Mansfield 1 County 1

A point’s more than we normally get at Field Mill, and it keeps us top of League One with our unbeaten record intact

Sep 02, 2024

Monday 2 September 2024

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Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Mansfield supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Monday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.

Craig Priest and Dave Philbin join us today for a look back at Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Field Mill.

Today’s edition is sponsored by BGM Decorators and A Star Clean. A big thank you to Ben and Patrick.

Thanks also to RIAN Construction, who sponsor our Mansfield Town content on the website.

Finally, I’m currently walking every street in Stockport to raise money for mental health charity Mentell. If you’d like to make a donation to help me reach my target, please click here.

Total distance so far: 176.31 miles

Total steps so far: 284,130

Total raised so far: £1,981

Total completed streets so far: 399 (Click here for the full list, which includes reports and photos from every day of the walk.)

Further information on the walk can be found by clicking here.

Des Junior

✍️ Saturday’s match in one word

Craig: Relieving!

Dave: Mansfield.

🤔 Pre-match thoughts

Craig: Worried about a defeat and a toxic home atmosphere considering we lost DKD on deadline day and brought no defensive cover in with several injuries.

Dave: It was going to be my fourth, maybe fifth visit to Field Mill in the league, and after never seeing us win there I should have expected more of the same. But I was sure we were going to do it after our start coupled with their outgoing players and injuries.

🧐 Post-match thoughts

Craig: Pleased with a point, but more so to see Hewitt, Cargill and McLaughlin come through OK. None of them had a pre-season or played more than an hour before Saturday. There’s still some worries defensively but there were more encouraging signs that we’ll be OK.

Dave: Bloody Mansfield. Thought we did enough to win the game but Mansfield might say the same so probably a fair result. The referee had no impact on the final result, but he ruined the game. If you're going to leave all Mansfield fouls unpunished, fine, but give us the same courtesy. Their goal that got disallowed was very soft too.

🟡 Verdict on Mansfield

Craig: We played some very good football. Perhaps we should have scored another but in an untested shape (3-5-2 rather than the Clough diamond) I was very pleased.

Dave: I thought they looked poor for the most part, but one thing you will always get from a Mansfield team is desire. Whether that's desire to win the game or to stop the flow of play at every given opportunity is a debate for another day. They'll never roll over at home as we know all too well.

🔵 Verdict on County

Craig: You’ve added some quality, wouldn’t suprise me to see you in and around the play-offs. The lad who threw a mardy when he was subbed off needs to be watched, though. Attitude like that will split a dressing room.

Dave: Started electrically and were a midgie’s dick away from going up early on through Fevrier's rocket – definitely the correct decision not awarding the goal, but that was probably the only correct decision all afternoon. We were unlucky to go behind, two mistakes culminating in a goal. Pleasing reaction to the goal and went and got an equaliser before half-time. We really turned it on in the second half and could've scored two or three. Tanto's miss at the end looked a lot worse in real time than it does in the highlights, so I was happier with a point when I saw it back. If you don't take your chances you don't win games of football, but if you’d offered me 10 points from 12 at the start of the season, I'd have sent you to P3.

🦌 Top Stag

Craig: Deji Oshilaja (aka Dave). Class at centre-back. To say he was playing as a number 10 for Burton last year is bonkers. Will Evans is another level too.

Dave: Quinn.

🎩 Top Hatter

Craig: Norwood is just another level isn’t he. I’ve always like Horsfall too, steady player.

Dave: Hard to look past Norwood again, calmed it down in the middle when required.

👂 Atmosphere

Craig: Calm, which I didn’t think it would be after the previous 24 hours of transfer activity. The fact the lads were applauded off after the final whistle says a lot.

Dave: The atmosphere wasn't great throughout. At 1-0 down though, there was a weapon somewhere behind me with "this is SHITE” and "kick it forward for fuck’s sake" and "getting found out Challinor". After 85 minutes of the kick it forward shouts, it was particularly amusing when we lumped it forward and it went to their keeper. "Who was that to? Keep the ball!” You couldn't make it up. Lewis Bate was in the away end. I hope he couldn't hear him.

🙏 Hopes for the rest of the season

Craig: Still the same since we won promotion: survival.

Dave: I maintain I want to be in with a shout of the play-offs with 10 games remaining and see where we end up after that. Having said that, it's hard to not get carried away – and why shouldn't we?!

😀 Best part of the day

Craig: The pre-game sausage roll was well cooked for once.

Dave: The bacon and cheese burger in the away end.

😡 Worst part of the day

Craig: Conceding another soft goal.

Dave: Spilling my drink on my grey shorts before going into the ground and looking like I’d pissed myself.

The British Library receives a copy of every single book published in the UK. In the same fashion, Des Junior believes a detailed record of every County game should be preserved for the history books. So here’s the full story of our 1-1 draw at Mansfield Town on Saturday 31 August, as told from his County-related WhatsApp groups…

3.23pm: 1-0 Mansfield. Corey should really have saved that. Poor goalkeeping.

3.38pm: Wootton! Lovely jubbly.

3.40pm: Lovely cross by Camps, good header by Horsfall, Wootton doing the striker's job. Much better.

4.00pm: Not a bad half but loads of room for improvement. Mansfield are no better than last season. We look like we could be a lot better but haven't moved the ball quickly enough or with enough quality.

4.55pm: Feels like two points dropped but at least we've not lost there.

Leave the painting and decorating to the professionals

Don’t be like this random stranger Des Junior found on the internet. He thought he could decorate his living room himself. But now look at him, sat forlorn on his floor covered in a tin of Dulux. His wife’s left him, and his evenings are now occupied by microwave meals and old repeats of The Sweeney. You know what he should have done, don’t you? He should have called BGM Decorators.

BGM Decorators is a family business that has been in the trade since 1988. They’ve been built on hard work, honesty, and a high quality service that has consistently enhanced their reputation. They provide a painting and decorating service on a domestic and commercial basis across Stockport, Greater Manchester and Cheshire, as well as offering tenant turnover services and working alongside estate agencies and private landlords.

Give Ben a call on 07816 589989 or email bgm.decorators@yahoo.co.uk.

Give those carpets of yours a clean

A Star Clean offer professional carpet cleaning for £35 a room, or three rooms for £90, with sofa cleaning starting at £50. If you’ve had a spring clean recently, give your carpets a little TLC as well.

Give Patrick a call on 07395 642066 or email patglee78@icloud.com.

Photos of the day

Blundell Park, Cleethorpes

Twitter told me it’s the 125th anniversary of Grimsby’s first game at Blundell Park today, so I thought I’d share a few photos from County’s last trip to Cleethorpes, which was a comfortable 3-1 victory back in February.

For any repairs or renovations in Nottinghamshire, give RIAN Construction a call

RIAN Construction is a local family run joinery business, based in Mansfield, with over 17 years worth of experience. When carrying out any task, be it big or small, they strive for the highest of standards to bring an excellent service to you, the customer.

Whether you need a major repair or a renovation, they can deliver professional skills at a fair price. It’s their highest priority to get the job done right the first time on every assignment.

RIAN Construction will provide a full consultation to explain available options so that you can choose the service that’s right for your home or business. They strive to meet your project’s needs and save you the time.

Visit rianconstruction.co.uk for further details.

Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

One film at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) this evening. Alien: Romulus (15) at 8.30pm. Click here for tickets.

🍺 Food and drink

Bitter £2.30 a pint all day at The Cross Keys (SK8). Plus, discounts on certain lagers between 12pm and 6pm.

If you’re simply in the mood for a couple of pints today, pop along to one of our featured venues such as Bask (SK1), The Crown (SK2), The Dog & Partridge (SK2), The Armoury (SK3), The Crown Inn (SK6), The Steelworks (SK6) or The Three Tunnes (SK7).

🎶 Free jukebox

The Nelson Tavern (SK1). From 6.30pm.

100 random grounds that County have played at

#98 – Rodney Parade, Newport

Last visit: After winning 12 consecutive games in League Two last season, the run came to an end in South Wales. Newport won the game 2-1, with Tanto scoring County’s consolation deep into stoppage time.