Big match preview: Stags vs Lincoln City

18 March 2019

Stags welcome Lincoln City to One Call Stadium on Monday for a hotly-anticipated Sky Bet League Two clash (7.45pm kick-off). Here's all you need to know ahead of the match...

Stags will be without long-term absentees Bobby Olejnik and Hayden White.

Forwards Danny Rose (jaw), Craig Davies (ankle) and Jordan Graham (knee) will also be absent.

Defender Matt Preston will miss the game, and the match may come too soon for fellow centre-back Ryan Sweeney, who sufferred a concussion in the recent trip to Port Vale.

Lincoln manager Danny Cowley has just one definite absentee for the game, Sam Habergham.

Stags were held to a goalless draw last time out in Tuesday night's trip to Crawley. In their last clash at One Call Stadium, they recorded an impressive 4-2 victory over Cheltenham Town.

League leaders Lincoln are in excellent form heading into the game, having won four of their last five games. They fired home twice without reply in their last outing, against Oldham Athletic.

STAGS' LAST FIVE GAMES: 2W | 1D | 2L

LINCOLN'S LAST FIVE GAMES: 4W | 1D | 0L

We last faced the Imps back in November 2018 at Sincil Bank. Kellan Gordon seemed to have found the winner for the hosts in the 85th minute, but Jacob Mellis' expertly-taken volley deep into stoppage time meant that the points were shared.

The referee for Monday night's game will be Graham Scott, assisted by Michael McDonough and Peter Kirkup. The fourth official will be Andrew Madley.

Tickets for the upper tier of the Ian Greaves Stand are now sold out ahead of the big match against Lincoln.

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.

Our family ticket offer is also available for Monday'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.

The Sandy Pate Sports Bar will be open from midday on Monday, serving the main menu until 3pm.

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are available and the bar is located at the rear of the Ian Greaves Stand.

Following this, the matchday menu will become available from the kiosk inside the bar, and will serve pies, chips, burgers and hot dogs.

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

Supporters will also be able to purchase our edition of 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.

The gate between the Ian Greaves Stand and the North Stand will be locked from 5pm onwards on Monday. Mansfield supporters are asked to enter the ground via the Quarry Lane entrance, while visiting supporters are able to make their way into the ground via Portland Retail Park.

Please note, there is no away parking for away supporters, and parking for Mansfield fans is strictly limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Lincoln supporters should park towards the north side of the ground for easy access. Please also note there is no matchday parking available in Portland Retail Park.

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.

Monday evening's game will be available to view live on Sky Sports.

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 6.00pm on Monday.

The match will not be available to view on iFollow Stags for fans both in or outside of the UK.

As the match will be shown live on Sky Sports, the viewing of the match is passed on to EFL’s international distributors.

Match Previews

Match Reports

Match report: Stags 1-1 Lincoln City

18 March 2019

Mansfield Town drew 1-1 with Lincoln City as Krystian Pearce’s early header was cancelled out by John Akinde’s penalty in Sky Bet League Two on Monday evening.

The skipper had given the hosts a third-minute lead after converting a pinpoint corner beyond the reach of Lincoln’s goalkeeper.

But on 75 minutes, the visitors were given a golden chance to level proceedings – which was duly taken by Akinde’s as he calmly rolled home his spot-kick to ensure the spoils were shared following a battle-hardened contest in the Midlands.

In response to the stalemate at Crawley in midweek, David Flitcroft welcomed back the centre-half pairing of Ryan Sweeney and Matt Preston.

Otherwise, it was business as usual as Mansfield sought after their latest victory in Sky Bet League Two.

And it took less than three minutes for the hosts to signal their unwavering intent.

Mal Benning invited a header with a teasing delivery and it was Pearce who accepted such invitation as he rose highest to nod home from close-range.

One Call Stadium crackled with noise following the opener and the hosts continued to threaten thereafter.

Gethin Jones continued to find space down the right flank as he won a succession of corners for the amber and blue.

Lincoln though, were not without threat, as they threatened to break on the counter.

Combination work between Akinde and Bruno Andrade almost led to an incisive opening had it not been for some smart defending at the last.

Mansfield’s opening goalscorer, Pearce, then found himself doing some important defensive work – hooking the ball away from danger following a teasing City cross.

At the other end, Tyler Walker applied hefty pressure onto Matt Gilks as he looked to claim Jones’ cross.

The on-loan striker then had a brilliant opportunity to finish a crisp passage of play; but he was unable to direct Hamilton’s reverse pass on target.

Moments later, Jorge Grant assumed responsibility of a free-kick he won but the subsequent effort was too close to Gilks.

Mansfield were then handed a huge warning sign as Akinde wrestled for possession and allowed Mark O’Hara to unleash a strike that was only stopped by a teammate as it whistled goalwards.

Harry Toffolo was soon on the charge for the Imps but his low, driven cross was grasped firmly by Conrad Logan.

But Mansfield responded after the break with two corners of their own, which reared no end product on this occasion.

Hamilton was then set through to utilise his blistering pace, yet saw his effort thwarted by Gilks.

And there were hearts in mouths for the Mansfield contingent just short of the hour mark.

Logan looked to have dealt with a bouncing cross before spilling the ball, almost into the path of Harry Anderson, yet the Stags’ shot-stopper was able to claim at the second opportunity.

But the Mansfield ‘keeper was not so lucky when he was adjudged to have fouled Anderson inside his penalty area.

Referee Graham Scott showed little hesitation in awarding a spot-kick, which Akinde tucked away to restore parity on 75 minutes.

In an attempt to retake the lead, Pearce once again met a high ball with his head but his flicked header was straightforward for Gilks.

Andrade then found space on the left side, however, his low shot was well smothered by Logan.

Both sides continued to press for a winner as Walker found himself inches away from Alex MacDonald’s header.

But it proved to be unattainable for the Stags and the Imps with both sides taking a point apiece.

Mansfield’s next fixture arrives this Saturday, again at One Call Stadium, as they welcome Crewe Alexandra in Sky Bet League Two.

STAGS XI: Logan (GK), Benning, Preston, Pearce ©, Bishop, Mellis (Tomlinson 90+2’), Sweeney, Walker, Jones, Hamilton, Grant (MacDonald 59’).

SUBS NOT USED: Smith (GK), Khan, Ajose, Turner, A. Smith.

LINCOLN CITY XI: Gilks (GK), O’Connor (Pett 67’), O’Hara, Andrade, Toffolo, Bostwick, Rowe, Eardley ©, Bolger, Anderson, Akinde (Rhead 90+3’).

SUBS NOT USED: Vickers (GK), Frecklington, Angol, Wilson, McCartan.

REFEREE: Graham Scott.

ASSISTANTS: Michael McDonough & Peter Kirkup.

FOURTH OFFICIAL: Andrew Madley.

ATTENDANCE: 7,177 (1,603 away).

Match Reports

Standings