53rd minute just as the AFC Mansfield fans were starting to think that it was going to one of them nights, a corner from the right from Ryan Williams looks to be drifting out, until Dean Rick heads the ball back across the goal and the linesman judges the ball to have crossed the line. AFC Mansfield back on level terms to the displeasure of the Worsbrough Bridge players who did not believe the ball had crossed the line.
The game went through a period of midfield domination until in the 65th minute Brad Wilson crossed the ball from the right hand side, the ball was flicked on by Dean Rick into the path of Ryan Williams who struck with his left foot from just inside the penalty area. AFC Mansfield now 2 1 ahead and looking good for continuing their good league form.
The next chance coming to AFC Mansfield in the 79th minute after a good work down the right as Mark Ward back heals the ball into the path of Declan Brewin who finds Ryan Williams who fires the ball against the crossbar and the balls goes out for a goal kick.
Worsbrough Bridge go looking for the equalising goal and win a corner in the 84th minute which is cleared away by Chris Timons. This follows a number of long balls for Brad Kerr to run on to which were cleared by Jason White or dealt with by the AFC Mansfield defence.
The referee indicated 4 minutes additional time in which a long ball over the top for Brad Kerr was the only incident which Jason White came off his line quickly to clear.
That makes it 5 straight wins for the Bulls in the league. The promotion push definitely seems to be on the cards. The Bulls move on to Yorkshire Amateurs at the Forest Town Arena on Saturday afternoon with a 3 pm kick off.
Man of the Match : Danny Naylor
Attendance: 74
AFC Mansfield: White, Hannigan ( Tighe),Dudley (Wilson), Kitchen, Timons (c), Naylor D, Vilums (Brewin), Naylor J, Rick, Ward, Williams R. Unused subs Buxton, Whitman.
**************************************************Tuesday 3rd February 2015
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
Shirebrook Town 2
– 3 AFC Mansfield
The bumper 348 crowd who
braved a very cold night were treated to another rip roaring local derby. Both teams needed the points to continue
their promotion push.
AFC Mansfield had two
debutants starting, Jimmy Ghaichem signed from Scarborough Athletic and Tommy
Hannigan from Rainworth MW. Shirebrook
started with a more settled side after last week’s 5-0 win at Bottesford Town.
It was the visitors who
started the better of the two sides, taking the game to Shirebrook with ex
Shirebrook midfielder Joe Naylor firing over the bar on 3 minutes.
Another good move on 9 minutes
saw Declan Brewin feed Ryan Williams on the right flank. The wingers cross found Craig Mitchell but
the striker lifted his effort high and wide.
The Bulls took the lead on 12
minutes, more pressure on the home goal and when the ball was only half cleared
by Dale Sheppard and it dropped to Tommy Hannigan who drove home from 12
yards. This sparked wild celebrations
within the AFC supporters and a red smoke bomb was let off something not
usually seen in local non-league football.
The other debutant Jimmy
Ghaichem thought he had scored as well on 22 minutes. Receiving a knock down from Mitchell his low
drive had Sheppard stretching to turn it around the post.
A bizzare turn of events around
the half hour mark when the game was halted by referee Lee Freeman due to an
injury he had sustained. The man in the
middle swapped places with assistant Mehdi Najefi and the game got back
underway. Freeman was replaced for the 2nd
half on the line by local official Jamie O’Connor.
Shirebrook must have thought
they were about to equalise on 36 minutes when Jamie York went down in the box
from a challenge by Ash Kitchen. Kieren
Watson stepped up and drove the ball to Jason Whites right. The keeper blocked Watson’s initial kick and
then quickly got back to his feet to block the follow up from Watson.
White was in action again on
40 minutes with a fingertip save over the bar from Liam Morris. It was a good passage of play for the home
side and they equalised through Watson on 41 minutes. The striker pounced on a deflection when AFC
failed to clear their lines to fire home from 8 yards.
Shirebrook then took the lead when
a Liam Morris raced onto a through ball to shoot past White from 12 yards on 44
minutes.
Late goals against
Shirebrook are The Bulls raison d'etre and rising talent Declan Brewin pulled
the ball back for Craig Mitchell 30 seconds before the half time whistle and the
ball hitting the back of the net was inevitable.
Both sides battled
against a difficult and freezing by the minute surface to entertain the crowd
in the 2nd half. Mitchell had the chance
to put The Bulls in front on 56 minutes.
The striker getting on the end of a Ryan Williams cross only to see
Sheppard turn it behind for a corner.
Joe Naylor tried
his luck from 20 yards on 72 minutes but Sheppard was equal to it and the game
had a draw written all over it.
But we had
forgotten AFC Mansfield’s love of late goals and with just 3 minutes to go of
normal time Glyn Cotton produced a finish worthy of winning any game. His
curling 25 yard free kick had ex Bulls keeper Dale Sheppard at full stretch but
still found the top corner of the net.
The referee then inexplicably
found 12 minutes of added time but The Bulls stood firm to take the points and
moved up to 4th in the league.
Shirebrook Town: Sheppard, Hanson (c),
Dawson (Chambers 35), Nelthorpe, Plant,
Campion, York (Shepperd 78), Barnett
(Getliff 78), Morris, Dennis, Watson. Subs not used: Cook & Green.
AFC Mansfield: White, Hannigan, Dudley, Kitchen, Timons
(C) (Ludlow 45), Naylor J, Williams R, Cotton, Brewin, Mitchell (Naylor D 64),
Ghaichem (Buxton 70). Subs not used:
Rick & Whitman.
Referee: Mr Lee Freeman (South Yorkshire)
Assistants: Mr Mehdi Najefi (South Yorkshire) & Mr
Neil Allsop (Nottinghamshire)
Man of the Match: Shirebrook – Gareth
Campion, AFC Mansfield – Declan Brewin
Attendance: 348
**********************************
Saturday 31st January 2015
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 4 –
1 Teversal
A bumper crowd watched this game of two halves at The Forest
Town Arena. Teversal went in at the
break 1-0 up courtesy of an Aiden Harris volley. But AFC Mansfield dominated the 2nd
half and won with goals from Chris Timons, Ryan Williams, Mark Dudley and an
own goal from Luke Pickering.
The game started at a frenetic pace and the visitors had the
ball in the back of the net on 7 minutes only to see the offside flag
raised. At the other end Ryan Williams
fired wide from a tight angle.
Teversal were hustling and harrying the home side all over
the park and making life difficult for The Bulls. They did, however, have the ball in the back
of the net on 26 minutes. Ryan Brooks
parried a Craig Mitchell strike and when Tristan Whitman fired home the loose
ball AFC thought they had gone in front only to see the flag raised again to
keep the scores level.
Teversal were rewarded for all their hard work on 39
minutes. Pickering’s stinging drive was
saved by Jason White but Aiden Harris was on hand to volley home the loose ball
from 12 yards.
Bulls manager Rudy Funk made two changes at the break taking
off Phil Buxton and Tristan Whitman and bringing on Joe Naylor and Declan
Brewin. This had an immediate effect
when Joe Naylor fired over the bar on 46 minutes. The pressure continued and Mark Dudley put
his effort wide from 12 yards.
Joe Naylor then hit the side netting on 56 minutes and Craig
Mitchell headed wide 2 minutes later.
The equaliser came on 65 minutes from an Ash Kitchen long throw which
captain Chris Timons flicked past Brooks from 5 yards.
Ryan Williams saw his 25 yard effort shave the post on 72
minutes and a minute later Teversal saw another goal chalked off for offside
when Sean Dickinson rounded White to finish from 8 yards.
2 minutes later and more disappointment for Teversal when
Luke Pickering headed past his own keeper to give AFC Mansfield the lead.
Ryan Williams then made it 3 on 84 minutes firing home from
7 yards after Brad Wilson and Declan Brewin had linked up well down the right
flank.
The scoring was complete on 87 minutes when a Williams
corner half cleared found Mark Dudley on the far post and the defender bundled
the ball home from 2 yards.
AFC Mansfield now head into another local derby on Tuesday
night when they make the short trip to Shirebrook Town.
AFC Mansfield: White, Wilson, Dudley, Kitchen
(Tighe 80), Timons (C), Naylor D, Williams R, Buxton (Naylor J 45), Whitman
(Brewin 45), Mitchell, Cotton. Subs not
used: Vilums & Rick.
Teversal: Brooks, Robinson, Harris (Taylor 52),
Pickering, McGurk (C), Goodacre, Dickinson (Weaver 78), Langley, Brentnall
(Tobin 68), Birch, Cox. Subs not used:
Bates & Newton.
Referee: Mr Lee Hible (South Yorkshire)
Assistants: Mr Jerzy Banasik (Lincs.) & Miss
Elinor Blanchard (Lincs.)
Man of the Match:
AFC Mansfield – Brad Wilson, Teversal – Toby Birch
Attendance: 220
*******************************
Tuesday 27th January 2015
The Toolstation Northern Counties East League
League Challenge Cup 4th Round
Glasshoughton Welfare 0 - 2 AFC Mansfield
The Bulls produced another dominant display to progress to the Quarter Finals of the League Cup at Glasshoughton. Second half goals from Top scorer Dean Rick and goal a game Craig Mitchell sucured their passage.
Manager Rudy Funk made 6 changes to the FA Vase winning side and it worked perfectly. With 4 of the U21 team in the squad the team started very lively indeed. Although the less than perfect playing surface made it difficult for both sides.
In fact AFC's first real chance didn't come until the 25th minute. A long Ash Kitchen throw was only half cleared with the ball dropping to Phil Buxton. He hit a 20 yard effort that just dipped over the bar.
The Bulls went close again 10 minutes later, Brad Wilson released Declan Brewin down the right flank. Brewin raced past 3 defenders getting round the back, his layoff was blocked the ball came back to him and he unleashed a vicious effort that Archer in the home goal did well to turn around the post.
Glasshoughton enjoyed a moment of ascendancy at the start of the second half kicking down the slight slope. But it was short lived and AFC Mansfield began to take control.
On 59 minutes Brewing burst into the box past 2 defenders his rasping drive hit the underside of the bar and bounced down onto the line before being hooked away.
The Bulls went in front 2 minutes later a Danny Naylor through ball found Dean Rick who took a touch before firing past Archer from 12 yards.
Brewin was back to terrorising the Glasshoughton defense on 68 minutes, past 2 defenders and into the box before pulling the ball back to Craig Mitchell who fired narrowly over the bar.
10 minutes later and it was all over, a superb threaded pass from Phil Buxton found Craig Mitchell who steadied himself in the box before firing past the advancing Archer.
A sign of the AFC dominance was when Glasshoughton were awarded their first corner on 82 minutes and Chris Martin made his first real save on 89 minutes.
Glasshoughton Welfare: Archer, Mottley-Henry, Morley, Dyson, Wlsh, Snaith, Horton, Leach (Pollock 62), Kellet L (Hurst 62) , Kellet B (c), Prudoe. Subs not used:
 |
| DECLAN BREWIN Man of the Match |
AFC Mansfield: Martin, Wilson, Dudley, Kitchen, Timons (c), Naylor D, Vilums (Tighe 78), Buxton, Rick (Mitchell 68), Whitman (Williams D 62), Brewin. Subs not used: Williams R & Cotton.
Referee: Mr Nicholas Hawksby (N Yorks.)
Assistants: Mr G Haycock (W Yorks.) & Mr S Littlewood (N Yorks.)
Man of the Match: Declan Brewin
Attendance: 42
**************************
Saturday 24th January 2015
The FA Vase 4th Round
Chadderton 0 – 5 AFC Mansfield
AFC Mansfield moved into the last 16 of The FA Vase in
emphatic style putting 5 past hosts Chadderton FC without reply. Goals from Chris Timons, Ryan Williams,
Jordan Vilums and a brace from Craig Mitchell did the damage.
It was Chadderton’s biggest crowd of the season and was
bolstered by a great many travelling AFC fans.
The Bulls were without top scorer Dean Rick and influential midfielder
Danny Naylor so Manager Rudy Funk bought youngsters Brad Wilson and Danny Williams
into the squad.
The opening 10 minutes saw both sides feeling their way a
little, but the first warning of problems to come arrived on 14 minutes when
AFC Mansfield's Craig Mitchell netted from a flick on, only to be flagged
offside. However, Chadderton's respite
was only temporary as the visitors took the lead two minutes later with a well
worked goal. Ryan Williams delivered a corner into the near post from the left
and AFC Mansfield skipper Chris Timons timed a late run perfectly to get in
front of the Chadderton defense and glance a header into the top corner of the
net at the near post. 
Daniel Murray fired wide from 20 yards on 20 minutes as the
home side looked to get back into the game.
The Bulls doubled their lead on 34 minutes when Craig Mitchell threaded
the ball through to Ryan Williams.
Williams flicked the ball over the onrushing Dale Latham before rounding
him and firing home from 10 yards.
Chadderton missed a great chance to get back into the game on
36 minutes when a John Rogers' header from a corner was cleared off the line by
Kyle Ludlow. Two minutes later Dan
O'Connor was unlucky when he picked up the ball in midfield and as the
defenders backed off he unleashed a cracking 30 yarder that AFC Mansfield
keeper Jason White tipped onto the crossbar.
The home side came at The Bulls in the opening 10 minutes
with Adam Whitehead going close with a free kick, James Curley’s effort turned
around the post by White and Dan Murray’s header blocked by Mark Dudley.
Unfortunately this left the home side open to the counter attack and this was demonstrated perfectly on 58 minutes. Joe Naylor’s 40 yard cross field ball found Ryan Williams on the left flank. Williams delivered a first time cross into the path of Craig Mitchell who smashed his volley past Latham from 8 yards. This had a devastating effect on Chadderton, they were visibly shaken.
Unfortunately this left the home side open to the counter attack and this was demonstrated perfectly on 58 minutes. Joe Naylor’s 40 yard cross field ball found Ryan Williams on the left flank. Williams delivered a first time cross into the path of Craig Mitchell who smashed his volley past Latham from 8 yards. This had a devastating effect on Chadderton, they were visibly shaken.
AFC Mansfield began to dominate the game and the 4th
goal came on 73 minutes. It was the same
combination of Williams delivery and Mitchell’s accuracy in front of goal with
a header planted firmly in the bottom corner to leave Latham stranded.
The final goal followed 5 minutes later when substitute Jordan Vilums collected the ball out on the right flank. The wide man turned his marker one way then
the other and finally hit a deep cross to the far post. The flight of the ball deceived Latham and it
found the back of the net courtesy of the inside of the far post.
The final 10 minutes saw Mitchell go close twice to
completing his hat trick but the game ended with cheers from the travelling
faithful and a tough home game against NCEL Premier Division leaders Tadcaster
Albion awaits.
Chadderton: Latham, Harewood, Pauley (Sultan 57), Greenidge, Rogers, O’Connor, Curley, Sherwood, Murray Russell, Whitehead.
 |
| Man of the Match |
Referee: Mr Martin
Woods
Man
of the Match: Ryan Williams
Attendance: 166
*****************************************
Wednesday 14th January 2015
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 2 –
0 EccleshillUnited
Both teams deserve enormous credit for battling the elements
for 90 minutes and still entertain the hardy crowd that turned out to watch
this game. Everybody was battered from
start to finish by high winds and rain on a very cold night.
The Bulls, courtesy of a goal in each half ran out
winners. Phil Buxton put them in front
in the first half and Craig Mitchell sealed the points 7 minutes from time to
send AFC Mansfield up to 5th in the league.
Manager Rudy Funk made a couple of changes from Saturday,
Buxton and Dean Rick coming into the starting 11 and Tristan Whitman and Joe
Naylor going to the bench.
Kicking with the wind in the 1st half the home
side pressurised visitors Eccleshill from the start with Danny Naylor and Dean
Rick going close in the opening 15 minutes.
Ryan Williams short corner on 23 minutes found Glyn Cotton
whose rasping low drive was well held by Joe Stead in the Eccleshill goal. Two minutes later Cotton tried his luck from
25 yards but his shot was a yard over the bar.
 |
| Phil Buxton |
The Bulls took the lead on 38 minutes, a cross from Danny
Naylor was not dealt with by the Eccleshill defence and the ball dropped to the
feet of Phil Buxton on the edge of the box.
The midfielder took a touch and then drilled the ball past Stead into
the bottom right and corner of the net.
Jason White was fouled on 40 minutes the ball dropping to
Matt Burrus who hit the bar from 15 yards although the referee had already
blown for the foul.
Ryan Williams sliced his chance wide to double the lead on
43 minutes.
Eccleshill playing with the wind should have gone more
direct but continued to role the ball out from their keeper allowing AFC to
press them higher up the pitch. Craig
Mitchell nearly benefitted from this on 55 minutes but lifted his drive over
the bar. Mitchell went closer 2 minutes later with Stead turning his near post
effort behind for a corner.
Marcus Edwards saw his volley crash back off the bar on 65
minutes and at the other end a determined run down the left saw Williams drive
the ball across goal and James Queerie hooked the ball away from Mitchell’s
feet.
|
| Man of the Match Craig Mitchell |
Another Mitchell effort went over the bar on 80 minutes but
his effort was rewarded 3 minutes later when he headed home from an Ash Kitchen
long throw to seal the points for AFC Mansfield.
Declan Brewin outstripped Corey Novotny on 87 minutes with
his cross finding Glyn Cotton who fired wide.
After the game manager Rudy Funk had this to say “This is
probably the best performance I have seen since I came to the club. The work rate and commitment was top
class. The league is our main priority,
but this gives us a good platform for Saturday’s FA Vase game. The players are full of confidence and raring
to go.”
AFC Mansfield: White, Ludlow, Dudley, Kitchen,
Timons (c), Buxton, Williams R, Naylor D, Rick (Naylor J 70), Mitchell (Brewin
85), Cotton. Subs not used: Tighe,
Whitman & Vilums.
Eccleshill United: Stead, Furst, Queerie, Springer
(Novotny 75), Conde, Storr, Rogers (Rosenstrauch 75), Flaherty, Edwards,
Burrus, Voissey. Subs not used: Mills,
Stevenson & Lehman.
Referee: Mr Paul Matthewson (Sth Yorks.)
Assistants: Mr Ryan Henger & Mr Jack Fewster
Attendance: 71
Man of the Match: Craig Mitchell
***************************************
Saturday 10th
January 2015
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
Selby Town 1 – 4 AFC
Mansfield
A brace from man of the match Craig Mitchell, a superb
volley by Tristan Whitman and a debut goal for Glyn Cotton completed a sharp
professional performance for AFC Mansfield.
Before the game awards were presented to Danny Naylor and
Dean Rick for 100 appearances for the club and then both teams set about battling
with the weather and the high winds that blew straight across the pitch at
Selby.
The first chance came on 15 minutes when Tristan Whitman fed
Craig Mitchell down the left. Mitchell
powered his way past 2 defenders before curling his effort narrowly over the
bar from the edge of the box. Mitchell
lead the line well throughout the game and much of the Mansfield’s sides moves came through him.
5 minutes later and Mitchell went one better planting a
header past Rob Zand off a Kyle Ludlow cross and after excellent work down the
right flank from Ryan Williams and Whitman.
The lead was short lived when Matt Turnbull rose
unchallenged in the box to head past Jason White from a free kick.
Possibly the goal of the game came on the half hour mark, a
Ryan Williams corner driven into the box was met in spectacular style by a
flying volley from Tristan Whitman that left keeper Zand stranded as AFC
Mansfield retook the lead.
The Bulls could have increased their lead before the break
both Mitchell and Ludlow going close.
The 2nd half was only 6 minutes old when AFC Mansfield
extended their lead. Ryan Wiliams made a
superb run down the right flank and found Craig Mitchell with a clever
pass. The striker took his time picked
his spot and stroked the ball past the advancing Zand.
The final goal came on 71 minutes and again it was Williams
who provided the pass. Another great run
down the right flank, this time finding debutant Glyn Cotton in the box. Cotton had a bit of work to do, wriggling
past two defenders, one of them Dane Mortimer, playing under his real name this
time, but the final shot had the desired effect beating Zand and finding the
net.
Dean Rick could have made it 5-1 on 82 minutes, sent clear
by a Danny Naylor pass his first effort was blocked by Zand and he scooped his
follow up wide of the mark.
Cotton then saw a rasping 25 yard free kick saved well by Zand and Craig Mitchell fluffed
his chance of a hat-trick firing wide from just 10 yards.
A confident display by AFC Mansfield and they will be hoping
to continue this form on Wednesday night when they host Eccleshill United at
The Forest Town Arena.
Selby Town: Zand, Horsman, Williams (Raistrick 62),
Turnbull, Evans, Mortimer, Forrester, Dickman (c) (Medcalf 21), Jackson,
Muirhead, Bunch. Sub not used: Ceiply
AFC Mansfield: White, Dudley, Ludlow, Kitchen,
Timons (c), Naylor J (Buxton 84), Williams R (Rick 78), Naylor D, Whitman
(Vilums 71), Mitchell, Cotton. Subs not
used: Meehan & Tighe
Referee: Mr Adam Smith (South Yorks.)
Assistants: Mr Liam Smith (South Yorks.) &
Miss Natasha Wilson (South Yorks.)
Attendance: 112
Man of the Match: Craig Mitchell
*******************************************
Saturday 3rd January 2015
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 3 –
3 Shirebrook Town
AFC Mansfield made the comeback of all comebacks when Declan
Brewin scored in the last minute to rescue a point for The Bulls. A bumper crowd of 311 certainly got there
monies worth in this edge of the seat local derby.
3-0 down and reduced to 10 men the Mansfield side must have
thought it was all over but goals from Ryan Williams, Joe Naylor and Brewin
silenced the vociferous Shirebrook following.
Shirebrook made the better start as the home side looked as
if they were still getting over Christmas.
It was no surprise when the visitors took the lead on 12 minutes. Indecision at the back allowed Kieron Watson
to turn neatly in the box and fire a low drive past Jason White from 12 yards.
Shirebrook continued to have the better of the exchanges and
Kyle Ludlow was forced to block a Liam Morris shot on goal after 16 minutes.
The home side finally managed to get into the game with Joe
McCormack getting behind a Dean Rick low drive on 22 minutes. Back at the other end Morris fired high and
wide on 26 minutes.
Craig Mitchell found the side netting with his effort on the
half hour mark as AFC began to get back into the game. Mitchell then headed a Ryan Williams cross
wide of the mark on 35 minutes.
Things got worse for the home side towards the end of the
first half when Danny Naylor was booked for a late challenge and then a minute
later made another clumsy challenge for his 2nd yellow card reducing
The Bulls to 10 men.
The introduction of Scott Rickards to replace Kyle Ludlow at
the start of the 2nd half was going to have an effect on the game
later on. But in the meantime it just
got worse for AFC Mansfield.
Jamie York hit a dipping shot from just outside the box on
51 minutes that flashed past White and in off the underside of the bar to
double the visitors lead.
Will Dennis fired well wide on the hour mark and Dean Rick
thought he had reduced the arrears on 62 minutes firing home from a Ryan
Williams cross only to be denied by a linesman’s flag.
Shirebrook made it 3-0 on 75 minutes, Matt Plant forcing the
ball home inside the 6 yard box from a corner.
Shirebrook then decided to sit deep and invite the home side on and with
room to operate in midfield Rickards and Williams began to take control.
The chanting from the Shirebrook fans got louder as they
mocked AFC Manager Rudy Funk, unfortunately it was ill advised as in the next
13 minutes their cheers turned to despair as their team surrendered an
unassailable position.
Ryan Williams hit a superb looping first time effort from
just outside the box to beat McCormack on 77 minutes and Shirebrook started to
get nervous.
On 82 minutes Declan Brewin delivered a cross to the far
post where Joe Naylor’s header was turned around the post by Dennis. At the other end Watson raced clear only to
be denied by some superb keeping by White.
From the resulting corner Plant headed wide with a free header.
The comeback continued on 87 minutes when Joe Naylor headed
home on the far post from a Scott Rickards cross.
 |
| Declan Brewin |
White again denied Watson a minute later in another one on
one and this was to cost Shirebrook dearly.
White found Declan Brewin down the right flank and the young striker
raced to the edge of the box and unleashed a stinging drive that flew into the
top corner to bring the scores level.
A chant of ‘you’re not singing anymore’ rang out from the
Mansfield fans as Shirebrook looked shell shocked. The game had just enough time to restart
before the referee blew the final whistle and to be fair if it had carried on
for a further 5 minutes AFC Mansfield looked the more likely to win it.
The referee explained after the match he had played just
over 6 minutes added time due to a couple of injuries, 4 goals, 5 substitutions
and countless times when the ball had been hoofed out of the playing area by an
increasingly desperate visiting defense.
In truth AFC Mansfield weren’t at their best but Shirebrook
failed to finish off the game when they had the chances to. It all means that the return fixture in a
month’s time promises to be cracker of a game and one not to be missed.
AFC Mansfield: White, Ludlow (Rickards 45),
Dudley, Kitchen, Timons (c), Naylor J, Williams R, Naylor D, Rick (Brewin 66),
Mitchell, Whitman (Buxton 83). Subs not
used: TIghe & Vilums
Shirebrook Town: McCormack, Dennis, Dawson
(Chambers 65), Weaver, Plant, Campion, York, Hanson (c), Morris (Green 88),
Shepherd, Watson. Subs not used: Ellis
& Cook.
Referee: Mr Lee Freeman (Sth Yorks.)
 |
| Man of the Match |
Assistants: Mr Charles Cresswell-Hibbert (Notts.)
& Mr Kelvin Wilson (Derbys.)
Man of the Match: Jason White (AFC Mansfield),
Jamie York (Shirebrook Town)
Attendance: 311
**********************************
Saturday 20th December 2014
The Toolstation Northern Counties East
League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 3 – 0 Winterton Rangers
AFC Mansfield eased into
Christmas with a comfortable win against Winterton Rangers at The Forest Town
Arena on Saturday. A brace from Tristan
Whitman to make it 7 goals in 7 games for the striker and a volley form Ash
Kitchen did the damage.
The Bulls were missing
leading goalscorer Dean Rick through suspension and Scott Rickards and Joe
Meehan through illness. But they
welcomed back Kyle Ludlow and Joe Naylor to the starting line-up.
Early pressure in the
opening minutes with Craig Mitchell thinking he had scored only to see Daniel
Waring superbly tip his goalbound header over the bar.
Whitman had the ball in the
back of the net on 10 minutes from a Joe Naylor cross only to see it chalked
off for offside.
The Bulls went in front on
21 minutes, an Ash Kitchen looping cross was controlled first time by Danny
Williams in the box. A neat square ball
to Whitman who turned neatly before drilling the ball into the bottom left
corner past the outstretched Waring.
Winterton were restricted to
long range efforts which Jason White dealt with comfortably.
AFC doubled their lead on 32 minutes, a
superbly delivered corner by Phil Buxton found Joe Naylor on the far post. The midfielder headed the ball back across
goal to the opposite post where Ash Kitchen fired a volley past Waring.
The scoring was completed
early in the second half, a Kyle Ludlow free kick was met by Joe Naylor’s
head. Waring managed to parry the header
but pushed it towards the far post and the waiting Whitman who headed home from
3 yards.
The game died a little after
this, Winterton posed no threat and AFC Mansfield took their foot off the gas.
 |
| 2 goals from Tristan Whitman |
A couple of chances at the
end of the game, Robbie Start for the visitors saw his edge of the box effort
go wide of the mark on 88 minutes and Buxton headed wide from a Danny Tighe
cross a minute later.
This sets the scene nicely
for back to back games against local rivals Shirebrook Town over the festive
period.
AFC Mansfield:
White, Ludlow (Wilson 70), Dudley, Kitchen, Timons (c), Naylor J, Buxton,
Naylor D (Tighe 75), Whitman, Mitchell, Williams (Vilums 60).
|
| Man of the Match |
Winterton Rangers: Waring (c), Coulbeck, Cawsey, Welsh (Severn 50),
Thompson, Williamson, Varley, Marshall (Hindson 76), McKay (Bacon 79),
Anderson, Start. Subs not used: Dungworth
& Steeper.
Referee: Mr
Ashley Royston (Sth Yorks.)
Assistants:
Mr Stephen Sears (Notts.) & Miss Brittany Smith (Derbys.)
Attendance:
61
Man of the Match: Ashley Kitchen
*********************************
Wednesday 10th
December 2014
The Toolstation
Northern Counties League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 3 –
1 Pontefract Collieries
Both teams had debutant No. 10’s Craig Mitchell for AFC and
Aaron Moxam for Pontefract. But it was AFC Mansfield’s new signing Craig
Mitchell that won that particular battle securing a brace on his debut and also
the Man of the Match award. The Bulls
goal tally was completed by Tristan Whitman who continued his fine run of goals
with another clinical finish.
Pontefract’s goal came from substitute Matt Marsden and was only a
consolation at the end of a game that AFC Mansfield dominated.
Playing with the wind at their backs the home side were
immediately pressurising the Pontefract goal.
But it wasn’t until the 20th minute that they got the break
through they deserved. Scott Rickards
delivering a ball into the box that was flicked on by Dean Rick to the far post
where Craig Mitchell outjumped Adam Robinson to head home his first goal for
the club.
Mitchell nearly doubled his tally 2 minutes later with a 20
yard curling effort that had the keeper beaten but went narrowly wide of the
far post.
Pontefract should have been level on the half hour mark when
Tom Copping crashed his header against the bar.
The pressure was soon resumed and Craig Parry made an excellent save
from Rick on 32 minutes and then again on 36 minutes from Phil Buxton.
Parry was in action again on 40 minutes, this time turning a
Rick header around the post for a corner.
The half ended with just a goal between the two sides and
Pontefract were left wondering why it was only one.
Captain Liam Radford saw his low drive easily saved by Jason
White on the hour mark. Mitchell turned
neatly in the box on 67 minutes but fired well over from 12 yards.
A Rickards through ball found Mitchell on the left
flank. The striker went past a defender
got to the line and calmly waited for Tristan Whitman before pulling the ball
back. Whitman stepped inside one
defender before rifling the ball past 3 defenders on the line to make it 2-0 on
79 minutes.
Joe Meehan came to The Bulls rescue on 86 minutes heading a
goalbound effort from Radford onto the bar.
AFC Mansfield made it 3-0 on 88 minutes, Danny Williams
making a surging run down the left flank before driving the ball across the 6
yard box for Mitchell to hit the roof of the net with a first time finish.
Pontefract got their consolation goal in the last minute, AFC
failing to clear and when the ball came back into the box Matt Marsden flick it
through a group of players and into the net.
AFC Mansfield’s last game before Christmas will be a home
game against Winterton Rangers on Saturday 20th December.
AFC
Mansfield: White, Meehan, Dudley, Kitchen, Timons (c), Buxton (Tighe
84), Rickards, Naylor D, Rick (Williams 70), Mitchell, Whitman (Kimberley
86). Subs not used: Ludlow & Saxby
Pontefract
Collieries: Parry, Robinson C, Robinson A (Joseph 44), Copping, Rouse,
Corbett (Heeley 70), Catton, Kamara (Marsden 73), Radford (c), Moxam and
Whitehouse. Subs not used: Narvil &
Handley
Referee: Mr Wayne
Cooper (Sth Yorks.)
Assistants: Mr Neil
Allsop (Notts.) & Mr Colin Bailey (Sth Yorks.)
Attendance: 69
Man
of the Match: Craig Mitchell
Sunday 7th December 2014
The FA Vase 3rd Round
Mickleover Royals 0 – 1 AFC Mansfield
In only their 3rd season of existence AFC
Mansfield made history by reaching the last 32 of The FA Vase at The Raygar
Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Man of the Match Tristan Whitman got the only goal a minute
from time to send The Bulls through.
The home side started the brighter of the two, playing with 3
up front they pushed The Bulls back without really threatening in the opening
minutes. Scott Rickards had the visitors
first chance on 7 minutes forcing Ashley Warner down to his right to deny the
midfielder. A minute later Phil Buxton
hit a volley wide of the mark from 15 yards.
Kirk Francis raced clear on 10 minutes but his shot was a
tame one and Jason White dealt with it comfortably. Daniel Martin then fired over the bar with a
25 yard free kick 2 minutes later.
Mickleover had been the better side for the first 30 minutes
but the game began to change in the last 15.
A neat move involving Mark Dudley and Rickards down the left found Dean
Rick in the box. Rick turned sharply and
fired a low drive which Warner did well to turn away down to his left. Whitman fired the follow up into the side
netting.
Another neat passing move on 34 minutes found Rick again but
this time he fired wide of the mark from 12 yards.
Both teams had free kicks blocked at the start of the 2nd
half but it was AFC that began to dominate possession as the game wore on.
Whitman did well down the right flank before delivering a
cross to the far post where Joe Naylor headed inches over the bar. At the other end Simpson fires inches wide
from 20 yards.
Whitman was again involved in the Mickleover box, a neat chip
to the far post that Buxton just failed to make contact with.
Tyrell Shannon cut inside 2 defenders on 82 minutes before
firing high and wide from 12 yards. A
scramble inside the AFC box on 85 minutes was only half cleared. When the ball came back in Steve O’Connell
headed wide of the far post.
Chris Timons made a superb tackle on 87 minutes to deny Lois
Menson in the box. Timons then had the
ball in the back of the net from a Buxton corner but the goal was chalked off
for a push in the box.
There was an extended period of added on time and just when
everybody was preparing for extra time the winning goal came. A long clearance from Mark Dudley found
Whitman on the edge of the Mickleover box, the striker took a touch and with
keeper Warner advancing Whitman cleverly lifted the ball over him and into the
net sending the AFC supporters wild with delight. There was just enough time for one more move
form the home side which came to nothing and then that was it. AFC Mansfield will eagerly await the draw on
Monday afternoon.
Mickleover
Royals: Warner, Thompson, Buxton O, Simpson, Aliguma, Martin (c),
Foster, Roberts, Hamson (O’Connell 67), Shannon & Francis (Menson 75). Subs not used:
AFC
Mansfield: White, Meehan, Dudley, Kitchen, Timons (c), Naylor J,
Buxton, Naylor D, Rick (Haslam 85), Whitman & Rickards. Subs not used: Tighe, Kimberley, Ludlow &
Grayson.
Referee: Mr
Richard Watson (Staffordshire)
Man of the Match: Tristan Whitman
Attendance: 134
******************************************
Saturday 29th November 2014
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
Rossington Main 2
– 2 AFC Mansfield
Despite a brace from striker Tristan Whitman AFC Mansfield
had to settle for a point at Rossington on Saturday.
The Bulls were without striker Dean Rick, midfielder Joe
Naylor and central defender Kyle Ludlow for the trip to Rossington’s Oxford
Street ground.
AFC Mansfield were on the front foot straight away and Danny Naylor saw his 25 yard effort saved
by keeper Jordan Wildey after just 2 minutes.
Scott Rickards fed the ball out to Carl Haslam on the right
flank on 6 minutes, Haslam cut inside and hit a curling effort from the edge of
the box that had Wildey beaten but drifted inches wide of the far post.
The Bulls went in front on 11 minutes, a curling right hand
corner from Danny Williams was met by Tristan Whitman’s head. The ball hit the
post and was then hooked away but the linesman signalled the ball had crossed
the line.
Rossington could have equalised on 16 minutes when Lee
Holmes found himself with a shot on goal, unfortunately his effort was always
rising over the bar.
The pressure continued at the other end and Zak Oakshott
sliced a clearance over the bar from a cross by Whitman.
The home side were back on level terms on 24 minutes when
Shaun Pendleton picked the ball up 30 yards out and was given the space and
time to unleash an unstoppable drive that flew into the top right hand corner
of the net.
We didn’t have to wait long for AFC Mansfield to regain the
lead. Just 3 minutes later and Rickards
released Williams down the left.
Williams wriggled past 3 defenders before pulling the ball back across
the 6 yard box to Whitman who had the simplest of finishes for his second of
the game.
AFC Mansfield came out for the second half and looked
content to defend their slender lead.
But pressure began to mount and on the hour mark successive blocks in
the 6 yard box were just a sign of things to come.
Jason White got down well on 63 minutes to save from Jordan
Hatton’s edge of the box low drive.
Rossington drew level on 76 minutes, a series of first time
passes opened up the visitors defence and the ball eventually found Niall Doyle
who fired past White from 12 yards.
This did wake AFC Mansfield up and Naylor and Buxton went
close from outside the box. Both Naylor
and Brewin went close in the dying minutes but Rossington held out to salvage a
point from the game.
No time to rest as AFC Mansfield return home on Wednesday
when they take on Bottesford Town, kick off is 7.45pm.
Rossington Main: Wildey, Baldry, Shrimpton,
Pendleton, Fielding, Oakshott, Bennett, Hatton, Holmes, Doyle, Billam. Subs not used: Green, Ringsell, Marquis & Woodhall.
AFC Mansfield: White, Wilson, Dudley, Kitchen,
Timons (c), Naylor D, Rickards, Buxton, Whitman, Haslam, Williams. Subs not used: Vilums, Meehan & Saxby.
Referee: Mr David Jones (Lincs.)
Assistants: Mr Luke Lazenby (Sth Yorks.) & Mr
Gregory Roberts (Sth Yorks.)
Attendance: 86
Man of the Match: Ashley Kitchen
*****************************************
Wednesday 26th
November 2014
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 4 –
1 Lincoln Moorlands Railway
The Bulls at last returned home after an extensive run of
away fixtures. Manager Rudy Funk made
just one change from the FA Vase winning side on Saturday. Back in came Mark Dudley for Carl Haslam who
was unavailable through work commitments.
Lincoln Moorlands came on the back of a poor run of results
and right from the kick off they were on the back foot. Tristan Whitman had the first real chance on
7 minutes, turning neatly in the box before forcing a great save out of Craig
Turne in the Lincoln goal.
Plenty of pressure from AFC Mansfield but it wasn’t until
the 20th minute that Turne goal was troubled again. This time Dean Rick fired wide of the far
post from just inside the box.
A warning for The Bulls on 25 minutes when Simon Mowbray got
in behind but thankfully he pulled his low drive wide of the far post.
Mowbray nearly got the opener 4 minutes later, again getting
behind the AFC back four and racing past Jason White and into the box. He looked certain to score but young full
back Brad Wilson had other ideas. Making
up an incredible amount of ground Wilson put in a superb sliding tackle 5 yards
out to deny Mowbray. In fact Wilson’s
all round performance made him a shoe in for Man of the Match and is an
indication of how well the U21 side is working out for the club.
AFC Mansfield went in front on 44 minutes. A looping forward ball from Ash Kitchen put
pressure on the visitors defence and Danny Williams was first to make contact
heading the ball on to Dean Rick. Rick turned
full circle before firing past Turne from 7 yards.
The first 10 minutes of the second half saw The Bulls have
the ball in the back of the net 2 times with both efforts cancelled out by a
linesman’s flag. The first was a kick
from Jason White that bounced inside the opposition box before going over Turne’s
head. No contact was made with the
keeper so it must have been for offside.
The 2nd chance saw Rick turn outpace a defender and fire past
Turne only to see the flag go up again for offside.
It got worse for Rick on 66 minutes, giving the ball away in
his own half he could only watch as it was delivered to the far post where
George Asplin headed goalwards and although White managed to get a hand to it
and force it onto the post the ball found its way into the net.
Another good kick from White found Buxton down the right
flank, Phil Buxton’s first time ball sent Rick clear and the Captain
confidently fired past Turne to regain the lead on 70 minutes.
Declan Brewin scored his first goal of the season for the 1st
team after coming on to replace Dean Rick.
Brewin collected Mark Dudley’s through ball on 83 minutes, outpaced
right back Matt Coe and fired a superb drive past Turne from 15 yards.
AFC Mansfield completed the scoring on 87 minutes and again
it was another first for a player. Tristan Whitman a recent signing from
Rainworth MW got his first goal for the club.
Tristan has been putting in some impressive performances for the club
and got his just rewards when he finished off another good move to fire home
the fourth goal on 87 minutes.
The Bulls travel to Rossington Main on Saturday and will be
hoping to keep this winning run going.
AFC Mansfield: White, Wilson, Dudley, Kitchen,
Timons, Naylor J, Rickards (Naylor D 64), Buxton, Rick (Brewin 72), Whitman,
Williams (Grayson 80). Subs not used:
Tighe & Saxby.
Lincoln Moorlands Railway: Turne, Coe, Thurston,
Forbes (c), Hiatt (Hodds 74), Wren, Szendry (Conlon 84), Pell, Hawkin, Mowbray,
Asplin.
 |
| Man of the Match |
Referee: Mr James McLeod (London)
Assistants: Mr John Stevens (Derbys.) & Mr
Kelvin Wilson (Derbys.)
Attendance: 62
Man of the Match: Brad Wilson
Saturday 22nd November 2014
The FA Vase Round 2
Shepshed Dynamo 2 – 3 AFC Mansfield
AFC Mansfield progressed to the 3rd round of the
FA Vase at the expense of Midland League side Shepshed Dynamo. It took extra time to do it in a rip-roaring
cup tie that entertained the crowd right up until the final whistle.
The Bulls made four changes to the side that won in midweek,
Ash Kitchen, Chris Timons, Joe Naylor and Carl Haslam all came back into the
starting line-up.
The visitors were kicking up the slope at The Dovecote
Stadium and neither side could dominate the early exchanges. AFC won their first corner on 10 minutes
which came to nothing. Then on 18
minutes Carl Haslam had his first sight of goal. Racing clear of his marker his rasping drive
was palmed away by keeper Ryan Thacker and collected at the 2nd
attempt.
An inviting cross from Scott Rickards on 20 minutes saw Dean
Rick stretch but just fail to connect at the far post. Chris Timons was in the wars clashing heads
three times during the first half but the experienced defender never missed a
challenge and was awesome throughout the game and thoroughly deserved the Man
of the Match award.
On the half hour mark Haslam broke clear again but this time
pulled his shot wide of the far post.
Shepshed had their first shot on target after 40 minutes
with Gavin Saxby getting down well at his near post to deny Brett Darby. So the half finished goalless but there were
definitely some goals in the game.
10 minutes into the 2nd half AFC Mansfield took
the lead, somewhat controversially. A
long throw from Ash Kitchen was only half cleared with the ball falling to
Scott Rickards who drove the ball through a mass of players and into the net. The linesman on the far side had his flag up
and it looked as if the goal would be chalked off. Referee Trevor Sharratt went over and had a
long discussion with his assistant and overruled him and signalled for a
goal. This incensed the home side and
Chris Gray was booked for protesting too much.
The lead, however, was short lived 4 minutes later and a
free kick was delivered into the AFC box and Jimmy Brooks met it with a
glancing header that nestled in the back of the net.
Haslam fired wide again on 61 minutes and Saxby denied Steve
Towers with another fine save a minute later.
Alvin Jarvis was booked on 77 minutes for putting the ball
into the net with his hand and Ashley Grayson missed the target as the game
lurched towards extra time. Saxby made
another important save this time denying substitute Courtney Meade in the last
minute of normal time.
Shepshed took the lead 5 minutes into the first period of
extra time. It was a root one goal when
a kick from keeper Thacker eluded the AFC back line and top scorer Adam Vasey
took one touch before firing past Saxby.
Again the lead was short lived, 5 minutes later Rick made a
great run into the box before shielding the ball and then laying it back into
the path of Phil Buxton who fired past Thacker to bring the scores level.
The Bulls were now in the ascendancy taking the game to the
home side in the 2nd period of extra time. Despite the pressure it looked like the game
was going to a replay. But Carl Haslam
had different ideas. The striker got on
the end of a sweeping pass across field from Rickards, raced into the box
turned his marker and fired past Thacker with the ball hitting the far post
rolling across the line and hitting the net on the other side of the goal. A goal worthy of winning any game and a
minute later he nearly doubled his tally, forcing a fine save out of Thacker.
Shepshed Dynamo: Thacker, Gray, Beastall, Chapman,
Jarvis, Brooks (c), Hind, Towers, Vasey, Darby (Meade 84), Cobb (Joachim 95). Subs not used: Staniland, Bennett &
Fletcher
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Wilson, Williams, Kitchen,
Timons, Naylor J (Naylor D 112), Rickards, Buxton, Rick (Brewin 105), Haslam,
Whitman (Grayson 65). Sub not used:
Ludlow
 |
| Man of the Match |
Referee: Mr Trevor Sharratt
Attendance: 141
Man of the Match: Chris Timons
**************************
Wednesday 19th November 2014
The Toolstation Northern Couinties East League Cup
Round 3
Eccleshill Utd 1 - 3 AFC Mansfield
AFC Mansfield made the long trip to Eccleshill with a changed side from Saturday's odd goal in 7 defeat at Penistone. No fewer than five changes to the starting line up due to injuries and non availability. In came Tristan Whitman for his first start since signing from Rainworth MW, crowd favourite Joe 'Jammy' Meehan returned to play at the heart of defence after spending most of this season at CML side Bilsthorpe. Danny Williams made the 11 after being injured for the last 3 weeks, Phill Buxton started after being on the bench for the last 2 games and finally Brad Wilson, captain of the U21 side made another appearance at right back.
The Bulls had learnt from their previous game against Eccleshill and they allowed the hosts to play from the back but didn't go chasing the ball in the opposition half this compacted play in the middle of the park and Eccleshill found it difficult to break down a disciplined AFC side.
The visitors thought they had a penalty after just 10 minutes when Dean Rick was upended in the box but amazingly the referee Matt Bacon who overall had an excellent game waved play on.
The next real chance for The Bulls came on 24 minutes when Ash Grayson saw his curling effort turned around the post by Ethan Cashen in the home goal. From the resulting corner Phil Buxton volleyed into the side netting on the far post.
AFC Mansfield took the lead at the end of the first half, a 'Jammy' Meehan looping forward ball saw Dean Rick out muscle defender Brandon Turner and keeper Cashen before stroking the ball home from 12 yards at a tight angle.
Of course AFC didn't haver it all their own way and the pace of Marcus Edwards was always a threat although his shooting boots were missing on at least two occasions when he elected to pass rather than shooting.
Grayson could have made it 2-0 at the start of the 2nd half but headed a Scott Rickards free kick wide of the mark.
Marcus Edwards saw his curling free kick crash back off the bar on 50 minutes and in true cup tie fashion it was becoming end to end stuff.
The Bulls got their 2nd goal on 63 minutes, sustained pressure on the home goal with the Eccleshill defence struggling to clear their lines. Danny Williams fired the ball back into the box and an outstretched arm of a defender stopped it in its tracks. Referee Matt Bacon had no hesitation and pointed to the spot. Scott Rickards sent Cashen the wrong way with a calm and clinical finish.
Two minutes later and Saxby was guilty of an over zealous challenge in the box and another penalty was awarded. Matt Burrus had the chance to reduce the arrears and fired the spot kick low into the right hand corner. Saxby had other ideas and made a superb save to deny the home side.
Declan Brewin was unlucky when he burst into the box on 70 minutes beating Cashen with his low drive but also the far post by inches.
Eccleshill pulled one back on 73 minutes, Marcus Edwards pouncing on a rare mistake at the back from The Bulls defence to fire into the far corner past Saxby from 15 yards.
AFC Mansfield made the game safe in the final 5 minutes a long headed clearance saw Rick out pace the home defenders and when the ball bounced just outside the area Rick bravely headed towards goal before being wiped out by the onrushing 6' 6" Cashen. The ball bounced over the line and Rick was eventually replaced for the final few minutes by Danny Tighe. A trip to casualty to have the gash in his head glued together followed the next day. Cashen should count himself lucky not to receive at least a yellow card in what was at best a very rash challenge.
AFC Mansfield have another away trip in the last 16 with the winners of Glasshoughton Welfare and Bridlington Town to be their hosts.
Another cup game for The Bulls on Saturday, they travel to Midland League Shepshed Dynamo for the 2nd round of The FA Vase with prize money of £1200 up for grabs.
 |
| Man of the Match |
Eccleshill Utd: Cashen, Mills, Queere, Turner, Conde, Burrus, Rivera, Stevenson, Edwards, Flaherty, Rosenstraugh.
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Wilson, Dudley, Meehan, Ludlow, Buxton, Rickards, Grayson, Rick (c) (Tighe 88), Whitman (Brewin 60), Williams.
Referee: Matt Bacon
Assistants: Cameron Pope and Richard Woodard
Attendance: 17
Man of the Match: Dean Rick
Listen to Manager Rudy Funks post match reaction to the win.
************************************
Saturday 15th November 2014
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
Penistone Church 4
– 3 AFC Mansfield
The Bulls started brightly, Carl Haslam making a series of
runs down the left flank and on one such run he cut inside and unleashed a low
drive which Rob Poulter did well to turn around the post after just 5 minutes.
AFC Mansfield went in front on 14 minutes, a superb cross
from the right by Danny Tighe into the box found Nathan Benger who climbed
above everybody to power home his header into the right hand corner of the net.
The lead was short lived, two minutes later while attempting
to clear a high ball into the box Gavin Saxby was guilty of bowling over
Dickinson and a penalty was given.
Dickinson sent Saxby the wrong way and the scores were level.
The Bulls were back in front on …minutes, another fine
delivery from Tighe this time from a free kick on the left flank. The initial delivery was blocked by Jones on
the near post but after a scramble in the box the ball came across to Joe
Naylor who fired home from 6 yards.
There was every reason for optimism but that was well and
truly laid to rest in an awful opening 10 minutes of the second half. Firstly a whipped in free kick took a
deflection off the wall and then cannoned off Kyle Ludlow leaving Saxby
stranded as the ball flew into the net for an equalising goal on 52 minutes.
Three minutes later and Dickinson was allowed the time to
pick up a loose ball on the edge of the box, turn and pick his spot as Tighe
and Ludlow dawdled to close him down.
AFC Mansfield were now chasing the game and this is where
the match report gets a little foggy, literally. The fog had been there all game but with the
light going and the fog getting worse it was difficult at time to see further
than 20 metres.
Penistone’s fourth goal on 78 minutes was a complete mystery
scored by Tom Jones apparently. Stood on
the halfway line it was impossible to see what had happened. Substitutions were made and were only
identified when the players came over to the side opposite to the dugouts.
The Bulls pulled a goal back through Scott Rickards on 86
minutes and apparently it was a 25 yard drive, again this is hearsay because
the fog restricted all but the few that were close enough to see through the
dense fog. This set up a tense few
minutes for the home side but they stood firm to take the points.
Three points given away with some poor
defending and this will need to be addressed in the coming weeks. However, no rest for AFC they travel to
Eccleshill Utd on Wednesday for the 3rd round of the League Cup and
then travel down to Shepshed Dynamo for the 2nd round of The FA Vase
on Saturday.
Penistone Church: Poulter, Lee, Howes (c), Jones,
Whitehead, Lovell, Richards, Moore, Ring (Crossfield 80), Dickinson,
Lavender. Subs not used: Young, Exley,
Ellis, Briggs.
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Tighe, Dudley, Ludlow,
Timons (c), Rickards, Haslam, Naylor J (Naylor D 79), Rick, Benger (Whitman
60), Grayson (Buxton 64). Subs not used:
Wilson & Williams.
Referee: Mr Matt Tyers (Sth Yorks.)
Assistants: Mr Mehdi Natefi (Sth Yorks.) & Mr
Callum Gough (Sth Yorks.)
Attendance: 119
Man of the Match: Scott Rickards
***********************Wednesday 12th November 2014
The Notts Senior Cup 2nd Round
AFC Mansfield 0 - 1 Selston FC
For the 2nd successive season The Bulls went out of The Notts Senior Cup in the same round against the same team and at home. The only difference was that the scoreline was a lot tighter.
One crumb of comfort is that after they lost last season The Bulls went on a great run of games that won them the league title and promotion.
In a fairly even first half neither side looked to get the upper hand and they went in all square at the break.
The Bulls upped their game a little and forced the visitors back in the second half. Although Selston always looked dangerous on the break and it was from one of these breaks that the winning goal came from. Dom Airey tested Gavin Saxby with a 20 yard low drive that the keeper parried to his right. Quickest to react was Jay Cooper who slipped the ball underneath Saxby from 6 yards on 74 minutes.
The home side continued to press but some of the deliveries into the box were woeful and the Selston back line were in no mood to be charitable.
Both sides did have chances to score but the first and only goal was decisive and Selston's reward is a third round tie at Northern Counties Premier Division side Retford United.
For AFC Mansfield back to business as usual, away at Penistone Church on Saturday and a chance to move up the league. New manager Rudy Funk praised visitors Selston for their performance but will know he now has some work to do. Instilling a little of the passion that the visitors showed would be a good place to start.
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Kitchen, Dudley, Ludlow (Wilson 75), Timons (c), Rickards (Naylor 87), Vilums (Buxton 45), Naylor J, Rick, Benger, Grayson. Subs not used: Tighe & Sargent.
Selston: Simpson, Davies, Davis, Farnsworth, Marriott P, Gregory (c ), James, Riley (Short 82), Smith (Renshaw 77),Cooper, Airey. Subs not used: Marriott R, Bastow & Olden.
Referee: Mr Kevin Guise
Assistants: Mr David Hague & Mr Scott Anderson
Attendance: 91
Man of the Match: AFC Mansfield_Mark Dudley, Selston_Shaun Farnsworth
Saturday 8th
November 2014
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
Louth Town 1 – 5 AFC
Mansfield
This game started at a frenetic pace with both sides looking
for an opening. The home side had two
efforts blocked in the opening 5 minutes as they piled pressure on the AFC Mansfield
goal.
The Bulls first effort came from a Nathan Benger knockdown
to Jordan Vilums who’s 15 yard effort was deflected for a corner. Next Benger went for goal himself forcing a
good save out of Scott Drury in the Louth goal on 11 minutes.
At the other end Jamie Coulson fired over the bar from the
edge of the box. The Bulls took the lead
on 13 minutes, Vilums hitting a sweet low drive into the bottom corner from 20
yards off a Scott Rickards pass.
Ash Grayson thought he had doubled the lead on 20 minutes
firing into the back of the net only to be denied by an offside flag.
The White Wolves were back on level terms on 24 minutes when
Kyle Ludlow stuck out a leg to trip Rocky Rawlings in the box. Dan Stevens fired home the spot kick sending
Gavin Saxby the wrong way much to the delight of the group of young boys who
always stand behind the opposition goal at Louth and bang a drum and
chant. This is mainly to put off the
opposing keeper, but Saxby had them in his pocket all game and even posed for a
picture with them after the match.
AFC Mansfield were back on the attack 2 minutes later and
Benger tried his luck from 25 yards, the ball always drifting wide of the goal.
Coulson went close on 29 minutes and then saw Saxby get down
well to save his downward header a minute later. The back four of Kitchen, Ludlow, Timons and
Dudley are becoming the driving force behind an ever improving side, Kitchen
being the best of the bunch today combining great defensive duties with a
willingness to get forward to create chances.
The Bulls were beginning to get on top and Joe Naylor
rattled the bar from 20 yards on 32 minutes and then Grayson fires over the bar
from 12 yards.
AFC Mansfield regained the lead on 40 minutes and in a game
of good goals this one probably stood out.
Scott Rickards controlled the ball in midfield before hitting a 30 yard
screamer that flew into the top corner of the net leaving Drury rooted to the
spot.
A Danny Tighe free kick bought the 3rd just
before half time, a curling peach of a dead ball which Ash Kitchen headed home
from 6 yards.
Saxby kept his fan club silent on 55 minutes when he superbly
tipped Stevens goal bound 20 yard free kick around the post.
Another candidate for goal of the game came on 59 minutes,
Tighe curling a 30 yard free kick around the wall and into the top corner
leaving Drury grasping at thin air.
Saxby was still needed on 63 minutes, with another excellent
reaction save to deny Rawlings.
Grayson had an effort blocked in the box and then headed
narrowly wide on 79 minutes as the fight had disappeared from the home side.
AFC Mansfield had to wait until the last minute for their 5th,
a great run from Carl Haslam down the right before pulling the ball back into
the path of Phil Buxton to drill the ball home from 12 yards.
The Bulls will be at home on Wednesday 12th
November in the Notts Senior Cup 2nd Round in a re-run of last year’s
game which visitors Selston FC won.
Louth Town: Drury, Stevens, McSpadden (Smith 45),
Summers, Martin, Hyland, Norton (Croft 80), Coulson (Buck 62), Shaw, Kilmore,
Rawlings. Subs not used: Aldrich & Appleby.
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Kitchen, Dudley, Ludlow,
Timons (c) (Hollingworth 75), Tighe (Haslam 65), Vilums (Buxton 60), Naylor J,
Benger, Grayson, Rickards. Subs not
used: Williams & Short.
Referee: Mr Drew Dutton (Sth Yorks.)
|
| Man of the Match |
Assistants: Mr Matt Maddison (Lincs.) & Mr
Alan McGilveray (Sth Yorks.)
Attendance: 90
Man of the Match: Ash Kitchen
***********************************
Tuesday 4th November 2014
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
Grimsby Borough 2 –
3 AFC Mansfield
AFC Mansfield got off to the perfect start with a goal
inside 1 minute. There was 50 seconds on
the clock when Dean Rick turned in a clever Danny Tighe free kick, firing past
the bemused James Harness to put The Bulls in front.
Jordan Vilums sent Rick clear on 9 minutes but the strikers
edge of the box drive went wide of the far post.
Man of the Match Ashley Grayson was put in by Phil Buxton on
22 minutes but his effort also drifted wide of the far post. The frustration mounted when a Tighe free
kick found Grayson on the far post, his knock back in turn found Joe Naylor who
fired over the bar from 12 yards.
The visitors were awarded a penalty when Naylor was upended
in the box. Carl Haslam saw his spot kick saved by Harness and then his follow
up blocked by the keeper before the danger was cleared.
The Bulls continued to press and it was that pressure that yielded
a second goal. Rick was sent through in
the box by Grayson and just as he was about to shoot Richard Creer managed to
get a toe to the ball. Unfortunately for
the defender he only succeeded in lifting the ball over his own keeper and into
the net.
The home side came out in a much more determined fashion in
the second half and reduced the arrears with just 3 minutes played. Luke Fanthorpe forcing the ball home after
indecision at the back for AFC Mansfield.
The 2 goal cushion was restored 5 minutes later when Rick
outstripped his marker got to the line to pull the ball back for Jordan Vilums
to fire home from 10 yards.
Haslam pulled an effort wide on the hour mark but a minute
later Fanthorpe had his second, again capitalising on indecisive defending to
fire past Gavin Saxby in the visitors goal.
Both sides had chances as the game ebbed and flowed AFC
Mansfield’s best coming from Nathan Benger who turned neatly in the box but
curled his effort wide from 8 yards on 81 minutes.
A nervy end to the game for AFC Mansfield who weren’t at
their best but they had 3 points to take back on the long journey home.
Grimsby Borough: Harness, Hamilton, Bensley, Braid
(Mason 79), Creer, Thompson, Waugh, Wood, Fanthorpe, Flint, Taylor.
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Tighe, Dudley, Kitchen,
Timons (c), Buxton (Hollingworth 82), Vilums, Rick (Benger 68), Haslam (Brewin
75), Grayson. Sub not used: Short.
 |
| Man of the Match |
Referee: Mr Martin Chester (Lincs.)
Assistants: Mr Jerzy Banasik (Lincs.) & Mr Ian
Hurst (Lincs.)
Attendance: 32
Man of the Match: Ashley Grayson
Saturday 1st November 2014
The FA Vase 1st
Round
Gedling Miners
Welfare 0 – 2 AFC Mansfield
AFC Mansfield progressed through to the 2nd Round
of the FA Vase courtesy of a goal in each half against Gedling Miners
Welfare. The first goal came from Ash
Grayson with the second a penalty conversion from new dad Carl Haslam.
The Bulls injury list is ever growing with no less than 6
players unavailable today. Back in the
starting line-up was Carl Haslam and Mark Dudley who both missed the 1-1 draw
at Winterton in midweek and a first start for Khyle Sargent. Not such a happy occasion for Khyle as things
panned out.
AFC Mansfield started the game brightly pinning the home
side in their own half for much of the first 20 minutes. The best chance in this period fell to Carl Haslam
on 19 minutes who’s low drive had James Mountain rolling back the years to save
smartly down to his left.
A minute later and the visitors went in front, Ash Kitchen
sent Sargent scampering down the right flank and when his driven cross was
parried by Mountain Ash Grayson was on hand to fire home from 4 yards.
The Bulls were reduced to 10 men on the half hour mark when
Sargent tackled Mitch Slawson from behind and although Slawson did his best to
make it into the box the initial contact was clearly outside the box and
referee Luke Gardner awarded a free kick and sent Sargent off for a
professional foul although some would dispute that he was the last man. The resulting free kick and follow up were
dealt with by the efficient AFC back four of Timons, Kitchen, Ludlow and
Dudley, with Ludlow eventually getting the man of the match award. This was on behalf of the four who all
deserved a share.
The visitors got to half time without conceding and with a
chance to regroup and come up with a plan for playing the second 45 with a man
down.
The Bulls again started the half better than their opponents
and it was Haslam again that had the best chance of the opening minutes forcing
another good save out of Mountain.
Joe Naylor was tripped in the box on 57 minutes despite
posing little danger to the Gedling goal and the referee immediately pointed to
the spot. Carl Haslam confidently
dispatched the kick to put AFC a step closer to the next round.
A flurry of changes came over the next 20 minutes with both
teams using all their subs. This
disjointed the game a little and although Gedling started to press the game was
a little scrappy. The visitors still
posed a threat on the break and substitute Declan Brewin had the home side
defence back peddling with his willingness to run at them.
Dan Gleeson saw his effort loop over the bar and Kelvin
Mushambi had an effort blocked by that impenetrable back four of AFC Mansfield.
In the final minutes Gavin Saxby pulled off a trademark stop
from Tony Law’s rasping free kick and the game was over. AFC Mansfield will eagerly await the draw on Monday
as the adventure continues.
Gedling MW: Mountain, Bartley, Gleeson, Brett,
Brown, Mushambi, Stanley (Waites 60), MacDonald, Law, Slawson (Hopper 60),
Clarson (Seaton 45). Subs not used:
Hawkins & Danby.
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Kitchen, Dudley, Ludlow,
Timons, Buxton (Vilums 66), Sargent, Naylor J, Grayson (Tighe 80), Haslam
(Brewin 75), Rickards. Subs not used:
Wilson & Rick.
Referee: Mr Luke Gardner (Leics.)
Assistants: Mr Ellis Hewins (Leics.) & Mr Mike
Precious (Leics.)
Attendance: 72
Man of the Match: Kyle Ludlow
Saturday 25th October 2014
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
Knaresborough Town
1 – 2 AFC Mansfield
A game of two halves is a
phrase often used in football but it perfectly describes the events at Manse
Lane on Saturday.
AFC Mansfield started
solidly enough and looked to have the upper hand in the opening 20
minutes. Danny Tighes free kick was
scrambled away as was a dangerous Carl Haslam cross on 14 minutes.
Striker Dean Rick then saw
one effort go wide on 17 minutes and another saved by the very tall figure of
Paul Hagreen in the Knaresborough goal on 20 minutes.
The game turned a minute
later when Liam Gray brought the ball down just inside the visitors half and
ghosted past Danny Tighe and Phil Buxton in the middle of the park. The midfielder then hit a hopeful low drive
that looked to be going wide until it hit defender Kyle Ludlow completely wrong
footing Gavin Saxby to nestle in the bottom left of the goal.
AFC Mansfield then picked up
two unnecessary bookings for Rick and Buxton as Knaresborough started to
dominate the final 20 minutes of the half.
Saxby made amends firstly on
35 minutes when he superbly turned Gray’s free kick over the bar with a one
handed save and then made a similar one handed save to deny Colin Heath’s close
range header on 37 minutes.
The two saves were immensely
important as they kept AFC in the game.
Although, if they took the rather disjointed first half performance into
the second half, they wouldn’t be in it for long.
Harsh words were spoken in
the dressing room and it seemed to have the desired effect. From the whistle The Bulls were on the front
foot taking the game to the home side.
Keeper Hagreen saved at the feet of Rick after 50 minutes as the
visitors neat passing game returned.
Will Lenehan made a clumsy
challenge in the box on Rick on 55
minutes and the referee pointed immediately to the spot. Rick confidently sending Hagreen the wrong
way to bring the visitors level.
The Bulls went in front 2
minutes later when good pressure on the Knaresborough defence saw Joe Naylor
flick the ball on with his head into the Home box.
While the keeper and
defenders all looked at each other Carl Haslam was quickest to react firing the
ball into the rook of the net from 12 yards.
AFC Mansfield then made two
substitutions, bringing Haslam and Tighe off and replacing them with Khyle
Sargent and Danny Williams. This
injected some pace into the side and the final half hour saw the visitors
pressing to increase their lead.
Sargent saw his shot saved
by Hagreen on 65 minutes, a bit more composure and it could have been a
different story for the impressive midfielder.
Williams saw a 20 yard
effort drift narrowly wide on 75 minutes and five minutes later Sargent had
another effort saved by the busy Hagreen in the home goal.
The Bulls continued to press
although Knaresborough still kept looking for the equaliser but Saxby rarely
looked troubled.
In the final minutes
Williams had a one on one with Hagreen with the keeper again showing his worth
by saving down to his left to keep the score tight.
No time to relax for AFC
Mansfield, they are on the road again on Tuesday night when they make the 130
mile round trip to Winterton Rangers at Scunthorpe.
Knaresborough Town: Hagreen, Pascal, Radcliffe N, Duerdson (c), Lenehan,
Gray, Wright (Carole 56), Bradley, Hamilton, Heath (Parkes 75), Littlefair
(Radcliffe C 75).
 |
| Man of the Match GAVIN SAXBY |
AFC Mansfield:
Saxby, Ludlow, Dudley, Kitchen, Timons (c), Buxton, Vilums, Tighe (Williams
62), Rick (Hollingworth 87), Haslam
(Sargent 60), Naylor J. Sub
not used: Short.
Referee:
Mr Ben Tomlinson (Sth Yorks.)
Assistants:
Mr Alecs Lukic (West Yorks.) & Mr Richard Woodward (Cheshire)
Attendance:
164
Man of the Match: Gavin Saxby
**************************
Saturday 18th October 2014
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 1 –
1 Hemsworth Miners Welfare
The Bulls welcomed another two new players into the fold,
Nathan Benger from Heanor Town and Ashley Grayson from Mickleover Sports. Unfortunately both players didn’t finish the
game as both succumbed to injuries in the 2nd half.
Benger started brightly and forced a good save out of James
Bentley on 8 minutes. His aerial power
and link up play was certainly causing problems for the visitors.
Hemsworth captain Jason Yates saw his edge of the box effort
clear the bar on 23 minutes and there seemed nothing separating the sides. Danny Williams tested Bentley 2 minutes later
with a low 15 yard drive and it seemed as if the score would be blank going
into the break.
The visitors though had other ideas and on 38 minutes
Dominic Blair wriggled past Brad Wilson and Kyle Ludlow on the right and side
of the box. His pull back found Yates
who had the simplest of finishes from 4 yards.
Hemsworth were in the ascendancy for the remaining minutes
of the half and should have doubled their lead on 43 minutes when Blair had a
goalbound effort superbly tipped over the bar by Gavin Saxby.
The 2nd half was a completely different story
with AFC Mansfield dominating play. Joe
Naylor saw Bentley save his low drive at the 2nd attempt and on the
hour mark a Williams shot was turned around the post by a seemingly unbeatable
Bentley.
Naylor fired over from 12 yards and Ash Grayson had his 68th
minute shot saved by Bentley.
Bentley was at it again on 70 minutes turning Khyle
Sargent’s 25 yard effort onto the post and the stopper did the same to a Nathan
Hollingworth 20 yard drive minutes later.
Grayson cleared the bar by inches with a looping header
before being replaced by manager Dean Short.
Short’s first touch on 83 minutes was a 6 yard header from a Ash Kitchen
long throw that Bentley could only parry and Joe Naylor was on hand to head
home from 3 yards to give The Bulls a deserved equaliser.
Some desperate defending from the visitors kept AFC at bay
for the remainder of the game although Mark Dudley thought he had the winner on
88 minutes when his header looked to be in but up popped Bentley to save at
point blank range to earn Hemsworth a point.
AFC Mansfield: Saxby (c), Wilson, Dudley, Ludlow,
Kitchen, Buxton, Grayson (Short 82), Naylor J, Benger (Sargent 56), Williams
(Hollingworth 70).
Hemsworth MW: Bentley, Hayward, Haywood (Dixon
73), Crapper, Viggars, Steers, Connolly, Yates (c), Guest, Bair, Clark. Subs not used: Pugh & Hart.
Referee: Mr David Evans (Sth Yorks.)
Assistants: Mr Gavin Davies (Lancs.) & Mr
Andrew Gascoigne (Derbys.)
Attendance: 106
Man of the Match: Ashley Kitchen
**************************
Saturday 11th October 2014
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
Clipstone 2 – 1 AFC
Mansfield
Thought I would take a break
from writing a full match report this week and refer to the home side’s version
of events. After all it will be the one
in the paper this week. I think like
most reports it is a little biased, mine certainly are! I have some pictures to go with my short take
on the game so here goes.
AFC Mansfield were dealt two
early blows when Adam Kimberley failed a fitness test and Kyle Ludlow was
unavailable due to family circumstances.
The game was a contrast in
styles with AFC’s passing possession game and Clipstone’s high work ethic off
the ball. The latter for me worked in
this game, it disrupted our game and ultimately won the game for the home side.
Most would admit that a draw
would have been a fair result and had Carl Haslam’s perfectly good header been
allowed late in the 2nd half that would probably have been the
case. But it is no fluke that Clipstone
have gone unbeaten in 10 league games and that tenacity and willingness to work
hard gave them their reward.
Anyway here’s the full report
courtesy of Nigel Splading ….
10 Out Of 10 For Clipstone
Possibly the first fixture both clubs looked out for at the start of the
season, and what a contest this turned out to be. A crowd of 304 witnessed
passion, a wanting to win, Three really well taken goals, Four Yellow Cards and
a fantastic advert for local non-league football.
Clipstone manager Chris Millington was really chuffed with his team's
work ethic. He said after the game, "a tremendous advert for local football.
I am really happy with what I saw today, We took our chances and for the
majority of the game we defended well and were in control of the game. We have
players who will put themselves in the line of fire, where it hurts.” He also
added, "We take one game at a time and enjoying the ride that we are
undertaking. We are on a crest of a wave. We have played some really top teams
already this season, so ten wins out of ten league games is what dreams are
made of for a manager.”
The game started at a really fast pace with both teams defending well in
the first few minutes. The first shot in anger came in the third minute and
went the way of AFC Mansfield with Carl Haslam trying his luck from 16 yards
out, but Clipstone keeper Nick Siddons got his whole body behind it and held on
well.
There was a midfield battle going on surprisingly enough in midfield.
Pressure was amounting on a slippery surface as the rain just before kick-off
making the ball skid off the surface, and Matty Ord hit his backpass to Nick Siddons a little too firmly and the keeper had to control
with his chest and quickly clear the ball whilst being chased down by AFC's
Dean Rick. The ball ricocheting off the
forward but not enough to cause any problems.
On 12 minutes Jake Currie was
upended 25 yards out towards the left side of the penalty area. Rob Paling took
the direct free kick and got his shot on target making Gavin Saxby in AFC's
goal get his body behind the ball and smother the danger.
Two minutes later Jake Currie won
the first corner of the game over on the left, taken by Steve Carty right
on the head of Currie, but his header was wayward and the danger was gone.
With little goalmouth action it wasn't until 27 minutes for the next
opportunity. Jake Currie picking
up the ball again at least 25 yards out, with a first time shot Saxby getting
down well to his right and tipping the ball out for another Clipstone corner.
Five minutes later it was AFC to hit on the break, Danny Williams providing the cross for Dean Rick to try a overhead bicycle kick, which was mis-timed and the ball floated high and wide of the target.
Five minutes later it was AFC to hit on the break, Danny Williams providing the cross for Dean Rick to try a overhead bicycle kick, which was mis-timed and the ball floated high and wide of the target.
The battle for supremacy was ongoing and a few late tackles towards the
end of the first half were going in the favour of Clipstone.
Just as it looked like a goalless first half, just like the busses two
came along within two minutes. AFC won a corner over on the right which was
floated into the packed six yard box and with players kicking at air the ball
fell at the feet of Dean Rick and he managed to beat the Clipstone defenders
and put the visitors 1-0 up.
One minute is not a very long time in a football game, which is all that
it took Clipstone to equalise. Rob Paling found Callum Mawby who
in turn found the league's top scorer Jamie Smith,
and he showed why he is the top goal scorer with a first time shot which gave
Saxby no chance of saving.
Saturday 4th October 2014
******************
Wednesday 1st October 2014
Saturday 20th September 2014
Assistants: Mr John Chambers (Notts) & Mr
Gregory Roberts (Sth Yorks).
*******************
Wednesday 17th September 2014
Saturday 13th September 2014
Saturday 6th September 2014
************************************
Wednesday 3rd September 2014
***********************
Saturday 30th August 2014
************************
Tuesday 26th August 2014
***************************
Saturday 23rd August 2014
*********************
Saturday 16th August 2014
**********************************
Saturday 9th August 2014
*************************************************
Saturday 26 July 2014
Half Time
Clipstone FC 1 AFC Mansfield 1
Just four mites into the second half saw AFC's Carl Haslam pick up the
ball on the far left, he cut inside two defenders and fired a shot at goal,
missing the right post by a yard, stating the visitor’s intentions, and making
sure Clipstone knew they were in a game.
Two minutes later Clipstone were at the other end of the field with Matty Ord racing
onto Brandon Shaws through ball. He
crossed for Jamie Smith who
was just beaten to the ball by AFC captain Chris Timmons who had no option but
to give away another Clipstone corner. This time Ash Kitchen was on hand to
clear the danger.
Phil Buxton received the first yellow card of the game after an aerial
challenge with Jamie Smith.
The resulting free kick was directed to Jake Currie and
again the visitors just beating the Clipstone forward and yet another Clipstone
corner was awarded.
Matty Ord fired
in the set piece and Chris Timmons rose highest and somehow managed to head
over his own bar for yet another corner. this time Danny Tighe managed to
clear.
On 55 minutes Jamie Smith again
was running the AFC defenders ragged. He ran 20 yards with the ball and hit his
shot which rebounded off an AFC defender into the path of Jake Currie who
shot first time and again was blocked and this time cleared.
Clipstone were certainly on top and creating many more chances than
their visitors. On 60 minutes another Clipstone corner was floated in from the
right by Carty, right under the bar, with the ball bouncing on the goal line
just for the defender on the post to make sure the ball did not pass him.
AFC made the first change of the game with Darren Bettison replacing
Danny Williams on 63 minutes.
65 minutes Clipstone very nearly took the lead as Jake Currie picked
up the loose ball over on the right, travelling at speed looked up and picked
out Jamie Smith,
and just as he was about to pull the trigger, as the ball was poked away from
him by the AFC defender and the danger was extinguished.
A coming together of Joe Naylor and Clipstone captain Ash Rawson saw
both players receiving a yellow card.
Just one minute later Carl Haslam thought he broke through the offside
trap, and after hearing the referee's whistle fired the ball wide of the goal,
and also received a caution.
Haslam did have the ball in the back of the Clipstone net just two
minutes later with a powerful header after climbing over the top of Clipstone's Tom Carnall,
free-kick to Clipstone.
Ash Kitchen came through the back of Jake Currie on
the far left 35 yards out. After receiving treatment Rob Paling took
the free kick, whipped in with pace which the visitors found difficult to deal
with and the free ball flew into the path of Stu Hill with a first time volley
very nearly tore a hole in the net and fire Clipstone into the lead. 78 minutes
gone 2-1
Tom Carnall was
on hand for a goal line clearance right at the death of the game but Clipstone
held on for a well-deserved victory.
Full Time
Clipstone FC 2 AFC Mansfield 1
***************************
Wednesday 8th
October 2014
The
Nottinghamshire Saturday Senior Cup
Round One
AFC Mansfield 2 –
0 Radcliffe Olympic
 |
| CHRIS TIMONS Man of the Match |
AFC Mansfield cruised into the next round of the Senior Cup
with a goal in each half of a tie that should have seen a lot more goals.
AFC Mansfield without Joe Naylor and Adam Kimberley were
dealt a blow in the warm up when Kyle Ludlow tweaked a hamstring and was
replaced by Darren Bettison as a precaution.
The game also started late due to a floodlight generator
malfunction that officials of the home side managed to overcome to get the game
on, albeit 20 minutes late.
The Bulls seemed to want to make up for lost time as they
peppered the Radcliffe goal in the opening 20 minutes.
Chances went begging on two, six and ten
minutes when Carl Haslam, Dean Rick and Jordan Vilums all missed gilt edged
chances to put the home side in front.
Hadlee Dunne was at his best on 20 minutes turning Ricks 18
yard drive over the bar as the home side completely dominated the game.
Rick fired wide again on 30 minutes after being sent clear
by Darren Bettison while at the other end a Chris Timons led back line snuffed
out all Radcliffe’s attempted incursions.
Lee Potts did manage a shot at goal on 37 minutes but it was
always rising over the bar.
Just when it looked as if poor finishing would frustrate the
home side up popped ever reliable Dean Rick to drill the ball past Dunne from
the edge of the box to send the home side in at the break one goal up.
The second half turned into the look of a training match
with Radcliffe offering little threat and The Bulls struggling to raise the
motivation for a game they were never going to lose.
A second goal came on 81 minutes when some neat footwork
from Jordan Vilums saw him beat a defender and then round the keeper before
firing home from a tight angle.
There will be much tougher tests to come in the coming
weeks, one such test comes on Saturday when The Bulls face unbeaten Clipstone
in the league. They don’t come much
tougher than that.
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Bettison, Hollingworth,
Kitchen Timons (c), Naylor D, Buxton, Tighe, Rick (Fuller-Nadin 84), Haslam
(McLane 80), Vilums. Sub not used: Short
Radcliffe Olympic: Dunne, Brindley, Bee (Morris
80), Winch (c), Adams, Sansome, O’Brien, Reeves, Potts, Griggs (Durham 80), Gamble. Subs not used: Soiza & Williams
Referee: Mr Wayne Davenport (Retford)
Assistants: Mr Gavin Rice & Mr Robert Rushton
Attendance: 65
Man of the Match: Chris Timons
*****************Saturday 4th October 2014
The Carlsberg FA
Vase 2nd Qualifying Round
Holbrook Sports 1 –
4 AFC Mansfield
AFC Mansfield progressed to The 1st Round of The
FA Vase and in doing so gave Dean Short his first win as AFC Mansfield manager.
‘The Bulls’ welcomed back Joe Naylor, Darren Bettison and
Kyle Ludlow who were all missing from the midweek defeat at Eccleshill. Starting on the bench was new signing Nathan
Hollingworth.
Kicking up the slope it wasn’t until the 15 minute that the visitors
had a chance on goal, Dean Rick forcing a save out of Daniel Graves. A minute later and Graves was down again this
time denying Chris Timons from the edge of the box.
AFC Mansfield made the breakthrough on 25 minutes a
trademark run from Carl Haslam took him past 3 players down the left flank and an
inch perfect low cross gave Dean Rick the simplest of finishes to put ‘The
Bulls’ in front.
The home side were using a physical approach to their
tackling and this earned them a couple of yellow cards as they fought to hold
the visitors back.
In a carbon copy move of the first goal Rick should have
made it 2-0 but sliced his effort wide of the mark on the half hour.
The game remained at 0-1 going into the break but there was
a sense of anticipation from the AFC fans that going down the slope would reap
rewards for ‘The Bulls’.
This was to be the case as with only 3 minutes of the 2nd
half gone Rick made it 0-2. Racing onto
a Joe Naylor through ball the striker beat both the Holbrook keeper Graves and
captain Niall Mather to the ball and ended up stroking the ball into an empty
net from 12 yards.
Paul Fisher had a chance to get Holbrook back into the game
on 51 minutes but with the goal at his mercy swung a foot and completely missed
Chilaka’s cross from the left.
Dean Rick went down in the box under Mathers challenge on 62
minutes with the assistants flag going up straight away to signal a spot
kick. Rick picked himself up and drove
the ball past Graves to complete his hat trick.
A minute later and Man of the Match Carl Haslam saw his 15
yard effort superbly saved by Graves.
The home side did pull one back on 67 minutes, Isaac Minott getting the
final touch in a goal mouth scramble.
A long throw from Ashley Kitchen was flicked on by Joe
Naylor to Haslam who’s header was saved point blank by Graves to deny the wide
man.
But Haslam was determined to have his goal and it duly came
on 80 minutes. Deciding to go it alone
Haslam picked the ball up in his own half and went on a run that took him past
four players. When he reached the
penalty box he proceeded to round keeper Graves and then calmly slid the ball
home from a tight angle 12 yards out. A
truly wonderful goal and worthy of winning any game of football.
There was still time for some late drama and when Minott
went down in the box the referee pointed to the spot. Minott stepped up and struck the ball high
and to the keepers right, but Gavin Saxby was having none of it and flew
through the air to turn the goal bound effort over the bar with one hand.
The Bulls go through to the next round and will be eagerly
waiting for the draw on Monday at noon.
Holbrook Sports: Graves, Fitzhugh, Dodds, Hayes,
Mather (c), Peverley (Thompson 45), Ridgard, Hazeldine, Fisher, Minott, Chilaka
(Black 72). Subs not used: Hooley, Ross &
Hallsworth.
 |
| Man of the Match Carl Haslam |
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Tighe (Bettison 60),
Kitchen, Ludlow, Timons (c) (Hollingworth 80), Naylor D, Buxton, Naylor J, Rick
(Fuller-Nadin 84), Haslam, Vilums. Subs not used:
McLane & Short.
Referee: Mr Matthew Bacon
Attendance: 48
Man of the Match: Carl Haslam
******************
Wednesday 1st October 2014
The Toolstation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
Eccleshill United
2 – 1 AFC Mansfield
|
| Man of the Match Carl Haslam |
Dean Short’s tenure as AFC Mansfield manager started with a
defeat at Eccleshill United on Wednesday night.
A 145 mile round trip was made longer by road closures works and a
breakdown and saw ‘The Bulls’ arrive just 10 minutes before the scheduled
kick-off.
The Mansfield side were without key players Joe Naylor, Kyle
Ludlow, Adam Kimberley and Darren Bettison but gave debuts to new signings
Jordan Vilums and Scott Rickards.
Despite the short warm up and after the first 10 minutes in
which the home side poured down on the AFC Mansfield goal the visitors settled
down.
Dean Rick volleyed wide on 11 minutes from a Danny Tighe
through ball and Chris Timons looped his header just over a minute later.
A superb 40 yard ball from Tighe on 14 minutes was dummied
by Rick into the path of Carl Haslam.
The wide man fired a stinging low volley from 15 yards that keeper
Weston Murav did well to turn around the post.
‘The Bulls’ went behind on 17 minutes when John Rogers cross
was turned into his own net by Danny McLane.
A 40 yard run from Haslam through the middle of the pitch
and past 5 men was eventually bought to an end by Murav when he again denied
the winger with another fine save.
The home side doubled their lead on 35 minutes when captain
Charlie Flaherty picked the ball up 25 yards out, took a step forward and found
the top corner with a superb drive.
The 2nd half belonged to ‘The Bulls’ and if not
for some Alamo style defending from the home side the visitors would have made
the long journey home with something to show for all their hard work.
Haslam fired over the bar on 50 minutes from a Danny Naylor
through ball. 5 minutes later the
visitors pulled a goal back Rick found Haslam on the edge of the box and when
Murav could only parry his low drive Naylor was on hand to stroke the ball home
from 6 yards.
A minute later Haslam had another effort saved by the
Eccleshill keeper while at the other end Rogers fired wide from 12 yards.
Substitute Ryan Fuller-Nadin put Scott Rickards clear but
his 20 yard effort flew over the bar.
AFC Mansfield were raiding down both flanks with Jordan
Vilums and Carl Haslam tormenting the home defenders. Another great cross from Haslam was tipped
away from the head of Rick with a certain equaliser on the cards.
Ashley Kitchens long throws were a constant menace and
Haslam fires wide on 75 minutes from one such throw. Chris Timons hit the post with a header from
another Kitchen throw on 80 minutes.
The work rate of Rickards and Vilums was a big plus for AFC Mansfield
and at times Rickards was a different class from everybody on the field.
Rickards had the final chance for the visitors but fired
wide from 12 yards on 88 minutes and despite being camped out in the Eccleshill
half in the second half ‘The Bulls’ went home without a point.
Eccleshill United: Murau, Conde, Burros, Novotny,
Mills, Flaherty (c) (Queere 80), Dixon (Sainvil 84), McCabe, Balis (Reis 70),
Rosenstraugh, Rogers. Subs not used: Cashen
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Tighe, McLane (Fuller-Nadin
45), Kitchen, Timons (c), Buxton, Vilums, Naylor D (Pereira 86), Rick (Short
75), Rickards, Haslam.
Referee: Mr Jamie Waters (West Yorks)
Assistants: Mr Michael Coles (West Yorks) & Mr
Howard Young (West Yorks)
Man of the Match: Carl Haslam
Attendance: 61
*********************************Saturday 20th September 2014
The ToolStation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 3 –
1 AFC Emley
AFC Mansfield beat league leaders AFC Emley with 3 goals in
the final 20 minutes after the visitors had gone in front in the first 5
minutes.
‘The Bulls’ had caretaker manager Jason Truscott in charge
with U21 Assistant Manager Andy Wilson and 1st team coach Graeme
Rodger by his side. There were no major
changes to the side with Dean Rick and Phil Buxton coming into the side to
replace missing Joe Meehan and Adam Kimberley.
Truscott had the worst possible start when after just 5
minutes the ball dropped in front of Max Leonard 20 yards out. The midfielder hit the ball immediately and
it curled and dipped on its way to goal.
Gavin Saxby managed to get a hand to it but such was the ferocity of the
shot it forced itself into the net.
The home side should have been back in it on 9 minutes when
Man of the Match Joe Naylor squared the ball to Rick who fluffed his lines 4
yards out. It was Joe Naylor who had the
next chance 2 minutes later firing narrowly wide of the right hand post from
the edge of the box.
Brother Danny saw his 20 yard volley whistle past the post
as ‘The Bulls’ pushed forward. In the 19th
minute Emley captain stuck out an arm to stop the ball and the home side were
awarded a spot kick. Carl Haslam fired
it down the middle with keeper Adam Lawlor saving with his feet before Haslam
blasted the loose ball over the bar.
Ruben Jerome sliced a good chance wide of the mark on 27
minutes in a momentary lapse from the AFC Mansfield defense.
Danny Naylor showed excellent technique on 38 minutes when
he hit Lawlor’s clearance first time on the half volley from 48 yards and with
the keeper out of his box he was happy to see the ball go over the bar by
inches.
The final chance of the half fell to Carl Haslam but it was
a rather tame effort from the edge of the box straight at Lawlor.
At the beginning of the 2nd half Ruben Jerome
should have doubled the visitors lead. 3 yards out he managed to lift the ball
over the bar.
The home side picked up the pace and Danny Tighe hit the bar
with a 25 yard free-kick and Phil Buxton saw his effort turned over by Lawlor
after great work from Rick on the hour mark.
Buxton turned provider on 65 minutes delivering a great
cross from the left for Rick to head wide from 7 yards.
The equaliser came on 70 minutes with a superb through ball
from Joe Naylor finding Haslam on the left.
Haslam drifted past a defender before pulling the ball across the 6 yard
box for Dean Rick to finish.
AFC Mansfield were awarded a soft penalty on 76 minutes
Lawlor charging out to the edge of the box but Rick beat him to the ball and
the keeper made contact with the striker.
This time Danny Tighe took the spot kick and made no mistake sending
Lawlor the wrong way to put ‘The Bulls’ in front.
Another call for a spot kick soon after when Joe Naylor was
bundled over from behind in what looked a clearer penalty than the one earlier
but the referee waved away the appeals.
Young substitute George Camps scuffed his effort on 80
minutes and Haslam hit the side netting on 85 minutes as the home side
dominated the game.
Carl Haslam sealed the win on 88 minutes when he went around
the keeper twice in the box before firing past two players on the line to make
it 3-1.
‘The Bulls’ now have a 10 day break while they continue
their search for a new manager, but are comfortable in the knowledge that they
have a good trio of Jason Truscott, Andy Wilson and Graeme Rodger in place to
continue if necessary.
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Tighe, Ludlow, Timons (c),
Kitchen, Bettison, Buxton, Naylor D, Haslam, Naylor J, Rick (Camps 77). Subs
not used: Pereira, Sargent, McLane & Carver.
AFC Emley: Lawlor, Leech, Starkey, Tunnacliffe,
Jerome S, Sykes (c), Townsend, Leonard (Kenworthy 83), Jerome R (Simpson 83),
Hallam, Jordan (Perks 24). Sub not used: Brook
Referee: Mr Martin Chester (Lincs)
Assistants: Mr John Chambers (Notts) & Mr
Gregory Roberts (Sth Yorks).
Attendance: 117
Man of the Match:
Joe Naylor
*******************
Wednesday 17th September 2014
The ToolStation Northern Counties East
League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 5 – 3 Hall Road Rangers
|
| Man of the Match - Joe Naylor |
Manager Micky Taylor went out on a winning note as AFC
Mansfield completed their first double of the season with a home win over
visitors Hall Road Rangers. The game
should have been all over in the first 20 minutes as ‘The Bulls’ completely
overwhelmed their opponents.
Joe Naylor missed the easiest chance of the game after just
2 minutes scooping the ball over the bar from 2yards. But the visitor’s goal didn’t hold out for
much longer when Carl Haslam got behind them and drilled a 12 yard drive into the
bottom right hand corner of the net.
The lead was doubled on 6 minutes when Joe Naylor headed
home from a Danny Tighe corner.
Luke Thompson had a rasping drive saved one handed by Gavin
Saxby on 10 minutes but apart from that it was all AFC for the first 20
minutes. Thompson’s game ended on 24
minutes when in a challenge with Bulls skipper both players went down
injured. The striker came off worse and
was helped from the field.
Timons seemed
to be affected as well because a minute later Mark Rudd beat him to a through
ball and slid the ball under the advancing Saxby to put the visitors back in
the game.
Haslam should have restored the two goal advantage on 28
minutes with a superb curling shot that Rick Watson turned around the
post. On the half hour mark Tighe saw
his low 20 yard effort shave the post.
The home side continued to dominate and Watson was again in
action turning Tighes 25 yard free kick around the post on 38 minutes. A minute late it was Joe Naylor’s turn to
bring another good save out of Watson, the keeper tipping his 20 yard drive
over the bar.
Naylor wasn’t to be denied and from the resulting corner he
rose above the pack to head home ‘The Bulls’ third.
So the home side went in 3-1 up when in reality it should
have been 5 or 6. Eight minutes into the
restart and the visitors pulled one back.
Kyle Ludlow’s back pass came up short and substitute Adam Foster fired
past the stranded Saxby from 12 yards.
Haslam was denied again by the outstanding Watson another
goalbound effort turned around the post by the keeper.
Hall Road pulled level on 63 minutes when Darren Rookes went
past Ash Kitchen and smashed the ball past Saxby from just inside the box.
The visitors nearly completed a perfect turnaround when
Foster fired over from 6 yards after Saxby had spilt Rudd’s driven effort.
The home side eventually woke up and a 74 Tighe minute
corner was headed home by Man of the Match Joe Naylor to complete his
hat-trick.
Five minutes later and a trademark 25 yard free-kick from
Danny Tighe curled into the net and this time even Rick Watson couldn’t keep it
out.
Haslam’s audacious 35 yard lob drifted wide with the keeper
well beaten and an encouraging cameo performance from debutant Ryan
Fuller-Nadin sent the faithful home happy.
AFC Mansfield now begin their search for their next manager
and already the list of applicants is quite impressive. In the meantime on Saturday U21 managers
Jason Truscott and Andy Wilson will be in the hot seat along with 1st
team coach Graeme Rodger for the visit of league leaders AFC Emley.
Talk about a baptism of fire!
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Tighe (Pereira 80),
Bettison, Ludlow, Timons (c), Kitchen, Naylor D, Meehan, Naylor J, Haslam
(Fuller-Nadin 82), Kimberley (McLane 40).
Sub not used: Sargent.
Hall Road Rangers: Watson, Carter, Matthewson,
Blount, McKay, Morrill, Rookes, Rudd, Thompson (Foster 24), O’Connell, Cox. Sub
not used: Ombler
Referee: Mr Andrew Beckett (South Yorkshire)
Assistants: Mr Charles Creswell-Hibbert (Notts)
& Mr Pete Lang (Derbys.)
Man of the Match: Joe Naylor
Attendance: 59
******************Saturday 13th September 2014
The ToolStation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
Yorkshire Amateur
3 – 1 AFC Mansfield
‘The Bulls’ included 3 debutants on the bench and were
missing regulars Dean Rick, Phil Buxton and Darren Bettison for their trip to
Yorkshire Amateur. It was no surprise
when after 20 minutes they were 2-0 down.
Adam Kimberley had the first chance of the game on 3
minutes, but his effort from outside the box was straight at keeper Suwara
Bojang. The home side opened the scoring
on 6 minutes when Joel Hughes was given too much space in the box and went past
Chris Timons and Kyle Ludlow before firing a low drive past Gavin Saxby from 12 yards.
Carl Haslam had both legs sythed from under him by Chris
Hitchings and then was punched three times by the same player as he tried to
get up. Amazingly the referee only
showed a yellow to the home player and it seemed as if it was open season on
AFC players after that. Joe Naylor was
elbowed in the back of the head and Danny Naylor was kicked while on the ground
later in the game.
Hughes 2nd came on 21 minutes and again was
allowed too much room in the box before turning Timons and squeezing the ball
past Saxby at the near post.
At last AFC Mansfield began to wake up and Carl Haslam saw
two efforts go narrowly wide before on 28 minutes he pulled a goal back. Neat passing on the edge of the box from
Kimberely and Joe Naylor set up Haslam to fire home from 10 yards.
‘The Bulls’ finished the half on top but could not find an
equaliser.
Another setback for ‘The Bulls’ on 55 minutes when
substitute Roy Stammer ponced on a loose ball to fire home from 15 yards.
Youngster Liam Carver on as a second half substitute fired
over the bar after a good ball from Kimberley on 75 minutes and Haslam saw
another effort saved by Bojung on 80 minutes but their was to be no comeback
and the game finished in defeat for the Mansfield side.
The big talking point was the decision by both the
management team and club to part company after 2 successful seasons. Micky Taylor will take charge of his last
game for the club on Wednesday night when they entertain Hall Road Rangers at
The Forest Town Arena.
Yorkshire Amateur: Bosang, Harding, Hammond, Hill,
Freeman, Hitchings, Heard Ca, Blakey, Heard Cr (Stammer 55), Hughes,
Marsden. Subs not used: Rose, Blair
Mottley_Henry & Harding
 |
| Man of the Match |
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Wilson (Sargent 45),
Kitchen, Ludlow, Timmons (C), Naylor D, Brewin, Naylor J, Pereira (Carver 45),
Haslam, Kimberley. Subs not used:
Fuller-Nadin & Camps.
Referee: Mr R Taylor (Sth Yorks)
Assistants: Mr G Patterson & Miss L Browne
Attendance: 51
Man of the Match:Carl Haslam
*************************Saturday 6th September 2014
The FA Carlsberg Vase 1st
Qualifying Round
AFC Mansfield progressed to the next round of the FA Vase
with a close odd goal in five win against local rivals Teversal in a hugely
entertaining game at The Forest Town Arena.
Without central defender Ashley Kitchen due to work
commitments Darren Bettison slotted into the heart of defence and produced a
man of the match performance for the home side working tirelessly for 90
minutes.
Dean Rick had the first chance of the game on just 3
minutes, firing narrowly wide from a Joe Naylor layoff. Jason Dawson had Teversal’s first chance
shooting over the bar from the edge of the box on 12 minutes.
Rick went close again on 15 minutes with a looping header
from a Phil Buxton cross. The game was
an evenly contested encounter at this stage with the middle of the park being
the hot spot. Teversal youngster Brad
Cox working tirelessly to keep the Naylor brothers at bay.
Jimmy Adcock flashed a cross across the home box with
only a touch needed to convert but no touch came.
‘The Bulls’ drew first blood on the half hour mark when Carl
Haslam pounced on a defensive error on the half way line and raced down field
before squaring to Rick for a simple finish inside the six yard box. Some protests from the visitors bench for
offside but they were waved away.
Haslam should have doubled the lead 5 minutes later as he
turned neatly on the edge of the box but fired wide of the right hand post.
Teversal were back on level terms a minute later, Adcock
sending Jason Dawson clear with the striker drilling a low drive past Gavin
Saxby from 15 yards.
As the half came to a close Joe Naylor had his header
easily saved by Simon Dye in the Teversal goalbut more work was needed from the
home keeper Gaving Saxby who got down low to turn Kye Pilmore’s effort around
the post.
The visitors started the brighter and went in front 5
minutes into the restart. Jimmy Adcock
pounced on some indecision at the back for AFC to slip the ball under the
advancing Saxby.
The lead was short lived and after some sustained
pressure on the visitors goal the ball fell to the feet of Carl Haslam who cut
inside and curled a superb effort into the far right corner.
Dave Cockerill on as a sub entered the field to rapturous
applause from the Teversal supporters and could have put his side in front on
65 minutes. He turned neatly at the near
post but drove his effort wide of the far post.
A moment of controversy on 72 minutes when Dean Rick
raced to the by-line before cross for the onrushing Haslam to head past Dye nly
to be bemused when the assistant raised a flag for offside in what looked like
a perfectly good goal.
2 minutes later Haslam went down under a clumsy challenge
but the Referee waved away appeals for a
spot kick.
‘The Bulls’ eventually got their reward for the increased
pressure on 76 minutes. Rick made
another good run down the right and this time his low cross was unfortunately
turned past his own keeper by Teversal Captain Jordan Schofield to put the home
side through to the next round.
Saxby got down well to Mark Robinson’s drive on 82
minutes but the damage was done and AFC Mansfield now travel to Holbrook Sports
in the next round on October 4th.
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Buxton, Wilson (Tighe 57),
Ludlow, Timons (c), Bettison, Naylor D, Naylor J, Rick, Haslam, Kimberley
(Fearon 80). Subs not used: Pereira, Plumbe & Bacon.
Teversal: Dye, Hauton, Vincent, Schofield,
Staniforth (Fisher 73), Cox, Harris (Robinson 65), Dickinson, Dawson, Pilmore
(Cockerill 57), Adcock. Subs not used: Bunce & Tobin.
Referee: Mr James Shipley (Notts)
Assistants: Mr Andrew Smith (Notts) & Mr Ryan
Bancroft (Notts)
Attendance: 136
Man of the Match: AFC Mansfield – Darren Bettison,
Teversal – Brad Cox
************************************
Wednesday 3rd September 2014
The ToolStation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 2 –
0 Dronfield Town
 |
| Man of the Match - Adam Kimberley |
AFC
Mansfield got back to winning ways with a goal in each half from Man of the
Match Adam Kimberley.
‘The
Bulls’ faced old rivals Dronfield Town for the first time since their CML
days. This Dronfield side was a much
changed side from those days with the emphasis on youth clearly coming to the
fore.
The
home side largely dominated the first half but a combination of poor finishing
and excellent defending kept them at bay.
On
10 minutes Carl Haslam should have put AFC in front but a superb sliding tackle
from Jack Hague took the ball off the strikers feet just as he was about to
shoot. A minute later Chris Timons
headed wide after a great delivery from Adam Kimberley’s free kick.
Haslam
wasted another chance on 13 minutes blasting his effort way over the bar from
just outside the box. He was again
denied by another excellent tackle this time from Bradley Gledhill on 20
minutes.
On
31 minutes Dronfield were dealt a blow when Danny Bent was replaced due to
injury and 5 minutes later Nick Mulgrew went of with a bad head injury.
In
between these two injuries AFC Mansfield went in front and what a goal it was. A superb chipped pass from Ashley Kitchen was
controlled by Adam Kimberley who turned and unleashed a 30 yard effort that
flew into the top left hand corner of the net with keeper Richard Henson a mere
spectator.
Henson
did well to parry Joe Naylor’s effort on 38 minutes but when Buxton pulled the
ball back for Brad Wilson the youngster fired wide from 12 yards.
Captain
Chris Timons fired narrowly over from another excellent ball by Kimberley just
before the break.
A
more determined looking Dronfield took to the field in the second half causing the AFC back line a few problems, but
ultimately creating very few clear cut chances.
‘The Bulls’ best chance in the opening 20 minutes of the 2nd
half came on 55 minutes when Henson dived bravely at Haslam’s feet to again
deny the striker.
AFC
Mansfield doubled their lead on 74 minutes when Carl Haslam turned provider
with a square pass to Kimberley after a great run that took him past 3
defenders. Kimberley drilled the ball
past Henson from just inside the box to double his tally.
The
unfortunate Haslam then saw a goal chalked off after an offside flag denied him
a deserved goal.
A
flurry of substitutions in the final 10 minutes disjointed the game but the
home side still had chances to score.
Joe Naylor headed wide from another good ball from Kimberley and Danny
Plumbe saw his goal bound effort turned around the post by Henson in the dying
minutes.
AFC
Mansfield now await the visit of local rivals Teversal for The FA Vase 1st
Qualifying Round and will be hoping to reverse last Saturday’s 3-2 loss at
Carnarvon Street.
AFC Mansfield:
Saxby, Buxton, Wilson, Ludlow, Timons (c), Kitchen, Naylor D (Plumbe 85), Bettison,
Naylor J (Brewin 87), Haslam (Pereira 87), Kimberley. Subs not used: Fearon & Bacon.
Dronfield Town:
Henson, O’Kane, Butler (c), Sezerano, Gledhill, Hague, Pugh, Willis, Mulgrew
(Dickinson 35), Bent (Savage 31), Mpwaya.
Subs not used: Bebbington & Whitehurst
Referee:
Mr Paul Matthewson (South Yorkshire)
Assistants:
Mr Neil Allsop & Mr Simon Kells
Attendance:
95
Man of the Match:
Adam Kimberley
***********************
Saturday 30th August 2014
The ToolStation Northern Counties East League
Division One
Teversal 3 – 2 AFC Mansfield
‘The
Bulls’ managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory at Carnarvon Steet on
Saturday. Leading at the break with
goals from Dean Rick and Joe Naylor AFC Mansfield never really got out of 2nd
gear and that is how it remained in the second half. Teversal had other ideas and the visitors
conceded 3 goals from set pieces, two of them coming in the final 3 minutes.
With
a chance to go to the top of the league with a win ‘The Bulls’ never looked
like title contenders and some regrouping will need to be done before
Wednesday’s home game against old rivals Dronfield Town.
The visitors welcomed back Adam Kimberley and
Carl Haslam to the starting line up, both players were missing from the 2-1 win
at Worsbrough Bridge during the week and Man of the Match 17 year old Declan
Brewin continued his impressive form on the left flank.
The
first half seemed to have started well for The Bulls with Dean Rick having the
ball in the net on just 4 minutes. But
an offside flag ruled the goal out.
On
8 minutes Callum Pursglove for Teversal saw his low cross go right across the
face of goal with nobody able to get a finishing touch. After 15 minutes Carl Haslam fired over the
bar from the edge of the box.
AFC
Mansfield went in front on 22 minutes when Adam Kimberley sent Haslam clear
down the left flank. His cross was met
by Dean Rick and although Ryan Brooks managed to block his first attempt Rick
was on hand to mop up the loose ball and tuck it away inside the six yard box.
Teversal
were showing some resilience and on 28 minutes Oli Wood pulled the ball back
for Jimmy Adcock who curled his effort narrowly over the bar.
The
Bulls doubled their lead on 32 minutes from a Kimbelrey corner which was met by
the head of Joe Naylor who found the top corner. Teversal were battling hard and not making it
easy for the visitors. The score
remained at 0-2 going into the break.
The
2nd half was less than 2 minutes old when Aiden Harris was brought
down in the box by Kyle Ludlow and the home side had a penalty. Blake Vincent confidently dispatched the spot
kick and Teversal were back in the game.
The
introduction of Dave Cockerill just before the hour mark was to have a profound
impact on the game. But before that Rick
saw Brooks learn from his mistakes when on 73 minutes the keeper saved and then
got down quickly to smother the loose ball before the striker could repeat his
earlier goal.
Rick
had another effort easily saved by Brooks on 82 minutes after a good ball from
Declan Brewin.
Just
when it looked as if the visitors would see the game out a corner on 88 minutes
was met by Mark Parkes in an almost identical header as AFC Mansfield’s second
goal.
Worse
was to come for the visitors when a minute later a long free-kick was hoisted
into the visitors box and despite a clear shove on Chris Timons by Dave
Cockerill when the strikers header sailed into the far corner the referee
signalled the winning goal for the home side.
AFC
Mansfield had taken their foot off the pedal and had paid a heavy price,
Teversal never gave up competing and in the end the hard work paid off. It all makes for an intersting FA Vase
encounter next week between the two sides at The Forest Town Arena, home ground
of AFC Mansfield.
Teversal: Brooks, Parkes, Vincent,
Staniforth, Scofield, Cox, Harris (Dawson 62), Dickinson, Wood (Cockerill 58), Adcock, Pursglove (Tobin 80). Subs
not used: Fisher & Hauton.
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Buxton, Brewin,
Ludlow, Timons (c), Kitchen, Naylor D, Naylor J, Rick, Haslam, Kimberley. Subs
not used: Wilson, Pereira, Green, Sargent & Bacon.
Referee: Mr Matthew Bacon
Assistants: Mr Stephen Sears & Mr
Kelvin Wilson
Attendance: 114
Man of the Match: Declan Brewin
************************
Tuesday 26th August 2014
The ToolStation Northern Counties East League
Division One
Worsbrough Bridge 1 – 2 AFC Mansfield
The Bulls put in a superb 2nd half performance
kicking up the slope at Worsbrough to earn all the points on Tuesday night.
AFC were missing talisman Carl Haslam and skilful midfielder
Adam Kimberley, both having work commitments.
So promising U21 player Declan Brewin and Darren Bettison came into the
starting line-up. On the bench it was a
debut for Thomas Pereira.
The visitors started brightly and in the 7th
minute Dean Rick had his edge of the box drive parried by Jared Oxley in the
Worsbrough goal. Callum Green looked as
if he would finish off the loose ball but Oxley bravely dived at his feet to
deny the striker.
Worsbrough’s young side were energetic and their qick paced
short passing game was causing problems for AFC.
Phil Buxton saw his 25yard free kick whistle past the far
post on 17 minutes as AFC Mansfield looked the stronger of the two sides.
On the half hour mark Brad Kerr saw his free kick blocked
twice by a resolute defence. In fact
Kerr was a constant threat but Man of the Match Kyle Ludlow did a great job in
keeping the lively striker quiet.
Rick chipped an effort over the bar on 38 minutes from a
Callum Green layoff. The Bulls went
behind on 41 minutes when a couple of individual errors saw the ball fall to
the feet of Worsbrough’s new signing Kane Reece who confidently drilled the
ball past Gaving Saxby from 15 yards.
So AFC went in at the break with literally a mountain to
climb as they would be kicking up the slope in the second period. But whatever was discussed in the dressing
room it had the desired effect and Bulls came out charging.
Although not before Gaving Saxby had to make a superb one
handed save to deny Kerr on 50 minutes.
Two minutes later the visitors were back on level terms, Ludlow crossed
from the right and another neat pass from Green set up Rick who stroked the
ball past Oxley.
Saxby was in action again on 57 minutes making a double save
to deny Kerr and Broadbent.
The goal of the game came on the hour mark, Joe Naylor
picking the ball up 25 yards out unleashed an unstoppable shot that dipped and
swerved and although Oxley got a touch the power of the drive sent the ball
deep into the back of the net.
Worsbrough’s lively youngsters remained a threat but by now
the experience of Ludlow, Timons and Kitchen was starting to take its toll on
the home attack.
Rick saw an effort saved easily by Oxley on 79 minutes and
on 85 minutes Naylor thought he had a second goal only to see Oxley expertly
turn the ball over the bar.
Declan Brewin hit the side netting on 86 minutes and the
introduction of Thomas Pereira up front gave the home defence something to
think about with his undoubted pace.
Worsbrough Bridge: Oxley, Warren, Thompson, Adgie,
Wight (c), Evans, Reece, Broadbent, Kerr, Dixon, Colton. Subs not used: Lane.
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Buxton, Brewin, Ludlow,
Timons (c), Kitchen, Naylor D, Naylor J, Rick, Green (Pereira 83),
Bettison. Subs not used: Wilson &
Sargent.
Referee: Mr Steven Taylor (South Yorkshire)
Assistants: Mr J Fewster & Mr J Gelder
 |
| Man of the Match |
Attendance: 165
Man of the Match:
Kyle Ludlow
***************************
Saturday 23rd August 2014
The ToolStation Northern Counties East League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 3 – 1 Hallam FC
AFC Mansfield eased into this home win with goals from Carl
Haslam, Phil Buxton and Dean Rick. Grant
Allott did pull the visitors level at the start of the second half but the home
sides attacking prowess was always going to prevail.
It was very much one way traffic in the first half, but very
frustrating for ‘The Bulls’ as chance after chance went begging. Carl Haslam had the perfect opportunity to
set the home side on its way in just the 3rd minute but he lifted
his 8yard effort high over the bar. 10 minutes later Ashley Kitchen saw his
effort rise over the bar although the chance was not as clear cut.
A minute later and probably the best effort of the first
half fell to Ben Kistell for the visitors who rattled the upright from 25 yards
with Gavin Saxby beaten.
And so the chances kept coming, Haslam saw his looping
header clear the bar from an excellent cross by Phil Buxton on 20 minutes and
keeper Jamie Dean’s legs denied Joe Naylor a minute later.
Man of the Match Ashley Kitchen, made a surging run forward
taking him past four defenders and the visitors were pleased to put his cross
out for a corner.
Joe then missed an absolute sitter on 34 minutes, slicing
the ball wide in front of an open goal 10 yards out. Brother Danny Naylor forced Dean into a
wonderful save on 39 minutes, his 30 yard low drive turned around the post at
full stretch by the visiting keeper.
Just when they thought it would be deadlocked at half time
Phil Buxton was adjudged to have been fouled.
The referee initially indicated a free-kick on the edge of the box but
after consulting with his assistant signalled a penalty. Carl Haslam stepped up and drilled the ball
past Dean to give ‘The Bulls’ a deserved lead going into the break.
Hallam looked much brighter at the start of the second half
and took the game to AFC Mansfield. They
were rewarded in the 50th minute when Kistell’s free-kick was
parried by Saxby and Grant Allott drove the ball home from 6 yards. A rare mistake at the back for the home side
with TImons, Kitchen and Ludlow normally so frugal with chances.
Two minutes later Joe Naylor hooked a volley just over the
bar from the edge of the box as the home side re-established its
dominance. Phil Buxton restored the lead
on 58 minutes, finishing off a neat move involving Joe Naylor and Dean Rick by
firing past Dean from 10 yards off a Rick low cross.
The points were secured on 65 minutes Joe Naylor involved
again, this time laying the ball off for Rick to fire home a low shot from just
outside the box.
Both teams made a raft of chances in the final 20 minutes
but none of them produced any worthwhile chances on goal. ‘The Bulls’ can’t rest on their laurels, as
they travel to Worsborough Bridge on Tuesday night for their next league game.
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Buxton, Wilson (Bettison
60), Ludlow, Timons (c), Kitchen, Naylor D, Naylor J, Rick, Haslam (Sargent
83), Kimberley (Brewin 78). Subs not
used: Tighe & Plumbe.
Hallam FC: Dean, Ramsden (Fairweather 77),
Whitaker, Flannery, Shires, Rosser, Wade (Hambling 80), Mirfin, Kistell,
Allott, Osborne (Greaves 70). Subs not
used: Sykes & Bark.
Referee: Mr Andrew Price (South Yorkshire)
Assistants: Mr Lee Davis (South Yorkshire) &
Mr Pete Lang (Derbyshire)
Attendance: 110
Man of the Match: Ashley Kitchen
*********************
Saturday 16th August 2014
The ToolStation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
Hall Road Rangers 0 – 6 AFC Mansfield
AFC Mansfield gained their first ever points in The Northern
Counties East league and did it with some style, scoring six goals without
reply, in a clinical display of attacking football. Carl Haslam led the way with a brace and
goals from Phil Buxton, Dean Rick, Darren Bettison and a superb headed goal
from man of the match Chris Timons completed the tally.
‘The Bulls’ made their intentions clear in the opening
minutes, Buxton seeing his low drive turned around the post after just 4
minutes. Two minutes later Haslam fired
wide after being sent clear by Adam Kimberley.
Gavin Saxby was called into the action on 10 minutes, saving
superbly from a Luke Thompson strike.
The visitors were awarded a spot kick on 13 minutes when defender
Danny Blount kicked Dena Rick in the head while attempting to clear a high
bouncing ball. Carl Haslam stepped up
and slotted the ball home sending captain Rick Watson the wrong way.
James Gemmell had the chance to pull Hall Road level on 16
minutes but his edge of the box shot was always going wide.
A neat move down the right flank on 22 minutes gave ‘The
Bulls’ a second goal. A pass from Brad
Wilson found Rick, the strikers knock on found Buxton in acres of space in the
box and a clinical low drive gave Watson no chance.
Joe Naylor had the ball in the back of the net on the half
hour mark only for it to be chalked off by the assistants flag.
Naylor fired over the bar on 36 minutes and at the other end
Ben Kinsley mirrored Naylor’s effort.
Saxby was in action on 40 minutes making a fantastic double
save. Firstly he got down well to parry Thompson’s
rasping drive and then recovered to turn Kinsley’s goal bound low drive around
the post.
The second half started with a 10 minute spell of pressure
from the home side. AFC had to defend a
series of corners but the only real save Saxby had to make was a good effort
from Gemmell on 54 minutes.
‘The Bulls’ weathered the storm and struck back on 63
minutes when Buxton’s corner was met with a towering header from Chris Timons
to make it 3-0.
Things imploded for the home side on 67 minutes when Danny
Blount lashed out at Rick in full view of the referee and his assistant and a
red card was the only possible outcome.
This left Hall Road with a mountain to climb.
Watson did well to save with his legs on 70 minutes after
Haslam had sent Rick clear on goal.
After a flurry of substitutions from both sides the visitors made it 4-0
0n 83 minutes. Rick this time converting
another fine ball from Haslam.
Joe Naylor saw his header tipped over the bar by Watson on
86 minutes, but just a minute later Haslam fired home AFC Mansfield’s fifth
with a stinging drive from the edge of the box.
The scoring was completed on 89 minutes when Darren Bettison
drilled the ball home from just inside the box with the Hall Road defence all
over the place.
AFC Mansfield will now face Hallam FC at home next Saturday
and will be hoping this form continues.
Hall Road Rangers: Watson, Walsh, Morrill,
Clement, Blount, Gibson, Rookes, Gemmell, Thompson, O’Connell, Kinsley. Subs not used: Tyler & Matthewson.
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Buxton (Tighe 82), Wilson,
Ludlow, Timons, Kitchen (Fearon 78), Naylor D, Naylor J, Rick, Haslam,
Kimberley (Bettison 74). Subs not used:
Bacon & Claridge
Referee: Mr Robert Woodburn (South Yorkshire)
Assistants: Mr Andrew Farr & Mr Matthew
Maddison
 |
| Man of the Match |
Attendance: 63
Man of the Match: Chris Timons
**********************************
Saturday 9th August 2014
The ToolStation
Northern Counties East League
Division One
AFC Mansfield 0 –
1 Selby Town
AFC Mansfield
were left deflated after Selby Town took all 3 points with a goal three minutes
from time after looking the stronger side for much of the 2nd half.
It was
substitute Asa Pardoe who rose above the pack to head home at the far post from
a free-kick on the left flank.
It was the
visitors though who started the game more brightly. In fact, Selby dominated much of the first
half and could have gone in front as early as the 4th minute. A superb reaction save from Gavin Saxby to
deny the head of Selby Captain Mick Jones.
10 minutes
later and Danny Gray forced a superb one handed save out of Saxby to keep the
scores level. It was all Selby at this
point and AFC were having difficulty dealing with the ariel strength of the
visitors.
Gray was sent
clear on 25 minutes and saw his low drive beat Saxby but also the far post.
The home
sides only outlet seemed to be Carl Haslam who made several surging runs but
never produced a final ball.
Gray thought
he had scored on 35 minutes, crashing his header against the post from 6 yards.
‘The Bulls’
somehow got to half time with the scores 0-0 and some regrouping was needed.
The second
half was much brighter for AFC, Carl Haslam forced Mark Wilberforce into a fine
save on 50 minutes with a rasping 20 yard drive.
AFC Mansfield’s
top goal scorer for the last 2 seasons Dean Rick was introduced on 51 minutes
and immediately the home side looked more of a threat. Rick on his way back from injury hit the post
within 5 minutes of coming on and ‘The Bulls’ looked for an opener.
Haslam had
his header turned over the bar by Wilberforce from a Danny Claridge cross on 56
minutes and 2 minutes later his 35 yard free kick was only parried by the keeper
before being scrambled away for a corner by Jones.
Rick had two
chances on 65 and 67 minutes respectively.
The first fired over the bar and the second hitting the side netting
after turning two defenders.
A Haslam shot
on 69 minutes was parried by Wilberforce with Joe Naylor following up to fire
the ball home only to be greeted with an offside flag .
More chances
went begging, Joe Naylor’s effort easily saved by Wilberforce and Adam
Kimberley sending Rick clear to square to Haslam in the box. A little too elaborate footwork from the striker
and his eventual effort went sailing over the bar.
Just as the
game looked as if it was heading for stalemate a needless free kick was given
away near the left hand corner flag and when the ball came in Asa Pardoe met it
with his head and the points were Selby’s.
AFC Mansfield: Saxby, Timons (c), Claridge
(Kimberley 74), Ludlow, Kitchen, Buxton, Plumbe, Naylor J, Green (Rick 51),
Bettison ( Naylor D 60). Subs not used:
Bacon & Brewin.
Selby Town: Wilberforce, Dickman, Binns, Jones (c),
Horsman (Pardoe 74), O’Reilly, Forrester, Bennett, Robinson (Bunch 56), Gray,
Kamara. Subs not used: Muirhead &
Archer.
Referee: Mr Josh Bramhall (South Yorkshire)
Assistants: Mr Steven Clarkson (South Yorkshire)
& Mr Steven Lazenby (South Yorkshire)
Attendance: 95
Man of the Match: Gavin Saxby
Saturday 26 July 2014
Pre-season friendly
AFC Mansfield 1 - 1 Heanor Town
'The Bulls' proved to be a difficult hurdle for Heanor Town and it wasn't until 12 minutes from the end that the visitors managed to pull level through Sam Jones.
Joe Naylor had put the home side in front on 31 minutes heading home a Danny Claridge corner in front of a crowd of 112.
The game was physical and competitive and Sam Jones was yellow carded and asked by the referee to take a break as the tackling got out of hand at the end of the first half.
Joe Naylor produced a Man of the Match performance as he bossed the game from start to finish.
Heanor were much stronger in the second half and had chances to win the game. But a resolute Bulls defence superbly marshalled by captain Chris Timons had other ideas.
Liam Bacon making his debut from our promising U21 side was in fine form making several key saves.
AFC Mansfield: Bacon, Fearon, Claridge, Ludlow, Timons (c), Naylor D, Buxton, Naylor J, Somes, Bettison, Haslam. Subs all used: Kimberely, Green, Robinson & Sargent.
Heanor Town: Deakin, Raven, Shaw (c), Marriott, Hawes, Strzyzkey, Benger, Moran, Ricketts, Jones, Piliero. Subs all used: Stone, Holmes, Henshaw, McNicholas & Mogford.
Referee: Mr Tim Walker
Assistants: Mr Reece Davis & Mr Jack Carter
Attendance: 112
Man of the Match: Joe Naylor
Referee: Mr Tim Walker
Assistants: Mr Reece Davis & Mr Jack Carter
Attendance: 112Man of the Match: Joe Naylor
