Brief Synopsis!!! (Mansfield)

Huge win.

I’d feel hard done by if I was a Mansfield fan. They defended well and deserved to grab a few goals in the first half. Well done to the team for getting through a tough game there!!

Bit harsh on Palmer, who tipped the original shot onto the bar only for it to come down and hit him on the head and go in.

Not sure how we survived the first 20. Could have been 4 or 5 down. Canavan MOM for me for the goal and the block, which both came at crucial times. Good performances also from Sarce, Edwards and Bakinson.

Wootton will cost us sooner or later. Never looks completely safe. Agree though that it's not necessarily wise to break up this backline at the moment.

Mansfield looked dangerous at times and I'm sure Cocko will get the best out of them. I think taking 6 points off them will look very good at the end of the season.

You’re not always going to be at your absolute best & when you can still get a grip on the game & can get a 3 1 win despite that - against a tidy Mansfield side - you know you’re on to something. This manager, this team, this club, something good happening.

Nobody had outstanding performances! next Joke, Palmer was faultless.

Stiffler":2k29o535 said:

Nobody had outstanding performances! next Joke, Palmer was faultless.

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Canavan was also exceptional.

Cobi Budge":3kc2f2cs said:

Stiffler":3kc2f2cs said:

Nobody had outstanding performances! next Joke, Palmer was faultless.

Click to expand...

Canavan was also exceptional.

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Was pulled about quite a bit First half but so were the whole defence and wing backs, great goal and what a goal line clearence, worthy of praise for that alone.

Tyreeq Bakinson is not a league two footballer. Talent.

Slightly baffling game really

Mansfield should have scored 4/5

We were sloppy in possession and played our ways into trouble sometimes

Canavan exceptional, Wootton not so

At 2-1 there was only one team that looked like scoring and it wasn’t us, but we did and ended any chance of a draw.

MotM toss up between Canavan and Bakinson.

Good games for Sarcevic, B Moore and Hardie for his cameo

a lucky win but thats a sign of a good team.as others have said the first half was diabolical and we were more than lucky to go in 1 up. Second half was a bit better and the midfield woke up a bit. No outstanding performances apart from canavan for me he was immense today and the main reason we got 3 points. Mayor looked uninterested and at best was 5/10, Cooper was ok, bakinson looks like a good player, he was involved in everything(mistakes included). Overall im more than pleased with the 3 points but Mansfield were unlucky today.

Bakinson is a quality player. Composed and strong on the ball and always picked the right pass. The lad has got one helluva future in the game. Big pat on the back for Byron as well. He glides over the ground, has a wonderful touch and more than enough pace to tidy things up when defending. Joe Edwards was his usual dependable self and did really well to get his back in front of the defender to win the penalty. Feel a bit disappointed for Alex. He kept us in the game in the first 30 mins blocking 1 on 1's and coming smartly off his line to put the Mansfield players off only to switch off a bit for their goal. I imagine he's a bit disappointed as well. Sarce kept his nerve for the peno and came into the game more so in the second half. Aside from his quality delivery for the 1st goal, I wasn't that enamoured with George's performance today. He was closed down very quickly and couldn't seem to find a way to deal with that and create himself enough space to regularly hurt the opposition. I was happy when he took the yellow for the team as Mansfield were moving into a really threatening position but I was equally happy that Lowe hooked him as I never felt comfortable down the left side especially with Danny there. As for Danny....I see a man who's confidence is shot. He was giving the ball away too many times and was regularly making the wrong decision. He was turning back inside when he already had the space to take the ball on and shoot. The left side felt so much more balanced when Byron and Tyreeq were put there in place of Danny and George. Overall though, I would say we got out of jail today. Mansfield had enough quality chances to win two games. I really liked the movement of their #22 Hamilton. He got himself in quite a few excellent positions but thankfully couldn't take his chances. Thought he was harshly carded as well for simulation. Looked to me as if Palmer clipped him and on a different day with a different ref could quite possibly have walked. Really believe that Mansfield will start climbing up the table now. More than happy that we have finished playing them this season as I'm sure they'll start taking points off teams.

Did we deserve to win? Probably not but who cares, winning games when we are not at our best = promotion.

Mansfield were one of the better teams we've seen at Home Park this season and should have been 4 or 5 up by half-time - a consequence of good goalkeeping, wasted chances and a good tackle kept our clean sheet intact and sure enough we score against the run of play to lead at half-time.
We played much better in the second half although we had to rely on a superb goal-line clearance by Niall Canavan to keep our lead, a penalty gave us breathing space until a goal from nothing by Mansfield's Cook kept the result on a knife-edge until Ryan Hardie showed what a good finisher he is.

It bodes well that we won a game where we struggled, to their credit Mansfield closed us down, pressed us high up the pitch and disrupted our usual passing game. Mansfield will easily finish in the top half.

Ryan Lowe kept faith with the same starting 11 from the Carlisle win which meant a start for 'new signing' Luke Jephcott.

The game started in dazzling bright sunshine and Mansfield held us under pressure from the first whistle, they exploited the gaps behind our two wing-backs and put Wootton and Sawyer under a lot of pressure.
Chance 1 - Palmer made a fantastic save from a close range header from Hamilton.
Chance 2 - Palmer makes another save, this time from ex-Bury striker Maynard.
Chance 3 - Hamilton misses a sitter by dragging his shot wide.
Chance 4 - Benning tries his luck but shoots wide.
Chance 5 - Hamilton shoots wide from close range.
Wootton also makes a great tackle to prevent a goal.

All this within the first 22 minutes, we really couldn't get out of our half and Mansfield should have been out of sight.
An injury to Byron Moore allowed the shell-shocked players to run to the touchline for a 'drinks break' and receive instructions from Lowe. This break allowed us to get back into the game (was Moore really injured,a tactical time out?).

Bakinson, who up to now was anonymous, hit a long range shot that cannoned off the post, this incident galvanised the team and fans and Bakinson himself who started to show strength and technique in midfield.

Hamilton was shown a yellow card for diving to try to to win a penalty. Well done ref.

We took the lead when Cooper's wand of a left foot found Canavan's head from a free-kick and he headed in at the far post.
The goal sucked the life out of Mansfield who really should have been in front.

We played much better in the second half and moved the ball quicker to negate the press from Mansfield.
Sarcevic, who I felt had a poor first half, sprung to life and pushed the team forward with his driving runs.
Moore was having an excellent game and strangely as a striker was our last defender when we had won a corner or free-kick. The complete utility player.

The second goal came from nothing, Edwards was running towards the corner flag to retrieve a loose ball and was bizarrely pushed over by White and the ref pointed to the spot. Sarcevic stepped up and thumped the ball into the roof of the net.
Graham Coughlan must be so disappointed about the penalty.

Mansfield had a great chance to get back into the game but somehow Canavan made a fantastic goal-line clearance, in truth Mansfield kept delaying a shot and chose to pass and pass which allowed Canavan time to block behind Palmer.

After all their missed sitters it was a long range shot from out of nothing that saw Mansfield finally score. Cook tried his luck from 25 yards out at an angle, his shot caught Palmer unaware who pushed the ball onto the bar but it crossed down over the line.

Anxiety crept in amongst the players and fans, would we throw away a game in which we should have been losing anyway?

The team grabbed a second wind and searched for the third goal, sure enough it came in the 91st minute when substitute Ryan Hardie latched onto a long ball and calmly side footed past the Mansfield keeper. What a cool finish.

We've played better and lost.

Jephcott didn't score and didn't really have a chance to score, he did well enough with his link up play but struggled against two big centre-backs, he just might become a little anonymous if he isn't regularly scoring goals.
Moore was excellent, a striker, last defender and eventually wing-back. The best of the ex-Bury players.

Wootton had one of his poorer games, Mansfield pressed him and singled out him and Sawyer during the first half.
Palmer made two great early saves when we were under the cosh.

Cooper struggled and didn't get involved enough or help out Sawyer when under attack and yet his set-piece delivery created a goal.
Bakinson had a very shaky first 20 minutes, much like the team, but he improved later in the game - winning tackles and driving forward. Despite his height he loses out quite a bit in heading battles. He was a little sloppy when making a supposed simple pass.
Hardie could just be a fox in the box, a goal sniffer. No disrespect to our strikers from earlier this season but Joel Grant, Taylor etc would not have scored the chance that Hardie scored.

Canavan was just immense - a goal, stopping a certain goal and calm defending.

Another win, the momentum is building and building.

Man of the match - Canavan.

Palmer 7, Wotton 5, Canavan 8, Sawyer 7, Bakinson 7, Edwards 6, Sarcevic 7, Mayor 6, Cooper 6, Jephcott 6, Moore 7. Subs - Hardie 7, Joel Grant 6, Josh Grant 6.

I'd like to see a midweek video seminar of the first 30 mins performance played back to the squad. Lowe with the pause button showing them where they should have been to stop wave after wave of Mansfield attacks.

I'm not criticising or being negative on the team - just thinking of ways that we can and should learn from an iffy start on home turf.

But momentum is on our side. New Jan signings look outstanding, including Geoff's recall (sadly he couldn't make it six in three games).

I really hope the momentum, the luck, and the relative lack of injuries continues through to April. I hate the playoffs, it's all too uncertain and fraught. I'd love automatic promotion and on current form it's possible. Especially if the wind falls out of Exeter's sails at the critical moment.

Well done to the team, to Lowey and to the fans who lifted the team at exactly the right moment. Onwards and upwards.

Thought it was Preston that gave away the penalty not White. Bakinson is a player we need to find more, he makes himself vailable all the time and his pass completion once he has it is really high, he reminds me of a Jason Jarrett who we used to have many years back.