Hampson the hero in fifth win in FCYA League in six games.
Goalkeeper Frazer Hampson was the hero as our youth team continued their surge up the Football League Youth Alliance (North-East Division) table as they made it five wins from six matches with a 2-0 success over local rivals Notts County.
On a windswept night at the Worksop Van Hire Stadium in Clipstone, the Stags shot-stopper was in sublime form as he thwarted the visitors on several occasions with a string of top class saves and then went and opened the scoring with a long downfield kick, just after the re-start.
Swirling winds made conditions difficult for both teams, but Mansfield dominated after the re-start and wrapped things up on the brink of injury-time when Elliot Holmes got on the end of a great left-sided cross by Joe Fitzpatrick and cushioned a fine header beyond the hapless Notts County custodian.
However, the headlines belong to Hampson for both his saves – and match-winning goal, which he will certainly remember for years to come.
The only downside of an otherwise great night for the Stags was a nasty ankle injury that Conor Green sustained in the early moments of the game. The youngster later went to hospital for x-rays to discover the extent of the damage.
Academy Coach Darren Kelk said: “The weather conditions were horrendous for both teams, but I thought we defended well against the wind in the first half and also tried to play some good football.
“Our efforts were rewarded in the second half and it was great to get the win. Frazer pulled off a number of good saves to keep us in the game and it was good to see him score a freak goal in the weather conditions. I felt sorry for their goalkeeper, but that’s football.”
He added: “We rested a number of players tonight with such a big game coming up [against Stoke City in the FA Youth Cup] next week. We gave others a chance to step up and they did themselves no harm at all. It was a good win.”
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