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Crew Report
I was the only BVC member to attend this low key friendly at Sincil Bank. I only decided to go late on Friday night after hearing that Italian wonder Michele Di Piedi would be playing. I went in the car with a few of my mates who usually go with Déjà vu to matches. We went to ‘The Ritz’ before the match for a few beverages, on what seemed to look like a promising day. Only to turn up at the ground to find out that Di Piedi had pissed off because he didn’t like the way the training was done or something like that. Half way through the second half some mindless idiots started throwing stones into the away end, with nobody getting hurt. The stewards and police looked too pissed to care, as it took them ages to get outside, by the time they had done the culprits had ran away.
Match Report
On a quite warm day only just over a thousand turned out for this friendly, with three of the stands almost completely empty. This time they had no excuse, as the cricket was not on television. The potential ‘trouble’ which had been anticipated never looked like flourishing, as both sets of fans failed to create any kind of atmosphere.
Both sides made a reasonable start to the match, with Lincoln coming closest to opening the scoring. Moore was the Mansfield culprit as he powered a back pass to Pilkington, who had wandered off of his line, but he managed to stretch and get a fingertip on the wayward ball. The parry fell to Yeo who thought he had scored before Pilkington somehow pulled off a brilliant double save. This woke Mansfield up, who then took control of the game. White produced some skill before volleying the ball on to the top of the netting.
Mansfield then won a free kick on the edge of the box, which brought excitement among the Mansfield following. As expected, Sellars curled in a wonderful shot, which was brilliant tipped over by the Lincoln keeper. The Lincoln defence struggled to copy with new signing Larkin, who looked very dangerous, as his pace allowed him to accelerate from the Lincoln players. His alertness nearly paid off when his quick one-two with Sellars allowed Williamson to be released one on one with the Lincoln keeper, but was caught by their defence forcing him to fire a weak shot straight at Marriott.
White nearly got a well-deserved goal when his strength and skill allowed him to take on three Lincoln defenders before firing again into the untroubled keeper. The other new signing Mackenzie nearly scored on his debut in Mansfield colours after a neat one-two set him clear on the right, before he fired into the side netting. Lincoln then looked like breaking the deadlock, forcing Pilkington to make three good saves. Neither side were able to grab a goal before the half time whistle blew.
Lincoln started the second half the brightest and took the lead when Jervis was beaten on the right by Smith who accelerated from his man before crossing to an unmarked Yeo who side footed easily past a helpless Bingham. Almost immediately Mansfield equalised. Some good work by trialist Christie allowed him to send in a shot from an acute angle on the right. This was bundled by the Lincoln keeper, leaving Disley to slot home into an empty net from two yards. This goal brought Mansfield to life and nearly had another ten minutes later. Bacon used his pace to go past a defender before setting Corden free. He took on a few players before passing the ball in field to Christie who curled the ball with his left foot on to the top of the netting from 25 yards.
Mansfield did then take the lead. A cross-field ball found youngster Lazarus, who magically took two defenders on, setting himself free on the right before crossing the ball into the box. The ball was met by Christie who powered a header into the bottom right corner with the help of the Lincoln keeper’s fingertips. Mansfield looked as though they were going to win the game easily when Lincoln’s Willis blazed over from 10 yards.
Mansfield should have finished off any Lincoln resistance when Christie sprinted away from his marker before playing a cross-field ball. This was nodded down by Beardsley, which found an unmarked Bacon who somehow managed to blaze over from 10 yards, with an open net and a helpless keeper staring him in the face. But this did not seem to matter as it seemed Mansfield had already rapped the game.
But then disaster struck for Mansfield. A seemingly harmless corner was cleared to Willis who fired in a weak shot that was cruelly deflected into the path of Sedgemore, who tapped the ball in from 2 yards past a helpless Bingham. It got worse as deep into added time Lincoln got a controversial free kick. This was fumbled by Bingham straight to Smith who slotted home into an empty net from 2 yards. Mansfield went in search of an equaliser and Rew nearly produced a 40-yard wonder strike as he spotted the Lincoln keeper off of his line. But his chip landed on the top of the netting, as it had done so many times in this match.
Performance Watch:
Pilkington: 7 Pulled off some excellent saves. A much improved performance since the Forest match.
Jervis: 5 Had an appalling first half, but improved in the second. Was at fault for Lincoln’s first goal.
Moore: 7 Apart from nearly scoring a sensational own goal, looked comfortable and didn’t make a mistake all match.
Reddington: 6 Had a steady game. Failed to impress but didn’t make any mistakes.
Gadsby: 7 Again looked a good loan signing by Watkiss. A good tackler and looks good going forward.
Corden: 7 Looked dangerous going forward and his skill opened up gaps in the Lincoln defence. But still looks unsure when defending.
Williamson: 7 Made some good tackles in midfield. Got in some good attacking positions but failed to make them pay.
Mackenzie: 8 Was an inspiration as he controlled the game from midfield. My man of the match.
Sellars: 7 Also had some control over the game. Made some very accurate and clever passes, unlocking the defence.
White: 7 Probably getting to his best form yet. Uses his strength and skill to get into good positions. Needs a goal to get him going again.
Larkin: 7 Has pace and alertness. Looked as good as Greenacre. Worked well with White and the wingers.
Bingham (on 45): 7 Looked good in goal. Motivated the team well and may push Pilkington for the 1st choice keeper space. Got stick for the third goal but it was unneeded.
Clarke (on 45): 7 Looked more mature than last season. Passed the ball around well.
Scott (on 45): 8 Used his strength well to win the ball. Kept the defence in shape.
Holyoake (on 45): 6 Looked strong in tackles and in the air, but miscued some of his headers.
Disley (on 45): 6 Again struggled to match his form that he showed early last year. But did score a vital goal.
Lazarus (on 45): 7 Looked comfortable on the right wing. Showed some real class when setting up the second goal.
Bacon (on 45): 6 His pace allowed him to link up well with Christie. Made some good brakes. Somehow managed to blast over a certain goal.
Christie (on 45): 8 Worked very hard and got a well-deserved goal. Should be signed up by Watkiss.
Beardsley (on 76): 7 Looked very lively and nearly set up Bacon to finish the game off. Needs more chances of first team action.
Rew (on 79): 6 Didn’t have much time to impress but nearly scored an exquisite chip to equaliser.
Other Information
Attendance:
1085
Goals:
Lincoln City:
Yeo 57
Sedgemore 90
Smith 90
Mansfield:
Disley 58
Christie 74
Verdict
This was a disappointing end to what looked like a certain Mansfield win. But there were some impressive signs from the young players as well as the two new signings. Reminded me of a few years ago where our defence struggled in injury time. There is still improvement required before next Saturday.