Preview: Walsall vs Stags

10 September 2021

Next up for the Stags is a trip to face Walsall in Sky Bet League Two on Saturday (3pm). Here's all you need to know ahead of the game...

Suspended midfield duo Ollie Clarke and Stephen Quinn will miss the game following their red cards against Harrogate Town last weekend.

Defender James Perch will not be available for selection following a recent injury in training.

Walsall will be without on-loan Stags’ defender Rollin Menayese, who is unable to feature against his parent club.

The Stags will look to return to winning ways following a recent difficult period on the pitch.

Last time out, the amber and blue took an early lead against Harrogate, who replied with three goals of their own to win 3-1.

Mansfield finished the game with nine men following two red cards to midfielders Clarke and Quinn in the second-half.

Walsall have gained some momentum after a poor start to the season, as they followed a 1-0 victory over Stevenage with an impressive 1-1 draw away at promotion hopefuls Bradford City.

We last faced the Saddlers on a bitterly cold evening in February 2021.

Max Melbourne gave the hosts the lead, before skipper Ollie Clarke equalised eight minutes later.

The game concluded with a 1-1 scoreline at the Banks’s Stadium, ending a five-game winning streak for the Stags.

The referee for Saturday’s game will be David Rock, assisted by Paul Stonier and Daniel Bonneywell. The fourth official will be Ian Smedley.

Mr. Rock last took charge of a Mansfield fixture in our 2-2 draw away at Leyton Orient in September 2020.

We have received a total of 1,014 tickets for the clash. Prices are as follows:

Adult: £20
Senior (60+): £16
Under-21: £15
Under-18: £10

The club have received seven pairs of wheelchair disabled & carer tickets, which is included in the 1,014 figure. Disabled supporters who wish to claim a free carer ticket must produce the relevant disability paperwork.

Tickets will be available to purchase on the day but will see a £2 increase in all categories.

Supporters should be aware that Banks's Stadium is a cashless venue so tickets on matchday are only available via card payment.

Tickets are on sale until midnight on Thursday via stagstickets.co.uk, which is the easiest way to purchase tickets for our matches this season.

Alternatively, you can visit our ticket office on Quarry Lane or call 01623 482 482 (option 1) to purchase tickets.

The club can no longer post tickets for this fixture. Online ticket sales will be available until midnight on Thursday 09 September. Tickets will go off sale from the Mansfield Town ticket office at midday on Friday 10 September.

Heading to the game? Why not visit Sandy's Bar & Kitchen beforehand, where you can purchase full English cooked breakfasts for just £5.50 between 9:30am and 11am!

From 9:30am until 11am, Sandy's Bar & Kitchen will be serving cooked breakfasts for just £5.50. You can find the bar at the rear of the Ian Greaves Stand at One Call Stadium.

The distance between One Call Stadium and Banks's Stadium is 66 miles, which will take approximately one hour and 22 minutes to reach by car. The relevant postcode for the ground is WS1 4SA.

On the day of the game, parkingis available at £5 per car, £6 per minibus and £12 per coach. There is also a bar for away supporters, which opens at 1pm.

Hospitality packages are also available for visiting supporters. To enquire about a hospitality package for the game, email alex.smith@walsall.co.uk.

The Stags Supporters’ Association will be providing family-friendly travel to Walsall, with the coach departing from One Call Stadium at 11am. Prices are as follows:

All SSA members: £10
Non-members: £15

To book your seat, call the SSA on 07967 689597.

Can't make it on Saturday? 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.

For non-subscribers, audio match passes are available for just £2.50. Saturday's game will not be streamed live on 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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Match Reports

Report: Walsall 3-1 Stags

11 September 2021

A difficult afternoon meant an impressive horde of travelling Stags’ fans saw their side beaten by Walsall at Banks’s Stadium.

Young forward George Miller scored in both halves for the Saddlers, his first goals of the season since joining on loan from Barnsley.

Ash Taylor added to Mansfield’s problems by converting a header in the 22nd minute.

Stags’ striker Danny Johnson netted a consolation goal in the 84^th minute having been introduced as a substitute.

Nigel Clough made two enforced changes to the side that faced Harrogate last Saturday, following Ollie Clarke and Stephen Quinn's dismissals.

On loan midfielder Ryan Stirk and youngster Tyrese Sinclair replaced the sanctioned pair.

Last week's goalscorer Rhys Oates retained his place as part of a Mansfield front three.

Sinclair threatened a perfect start for Stags, meeting a loose ball on the full inside 90 seconds to skid the ball wide from an acute angle.

A long ball forward caught Mansfield unaware in the sixth minute. Elliott Hewitt failed to deal with Miller’s run in behind before the forward converted the chance by firing low into the left corner.

Oates attempted to rule out the early lead a minute later, finding space to shoot on the right before Carl Rushworth turned the forward’s effort around the post.

Brendan Kiernan’s through ball was met in spectacular fashion by Miller after a quarter of an hour. The striker’s volley looped over Bishop to clip the underside of the crossbar.

The following rebound effort was spilled by the Stags’ stopper before Richard Nartey reacted swiftly to shepherd the ball and deny Kiernan from poking home at close-range.

Moments later the Stags attacked down the right to find Oli Hawkins in front of goal, whose power header was tipped over well by Rushworth.

Walsall doubled their lead in the 22^nd minute. An in-swinging Jack Earing corner was headed past Bishop by defender Taylor from inside the six-yard box.

Following a challenging start Mansfield tightened up in defence to nullify Walsall’s threat in the period after the goal to keep them out for the remainder of the first half.

That was thanks to some sharp reactions from Bishop who reacted well to deny Kiernan from close-range in the second minute of added time. The midfielder had beaten the offside trap to latch onto a lofted forward pass before the on-loan Manchester United stopper gloved the ball over to safety.

The boss made two half-time changes. Farrend Rawson replaced Hewitt in central defence and Danny Johnson replaced Oates in attack.

Walsall found their third in the 48^th minute, again through Miller. The striker out-paced Nartey to stride through one-on-one and beat Bishop with a curled finish.

Jordan Bowery was soon introduced for George Maris as the Stags looked to spark an unlikely comeback.

Earing searched for a fourth Walsall goal on 70 minutes, firing narrowly over from just outside the box.

Bishop denied Miller his hat-trick a minute later by making a strong fingertip save at his near post.

George Lapslie’s volley outside the box troubled Rushworth who had to stretch to parry the ball past the post with eight minutes to play.

Mansfield’s late building of pressure reduced the deficit in the 84^th minute. Stirk’s cross was allowed to drop inside the Walsall box which was latched onto by Johnson and dispatched into the roof of the net.

However, the striker’s late effort couldn’t prevent defeat for Mansfield at Banks’s Stadium.

Next up for the Stags is a home match against Rochdale in Sky Bet League Two next weekend.

STAGS XI: Bishop, Gordon, Hewitt (Rawson 46’), Nartey, McLaughlin, Maris (Bowery 62’), Stirk, Lapslie, Oates (Johnson 46’), Hawkins, Sinclair

UNUSED SUBS: Shelvey, Charsley, Burke, Law

WALSALL XI: Rushworth, White, Ward, Taylor, Monthe, Kiernan, Kinsella, Miller, Phillips (Perry 90’), Earing, Shade (Osadebe 71’)

UNUSUED SUBS: Rose, Bates, Leak, Willis, Mills

REFEREE: David Rock

ASSISTANTS: Paul Stonier & Daniel Bonneywell

FOURTH OFFICIAL: Ian Smedley

ATTENDANCE: 5,203 (1,008)