Preview: Stags vs Stevenage

8 October 2020

Next up for the Stags is a Sky Bet League Two clash against Stevenage at One Call Stadium on Saturday 10 October (3pm). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the match…

The Stags will be without wing-back Joe Riley, who is currently recovering from an ACL injury suffered in pre-season training.

For the visitors, forward Inih Effiong could miss out.

The Stags head into the game following a spirited performance at Newport County last time out in Sky Bet League Two.

A Stephen McLaughlin thunderbolt saw the amber and blue take a deserved lead, before a Scott Twine goal and controversial Matt Dolan penalty saw the hosts snatch the three points.

Stevenage head into Saturday’s match 16^th in the league standings, following one win, one draw and two losses from their opening four fixtures.

We last faced Stevenage at One Call Stadium over a year ago, a 0-0 draw in August 2019.

The Stags were set to face Stevenage away from home in April 2020, before the 2019/20 season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The referee for Saturday’s match will be Sebastian Stockbridge, assisted by Andrew Aylott and Graeme Fyvie. The fourth official will be Marvyn Amphlett.

Mr. Stockbridge last took charge of a Stags’ fixture in our 3-2 loss against Colchester United in November 2019.

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 Stevenage.’ 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 0-0 Stevenage

10 October 2020

Mansfield Town and Stevenage played out a goalless draw to each take a solitary point from Sky Bet League Two action at One Call Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Throughout a battling matchup in Nottinghamshire, neither side were able to break the deadlock that lasted the entire duration.

Elliott List struck the woodwork for Boro while both Harry Charsley and George Maris replicated his efforts in either half with only the frame of the goal separating one point from three.

Graham Coughlan named two changes from his side’s trip to Newport as Charsley replaced Ollie Clarke who was suffering with a calf problem, while Marek Stech had recovered from illness to be restored to the starting line-up.

And it was the Stags’ No. 1 who was immediately called into action after Jack Aitchison struck goalwards with his right boot.

Neither side had managed to fully settle into the contest – battling for possession on a wet One Call surface – until proceedings quickly burst into life.

Following an unsuccessful corner, Maris recycled the ball with a hooked delivery towards Farrend Rawson and his subsequent flick-on saw Charsley clatter the upright with a first-time volley.

Mansfield had come agonisingly close but almost let their guard down where the visitors sought to capitalise. Inih Effiong harried Stech into misjudging a backpass from Corey O’Keeffe but the Czech ‘keeper recovered in time to force a goal kick.

Minutes later, though, Stech made amends when he showcased excellent reflexes to parry Effiong’s fierce, close-range strike to safety.

The Stags attempted to play their way through a busy Stevenage backline and as Jamie Reid nor Nicky Maynard were unable to feed an intricate pass, Charsley claimed possession and drilled over from 18 yards.

A battle-hardened first period concluded without a mark on the scoresheet and the second followed in similar fashion.

The visitors were awarded an early corner that fell kindly to Aitchison but the midfielder miscued his attempt.

Similarly, O’Keeffe made a bending run inside his marker to meet Maris’ exquisite curler yet the No. 2 was thwarted first by a Jamie Cumming save then the offside flag.

Coughlan’s side were growing in stature and implementing urgency into their fifth Sky Bet League Two fixture. Maynard spun a touch-tight Scott Cuthbert before forcing another save out of Cumming before O’Keeffe fired a free-kick wide of the Stevenage target.

James Perch, who had been shielding the back three all afternoon, traversed forward and almost broke the deadlock with a rasping strike from distance.

However, the amber and blue still needed to be partially cautious and heeded a big warning on 74 minutes. Alex Revell’s men – specifically Luther James-Wildin – made inroads as he delivered a cross towards List who smacked the crossbar on the stretch.

There proved to be one final, dramatic moment for the Stags when Maris let fly on a bouncing ball but it collided with the underside of the bar and, heartbreakingly for the hosts, back into play.

Mansfield now face a seven-day period without competitive action before they welcome Bradford City to NG18 next Saturday.

STAGS XI: Stech (GK), O’Keeffe, Menayese, Sweeney ©, Rawson, Charsley, Maris, Perch, Reid, McLaughlin (Benning 50’), Maynard (Cook 74’).

UNUSED SUBS: Stone (GK), Bowery, Gordon, O’Driscoll, Smith.

STEVENAGE XI: Cumming (GK), James-Wildin, Cuthbert ©, Prosser, Effiong, Hutton, List (Newton 81’), Read, Smith (Vincelot 84’), Marshall, Aitchison.

UNUSED SUBS: Johnson (GK), Coker, Vincelot, Marsh, Vancooten, Akinwande.

REFEREE: Sebastian Stockbridge

ASSISTANTS: Andrew Aylott & Graeme Fyvie

FOURTH OFFICIAL: Marvyn Amphlett