Monday 2nd May: League 2: The Peninsula Stadium: Salford City vs Mansfield Town
To complete my bank holiday weekend trilogy of matches I made the long journey out to Salford’s Peninsula stadium, in the millionaire’s suburbs north of Manchester, to see if the hosts secure the 3 points they needed to keep themselves in the League 2 play-off picture till the final day.
They started the match in 10th place and 5 points outside the play-off places with just 2 games left. So needed to win both of them and hope others slip up on the final day to make it but whilst the chance is there they were going to go for it. Their task was made difficult however by the fact that their opponents for the day were Mansfield Town, who could secure their play-off place with a win and still had hopes of automatic promotion. A win today for the visitors would put them 3rd going into the final day and leave their fate in their own hands.
The trip I had to make to make the 12:30pm kick-off was quite the odyssey. First I had to make it to Manchester Victoria station, then get on the packed X43 Witchway bus out down a single long road. The bus takes 20 minutes before you get off at Moor Lane and make the final 7 minute walk down a busy country road to the stadium. Seriously, the suburb that houses the Peninsula Stadium is insanely leafy and absolutely the last place that you would ever expect to find a football stadium.
Once I had found my way round to my turnstile on the opposite side of the ground to where I walked up to, thanks to the helpful steward, I fought my way through the crowds and inside to the most bouncing atmosphere I have ever seen at such a low level of English Football. The crowds for this match was incredible and included many Bees fans making use of the early kick-off to enjoy a little extra Greater-Manchester football before hitting up Old Trafford for their evening kick-off. The jealousy was palpable in my soul, but the addition of so many extra fans gave the stadium an atmosphere comparable to Glastonbury in the build up to the headline act on the final day.
Inside the ground there was an awesome old-school feel to things, from the cash only food kiosks to the all terraced stands behind each goal. The lack of any screen at all was a little less charming, but I managed to accurately time things on my phone stopwatch so match action should be perfectly timed. The food on offer at the kiosks was a far more up-market than normal football food though, including the crispy onions that adorned my hotdog, available at normal football prices.
I took up my place in the stand behind the north goal as the teams were finishing their warm-ups. Mansfield Town finishing theirs minutes in advance of their hosts in a show of confidence. Salford showed no sign of being un-nerved by this as they took the field again for kick-off, as the tannoy announced both matchday squads at the precisely perfect speed for me to get them noted down. With Salford in red tops and white shorts and Mansfield decked neck to knee in sky blue, the visitors stood as Salford took the pre-match knee and things were ready to get underway.
Salford had the most on the line for this match and cheered on by a partisan home crowd they took just 90 seconds to take the lead. Jordan Turnbull met a deep slung free kick into the area from the left side with a bullet header at the near-post to direct the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal. Nathan Bishop was left all at sea further back in the box, expecting a floated ball to the back post and could only watch as Salford grabbed the initiative in the match.
Just 3 minutes after taking the lead Salford were gifted a great chance to double their lead. Brandon Thomas-Asante was brought down whilst driving upfield through the centre and the hosts had a freekick on the edge of the box. Given their previous success from a much less enticing position I was fully expecting a gilt-edged chance to be created at the very least, but all the hosts could manage were 2 balls cannoned directly into the wall o allow Mansfield to clear their lines.
Taking momentum from this to gain a foothold in the match Mansfield poured forward in search of an equaliser, but the Salford defensive effort made a fortress of their penalty area right up until the visitors found the way in in the 8th minute. A deep cross made it’s way through the defences to land at the feet of Matty Longstaff at the back post. From where he flicked it back across the keeper Tom King’s body only to see the ball flash just wide of the post.
A minute later it was back to the long range efforts for the visitors as Rhys Oates ballooned one way over the bar from just outside the D. King would have arguably have had it covered if it had been on target, but we will never know for sure.
Having given the hosts the lead Turnbull was back in the thick of the action in the 13th minute, picking up the game’s first yellow card for being milliseconds late with a tackle looking to cut out a Mansfield attack as it progressed towards the box. It was so close that, in my view, giving a foul for it was harsh in the extreme.
Thomas-Asante would be unavailable to help his teammates defend from the freekick as the ref ordered him off the pitch to get treatment for a cut that was seeping blood. Being a player short may have contributed to what happened next as Stephen McLaughlin curled the ball round the ball and into the bottom right corner of the net. Bending it like Beckham against the team he part owns to draw the visitors level.
The decision to award Mansfield the freekick looked even harsher when nothing was given against Oates for holding Theo Vassell in a half-nelson 5 minutes later. The ref hardly helped his stock in the eyes of home fans when he gave Mansfield a freekick on halfway when Longstaff caught himself on the heels. He rose to his feet quickly only to fall straight back to the ground as the host’s Matthew Lund made his way past.
The visitors wasted that freekick but wanted another in the 22nd minute when Salford’s captain Jason Lowe won a sliding 50/50 against Longstaff and ran clear with the ball. This time the ref was not hoodwinked by Longstaff’s slow rise back to his feet. Nor was he fooled by a weak penalty shout for the visitors in the 26th when Oates pushed the ball a little too far ahead of himself, having intercepted a weak goal-kick, then tried to go over the top of the legs that King had withdrawn from the area in question seconds earlier. Oates did get away with a, train to Sheffield, late tackle on Vassell in the 28th minute though with the ref only giving a free-kick and no card.
As the match passed the half-hour match the atmosphere became more and more muted as neither team was able to find the telling ball to set an attack on fire. The play became more timid than cagey, as though both teams were far too scared of making a telling mistake to try and make the telling pass that might give them the lead at half-time in this crucial match.
It took until the 36th minute for either team to mount a concerted effort to snatch the half-time lead and, with the crowd on their side, it is perhaps unsurprising that Salford where the team to put this effort together. Sliding a slide-rule ball through the defence to leave Matt Smith with just the keeper to beat. Bishop was equal to the threat though and pushed Smith wide so that he could only steer his shot into the side-netting. Mansfield were able to break upfield from the resultant corner only for Oates to also find himself forced wide in the area and also send his shot wide at the near post.
These twin chances sparked the game back into life as the match roared into the final 5 minutes of the half. Salford took the momentum of creating the spark to end the half squarely on top, but they were unable to take advantage of their domination of possession and would instead be behind before the ref whistled up on the first 45.
They had their chances to take the lead before conceding though as first Thomas-Asante left fly from the edge of the box. This shot was unable to make it through the forest of legs without nicking a trunk and rebounding clear. Then a cross to the back post flicked off the back of a visiting defender’s head for a corner with 3 minutes of the half left. The away fans were up in arms about the decision, though from my vantage point at the far end it looked to be the right one. They need not have worried too much though as the corner flew harmlessly over the head of everyone in the box and the cross from the other side imitated it before floating behind for a goal-kick.
Having failed to take advantage of those chances Salford were duly punished for their profligacy by the footballing gods in the final minute of the half. Mansfield floated a freekick up to the back post from halfway and as it fell towards it’s spot it struck a Salford hand. The ref wasted no time in pointing to the spot, but to me it looked like the defender’s arms were in a natural position as he looked to gain elevation to connect with a clearing header.
Another harsh call cost Salford though as McLaughlin made no mistake in stroking it low to the keeper’s left to give Mansfield a 2-1 lead as the teams headed in for the break. Simultaneously altering beyond recognition the team talks for both of the managers, who would now have to create their own on the fly. The hosts had been ending the half as the stronger team and looking far more likely to score. A few missed chances and one questionable decision later they were behind and chasing the game to get the win they desperately needed.
Perhaps there was a feeling of quiet resignation among the Salford back office hierarchy though as they used the opportunity of half-time to introduce 10 of the most recent academy graduates to the home support. They were presented as the team’s best hope for next season and I found it doubtful that they would have been presented as such if the management team still felt the current players stood a chance of promotion.
I couldn’t tell you a single one of their names however, as I spent the majority of half-time diving into the programme I had picked up from opposite the turnstile. The seller was directly in front of me as I passed through that entrance and it would have been rude not to buy myself one, particularly with this being Salford’s final home game of the season.
Mansfield were out for the second half before their hosts, in another show of confidence that failed to un-nerve the Salford players. There were no half-time substitutes for either team as their managers both put their faith in their team attacking towards their own fans to help raise the level and suck the ball into the net this half.
The half certainly started off brightly with some creative attacking play from both teams creating chances galore and providing a lovely change of pace from the majority of the first half. Mansfield set this chance extravaganza in motion with a free-kick into the box from the left touchline just 2 minutes into the half. It caused a game of header pinball to break out in the box before Salford finally hacked in clear on with their 4th attempt.
The attacks that Salford put together in the first 5 minutes of the half were hampered by a sedate build-up phase that allowed the visitors to get their defence back in order and clear the threat before it turned serious. In the 53rd minute it turned serious and Mansfield couldn’t deal with it. Thomas-Asante decided to forgo the build-up phase and instead fire in an early cross in from the right that caught the defence napping, allowing Lund to spirit in unnoticed and unmarked at the front post to flick it past Bishop at his near post.
Just like that Salford were back on level terms and Thomas-Asante took great pleasure in driving his team forward, tormenting the visiting defenders with every attack. Within a minute of the equaliser he was running free again but this time his cross had too much on it and was cleared simply away for a throw on the far side of the pitch. From this throw a cross was sent in that Mansfield could only deflect behind for a corner. The corner was fed to the near post where Lund won his race against the defence but this time he had to stoop to connect with his header and could only watch as the ball cannoned back off the bar, leaving it shaking like a sapling in a hurricane.
Mansfield were able to tame the ball on the rebound and set themselves on the break. They found space on the right side of the box but King prevented what looked like a certain 3rd for the visitors by kneeling at his near post as the ball ricocheted off his knees and away for a corner. The visitors wasted the corner and Salford were able to break themselves.
Once again finding Thomas-Asante in space but this time his cross sailed inches over the top of Ryan Watson’s despairing leap at the far post. The ball was put back in from the other side and this time it was Thomas-Asante’s chance to see the ball fly just over his leaping head. If the ball had been an inch or so lower it would have certainly been the hosts third as Thomas-Asante was in so much space he could’ve built a national trust property around himself without interfering with a single defender’s personal space.
Lowe finished off the 5 minutes of torment for the visitors with a volley fizzed in from 20 yards that was always rising and ended up missing both high and left of the goal. Worth a try though and it took the visitors attention off Thomas-Asante for a minute or so. A good thing for the hosts as King collected a corner on the hour mark and found the man of the moment with a glorious 60 yard ball to his feet. He advanced down the right wing before squaring for Stephen Kelly who could not finish off this glorious move with a finish befitting it’s majesty. Instead simply poking the ball goalward till it squirmed into the arms of a very grateful Bishop.
Thomas-Asante was not done yet though as he was back creating another chance for the host’s elusive winner just a minute after that chance. This time he chose to cut the ball back to Donald Love, hovering just behind the penalty spot, but again the finishing touch could not be applied. A bouncing shot that got deflected behind for a wasted corner was the ending provided to this move.
By this point of the match Mansfield had been reduced to threatening on the break and they managed to do so just twice through the match’s 60’s. First contriving to utterly waste a freekick just inside the Salford half. Won by George Lapslie driving through the middle at pace. It was also Lapslie that had the second chance for the visitors and coming the closest that they had come to scoring from open play all match. He unleashed a volley from distance with such swerve on it that King stood no chance of stopping it. Unfortunately it was also this mesmerising swerve that guided it millimetres wide of the right-hand post and kept the scores level at 2-2.
With the match entering it’s final 20 minutes both managers decided it was high time to switch things up and looked to provide their team with some new impetus from the bench. It was Mansfield’s Nigel Clough who was first to blink in the 71st minute as he replaced Lucas Atkins with Jordan Bowery. Then 5 minutes later both he and the host’s Gary Bowyer made a change each. Clough removed George Lapslie from the fray, despite his recent chances and sent on Kieran Wallace on in his place.
For his part Bowyer reacted to his team’s recent abject display of profligate finishing by sending on a new striker on, who might be able to finish off just one of the many chances Thomas-Asante was creating. To this end he withdrew Donald Love, sending on veteran striker Ian Henderson to provide the masterclass in finishing his team needed.
Between the first substitution and this later duo Thomas-Asante had a crack at personally providing the finish that Salford needed. He was fed the ball on the left side of the box with his back to goal a mere 8 yards from target. Swivelling on the spot he was unable to get any power behind the shot and watched it dribble its way into Bishop’s gloves.
The game found its way to the 80th minute without further incident though. It became clear that one more chance was all that would be needed to settle one and as the crunch time approached it came down to the question of whose nerves would hold up and which team would collapse under the pressure.
Salford showed signs of nerves in the 81st minute when they dithered so long over a short corner on the right that by the time they finally put the ball into the box neither Henderson or Vassell was expecting it. Subsequently neither of them went for the ball at the near post and the visitors were able to breath a massive sigh of relief watching it go behind for a goal-kick.
Turnbull showed no such nerves 2 minutes later though as he steamed into a tackle on the edge of the box to nick the ball off George Maris as he was shaping to slot the ball away for a Mansfield winner. There were no nerves creeping into Thomas-Asante’s game either as he once again created space for himself, this time on the left wing, before delivering the ball on a silver-platter to Kelly in space 20 yards out. Once again though a splendid saving tackle got in the way of a certain goal, this time Mansfield managed to deflect the ball away for a corner which came to nothing.
Bowyer made his final change to the hosts make-up for the final 5, with Matthew Lund withdrawn for Ash Hunter to be given the chance to carve his name into Salford history. However, with just 3 minutes left it was Henderson who was trying to make sure the name carved was his own with 2 chances within a minute of each other. First trying his luck with a volley at the back-post, off a deep cross from the right, only for the ball to be nabbed off his toes just before he can make contact with the ball. Then again with a spectacular scorpion kick when the recycled ball was crossed in just behind him. Unfortunately for him and the home fans the ball was cleared just in front of the line and the scores remained level pegging as the grandstand ending to the match remained on a knife’s edge.
Clough took one last throw of the dice in the penultimate minute of the 90 by removing his captain, James Perch, from the field and sending on Elliot Hewitt. Mansfield doing their best to hold onto the draw that would leave them in an excellent position to secure play-off football on the final day of the season. They would have 4 minutes of added time to hold on to this result first though and consign Salford to another confirmed season in League 2.
In the first of those added minutes they came close to finding the winner they needed to keep their hopes of automatic promotion in their own hands. Oates advancing through the centre of the Salford half, but Turnbull was on hand to cover and force the ball out for a corner. Then, with time running out in added time, Maris provided a defence splitting ball from the left that could only be parried out into the danger area by King. The ball fell to the feet of Wallace at the back-post but he was unable to sort his feet out in time to tap it home into the empty net and the home fans could breathe again.
Salford had their own chances to win it in added time as well. The first of which came through the irrepressible Thomas-Asante, Mansfield’s tormenter in chief all half, who provided a tempting ball into the right channel where there was no-one in a red shirt ready to tap it in. The final chance for the hosts came in the dying seconds of the match as a cross found Smith unmarked 8 yards out, but he could only direct the ball into Bishop’s arms. Henderson had been lurking behind him ready to tap it into the unguarded net at the back-post if the ball had been left to run through to him. As things panned out though the chance was wasted and seconds later the ref blew for full-time.
Despite battering down the door all half, mainly through the inspirational display of Thomas-Asante, they hosts were unable to find that winning goal and must instead resign themselves to another season in League 2. Mansfield also left this one feeling like an opportunity had been lost as their fate slipped out of their own hands and they would go into the final day of the season knowing that even a win would leave them relying on slip-ups elsewhere to secure them automatic promotion.
Due to a personal commitment I was unable to attend a match on the final day of the League 2 season. Bristol City turned in the result of the decade to secure the final automatic promotion place and thus consign Northampton Town, 3rd going into the final day, to the lottery of the playoffs alongside Mansfield, Port Vale and Swindon Town.
Mansfield finish the season in 7th and facing Northampton in their Play-off semi-finals for a place in the Wembley final. I wish them best of luck but they will need to create a few more chances if they are to gain promotion to League 1.
With the lower league’s seasons all now completed, except the sold out play-off matches, I will be returning to the Premier League for my remaining blogs of the season. I will be attending both of Brentford’s remaining matches this season, starting with their visit to relegation threatened Everton at Goodison park this weekend.
The Football tourist 