Big kick-off preview: Stags vs Bristol Rovers

7 August 2021

The Stags begin their 2021/22 Sky Bet League Two campaign at home to Bristol Rovers on Saturday 07 August (3pm kick-off). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the match…

Please read these special notices, which include COVID-19 safety guidelines, before attending Saturday's match at One Call Stadium:

Proof of a negative test or double vaccination is not required for Saturday's game
Please do not attend the match if you’re experiencing symptoms of COVID-19
Sanitiser will be available throughout the stadium
All of our staff will be wearing masks for their own safety but also the safety of our supporters
We encourage mask wearing whilst not seated
Please respect others by keeping a safe distance especially within toilet areas, queuing and on the concourse
Kiosks will be open, along with Sandy's Bar & Kitchen and the fans' zone (both from 12noon)
Please arrive with plenty of time ahead of kick-off
We ask our supporters to refrain from asking players/management for photographs/autographs

Midfielder Harry Charsley will likely miss the game due to a thigh problem. Aside from this, boss Nigel Clough has a full squad to choose from for Saturday’s big kick-off.

The Stags had a strong start and end to their pre-season campaign. Nigel Clough’s side recorded a 9-1 win over Retford United in the opening game of pre-season, before ending their schedule with victories over Sky Bet Championship sides Hull City and Coventry City.

Saturday’s opponents also enjoyed a pleasing end to their pre-season campaign, winning 3-2 at home against Sky Bet League One side Oxford United.

We last faced the Gas back in March 2016, when a Matt Taylor goal would be enough to secure a 1-0 win for the home side at the Memorial Stadium.

It was a season to remember for Bristol Rovers, as they earned promotion to Sky Bet League One via the automatic places.

The referee for Saturday’s match will be Joshua Smith, assisted by Marc Wilson and Natalie Aspinall. The fourth official will be Daniel Middleton.

Listed below is the club's general match ticket admission prices for home league games in 2021/22.

This includes family tickets, which allow one adult and one child to watch the game from Blocks A and B of the Quarry Lane end.

MATCHDAY TICKET PRICES

The prices for purchasing tickets in advance of league games (before matchday) at One Call Stadium are as follows.

Category	Ian Greaves Lower	Ian Greaves Upper	Quarry Lane End
Adults	£23.00	£24.00	£23.00
Seniors (65+)	£20.00	£21.00	£20.00
Young Adults (18-21)	£17.00	£18.00	£17.00
Juniors (7-17)	£14.00	£15.00	£14.00
Under-7	FREE	FREE	FREE
Family Ticket	Not Available	Not Available	£25.00 (QLE home only)

The following table lists general admission prices when purchasing tickets on matchday at One Call Stadium.

Category	Ian Greaves Lower	Ian Greaves Upper	Quarry Lane End
Adults	£25.00	£26.00	£25.00
Seniors (65+)	£22.00	£23.00	£22.00
Young Adults (18-21)	£19.00	£20.00	£19.00
Juniors (7-17)	£16.00	£17.00	£16.00
Under-7	FREE	FREE	FREE
Family Ticket	Not Available	Not Available	£25.00 (QLE home only)

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 download your ticket via email after selecting 'print at home' and scan the barcode on your mobile ticket using the scanners at the turnstiles.

Matchday prices do not apply to supporters who purchase tickets online. You can therefore make a saving by purchasing tickets on matchday via www.stagstickets.co.uk

All pre-purchased tickets will be available to collect from the 'Collections Only' window at our ticket office booth on matchdays from 12noon. Prior to this, tickets will be available to collect from the main ticket office from 10am.

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 bought in person at the ticket see an increase in price on matchday.

Our family ticket offer is also available for Saturday's game, which admits one adult and one child for just £25! 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.

Sandy’s Bar & Kitchen and our fans' zone bar will both open at 12pm.

Sandy's Bar & Kitchen will serve matchday food from midday up until kick-off. No food will be available from Sandy's after the game.

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 9pm after the match.

Supporters will also be able to purchase the first 2021/22 edition of our matchday programme The Stag for just £2.50 prior to Saturday's game.

The Stag can be purchased from the merchandise stand near Sandy’s Bar & Kitchen, our matchday kiosks & bars, 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

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 - 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.

Facebook
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YouTube

To add us on Snapchat, search ‘mtfcofficial.’

Match Previews

Match Reports

Report: Stags 2-1 Bristol Rovers

7 August 2021

Danny Johnson's stoppage time penalty made it a winning start for Mansfield Town in the 2021/22 Sky Bet League Two season.

Ollie Clarke's cross found Hawkins in the box after 42 minutes, who sent his header over the 'keeper to claim his first goal for the club.

Cian Harries equalised for the visitors in the second half, powering a sumptuous volley into the top right corner from outside the box.

Newly appointed Gas captain Paul Coutts was given his marching orders in the 76th minute following an off-the-ball incident with Danny Johnson.

And Johnson's dramatic 96th minute penalty ensured his new side began the campaign with three important points.

The opening day fixture saw over 6,000 fans at One Call Stadium for the first league game this season.

Mansfield set up in their familiar diamond formation with new signings Olver Hawkins and Danny Johnson leading the line up front.

Harry Charsley and Elliott Hewitt missed the season opener through injury.

The Stags threatened an early goal after 50 seconds as interplay between Stephen Quinn and Rhys Oates allowed the ex-Hartlepool forward to float a tempting ball to the back post which was edged away by the Rovers defence.

Mansfield took control of a lively start with Geroge Maris winning his midfield duels from the get go, to the delight of the excited One Call Stadium crowd.

Rovers threatened Stags' goal for the first time after 17 minutes, but Farrend Rawson out-jumped Mark Hughes to clear the corner delivery.

Stephen McLaughlin's close-range free-kick two minutes later was driven low and hard into the wall.

An error from Rawson gave possession to the Gas high up the pitch after 22 minutes, a trip from Maris earned the midfielder Mansfield's first booking of the season.

The subsequent quick free-kick found Harry Anderson inside the box with Nathan Bishop on his toes to make a crucial close-range save.

Quinn continued his lovely start down the left by drilling a low cross into Ollie Clarke after 29 minutes. The former Rovers skipper couldn't set himself, skewing a scuffed shot backwards from close range before Oates lashed the rebound wide.

Stags persisted to work the ball into advanced areas in hope of taking the lead before the break as Oates' header inside the box whistled wide of the post.

Manfield's persistence came to fruition just three minutes before the break.

Stags skipper Clarke picked the ball up on the right and whipped a curled cross to Oliver Hawkins who nodded the ball over Jaakkola, the Rovers 'keeper who had left his line to claim the delivery.

Hawkins' powerful first time strike three minutes later was well blocked as the visitors withstood Mansfield's intense pressure before the break.

Stags started the second-half brightly as Oates saw his long-range effort parried around the post after 50 minutes.

Minutes later, Oates was creating more problems, driving forward to see his shot blocked.

Rovers struck back in spectacular fashion, equalising in the 62nd minute. A loose ball was met on the full-volley by Harries who fired the ball past Bishop and into the top right corner.

Stags came close to regaining their lead instantly as Kellan Gordon's low cross somehow couldn't be turned in by Mansfield's sliding forwards at the back post.

Attacker Rhys Oates was replaced by George Lapslie after 70 minutes.

Shortly after the substitution was completed, Clarke's ambitious effort from outside the box was dragged wide.

A long ball forward from the back found Johnson for Mansfield who outpaced his defender. The striker gathered himself before slicing a left footed effort into the side netting of the goal.

The visitors were dealt a blow in the 76th minute as captain Paul Coutts was dismissed follow a coming together with Johnson. Harries and Clarke were both booked in the aftermath to the incident.

Gordon's cross in the 84th minute was chested down by Lapslie into the path of Johnson who drove his close-range shot wide of the post.

With five additional minutes the Mansfield faithful willed on their side as McLaughlin sent a wild effort beyond the post.

With two minutes remaining Hawkins rose well to connect with Gordons's crossed set piece but the strikers' header flew narrowly wide.

Mansfield were given a huge opportunity in the 95th minute as a tangle inside the box involving Hawkins saw the referee point to the spot. New signing Johnson stepped up and fired the ball into the bottom right corner in dramatic fashion to send the home crowd into raptures.

Next up for the Stags is a first round Carabao Cup clash at home to Preston North End on Tuesday evening.

STAGS XI: Bishop, Gordon, Rawson, Perch, McLaughlin, Maris (90+1 Stirk), O. Clarke, Quinn, Oates (70' Lapslie), Johnson, Hawkins.

UNUSED SUBS: Shelvey, Bowery, Burke, Sinclair, J. Clarke.

BRISTOL ROVERS XI: Jaakkola, Hoole, Hughes, Harries, Anderton, Grant, Coutts, Anderson (79' Baldwin), Thomas (79' Taylor), Clarke (31' Westbrooke), Saunders.

UNUSED SUBS: Belshaw, Walker, Liddle, Spence.

REFEREE: Joshua Smith

ASSISTANTS: Marc Wilson & Natalie Aspinall

FOURTH OFFICIAL: Daniel Middleton

ATTENDANCE: 6,346 (1,388 away)