Burton Albion 2-1 Mansfield Town


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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