Mansfield Town’s under 21s will travel to Hartlepool United tomorrow (07 February, 2.00pm kick-off) in the Central League on the back of a three-game winning streak.
The Stags’ under 21s’ recent run of form has been marked by three morale-boosting victories on home turf since the turn of the year across the Central League and the Central League Cup.
A 2-1 victory over arch rivals Notts County earlier in January triggered the upturn in fortunes for the young Stags, when first-team players Danny Rose and Kevan Hurst – who has since secured a loan move to Guiseley – scored in the opening 15 minutes, with the Magpies’ consolation coming through winger Sam Osborne.
Next up were visitors York City, who the Stags defeated 4-2 courtesy of young striker Tyler Blake’s outstanding hat-trick. Centre-back Kieran Harrison added to Blake’s tally to hand Mansfield a huge 4-0 lead by half-time.
The Minstermen halved the deficit deep in the second period via substitute Aaron Haswell and striker Ryan Edmondson.
Stags then extended their winning run after edging out Chesterfield 3-1 at Kirklington Road. Irishman Pat Hoban bagged a double to accompany Lewis Collins’ strike, whilst Joe Rowley scored the only goal for Ritchie Humphreys’ charges.
The encouraging displays from the Stags’ young guns have resulted in their ascent to fourth in the table, with nine points from six games.
Tomorrow’s opponents Hartlepool have been on a good form themselves, losing just once in their last four outings across all competitions since December 2016. They reside second in the League, with 12 points from five matches.
Going into the Stags’ game, the Pools crashed out of the Durham County Challenge Cup third round after a 3-0 loss to South Shields.
Prior to that, a 3-0 victory over Ryhope CW in the County Challenge Cup second round was sandwiched between a 5-0 drubbing of Chesterfield (Central League) and a slender 1-0 win over Rotherham United (Central League Cup).
In the League’s reverse fixture in October 2016, Mansfield suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat against an experienced Hartlepool outfit, when Rhys Oates scored a brace alongside goals from Brad Walker, Josh Hawkes and Ben Pollock. For the Stags, first-team midfielder Jack Thomas returned from a pre-season injury to slot home the only goal for his side.
Supporters are welcome to attend the game tomorrow at the following address:
Billingham Town FC
Bedford Terrace
Billingham
TS23 4AE
