Preview: Stags v Hartlepool

23 December 2021

The Stags are at home this weekend for a Boxing Day clash at One Call Stadium with Hartlepool United (3pm kick-off). Here’s all you need to know…

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

Proof of a negative test or double vaccination is not required for Tuesday's game
Please do not attend the match if you’re experiencing symptoms of COVID-19
Sanitiser will be available throughout the stadium
All 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 bar
Please arrive in plenty of time ahead of kick-off
We ask our supporters to refrain from asking players/management for photographs/autographs

Kevin Bird Suite closed

The Kevin Bird Suite will be closed for Sunday’s game.

Defender Will Forrester is unavailable due to an ankle injury.

Right-back Kellan Gordon is out with a knee problem.

Striker Danny Johnson has started training with a ball again as he continues his rehabilitation from injury. The forward is unlikely to return against Hartlepool.

The Stags have enjoyed an excellent run of recent form winning nine out of the last ten matches in all competitions.

Despite not playing last weekend against Forest Green Rovers due to positive Covid cases in the Forest Green camp, the Stags remain in 11^th position in Sky Bet League Two.

Sunday’s visitors, Hartlepool, are unbeaten in their previous four matches in all competitions.

The Pools sit 15^th in Sky Bet League Two, two points off the Stags.

Mansfield were 4-0 winners the last time the two sides met at One Call Stadium in February 2017.

A Ben Whiteman brace and goals from Danny Rose and Alex MacDonald cinched the three points for the Stags.

The referee for Boxing Day’s game will be Simon Mather. He will be assisted by Matthew Smith, Thomas Harty and Garreth Rhodes.

The safety of our supporters is always our highest priority. We therefore politely remind all supporters that One Call Stadium is an all-seater ground and standing is not permitted inside the stadium.

Listed below are 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 stagstickets.co.uk.

Tickets will be available to collect from the main ticket office from 10am on Saturday, but please collect tickets beforehand if possible.

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

Supporters can also purchase tickets on the day of the game. The main 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 will open from 12pm, along with our fans' zone bar (weather dependent).

Sandy's Bar & Kitchen will serve matchday food from midday up until kick-off.

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 latest edition of our matchday programme The Stag for just £2.50 prior to Sunday's game.

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

Can't make it to the game? This season's programmes are available to purchase online. To browse this season's programmes, click here.

Parking is unfortunately unavailable at One Call Stadium.

All reserved car parking spaces are within the location of the Ian Greaves Stand car park. 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.

The weekend’s fixture will be streamed live for both UK and overseas subscribers on iFollow Stags. To purchase your match pass for £10, click here.

iFollow Stags subscribers can listen to full match commentary of Sunday’s clash - courtesy of Martin Shaw & Dean Foulkes - by logging into iFollow Stags 15 minutes before the 3pm kick-off.

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.

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.

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

Match Previews

Match Reports

Report: Stags 3-2 Hartlepool

26 December 2021

Mansfield magically managed misty conditions at One Call Stadium on Boxing Day to stunningly overcome a two-goal deficit and beat Hartlepool United 3-2.

The Stags’ sixth successive home victory seemed doubtful before John-Joe O’Toole’s second-half header sparked Mansfield’s glorious comeback into action.

Striker Jordan Bowery claimed Stags’ equaliser shortly after the hour mark having danced cleverly clear of his marker to head home.

Midfield general George Maris thumped home a 66^th minute strike to wrap up yet more Sky Bet League Two points for the Stags who have taken maximum points from their December fixtures so far.

Manager Nigel Clough made two changes to the team that beat Salford City at One Call Stadium two weeks ago.

Midfielders George Lapslie and Stephen Quinn were missing from the XI and were replaced by youngster Jason Law and defender John-Joe O’Toole.

Versatile leader Oli Hawkins again captained the side following Ollie Clarke’s unavailability.

Law occupied the space in behind the forward line, fronting Mansfield’s midfield diamond. A Rhys Oates knock-down on two minutes almost played the youngster in before the Hartlepool defence recovered to rob the 22-year-old a dream start.

Mansfield didn’t sit back and Rhys Oates came close to netting against his former club when Elliott Hewitt beat his defender on 12 minutes, but Oates’ header skewed wide of the goal.

Stags persisted to threaten their opponents’ goal and again came close to taking the lead six minutes later. Law’s in-swinging left-footed corner was glanced goal wards by Farrend Rawson, rising at the near post, but the defender’s effort flew narrowly wide.

Four minutes later, McLaughlin curled a free-kick in behind the defence to reach Rawson but this time the defender couldn’t make a true connection in front of goal.

Mansfield’s best chance of the game so far came on 23 minutes. Jason Law’s cross found Jordan Bowery at the back post whose downwards header was agonisingly cleared off the line by Gary Liddle as Hartlepool again resisted Mansfield’s constant pressure.

With the Stags occupying space in the offensive half, the visitors took advantage and struck on the counter-attack.

Midfielder Matty Daly worked his way into the Stags box before his cutback was fired low across the floor by Luke Molyneux and into the bottom corner.

Stags regrouped following going behind and looked to protect possession by working the ball into space. Their patience was nearly rewarded three minute before the break when Law threaded a pass through to Oates who, one on one with the ‘keeper, dinked the ball despairingly the wrong side of the post.

Mansfield restarted the second period as they’d finished the first, on the attack.

Oates’ trickery won a 20-yard free-kick 50 seconds after the restart which McLaughlin powered into the wall. George Maris collected the rebound and whipped a shot from range inches over the crossbar.

Soon after though, Hartlepool doubled their lead.

A lofted free-kick into the box was spilled by Nathan Bishop who then made a superb close-range save which deflected to Nicky Featherstone on the edge-of-the-box who then drove the ball into the back of the net on 51 minutes.

The Stags hit back though and halved the deficit via a well worked corner-kick routine. Maris’ in-swinging delivery found the defender, who glanced his header into the ground, bouncing up into the top right corner of the Hartlepool goal on 55 minutes.

Some scrappy moments ensued in the midfield but the Stags came out on top to equalise seven minutes after their first. Hewitt bombed down the right-wing to clip a delicate ball onto the head of Jordan Bowery who casually nodded into the empty side of the goal to equalise.

Stags, with their tails up and confidence sky high, turned the game on its head by taking the lead on the 66^th minute.

George Maris’ corner-kick was returned to its taker by Jason Law before Maris’ effort beat the ‘keeper to magically find Mansfield’s third.

The hosts could have made it four just two minutes later but Bowery’s effort from outside the box was well collected by Ben Killip in the Hartlepool goal.

Mansfield remained resilient at the back to complete their dramatic comeback despite Hartlepool pressure and a late goal which was disallowed for offside.

STAGS XI: Bishop, Hewitt, Rawson, Hawkins, McLaughlin, O’Toole, Maris (Sinclair 81’), Stirk, Law, Oates (Gale 89'), Bowery

UNUSED SUBS: Stech, Burke, Ward

HARTLEPOOL XI: Killip, Sterry (Ogle 52’), Ferguson, Liddle, Odusina, Shelton, Featherstone, Cullen (Burey 63’), Molyneux, Byrne, Daly (Holohan 76’)

UNUSUED SUBS: Mitchell, Smith, Cook, Francis-Angol

ATTENDNANCE: 5,958 (1,010 away fans)

REFEREE: Simon Mather