FAN’S VIEW  2026/27  – MANSFIELD AWAY

Five days after our win at Meadow Lane we were just 15 miles further north facing the Stags. Mansfield charge £7 a ticket more than Notts County do. We just pay up and follow our team.

On this occasion there was time to move about a bit from pub to pub and get a beer or two in.

First pub visited was the Brown Cow. I know how highly I rate a pub visited but if asked to rank them my reply would be too many, different qualities, unfair, just enjoy them for what they are. If you’re in a bar you don’t like then just leave. No-one forces you to stay. 

CAMRA have recently changed their voting system for members from numerical 0-5 to one that’s description based. It ranges from “Undrinkable” through to “Excellent”. It’s member voting that determines which pubs make it into the Good Beer Guide. The Brown Cow was “Excellent”. We more often than not have a pint or two before moving on. We had three in here (obviously not the driver).

The bloke who is responsible for running the place, Johnathon Taylor, gave us a tour of the cellar. I wasn’t aware of the pub until this trip. We last visited Field Mill eleven years ago. I asked when it became the pub it is today. The answer was 2015. That would explain it.

My mate in all seriousness asked “is that the best away pub we’ve ever been in?”.

Nevertheless, we moved on. To the Garrison. There were supposed to be 5 real ales available. There weren’t. Just two of the pumps had clips on them. “Two and a half pints of that one please”, only to be told the choice was just one. There’s lots of Peaky Blinders pictures on the walls but I’d hardly call it a themed pub. For that I’d need a intimidating looking Arthur Shelby leaning on the bar, cap on head, fiddling with some menacing piece of weaponry. Disappointing.

There was just enough time for a quick half in the Railway. That’s been our go to Mansfield pub for decades. It felt the same as ever, which is very good indeed. As Meatloaf told us, two out of three ain’t bad.

One thing that struck me was that these pubs weren’t awash with home fans. There were a few about but how few was a surprise.

It doesn’t take long to walk from the pub to the ground. There was even time for a pie before kick-off. I don’t often mention the food in the ground but the pie merits comment. Steak and pepper. Not your gristle or standard pukka with small pieces of meat that can be counted on half the fingers of one hand. Lots of lumps of tasty steak. They’re supplied by a local butcher, Bowring, from Mansfield Woodhouse. Only a fiver.

The very large and immediate talking points to be taken away from this game are obviously our two sendings off and the performance of referee Thomas Parsons. Not a name I was previously aware of.

When calming down and putting this outrage to one side for a moment I think there are also two other important features of the game that need highlighting. Firstly how good the home side were at times and secondly that we stood firm enough to come away with a point despite our numerical disadvantage towards the end of the game.

Mansfield have not been beaten at home for eight months and eleven matches coming into this. They’ve not got players I’ve heard of but their speed, control and application were really impressive. Another match that was a great advert for tier 3 football.

We very much played our part in this. Getting bodies in the way, blocking shots and battling away as winners do. Playing this way we have to ride our luck at times because sometimes in such situations the ball can go anywhere.

Come the final count, possession was about even but they had 24 shots to our six. However only four of theirs were on target. Touches in the opposition box were 61-18 and corners 11-3 in their favour. I’d be interested to know what the stats were at the time we were reduced to 10 men.

Peter Kioso, who nearly got his head on the end of a Louie Sibley free-kick, picked up his first booking in the 22^nd minute. I thought it was very harsh. There were two players jumping for the ball. He got there slightly late. It happens regularly during a game. Free kick yes, but a booking? If referees were to consistently show a card in these circumstances there would be three or four every time.

For all Mansfield’s pressure it was us who took the lead. That’s because we’re good.

With his head Michal Helik returned a clearance from keeper Liam Roberts straight back into the Mansfield half. Kai Andrews picked it up and popped it off to Sibley who went past George Abbott. The man on loan from Spurs had a little pull on Sibley, as one does, but our man was able to poke it forward to Siriki Dembele. Although half tackled, he got the ball to Luka Lynch on the right-hand corner of the box. LL’s shorts looked like they were about to fall down but that was of no concern to him. He just went about the business of scoring his first league goal. As he brought the ball inside, Liam Thompson went with him with an arm out and a push sent Lynch a bit off balance as the shot was unleashed. The ball bent in for a superb goal. If it had not gone in, I’d have wanted a free-kick. No chance we would have got one though.

We went in at the break with that 34^th minute lead intact but could easily have paid for sloppiness in the remaining minutes of the first 45. Jamie Cumming played Cameron Brannagan into trouble. Our keeper redeemed himself by blocking the initial shot but we got away with it when Jon Russell then fired over.

The second half hadn’t been underway for long when Russell jumped in studs up on Lynch. It was high and dangerous. He was only shown a yellow card.

I was getting more than a feeling that Parsons was doing us no favours and that was putting it politely. As always, I do recognise that I’m biased. All football fans are to some extent.

In such circumstances it’s worth finding out what neutrals think. There are extended Sky highlights on You Tube. From the commentators,  “He’s a lucky man. It was high and there was follow through as well. If it was the Premier League VAR would be looking at it”.

Gatlin O’Donkor and Mo Missanga replaced Lynch and Louie Sibley just before the hour mark. A combination of those two nearly fashioned a goal as we were starting to get on top and looking more like doubling our lead.

Missanga’s pace and a top-quality pass left O’Donkor facing the keeper 1v1. He couldn’t make it count.

A loose clearance by Helik, giving the ball away to Tyler Roberts could have left egg on face but we got numbers back quickly and no Mansfield shirt could get on the end of the ball hit hard across goal. A reminder that the game was far from over.   

I’m still a bit baffled over O’Donkor’s first booking. Having played the incident over many times I’m still not sure. Parsons was of course a few yards away. Was it even a foul though? I think he nicks the ball away and obviously there’s contact between him and Thompson who throws himself to the floor. If play continues Donks is about to send Missanga away. A split second after the whistle blows our no.19 does make the pass and has clearly heard that whistle. Is it really kicking the ball away to delay the re-start? Parsons thought so. Naïve on O’Donkor’s part?

In the 75^th minute any anger felt towards Parsons shot up many levels. Mark Harris played a tremendous ball through to the over-lapping Kioso. He’s pulled back. He goes down. It’s a penalty. Parsons has again blown his whistle. Should be done and dusted now as Bran has a great record from the spot.

Shock amongst our fans as Parsons points the other way and then even more venting of spleens as he produces Kioso’s second yellow. This was outrageous as is the fact that a second yellow cannot be appealed unlike a straight red.

The Sky commentators agreed there was a shirt pull but came up with “not enough in it for a penalty” which sometimes is true and sometimes is bollox. For me this was in the latter category. They did go on to say “Thomas Parsons has got that wrong. That was not simulation.”

Seven minutes later our lead was gone. The ball came in from the side Kioso would have been defending if he’d been on the pitch but it was a scrappy goal and an awful cock up by Jamie Cumming. I’m hearing more and more people saying that Simon Eastwood should have the number one slot. Should we be looking to bring in a new younger keeper, once we’re allowed to go again in the transfer market, to if not take over then give JC heightened competition to keep his place?

Two minutes later we were down to eight out-field players. O’Donkor can have no complaints about his getting his second yellow for the tackle he made. Crazy behaviour that he needs to learn from.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough, we had a minute when that eight was reduced to seven. This was down to Parsons not knowing the laws of the game. If he blew to stop the game then I’ve got this wrong but my understanding is that he waited until the ball had gone out for a throw before checking on Brodie Spencer as he had received a knock on the head.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) Off-field treatment and assessment protocols state:

A player is not required to leave the field of play for one minute when the player indicates that they do not require medical attention, except where play was stopped for the injury.

But we got through it all without letting another in even though there were seven added minutes I believe.

We’ve now got three home games in a row so no FV’s from me for a while.

First up is bottom placed Wigan. We’ll be without Kioso, who has been on very good form

 and O’Donkor for this but thankfully a red made up of two yellows only equals a one game ban. Both will be missed although we do have a squad that should be able to cover. Aaron Ramsey will have to come up with something different. He’s recently been bringing on O’Donkor to play up front with Sparky dropping back into midfield.

Just because the Latics are where they are doesn’t fool me into thinking this will be an easy game. We’ve only won one of our three games at the Kassam thus far.

Wigan beat Reading on Saturday, have only conceded two goals in their last four games and drew at Sheffield Wednesday just over a month ago.

Bradford are top, Stockport are second. They each visit in that order after Wigan. Things are really starting to hot up.