Preview: Stags vs Plymouth Argyle

27 September 2019

Next up for the Stags is a meeting with Plymouth Argyle on Saturday 28 September at One Call Stadium (3pm kick-off). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the match…

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Goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik is set to be available for the first time since obtaining an ACL injury last December.

Striker Nicky Maynard could be involved having returned to training this week. The 32-year-old, who has scored twice so far this season, has missed the Stags’ last three matches due to a hamstring injury.

However, the game will come too soon for forwards Craig Davies (ankle) and Jordan Graham (knee).

Defender Matt Preston will also play no part as he serves the second of a four-match suspension following his sending off against Cambridge United.

Jose Baxter and Zak Rudden are doubts for the Pilgrims.

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The two sides last met in March 2017 when Plymouth were the victors, defeating the amber and blue by two goals to nil with Sonny Bradley and Graham Carey scoring.

The referee will be Anthony Backhouse, assisted by Billy Smallwood and David Avent. The fourth official will be Declan Ford.

Mr. Backhouse last took charge of a Stags' fixture in our 1-1 draw away to Macclesfield Town last August.

Ticket information for the match is as follows:

A full breakdown of match ticket prices for the 2019-20 season in the Ian Greaves Stand (lower tier) is as follows:

CATEGORY	BEFORE MATCHDAY	ON MATCHDAY
Adult	£22	£24.50
Senior	£18	£20.50
Young adult (18-21)	£16	£18.50
Junior (7-17)	£12	£14.50
6 and under	FREE	FREE

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

CATEGORY	BEFORE MATCHDAY	ON MATCHDAY
Adult	£23	£25.50
Senior	£19	£21.50
Young adult (18-21)	£16	£18.50
Junior (7-17)	£14	£16.50
6 and under	FREE	FREE

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	£24.50
Senior	£9	£18	£20.50
Young adult (18-21)	£8	£16	£18.50
Junior (7-17)	£6	£12	£14.50
6 and under	FREE	FREE	FREE

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 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.

All pre-purchased tickets will now be available to collect from the 'Collections Only' window at our ticket office booth on matchdays, starting with Saturday's game.

You can find the booth next to the club shop on Quarry Lane. No tickets can be purchased from this window on matchday, although tickets can be purchased from other windows at the ticket booth.

Disabled supporters should view our disabled supporters' section for revelant matchday ticket information.

Supporters can also purchase tickets on the day of the game. The matchday ticket office will be open for fans to buy tickets from 10am until 3pm. Please note that tickets see an increase of £2.50 on matchday.

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.

The gate between the Ian Greaves Stand and the North Stand will be open before Saturday's match against Plymouth, but closed 15 minutes before full-time until approximately 30 minutes after the final whistle.

The club's new fans' zone will be open this Saturday from 12noon. The fans' zone features bars, food, live music, entertainment and much more!

Supporters housed in the Ian Greaves Stand – upper and lower tiers – can leave the stadium at half-time to access the fans’ zone, but will require a stamp on their hand, given at the turnstiles upon exit from the ground.

The stamp is to indicate whether you are housed in the upper or lower tier upon re-entry to One Call Stadium.

The newly-refurbished Sandy’s Bar & Kitchen will open at 9am, serving all-you-can-eat breakfast for just £4.75 until 11.45am.

Following this, the bar will not serve food from its main menu, but a selection of matchday food will be available from 12pm.

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

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 will also be able to purchase the latest edition of our new-look matchday programme The Stag - which features an exclusive interview with wing-back Kellan Gordon - for just £3 prior to Saturday's 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.

The Stags Supporters' Association will also be selling their Stags vs Plymouth matchday pin badges for just £4 in and around Sandy's Bar & Kitchen before the game.

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

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.

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

Away supporters are housed in the North Stand, which can be accessed via Portland Retail Park. Please note: there is no matchday parking at the retail park.

Can't make it to the game? 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 1pm on Saturday.

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.

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To add us on Snapchat, search ‘mtfcofficial.’

Match Previews

Match Reports

Report: Stags 0-1 Plymouth Argyle

28 September 2019

Despite a strong second-half performance, Mansfield Town were condemned to a narrow 1-0 defeat at home to Plymouth Argyle.

Conor Grant broke the deadlock with a fantastic strike from distance following a fruitful opening period for the hosts.

And while they spent the remaining minutes chasing an equaliser, unfortunately it never came worth as Plymouth took all three points home.

There was just the one change made by boss John Dempster as Alex MacDonald came in for Hayden White.

The defender had been admitted to hospital for serious stomach cramps and could therefore play no part in Saturday’s affair.

An early chance fell the way of the Stags following some neat link-up play between the front three.

Otis Khan shifted possession towards Danny Rose, who then sent through CJ Hamilton – a heavy touch letting the frontman down when it mattered most.

Mansfield continued to press for the opener, showcasing some crisp passages of play on a somewhat difficult, greasy surface.

Alex MacDonald’s long throw then caused momentary confusion before the visiting side were able to hoist clear.

However, in the 13th minute, Plymouth took an early lead in sublime fashion.

An unstoppable, long-range strike from Grant found the top corner from 25 yards to halt the Stags’ positive start on home soil.

The home side regrouped and sought to get back on level terms as quickly as possible.

Kellan Gordon’s curler from the edge of the area was blocked by a green shirt before Hamilton was deemed offside as he looked to peel away from the Pilgrims’ last man.

The number 22 was then chopped down on the turn and Mansfield were awarded their first dangerously-positioned free-kick.

Khan placed the ball down but his subsequent effort would not come down underneath the bar.

A fine standing challenge from Conor Shaughnessy – moved to the right of a back-three – then denied Joel Grant an effort against Conrad Logan.

Similarly to his first earlier in the half, Gordon looked for his second in a Stags shirt but could only fire in the midriff of Alex Palmer.

George Cooper had an eye-catching chance to send his side two-clear just before the interval, although his header was glanced off-target.

Instantly, down the other end, Gordon’s cross was intercepted as it looked to make its way towards Khan lurking in the middle.

It meant the visitors took a slender advantage into the changing rooms at half time.

Dempster’s men emerged from the tunnel with an evident willingness to restore parity.

Rose aimed one towards far post, but it took a hefty deflection before looping onto the roof of Palmer’s net.

The Greens had to withstand consistent pressure at the outset of the second period with the home side threatening to find an equaliser.

However, Danny Mayor offered his side momentary relief when skipping past several challenges – before his eventual pass was crucially intercepted by Mal Benning.

The ante had been raised even further when Khan’s blocked effort fell towards the onrushing Neal Bishop, who also found a green and white jersey in the way of his powerful drive.

Soon after, Gordon then rifled an effort that required a smart save from Palmer to the delight of the home fans inside One Call Stadium.

The skipper, Krystian Pearce, was then thwarted by a fine, sprawling save by Palmer from point blank range only for the referee to blow for an infringement.

Substitute Andy Cook had a brilliant chance to level proceedings, yet was unable to find a way past Palmer who had stepped out to narrow the angle.

And with eight minutes remaining, the Stags had only one task: find an equaliser.

Gordon twice had an opportunity to deliver from the right side but neither fell to a man in amber and blue.

And despite a spirited final few moments, the Stags were condemned to defeat.

Mansfield’s next outing takes place on Saturday as they travel Blundell Park to take on Grismby Town in Sky Bet League Two.

STAGS XI: Logan (GK), Benning, Pearce ©, Bishop, MacDonald, Khan (Maynard 81’), Shaughnessy (Cook 77’), Sweeney, Gordon, Hamilton (Afolayan 66’), Rose.

UNUSED SUBS: Stone (GK), Mellis, Tomlinson, Smith.

PLYMOUTH XI: Palmer (GK), Sawyer ©, Aimson, Wootton, Sarcevic, Edwards, Mayor (Lolos 71’), C. Grant, J. Grant (Riley 79’), McFadzean, Cooper (Taylor 66’).

UNUSED SUBS: Cooper (GK), Canavan, Randell, J. Grant.

REFEREE: Anthony Backhouse

ASSISTANTS: Billy Smallwood & David Avent

FOURTH OFFICIAL: Declan Ford

ATTENDANCE: 4,499 (550)

Match Reports

Standings