Preview: Stags v Manchester City U21

29 August 2022

The Stags are in Papa Johns Trophy action tomorrow night as we host Manchester City U21 at One Call Stadium (7pm kick-off). Here’s all you need to know…

The One Call Stadium car park will be closed for 20 minutes after full-time – and for all home games this season - to enable fellow supporters to leave the ground safely on foot.
The club advises supporters to enter the stadium as early as possible. Turnstiles will be open at 5.45pm.
Blocks K and L in the Ian Greaves Upper Tier will now also be open for supporters to purchase tickets in.

Manager Nigel Clough has said that all players that were named on the bench on Saturday at Sutton will feature against City.

Jordan Bowery is also expected to be involved. The versatile forward missed the weekend’s match due to illness.

Striker Rhys Oates will be unavailable having had an operation last week on his ruptured pectoral muscle.

Centre-backs John-Joe O’Toole and Riley Harbottle will be assessed before tomorrow’s game.

When asked about the defensive pair being withdrawn at Sutton, Nigel said: “John-Joe O’Toole had come off injured as had Riley Harbottle - more illness than injury [in Harbottle’s case].”

The referee at One Call Stadium will be Ross Joyce. Mr. Joyce will be assisted by Thomas Harty, Matthew Parry and fourth official, Andrew Humphries.

Tickets can be bought online (https://mansfieldtownfc.ktckts.com/).

Tickets can also be purchased in person from the ticket office at One Call Stadium on matchday from 10am up until kick-off.

Season ticket holders’ seats will not be reserved for this fixture.

Blocks K and L in the Ian Greaves Upper Tier will now also be open for supporters to purchase tickets in.

Ticket prices are:

Adult: £10

Young Adult (18 to 21): £10

Senior: £5

Under 18: £5

Parking is available at One Call Stadium on a first-come, first-served basis at £5 per vehicle.

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.

Alternatively, 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'.

Sandy’s Bar & Kitchen will be open from 12pm on matchday.

The match is available to watch on iFollow Stags for both UK and non-UK subscribers for just £10.

You can also follow the action live via our Twitter match updates, which can be found 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.

Courtesy of Alan March Sport, the club offers bespoke live commentary to blind and visually impaired fans at every home game, for both home and away supporters FREE of charge.

Simply ask for your commentary device at the entrance to the Kevin Bird Suite at the rear of the Ian Greaves Stand in advance of kick-off.

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 Previews

Match Reports

Report: Stags 3-2 Man City U21

30 August 2022

Lucas Akins scored one and set up another as Stags recorded a 3-2 victory against Manchester City under-21s in an action-packed Papa Johns Trophy group stage encounter.

Akins nodded home in the first half and set up James Gale in the second, while George Lapslie climbed off the bench to grab the winner for Mansfield.

A crowd of 1,804 were treated to a thrilling contest, with chances galore, aided by some excellent football from both sides.

City's under-21s displayed superb technical ability and pace which tested Mansfield in different ways than a usual League Two encounter.

Eight changes were made from the Stags' side which lost 2-1 at Sutton United on Saturday in Sky Bet League Two.

Oli Hawkins missed out due to illness while John-Joe O'Toole was sidelined with a foot injury.

Scott Flinders, Kellan Gordon, Elliott Hewitt, Kieran Wallace, Ollie Clarke, George Maris, Jordan Bowery and James Gale all came into the starting XI.

Christy Pym, James Perch, Anthony Hartigan, Stephen Quinn, George Lapslie and Will Swan joined Hawkins and O'Toole in making way.

In a frantic opening, City registered the game's first shot inside the fourth minute when Hewitt was well positioned on the goal line to clear Adedire Mebude's shot from the right side of the penalty area.

The visitors went close again two minutes later as Juan Larios linked up well with Shea Charles, culminating in Larios striking narrowly wide of the far post.

Stags almost had the breakthrough after eight minutes as Gale slipped a short pass to Bowery inside the penalty area, whose low drive was deflected beyond the post for a corner.

Stags grew into the game and McLaughlin tried his luck moments later with a left-footed piledriver which City goalkeeper Mikki van San had to turn behind.

The youngsters from Manchester thought they were ahead in the 11th minute when Will Dickson slotted home from close range following a slick passing move, but his celebrations were cut short as the linesman ruled it out for offside.

At the other end, McLaughlin swept in a delicious left-wing cross and Gale rose well to heads goalwards, only for van San to deny the effort with his legs.

Though he could do little about Stags' opening goal.

After 16 breathless opening minutes, Maris delivered a pin-point corner towards the back post onto the head of Lucas Akins who nodded downwards into the net.

With 25 minutes played, Larios was the first name to enter the referee's notebook when he brought down a flying Jordan Bowery outside the City box.

McLaughlin smashed a 20 yard piledriver inches over the angle of crossbar and post as the Stags searched a second goal of the night.

But it was City who were to find the net in the 29th minute.

Goalkeeper van Sas spotted the darting run Carlos Borges, who took advantage of a defensive mix-up to sprint through the middle, round the advancing Scott Flinders, and slot the ball home.

Two minutes later, City took the lead.

Stags were again caught out by a long ball, and Dickson applied a simple finish from Mebude's low pass as Mansfield struggled to keep alive to the visitors' blistering pace.

With ten minutes of the first half remaining, Charles powered a low effort off target from 20 yards following a City corner.

In the last few minutes of the first half, Gale was unable to test the goalkeeper when he headed over from Maris' corner.

Gordon saw an effort cannon off a City defender in first half stoppage time, moments before referee Ross Joyce brought a rip-roaring first period to a close.

A minute into the second half, Maris' corner caused problems inside the box and substitute Nico O'Reilly headed against his own bar.

Gordon then swept a good low ball into the area but no one was able to meet it in a Stags' shirt.

Stags momentum paid off and they were level after 50 minutes.

Akins provided the assist, on the right side of the area, for James Gale to knock home from close range.

The 20-year-old was a whisker away from a second goal on 56 minutes when he headed over from Gordon's inviting cross.

Wallace missed a golden opportunity when he blasted a 12 yard effort over the bar on the stroke of the hour as Stags looked to pen City inside their own half.

Mansfield continued to press and visiting goalkeeper van Sas had to get behind a stooping header from McLaughlin after Maris crossed from the right.

On 68 minutes, Nigel Clough made a double change when James Perch and George Lapslie were replaced by Stephen McLaughlin and Lucas Akins.

With 17 minutes remaining, Will Swan came on for Kieran Wallace and Anthony Hartigan took the place of Ollie Clarke.

Bowery powered down the left on 78 minutes, beating one man, before seeing his shot blocked by a City defender.

Stags struck the decisive goal on 84 minutes.

Hewitt, well forward in a Stags' attack, pulled it back from the goal line, and Lapslie was on hand to poke the ball in the bottom right corner of the goal to give Stags the upper hand.

Flinders ensured Mansfield's win with a superb one-footed save to stop Borges' effort, who was clean through on goal before City's chief tormenter, bent a brilliant effort against the bar in stoppage time. But Stags held on for the win.

STAGS: Flinders, Gordon, Hewitt, Harbottle, McLaughlin (Perch 68), Clarke (Hartigan 73), Wallace (Swan 73), Maris, Akins (Lapslie 68), Gale, Bowery.

UNUSED SUBS: Pym, Quinn, Boateng

CITY: Van Sas, Larios, Burns, Katongo, Taylor (Galvez 60), Charles, Mebude, Breckin, Dickson (Oboavwoduo 60), Bobb (O'Reilly 45), Borges

UNUSED SUBS: Alleline, McNamara, Smith, Ndala,

REFEREE: Ross Joyce

ATTENDANCE: 1,804 (64 away)