Preview: Stags vs Bradford City

15 October 2020

The Stags welcome Bradford City to One Call Stadium on Saturday for their latest Sky Bet League Two fixture. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the match…

Mansfield will be without Joe Riley, as the wing-back continues his recovery from an ACL injury suffered in pre-season training.

On midfielder Ollie Clarke, first team coach Jamie McGuire said: “We’re just waiting on the outcome [of Ollie Clarke’s injury]. He was a big miss on Saturday as he was just getting into his game.

“We have other lads who are able to step up and do a job. We’re just waiting to see what happens with Ollie and hopefully we’ll get some positive news.”

The Stags head into Saturday’s game following a goalless draw against Stevenage last time out. Mansfield hit the post in both halves of the affair but could not find the breakthrough goal.

Bradford played in front of the Sky cameras on Monday evening, losing 1-0 to local rivals Harrogate Town at Valley Parade.

We last faced the Bantams in January 2020, a 3-0 Stags’ win at One Call Stadium. Mansfield produced a scintillating performance that afternoon, finding the net via Danny Rose, Nicky Maynard and Andy Cook.

Saturday’s referee will be Paul Howard, assisted by Abbas Khan and Paul Graham. The fourth official will be Trevor Kettle.

This weekend’s clash against the Bantams will be the first Stags’ fixture Mr. Howard has officiated.

Supporters wishing to watch this match live can do so on iFollow Stags. Please do not try to attend this match, as it will be played behind closed doors. Match passes are available at just £10, and can be purchased here.

A reminder that season ticket holders are able to watch this game free of charge by using their iFollow Stags promo code, sent by the club via email. Read more about this here.

If you are a current season ticket holder and have not received your code, please check your spam or junk folder before contacting our ticket office. The email should have the subject line: ‘iFollow Stags voucher code: Mansfield v Bradford.’ The email will be sent from mark.stevenson@mansfieldtown.net.

If you cannot find this email in your inbox, junk or spam folders, and believe you should have received it, it is imperative that you contact our ticket office as soon as possible.

Please email us at ticketoffice@mansfieldtown.net to get in touch. Alternatively, you can visit the ticket office on Quarry Lane. The ticket office is open from 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

It is very important that you make contact with the ticket office as soon as possible so the club has a suitable window of time to deal with your request.

We also suggest that new users familiarise themselves with their iFollow Stags account ahead of Saturday’s game, so that no issues arise on matchday when going to watch the game live.

Looking to watch the game on your tablet or mobile? You will need to download the new EFL iFollow app. Read more here.

iFollow Stags subscribers who do not wish to purchase a match pass for the game can still access live match commentary, courtesy of commentators Martin Shaw and Dean Foulkes.

Audio match passes are also available for just £2.50 for non-subscribers.

As ever, you can also 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.

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.’

Looking for a step-by-step guide to all things iFollow Stags? Click here for more.

Match Reports

Report: Stags 1-3 Bradford City

17 October 2020

Mansfield Town were dealt a 3-1 defeat against Bradford City at One Call Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Marek Stech was unable to claim a corner as the visiting side took an early lead, before Connor Wood added another just six minutes thereafter.

Clayton Donaldson then turned home from point-blank range to make it three in the second period, prior to new signing George Lapslie being sent off for two bookable offences, and Andy Cook notched a consolation header in the 85^th minute.

Lapslie – announced on loan from Charlton Athletic on Thursday – came straight into the starting line-up for Harry Charsley, while Jamie Reid also made way for Jordan Bowery in attack.

Graham Coughlan’s side made an enterprising start with energy in abundance but were given an early warning through Dylan Mottley-Henry. The wideman was allowed to burst through the back-line and rifle a powerful effort into the side netting.

However, the hosts continued their pressing game and were almost duly rewarded with an opener.

Bradford goalkeeper, Richard O’Donnell, slipped as he attempted to clear the ball and inadvertently gifted Jordan Bowery a sight at goal. The No. 9 was thwarted, though, after the visiting shot-stopper recovered to make a fine save.

The Bantams began to gain an evident foothold in the contest before finding two goals in the space of six minutes.

First, Stech was unable to grasp and subsequently reclaim a high corner as it bounced across the goal line before Wood latched onto Harry Pritchard’s clever flick to double their lead at the far post.

Bowery and O’Donnell soon found themselves in another face-off with the latter closing down the angle to deny the striker from close range.

A Corey O’Keeffe punt and Rollin Menayese header quickly followed but neither attempt had the desired power to cause any notable concern.

Stuart McCall’s men pressed for a third at the close of the opening period but some timely interventions – specifically Ryan Sweeney on Lee Novak – prevented such a scenario from occurring.

Coughlan opted for reinforcements at the break and commandeered a trio of changes. Farrend Rawson, George Maris and Nicky Maynard were substituted in place of Mal Benning, Charsley and Cook respectively.

The latter then looked to make an instant impact as he lurked between two grey jerseys, before planting a header into the grasp of O’Donnell.

This came before Bradford were able to carve out a third. Novak raced to collect possession at the corner flag before backheeling to Wood, whose near-post curler was turned home by Donaldson.

And after Lapslie was given a second yellow for bumping into the back of City’s third goalscorer, Mansfield marked themselves on the scoresheet.

Cook rose highest from a corner and at the second attempt, following his earlier header, he planted his effort into the back of the net to give a minor lifeline in the final minutes.

Sweeney himself had a header saved, but the amber and blue were not able to muster a grandstand finish as they look to respond at Morecambe on Tuesday evening.

STAGS XI: Stech (GK), O’Keeffe, Menayese, Sweeney ©, Rawson (Benning 46’), Bowery, Maris (Charsley 46’), Perch, McLaughlin, Maynard (Cook 46’), Lapslie.

UNUSED SUBS: Stone (GK), O’Driscoll, Reid, Sinclair.

BRADFORD XI: O’Donnell (GK), Hosannah, Richards-Everton, O’Connor, Pritchard (Longridge 90’), Cooke, Novak, Donaldson, Watt, Wood, Mottley-Henry (French 76’).

UNUSED SUBS: Hornby (GK), Longridge, Samuels, Clarke, Cousin-Dawson, Guthrie.

REFEREE: Paul Howard

ASSISTANTS: Abbas Khan & Paul Graham

FOURTH OFFICIAL: Trevor Kettle