Making Plans For Nigel
Yes, I know it isn’t the best thing to be focusing on right now, but I’d done the title for this game before other news came out this afternoon. It’s back to the early eighties and this hit for XTC as the title for this piece.
After a disappointing 2–0 home defeat to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday we have another home game hot on its heels with the visit of Mansfield Town this evening, another of the clubs promoted from League Two last season. It means the return to the Broadfield for perennial miserable bastard Nigel Clough for amusingly (to me anyway) his fourteenth visit. Not bad for someone who said many years ago, “at least I won’t have to go to places like Crawley again.” Always nice to see you as well Nigel. Especially on the back of the visit of his padawan learner Ian Evatt at the weekend.
We shared the spoils with Mansfield last season, they won 3–1 at the Broadfield in December, but we got revenge in style at Field Mill with the great 4–1 win in April as we moved into the playoff places. We have played them seventeen times previously in the league, winning five, drawing four and losing eight, with four wins, two draws, and three losses at home.
Will Swan was signed from Mansfield on deadline day and will hopefully be up for scoring against his old club. Meanwhile former striker Tom Nichols may play at some point for Mansfield, and Hiram Boateng who made one appearance on loan for us many years ago has been ever present for Mansfield this season and scored their consolation goal in that 4–1 win at Field Mill last April.
Coming into the game we sit twentieth in the league above the relegation places on goal difference only. Meanwhile Mansfield have had a decent start to the season and sit in sixth on a combination of goal difference, goals scored, and alphabetical order, being on the same points as third placed Lincoln City, and they have double the number of points we have.
It was less than a week ago since Scott Lindsey upped sticks, stones, and broken bones, and headed to Milton Keynes. And this afternoon the club confirmed they had appointed a replacement in Rob Elliot, the former Charlton Athletic, Newcastle United, and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper (and not to be confused with Robbie Elliott, the former Newcastle United full back).
The appointment has taken place quite swiftly, which is a change for the club and would suggest they might have been checking out potential replacements before Scott departed (which would be understandable as he hadn’t wanted to sign an extension to his contract). Rob comes to us from National League Gateshead, where he won the FA Trophy last season. It would appear he plays the same kind of passing football we have been set up for. There are the predictable moans that he has no league management experience, but I think it is a lot less of a gamble than the Kevin Betsy experiment, or the Matt Etherington appointment (yes, I got gamble and Etherington in the same sentence again).
Tonight sees the first game under the new Kaizen ticketing system. There were reports that the scanners still hadn’t arrived at the weekend, and there has only been five days available for season ticket holders to pick up their new QR code enabled season ticket cards, so it remains to be seen how smoothly things go with getting into the ground this evening.
Today also sees the availability of issue two of the programme replacement Reds magazine, so there was that to pick up before trying the turnstiles. It is another good issue, and the new season ticket worked, so happy with that, even if I was cutting it fine to be in before kick-off. I was in so much of a rush I didn’t pick up my glasses and so there was a lot of squinting going on, whilst trying to make accurate notes.
Mansfield were in their traditional colours of yellow shirts and socks and blue shorts. There is no sign of the late twilight sun going down this evening, one it’s persisting it down, and two the nights have already drawn in and it would be dark anyway.
Starting on the front foot we get an early corner, and it hits the first man. Mansfield get a corner, hit deep, and headed back across and cleared. We have some good attacking possession but manage to then give away a silly corner whilst fannying about with the ball at the back. That is cleared, but there is another corner soon after, it is deep again, headed back again and poked in and we are 0–1 down, having survived twice as long as we did on Saturday before conceding.
From the restart there is a Mansfield booking for a foul in midfield. We are having better possession and get a corner which beats the first man and goes into the box but is cleared. Mansfield attack and look yards offside, and their shot is put behind for a corner, which we deal with this time.
Back up the other end we get a free kick on the left edge of the box, there is a shot from it which is saved for a corner, and that is cleared. Decent play down the left sees a cross come in, and go over to the right, it is crossed back in from there and we get a shot off which is straight at the keeper.
Ade Adeyemo gets a booking for a fifty-fifty challenge in midfield, we aren’t even halfway through the first half and Mansfield have begun cynically timewasting. They claim a penalty when tackled in the box, but it is waved away, and we break down the left and Harry Forster wins a corner. It is played short and then across and Ronan Darcy’s shot is blocked and cleared. We attack down the left again and win a free kick near the box and Mansfield draw a booking for a high boot. The ball in is caught by the keeper.
JoJo Wollacott hoofs a clearance on the right over the roof of the east marquee for ball loss number one. Mansfield win a corner from the throw after it, but it is cleared. There is an innocuous free kick in the centre of the park, but a bit of a melee emerges from it, and it ends up with a booking for both Jay Williams and Bradley Ibrahim. Another Mansfield player goes down in the penalty area, but this time there is no one within five yards of him when he does. Not quite sure what the diving twat thought he was going to get for that.
Armando Junior Quitirna gets the ball down the right wing and then cuts in and drives towards the box, everyone is shouting for him to shoot, and he obliges, and the shot only just misses. The corner flag that is. Darcy goes down the left, beats two men and gets the ball into the box, but it just won’t fall for anyone to have a shot and then a heavy touch from Adeyemo gives the ball back to Mansfield. Forster goes on a storming run down the left and is hacked down at midfield and draws another Mansfield yellow card.
There are two added minutes at the end of the half before the whistle goes with the score 0–1.
We make a half time substitution with Jack Rolls on for Adeyemo. Mansfield make three half time subs, probably replacing all their booked players as well. Mansfield are almost in on goal from the kick-off, Wollacott just gets something on the ball ahead of the attacker, it does spin to a Mansfield player in the box but they can’t get a shot off, and cleared, a long throw comes in, half cleared and they get another corner, hit long, and played in again but it goes out for a goal kick.
At the other end Josh Flint goes on a rampaging run into the box and his cross is cleared, it is played back in, and we win a corner, which is cleared as well. We attack down the right, passed across the front of the box and to Flint and his shot goes just wide. Another attack down the left sees another Flint cross cleared for a corner, which is hit deep and skims off a Mansfield head for a throw on the other side.
Mansfield get a corner and Wollacott comes and punches clear, and clears out a Mansfield attacker as well, the crowd are screaming for a penalty, which they don’t get. Nigel Clough loses his shit on the touchline, and for the second game on the trot, the opposing team’s Crawley hating manager picks up a yellow card, much to the delight of a somewhat vocal west stand. At the other end we get a free kick thirty yards out on the left and make three substitutions before it is taken with Ibrahim, Will Swan, and Forster coming off to be replaced by Max Anderson, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, and Jeremy Kelly coming on.
The curling cross/shot from Darcy comes back off the foot of the post and the follow up shot is put wide. And then silly season starts. Darcy is chasing a back pass and the defender steps in front of him to block him off and then goes down five seconds later, and Darcy is given a yellow card. Joy Mukena makes a hash of things in the middle of the field and leaves a Mansfield attacker one on one with the keeper, but Wollacott saves well with his feet, which is a bit of a let off for us. Then a Mansfield attacker runs straight into Toby Mullarkey, and it’s no surprise how the ref reads that one. Yes, it’s another yellow card for a Crawley player.
We get a fortunate corner off a miscue after a poor ball through from Williams, but from it another Mansfield player falls over and they get a free kick. They make their last two subs, with former player Boateng going off, and former player Nichols coming on.
Darcy has another shot from thirty-five yards out, and their keeper spills in, but it doesn’t quite fall to a following in Crawley player. Flint has a shot which is blocked, and we get a corner which the keeper pushes away for a thrown on the other side. We work it back in, have a shot blocked, play it in, and there is a bit of pinball in the box and a back header from a Mansfield defender is just about collected under the bar by the keeper.
Mansfield attack and have a shot which is heading for downtown Broadfield over the KRL Logistics stand, but instead nearly takes out the sodden cameraman on the scaffold behind the goal and comes back into the ground. Somehow Roles picks up a booking as well.
The board is put up for five added minutes. There are a steady stream of people leaving from the east marquee, so missed some of this. There was a Mansfield throw, the next I see the ball is in the box and their striker has a shot which takes a bit of a deflection off a defender and goes past Wollacott into the bottom corner, and it is 0–2. And the steady flow of leavers becomes a full-on fire drill.
Mullarkey tries his luck with a shot from thirty yards, which is wide, and the full-time whistle goes with a second consecutive 0–2 home defeat. No announcement was made about the crowd numbers, or who the sponsors’ man of the match was.
The loss, coupled with a Bristol Rovers win, sees us drop one place into the relegation places, whilst Mansfield jump up three places to third.
Next up is an away game against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday, which I can’t make as there is a family thing to attend in Leicester at the weekend, before more Tuesday night home action next week with the visit of AFC Wimbledon in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.
Come on you reds.
Originally published on my own website (without the pictures) at the link below.
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