Match preview: Stags vs Macclesfield Town

1 February 2019

Stags welcome Macclesfield Town to One Call Stadium on Saturday for our latest clash in Sky Bet League Two (3pm kick-off). Here's all you need to know ahead of the match...

Stags will be without defender Hayden White, who suffered a broken leg in the recent victory over Colchester.

Alex MacDonald will miss out as he continues to recover from a knee injury.

Goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik has been ruled out for the season with an anterior cruciate ligament rupture, so will miss out.

Striker Craig Davies, who has an ankle injury, will also be absent.

For the Silkmen, defender James Pearson will miss out, with midfielder Koby Arthur a doubt.

Stags are unbeaten in their last four outings, and have won three of them. Our last game came against Forest Green Rovers at The New Lawn, with the entertaining contest ending 1-1. Attacking midfielder Jorge Grant scored Mansfield's only goal of the game.

Macclesfield were beaten 3-2 by Cheltenham in their last game, despite leading 2-0 in the match. In the two games prior to that, they recorded two wins, against Oldham and Grimsby respectively.

STAGS' LAST FIVE GAMES: 3W | 1D | 1L

MACCLESFIELD'S LAST FIVE GAMES: 2W | 1D | 2L

We last faced the Silkmen in August of this season, in a game that ended 1-1. Wing-back Mal Benning scored for the Stags in the first-half.

The referee for Saturday's game will be Michael Salisbury, assisted by Duncan Street and Geoffrey Liddle. The fourth official will be Anthony Moore.

The last time Mr. Salisbury took charge of a Stags' fixture was back in August for our 1-1 draw at home to Colchester United.

FREE tickets are now available for supporters aged 17 and under for Saturday's hotly-awaited league match.

This special offer has been set up by chairman John Radford and chief executive Carolyn Radford in an attempt to attract more supporters to the ground amid an enthralling season for the Stags.

Tickets can be obtained by visiting the Stags’ ticket office at One Call Stadium from 10am until 5pm.

Tickets are available to acquire on the day of the game, however, the club strongly encourages supporters to acquire tickets as early as possible due to expected high demand.

Match tickets must be obtained at the ticket office prior to entry inside One Call Stadium. Tickets cannot be acquired online or via telephone.

Allocated seating is in operation at One Call Stadium, meaning all supporters must sit in the seat which correlates to their match ticket.

Supporters aged 12 and under must be accompanied by a paying adult.

Supporters who had previously purchased tickets in the under-18s' category can claim a full refund at the ticket office.

Otherwise, ticket prices for different age categories for the fixture are as follows:

Ian Greaves Stand (lower tier) is as follows:

CATEGORY	BEFORE MATCHDAY	ON MATCHDAY
Adult	£22	£24
Senior	£18	£20
Young adult (18-21)	£16	£18

Family tickets, priced at just £18 for an adult and a child are available to purchase both in advance and on matchdays from the ticket office.

The Stags' designated family section is Block B of the Quarry Lane Stand. Therefore, supporters purchasing a family ticket are required to sit in this area.

Ticket prices for the Ian Greaves Stand (upper tier) are as follows:

CATEGORY	BEFORE MATCHDAY	ON MATCHDAY
Adult	£23	£25
Senior	£19	£21
Young adult (18-21)	£16	£18

Quarry Lane prices are as follows:

CATEGORY	BEFORE MATCHDAY (with membership card)	BEFORE MATCHDAY (without membership card)	ON MATCHDAY (with or without membership card)
Adult	£11	£22	£24
Senior	£9	£18	£20
Young adult (18-21)	£8	£16	£18

Tickets for the match are available to purchase online via www.stagstickets.co.uk, at the ticket office on Quarry Lane, or by calling the ticket office on 01623 482 482.

Supporters can also purchase tickets on the day of the game. The matchday ticket office will be open for fans to buy tickets from 12pm until 3pm.

Our family ticket offer is also available for Saturday's game, which admits one adult and one child for just £18! Supporters that have purchased a family ticket will be seated in our family block, which is located in Block A of the Quarry Lane End. Fans with a family ticket may also be seated in Block B of the Quarry Lane End if demand dictates so.

Please note that, on police advice and for ease of congestion, the gate between the North and Ian Greaves Stand will be closed after every home game this season, re-opening approximately 20 minutes after the final whistle.

The Sandy Pate Sports Bar will open at 9am, serving delicious cooked breakfasts until 11am. After this, the bar will not serve food from the main menu, although the matchday kiosk inside the bar will open at 12.30pm, serving pies, chips, burgers and hot dogs.

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are available for both home and away supporters, and the bar is located at the rear of the Ian Greaves Stand.

The bar will begin to serve food from its main menu following the full-time whistle.

The sports bar will remain open until 11pm after the match.

Ticket holders in Blocks N, P, Q and R of the Ian Greaves Upper tier will also be able to access our Kevin Bird Suite from 1pm.

Supporters will also be able to purchase our award-winning matchday programme, The Stag, which will be available to buy around the ground for just £3 before the match.

Fans can buy The Stag from the merchandise stand near the Sandy Pate Sports Bar, or any of our mobile programme vendors around the ground.

Car parking is severely restricted at One Call Stadium and works on a first come, first served basis. All reserved car parking spaces are within the location of the Ian Greaves Stand car park.

Matchday parking costs £5.00 per car. Please note that the car park shuts at 30 minutes prior to kick-off due to safety regulations.

The following sites, owned by Mansfield District Council and with easy access to the One Call Stadium are Grove Street, Victoria Street, Garden Road and Church Lane.

Charges are as follows:

Grove St 50p/hr.
Victoria St 50p/hr.
Garden Rd 50p/hr.
Church Lane 80p/hr.

All of the above pay and display surface level car parks offer cashless parking via RingGo as an additional way to pay.

Every car park has a unique code so people can either pay over the phone, by text, online or by using a free smartphone app.

Details of how to do this are displayed in each car park. Information about all Mansfield District Council car parks can be found at www.mansfield.gov.uk/carparks.

Where do I go when I get to One Call Stadium?

Hospitality

If you are a hospitality guest, please enter the stadium via the brown double doors to the rear of the Ian Greaves Stand, which is the entrance to our hospitality suites.

The doors are located to the left of the white merchandise stall outside the Sandy Pate Sports Bar, backing onto the main car park and sign-posted 'The Kevin Bird Suite'.

Media

Members of the media are asked to also head to the entrance to our hospitality suites, where our media steward will provide you with the necessary accreditation.

The required entrance is located to the left of the merchandise stall outside the Sandy Pate Sports Bar and signposted 'The Kevin Bird Suite'.

Supporters

If you need to collect tickets, please head to the main ticket office on Quarry Lane. For ticket purchases, please visit the matchday ticket office, adjacent to the Quarry Lane Stand, around the corner from the main ticket office.

Entry to the Quarry Lane End is via the turnstiles situated parallel to the road running alongside One Call Stadium.

The Ian Greaves Stand is the main stand at One Call Stadium, which backs onto the main car park.

Away fans are housed in the North Stand, which is located next to Portland Retail Park. Please note: there is no matchday parking in the retail park.

Can't make it to the game? You can follow the action live via our Twitter updates or via the match centre on mansfieldtown.net, which can be found here.

iFollow Stags subscribers can listen to full-match commentary of the clash, courtesy of commentators Martin Shaw and Dean Foulkes.

A report of the match will be published on the club website after the full-time whistle, and post-match reaction will be available to view on mansfieldtown.net and iFollow Stags.

Supporters who are blind or visually impaired can take advantage of our fantastic free audio descriptive commentary service.

Provided by Alan March Sport, supporters can listen to commentary from trained audio description broadcasters.

To take advantage of this free service, please visit the entrance to the Kevin Bird Suite at One Call Stadium after 1.00pm on Saturday.

Match Previews

Match Reports

Match report: Stags 3-1 Macclesfield Town

2 February 2019

Mansfield Town made it four wins from their last five matches as they overturned Macclesfield Town 3-1 at One Call Stadium.

Jorge Grant opened proceedings with his fourth goal in five appearances before Callum Evans found an equaliser three minutes from the interval.

This, however, would only prove to be a small blemish as Krystian Pearce and Tyler Walker joined in the goalscoring act to move out of sight in the second period.

David Flitcroft named both an unchanged starting lineup and bench as the Stags looked to extend their unbeaten run to five matches in Sky Bet League Two.

It was a lively opening in the Midlands as the hosts evidently had a keen eye set on breaking the deadlock with little time elapsed.

Walker looked to feed Nicky Ajose through the middle, although, he was unable to set himself for an effort at goal.

But there was no such hesitation from the latter in the eighth minute.

Ajose’s strike from a tight angle was palmed away by Kieran O’Hara, but only into the path of Grant who rolled home to give the Stags a deserved lead.

Flitcroft’s charges continued to pile on the pressure as Grant’s whipped delivery was marginally too high for Walker, who was lurking inside the Silkmen’s area.

The Mansfield frontman then angled a 20-yard effort clear of O’Hara’s bar.

Macclesfield threatened to equalise on several occasions leading up to the half-hour mark, yet their decision making in the final third continued to elude them.

Reece Cole then tried his luck from distance with a curling effort that Jordan Smith was able to hold against his mid-rift.

The home side responded by reapplying their pressure that was momentarily placed on hold.

Grant, from a similar position to the one against Tranmere, struck a free-kick against the stanchion before Walker watched his next effort deflect away from danger for a corner.

The subsequent passage of play amounted to nothing and with a corner of their own on 42 minutes, Sol Campbell’s side restored parity.

A near-post scramble eventually ended with Callum Evans rifling home the equaliser from 12 yards – opting for power over placement.

And moments later, the visitors almost snatched the lead.

Scott Wilson clattered Smith’s upright with a delicate strike that, luckily for the hosts, rebounded back into play rather than the net.

It was a nervy finish after what was otherwise a solid first-half performance from the Stags.

Mansfield pressed the Silkmen back into their own box from the restart as they looked to replicate the outset of the first period.

Hamilton’s attempt was well-blocked by a combination of black shirts to prevent the hosts retaking the lead within a minute of the restart.

Ajose then had a looping header held by O’Hara before Walker’s fizzed delivery into the middle evaded everyone.

The Yellows were undoubtedly on top but could have fallen victim to a lapse in concentration minutes later.

Wilson found himself one-on-one with Smith, however the on-loan ‘keeper stood tall and got a strong palm to the effort from Macclesfield number nine.

The save was then made even more crucial when Mansfield restored order in the 57th minute.

Stags’ skipper, Pearce, profited from a goalmouth scramble following a corner as he slammed home his first goal of the season from point-blank range.

Just past the hour mark, Walker forced another save from O’Hara – the shot-stopper tipping the effort over his crossbar.

Grant continued the onslaught as he clipped the side netting with a quick-witted strike from the edge of the area.

Flitcroft then introduced both Danny Rose and Gethin Jones into the fray; in place of Ajose and Hamilton respectively.

And Rose won a smart foul to give his side the chance of wrapping up proceedings.

Benning assumed responsibility of the set-piece, but O’Hara claimed well as it sailed towards the top corner.

However, Mansfield did kill off the afternoon’s affair courtesy of Walker on the stroke of added time.

Matt Preston’s header was fumbled by O’Hara as Walker was on hand to stab home the Stags’ third and his 20th of a profitable campaign thus far.

The visitors posed little threat heading into five minutes of stoppage time, allowing for Flitcroft’s men to secure their 15th victory in Sky Bet League Two.

Next on Mansfield’s calendar is an away trip to south Wales when they face Newport County at Rodney Parade.

STAGS XI: Smith (GK), Benning, Preston, Pearce ©, Bishop, Mellis (Atkinson 89’), Sweeney, Walker, Ajose (Rose 72’), Hamilton (Jones 82’), Grant.

SUBS NOT USED: Logan (GK), Khan, Law, Smith.

MACCLESFIELD XI: O’Hara (GK), Hodgkiss, Kelleher, Marsh (Biabi 68’), Wilson, Welch-Hayes, Evans (Lloyd 77’), Maycock (Ntambwe 56’), Rose, Cameron ©, Cole.

SUBS NOT USED: Idem (GK), Fitzpatrick, Jules, Mullings.

REFEREE: Michael Salisbury.
ASSISTANTS: Duncan Street & Geoffrey Liddle.
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Anthony Moore.

ATTENDANCE: 5,642 (236 away).

Match Reports

Standings