Preview: Stags vs Crewe Alexandra (Leasing.com Trophy)

7 October 2019

The Stags continue their Leasing.com Trophy campaign when Crewe Alexandra visit One Call Stadium on Tuesday 08 October (7.45pm kick-off). Here's all you need to know ahead of the game...

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The Stags will be without striker Craig Davies, who is suffering from an ongoing ankle problem.

Defender Matt Preston, who is currently serving a four-match suspension for league matches, is eligible to feature in this Tuesday's game.

Goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik, who has been out with injury since last December, is in contention to start the match, manager John Dempster revealed this week.

Crewe Alexandra will be without goalkeeper Will Jaaskelainen, who is away on international duty with Finland under-21s.

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Last time out, the Stags recorded a dramatic 1-0 victory away from home against Grimsby Town in Sky Bet League Two, as captain Krystian Pearce stabbed home a 96th minute winner from close range.

Crewe secured a good result at home on Saturday, drawing 1-1 with second-placed side Exeter City.

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We last faced Crewe on Saturday 23 March 2019, losing by a 2-1 scoreline at One Call Stadium.

The referee for Tuesday's match will be James Oldham, assisted by George Byrne and Gareth Mellor. The fourth official will be Paul Hobday.

This will be the first competitive fixture involving the Stags that Mr. Oldham has taken charge of.

The Stags have slashed prices for Tuesday's game, with ticket prices set at £10 for adults and £5 for concessions (under-18 and 65+).

Supporters can purchase tickets by calling our ticket office on 01623 482 482 (option 1), by visiting us in person at our ticket office or online via stagstickets.co.uk.

Supporters who have purchased tickets via stagstickets.co.uk and selected the 'print at home' option can now use their mobile ticket received via email to access One Call Stadium. Just scan the barcode on your mobile ticket using the scanners at the turnstiles.

Tickets can also be purchased on the day of the game up until kick-off and see no extra price increase on matchday.

Home supporters will be housed in Ian Greaves Lower blocks A, B, C & D and Ian Greaves Upper blocks K, L & N. The Quarry Lane Stadn will not be open for the match.

Away supporters will be housed in the Ian Greaves Stand lower tier, Block H, for Tuesday's fixture. The North Stand, which typically holds away fans on a matchday, will be closed for the match.

Visiting supporters are able to purchase tickets from the main ticket office on Quarry Lane up until kick-off on Tuesday.

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.

Sandy’s Bar & Kitchen will be open from midday, serving food from the main menu until 5pm.

After this time, a selection of matchday food will be served from 5pm until 8.30pm.

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 remain open until 11pm after the match.

Supporters should note that the Kevin Bird Suite will not be open for Tuesday evening's match.

Supporters will also be able to purchase a Stags vs Crewe poster edition of our new-look matchday programme The Stag for just £1.50 prior to the game.

The Stag can be purchased from the merchandise stand near Sandy’s Bar & Kitchen, our matchday kiosks, or any mobile programme vendor around One Call Stadium.

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 per car. Please note that the car park shuts 30 minutes prior to kick-off due to safety regulations.

The following sites, owned by Mansfield District Council and with easy access to 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 Sandy’s Bar & Kitchen, 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 Sandy’s Bar & Kitchen and signposted 'The Kevin Bird Suite'.

Supporters

For ticket purchases, please visit the matchday ticket office, adjacent to the Quarry Lane Stand, around the corner from the main ticket office.

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

Supporters can watch the game live on iFollow Stags - the club's digital online channel - by purchasing a match pass for just £10 here.

You can follow the action live via our Twitter match updates, which can be found here.

The match centre on mansfieldtown.net will also contain Opta-populated updates, and can be accessed here.

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

iFollow Stags subscribers can listen to full-match commentary of the clash - courtesy of Martin Shaw and Dean Foulkes - by logging into iFollow Stags 15 minutes before kick-off.

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 6pm on Tuesday.

Follow us across our social media accounts to keep fully updated on all areas of a Stags’ matchday. Click the below links to redirect to the corresponding social media account.

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube

To add us on Snapchat, search ‘mtfcofficial.’

Match Previews

Match Reports

Report: Stags 1-1 Crewe Alexandra (3-4 pens)

8 October 2019

Jimmy Knowles’ first strike for Mansfield Town helped his side to a point as they eventually fell to a narrow 4-3 defeat on penalties against Crewe Alexandra at One Call Stadium.

Knowles marked his second start this season in amber and blue with a smart finish from the edge of the area, before Oli Finney drew level on the stroke of half time.

A second half of few chances led to penalties in Nottinghamshire – with the visitors leaving Nottinghamshire with an extra point.

John Dempster adopted wholesale changes to his starting line-up as his side looked to pick up their first win in the Leasing.com Trophy.

There were starts for Knowles and James Clarke while Bobby Olejnik made his first appearance in almost a year, returning from an ACL injury sustained in December 2018.

And the returning shot-stopper had work to do inside the first five minutes as he gathered Finney’s effort from the edge of the area.

Down the opposite end, Clarke had the Stags’ first attempt on goal but was unable to find a way past Dave Richards.

However, on 18 minutes, Alexandra’s ‘keeper could do nothing when Knowles found a pocket of space.

The youngster had time to turn and fire a powerful strike that left Richards grasping at thin air.

An expertly-timed sliding challenge from the evening’s skipper, Matt Preston, then denied the visitors a chance at an equaliser as they lurked forward at every opportunity.

Knowles continued to find himself in promising positions, yet this time was unable to divert his next effort beyond his marker.

Dapo Afolayan freed up Clarke down the right channel but the subsequent cross had too much weight applied.

Similarly, Paul Green’s delivery from the opposing side was underwhelming as Olejnik was able to claim with relative ease.

And on the stroke of half time the away side restored parity in confusing fashion.

Finney seemed to have his cross deflected into the side netting but somehow the ball had snuck inside the near post to ensure his side were level at the break.

Into the second period and Mansfield attempted to fashion a chance through Hamilton – and almost did so had it not been for smart defending by Perry Ng.

Soon after, Alistair Smith’s delightful pass made its way to Knowles with the youngster unable to control the ball after rounding Richards with ease.

Substitute Jacob Mellis then fired a free-kick beyond the bar with his side seeking a lead for the second time on Tuesday evening.

Olejnik had to stay alert following a quiet spell in the match – thwarting Owen Dale from close range before seeing the assistant’s flag raised for offside.

Mansfield’s final substitution, in the shape of Otis Khan, had a difficult chance to restore the lead for the Stags as his volley was blocked on its way to goal.

CJ Hamilton had the beating of the last defender in stoppage time, yet was unable to find room for a strike as Johnson recovered in the nick of time.

And with the very last kick of the game, Charlie Kirk sent a bending effort wide of Olejnik’s upright.

This signalled a penalty shootout to decide who would leave One Call Stadium with a bonus point.

Hamilton, Afolayan and Benning were on target for the Stags who unfortunately missed out on an extra point after falling to a 4-3 defeat.

Next up for Mansfield is another home fixture, this time in Sky Bet League Two as they welcome Oldham Athletic on Saturday.

STAGS XI: Olejnik (GK), Preston ©, Shaughnessy, Tomlinson (Mellis 52’ (Benning 71’)), Sweeney, Afolayan, Cook, Clarke, Hamilton, Knowles (Khan 83’), Smith.

UNUSED SUBS: Stone (GK), Maynard, Gordon, Sketchley.

CREWE XI: Richards (GK), Ng ©, Wintle, Nolan, Ainley, Green (Jones 77’), Finney, Anene, Dale (Kirk 83’), Johnson, Adebisi (Pickering 83’).

UNUSED SUBS: Booth (GK), Porter, Hunt, Lundstram.

REFEREE: James Oldham

ASSISTANTS: George Byrne & Gareth Mellor

FOURTH OFFICIAL: Paul Hobday

ATTENDANCE: 800 (39 away)

Match Reports

Standings