Match preview: Stags vs Yeovil Town

12 January 2019

Stags welcome Yeovil Town to One Call Stadium on Saturday for our first home game of 2019! Here’s all you need to know ahead of the clash…

Mansfield will be without goalkeeper Jake Kean, who suffered a concussion in our reserves’ recent 3-1 victory over Rotherham.

Striker Jordan Graham suffered a twisted ankle in the win over the Millers, and is likely to also miss Saturday’s game.

The duo of David Mirfin and Alex MacDonald will be absent, as they continue their recoveries from respective knee injuries.

Striker Craig Davies will miss Saturday’s clash with an ankle injury.

New goalkeeper Jordan Smith, who on Thursday signed on loan from Nottingham Forest until the end of the season, is likely to be in the matchday squad.

Goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik was recently ruled out for the season with an anterior cruciate ligament rupture, so will also miss the match.

The Glovers also have several players ruled out for Saturday's clash. James Bailey, Alex Pattison and Korrey Henry are likely to miss out, with Omar Sowunmi a doubt for the game.

Last time out, the Stags suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat away to Carlisle, ending the incredible 17-match unbeaten run in Sky Bet League Two. Prior to the loss in Cumbria, Mansfield had won four out of their last five league matches.

After a promising start to the season, the Glovers have found results hard to come by of late, with their last victory coming in early November over West Ham U21 in the Checkatrade Trophy. Last time out, Yeovil lost by a narrow 1-0 scoreline at home to in-form Bury.

STAGS’ LAST FIVE GAMES: 3W | 1D | 1L

YEOVIL’S LAST FIVE GAMES: 0W | 2D | 3L

We faced the Glovers in our first away fixture of the 2018-19 season, a game that concluded with a 2-2 scoreline. Mansfield came from behind twice to earn a point, with Davies and defender Matt Preston finding the net for the Stags.

The referee for Saturday’s name will be Carl Boyeson, assisted by Peter Gooch and Thomas Harty. The fourth official will be Joe Simpson.

Mr. Boyeson last took charge of a Stags’ fixture in April of last year, a 1-1 draw at home to Port Vale.

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.

Full ticket information can be found here.

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 0-1 Yeovil Town

12 January 2019

Mansfield Town suffered a narrow loss in Sky Bet League Two as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Yeovil Town at One Call Stadium.

Jordan Green notched the only goal of a tense afternoon in Mansfield to secure victory for the visitors.

And yet, despite a spirited showing with several gilt-edged chances in the second period, the Yellows were unable to find an equaliser.

David Flitcroft made three changes in response to defeat in Cumbria with both Will Atkinson and Otis Khan being welcomed back into the starting lineup.

There was also a change between the sticks as Jordan Smith, on-loan from Nottingham Forest, made his Mansfield bow against the Glovers.

However, after looking to start in sprightly fashion, there were a few unsure moments for the Stags inside the opening moments.

Tom James struck a set-piece clear of Smith’s crossbar prior to a penalty shout that was waved away by referee Carl Boyeson.

Green ghosted in-behind the hosts’ defence, but after seemingly being taken out by Smith, the referee instead awarded a goal-kick.

Mansfield replied with their own attack as CJ Hamilton’s surging run was eventually thwarted by Yeovil goalkeeper, Nathan Baxter.

But in the 19th minute, the Glovers took a well-deserved lead.

Carl Dickinson picked out Green with a long, diagonal pass that was coolly fired home with his second touch to give his side the upper hand.

Moments later, though, Tyler Walker would have levelled up proceedings had it not been for a fine near-post save from Baxter.

Mansfield continued to press in search of an equaliser and they were unable to profit from a succession of corners that followed.

Matt Preston and Krystian Pearce were both found inside the area but the half-chances never amounted to anything more.

Hamilton, as he so often does, drove forward with the ball – but was denied a chance at goal by Adel Gafaiti’s well-timed sliding challenge.

Clear-cut chances appeared few and far between for Flitcroft’s side as they headed into the break with work to do.

From the outset of the second period, Hamilton looked once more to drive at the heart of Yeovil’s defence but was dispossessed in the process.

Mal Benning then endured responsibility over a central free-kick that was inches away from paying dividends.

The delivery was met by Preston whose initial header was intercepted, before a goalmouth scramble ensued to end with Ryan Sweeney hooking wide.

At the other end, Smith was then called into action as he made a fine save from Green to deny the Yeovil wingman his second of the afternoon.

The ball bobbled wide from the aforementioned save and the subsequent delivery left hearts in Stags’ mouths when it cannoned back off the frame of the goal.

Substitutes Timi Elsnik and Jordan Graham both had opportunities well-blocked at separate occasions as the Stags moved up the gears.

Danny Rose was denied by Baxter’s unbelievable sprawling save before more drama continued to unfold.

Walker had the back of the net on 72 minutes, with a flicked finish, but was flagged offside during the process.

The game ebbed and flowed as Yeovil should have had their second moments later.

Green's shot ricocheted to Francois Zoko at the back post but he slipped, from a Stags' perspective, at the right time, as he awaited a sure tap-in.

Baxter was then equal to another Mansfield effort, this time Walker’s, thwarting the on-loan striker an equaliser.

Flitcroft’s side continued their dominance into the dying embers on Saturday afternoon as they looked to rescue a point.

However, the hosts’ uphill battle was made significantly harder when Preston was shown a second yellow following a strong challenge on James.

Crawley Town are next up for Mansfield as they welcome the Reds to One Call Stadium.

STAGS XI: Smith (GK), White (Graham 57’), Benning, Preston, Pearce ©, Mellis, Khan (Rose 46’), Atkinson (Elsnik 63’), Sweeney, Walker, Hamilton.

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

YEOVIL XI: Baxter (GK), Gafaiti, Dickinson, Warren ©, Gray (Fisher 83’), Green, Zoko (Mugabi 88’), D’Almeida, Grant, James, Dobre (Browne 73’).

SUBS NOT USED: Nelson (GK), Rogers, Arquin, Santos.

REFEREE: Carl Boyeson.
ASSISTANTS: Peter Gooch & Thomas Harty.
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Joe Simpson.

ATTENDANCE: 4,374 (132 away).

Match Reports

Standings