The old footballing
cliché of a game of two halves was in evidence on Saturday afternoon
at the Pirelli Stadium, as promotion chasing Burton staggered over
the winning line despite having the wind of a spirited Mansfield
second half display very much blowing in their face. All five new
signings were thrown straight into the starting line up, not
reflecting favourably on Adam Murray's opinions of the playing staff
left behind by previous boss Paul Cox.
A bumper away
following, perhaps boosted by the prospect of witnessing the
aforementioned five promising signings in action, could be forgiven
for thinking it was going to be a long day when Burton went in front
after eight minutes through a Matty Palmer free kick from the left
hand side of the penalty area. Previous to this Reggie Lambe has
squandered a glorious opportunity (not immediately evident from the
away end behind the goal) when one on one with the keeper after good
interplay between Clements and Kee. It was a soft goal for the Stags
to concede and a needless free kick for Richie Sutton to give away,
with no obvious threat to débutante Adam Smith's goal. Interesting
to note that Smith initially asked for a four man wall which never
really materialised, with half a team of new players seemingly unsure
as to there role from the set piece, something which, if correct, is
a basic error from the coaching staff. The players in the wall
switched around several times before the kick was taken and the Stags
never looked in a position to successfully defend the dead ball
situation.
Fifteen minutes later,
Burton extended their lead with a free header from a corner from the
right hand side, headed back where it came from with ease by Kelvin
Maynard. It was the kind of goal that was wholly avoidable and
another goal from a set piece, again perhaps highlighting that this
an area the Stags need to work on, especially when you have players
of the stature of Oliver, Raynes and Riley who should be heading
balls away all day long. There were a few murmurings of discontent
from the Stags fans behind that goal as, following the ball going
into the crowd following the conceding of the corner, a group of
about 30 fans decided not to throw the ball back onto the pitch. Some
fans around me claimed that those fans had contributed towards the
lack of concentration shown by the Stags defenders in allowing
Maynard a free header. My view, whilst not condoning the actions of
the group of fans, was that the delay should have allowed the defence
more time to organise and pick a man, especially when they had looked
so anxious trying to organise the wall for the opening goal.
Apart from those first
thirty seconds, the first half was largely forgettable from a
Mansfield point of view. The central midfielder's looked off the pace
and were second to every ball. Smith's distribution was poor, with
the keeper not registering that he needed to aim wider to counteract
the strong crosswind until the first 45 minutes was almost over. He
also showed indecision on a couple of occasions, perhaps to be
expected on debut. The distribution of the whole team was pretty
woeful and I don't think the Stags managed to string more than three
passes together in the whole first half. Martin Riley, captain for
the day, was shoved off the ball on a couple of occasions and did not
display any obvious leadership characteristics, with Michael Raynes
doing most of the defensive organising. The Stags four main attacking
prongs were all easily nullified by Burton, Kee particularly
disappointing, looking off the pace, missing a one on one opportunity
and trying too many flicks instead of holding the ball up and
allowing the defence some much needed respite.
Whatever Adam Murray
said to his players at the break had the desired effect, and quickly
quashed all discussion from fans around me as to which pub they would
depart to if Burton went 3-0 up. The general lack of energy/desire
that was evident in the first half was a distant memory in the
second, as the Stags chased down every ball in order to try and find
a way back into the game and it soon had the desired effect as the
Stags were level on 51 minutes. Following a previous long throw which
had showed some promise, Callum Elder launched the ball into the box
from the left hand side, which was flicked on by Michael Raynes and
Reggie Lambe was on hand to convert from close range into the
unguarded Burton goal. A throwback to the Cox era some might say but
it remained the Stags most likely source of a goal throughout the
rest of the game, something which may worry Adam Murray.
For the next fifteen
minutes or so, the Stags were piling on the pressure but ultimately
wasted a number of promising situations, Richie Sutton the main
culprit. He had a chance to make up for his earlier error with a free
header from a corner which was deflected wide, wasted three great
opportunities to put the ball into the box from a wide area and made
a hash of a snapshot which he scuffed wide of the target. Reggie
Lambe also had two great chances, firstly when clean through on goal
and miscontrolling the ball and secondly when he rounded the keeper
but could not beat the defender to the ball. I was also surprised
that Mansfield did not tell Callum Elder to come over to the right to
launch the ball into the box, as there were two or three occasions
when his long throw could have caused problems from the opposite side
of the pitch. Whether or not this was a deliberate ploy by Murray so
as not to be accused of 'going direct' in comparison with his
predecessor I don't know, but he wasn't fooling anyone with his
approach in the second half, as he had clearly instructed his players
to go more 'route one' and this was causing the Burton defence all
sorts of problems. Matt Rhead was brought on for the last ten minutes
and this increased the number of diagonal balls launched into the
Burton box, perhaps unfortunate from a Clements free kick not to be
awarded a penalty when Rhead appeared to be dragged to the ground,
although you are never really sure with Rhead whether he is the
aggressor or the victim and I think that went against him on this
occasion. The head steward in front of me seemed to agree with the
majority of the Stags fans behind the goal, making a shirt pulling
gesture and nodding his head along with aggrieved visiting supporters
he was observing.
Despite their best
efforts, the Stags could not find the equalising goal. It didn't stop
them earning a standing ovation from the travelling faithful, who
were in terrific voice throughout the second half and would have been
encouraged by the difference Adam Murray's half time team talk made.
Burton themselves, despite looking comfortable in the first half,
never really impressed as you would expect of a promotion chasing
side. I don't think there is any stand out teams in League 2 this
season, or at least I am yet to see one. Perhaps the one thing the
team could learn from Burton was their game management. Although it
is incredibly frustrating for the opposition fans, Burton gradually
took the sting out of Mansfield's second half efforts by taking their
time over free kicks, staying down injured and allowing the physio to
come on to take away the Stags' momentum.
The Stags will be
hoping to take their second half performance into the game against
Exeter next Saturday. It is the second of the three £7 per adult
games and everyone surrounding the club will be hoping for a better
turnout than against Cheltenham before Christmas. I'm sure both
players and manager will also be hoping that the extra fans can
create a bit of atmosphere at the One Call, which has been sadly
missing so far this season and I feel really encouraged the Stags in
the second half on Saturday. With only four points keeping Mansfield
out of the relegation zone and Exeter having lost their last three
games, now is the time for Adam Murray and his team to step up to the
plate and give those 'floating' fans a reason to attend more
regularly.
Player Ratings :
Smith 6 – No costly
errors as such but a few shaky moments. Should come on for his
Football League debut.
Sutton 4 – Probably
at fault for both goals and his distribution was poor. He did keep
getting forward to his credit and if he can just improve his final
ball may make the right back spot his own.
Riley 6 – Captain but
no real signs of leadership, was largely solid without being
outstanding.
Raynes 7 – Solind
debut and did look to pass along the back four at times rather than
lumping it forward. Looked a threat from set pieces also.
Elder 6 – Shaky first
half but improved with the team in the second. Possesses a decent
long throw and looked a good footballer.
Lambe – 6 – Lively
and scored the Stags goal but also wasted their best opportunity in
the opening 30 seconds. Was terrible in the first half.
Ravenhill 6 – Game
passed him by in the first half but got stuck in in the second. Dwelt
on the ball at times.
Clements 6 – Again
game passed him by in the first, but remains the best passer at the
club and set pieces were of a good standard.
Brown – 6 – Largely
anonymous but worked hard.
Oliver – 7- Poor
first half but won every header in the second and went close with one
curling effort. Murray should try and hang on to him.
Kee – 5 – Never got
into the game. Missed a one on one opportunity and looked unfit. Will
hopefully improve with games.
Subs :
Rhead – Put his self
around as usual but the stags didn't seem as threatening with him on
the pitch.
Fletcher – Didn't
have time to make an impact.
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