Our tough 8 game run, almost all against promotion contenders, ends in a 1-1 draw away to Mansfield.
The Stags are flying high after clinching automatic promotion from League Two last season, sitting in 4th prior to the game. Nigel Clough’s organised, direct and physical side provided a stern test for Blues, particularly in the second half, but we will be looking back and questioning how we couldn’t put the game to bed after taking another early lead.
We ended a dominant first half with 73% possession and 12 shots on goal. A lovely 10th minute strike from Willumsson put us ahead, capitalising on great wing-play from Anderson to cut it back to the Icelandic giant. Blues continued to dominate the ball and several half chances fell to Dykes and Willumsson, with Paik and Iwata both trying attempts from range to give us the two goal cushion.
It wasn’t to be, but we went in ahead at half time.
Half time: Mansfield 0-1 Blues (Willumsson)
Nigel Clough responded with 3 half time changes, with Aden Flint being the name Blues fans are most likely to know after his career in the Championship. The 6ft 6in centre half had a clear task to prevent Dykes, who’s physicality caused Mansfield plenty of problems in the first half, from having the same impact in the second period.
I’d say it mostly worked. Blues had a couple of early chances, Dykes with a diving header and another huge chance after a ricochet. It fell back to Dykes kindly, yet he shot wide with his right foot deep inside the box. But his general play was limited, and the Stags looked more energetic as they took control of the game for the middle of the second half. Three games in a week seemingly took energy out of Blues, and Mansfield’s changes brought on fight and physicality, as they won the majority of midfield battles for a strong 20 min spell.
Their equaliser came from a free kick just on the edge of our 18 yard box. Lee Gregory fired the ball low and hard in direction of the wall, who didn’t do well enough to block the ball and Allsop couldn’t keep the ball out of his net at the near post.
Mansfield found themselves in space in and around the Blues box several times in the second half, with Evans unable to get a shot away after finding himself in behind, and McLoughlin marauding down our right hand side to produce a couple of solid stops from Allsop.
Davies made several substitutions during the second half to freshen up and impact the game, and in the final 10 minutes, Blues seemed more in control and the likelier of the two sides to find a winner. Credit to Mansfield for their second half fight back and standing tall in the final few minutes – I think a draw was a fair result in the end.
So ends this tough run of 8 fixtures, almost exclusively against promotion candidates or teams currently in the playoff picture. Blues have picked up 19 out of a possible 24 points, which over the season would average to 108 points. With our expectations and missed chances it might feel like 2 dropped points today, but we’re still well on our way for promotion back to the championship.
Full time: Mansfield 1-1 Blues (Willumsson)
Ratings
Starting XI
Ryan Allsop: 7
Allsop was his usual composed self on the ball, and was called into action to stop a couple of shots when Mansfield found themselves in space. Nothing too tricky, but did his job well. Personally think he's nailed the number 1 spot down for now.
Ethan Laird: 7
Laird looked energetic and bright for his time on the pitch. Linked play well and got into some good crossing positions before being substituted for TGH on the 71st minute.
Christoph Klarer: 5
As much as Klarer is one of my favourites and he had a good first half, I thought he struggled more in the second. Most of Mansfield's shots came down our right hand side, and he didn't quite feel his imperious self. Klarer gave away the free kick for their goal, and moved out of the wall to allow the shot through. Two costly moments.
Ben Davies: 6
Davies felt marginally better than Klarer today, but I'm not sure he was good enough to justify a 7, as he also struggled to contain Mansfield's physicality in the 2nd half.
Alex Cochrane: 7
Cochrane once again his consistent self. Intelligently picked up space, dealt well with a couple of poor passes to him in the second half and put some inviting balls into the box.
Paik Seung-Ho: 7
Not the best game from our midfield pairing. Neither managed to impose themselves on the second half as well as they do in most games, which I suspect is due to tired legs. Paik had some bright moments on the ball, and looked the more creative of the two, but not quite his usual self.
Tomoki Iwata: 6
Much of the same from Paik's midfield partner, Tomoki looked leggy as he was often crowded out by Mansfield's energetic midfield in the second half. Thought he was unlucky to pick up his booking, and his shots from distance were off target. Some rotation needed in the next week to freshen up ahead of the next League One fixture against Northampton.
Willum Þór Willumsson: 8 - Man of the Match
Willum scored with a lovely finish low to the keeper's right hand side off the post, and his general play was quality once again. Certainly had more of an impact in the first half, but used his frame, intelligence and technical ability to cause Mansfield plenty of problems at the back.
Jay Stansfield: 7
On Jay's first start since returning from injury, he played just behind Lyndon Dykes. I thought he looked more natural in this position than as a number 9, and played his part in our goal. He was however withdrawn early in the second half, and ultimately didn't have many chances to make a greater impact.
Keshi Anderson: 7
Another strong outing for Keshi Anderson. Cut the ball back really nicely to set up Willumsson, and caused their right back some serious issues throughout.
Lyndon Dykes: 6
If Dykes took even one of his chances, I'm confident we'd be talking about another win on the road. Tough to rate - I thought he used his physicality really well and is probably our most natural number 9, giving our other forwards more space to operate in. Got into some great scoring positions, which is half the challenge, but was unable to find his first goal for Blues. Can't help but feel a consistent run of games might help him.
Subs
Alfie May: 6
May really didn't have many opportunities, after initially coming on as a number 10 to be moved further forward when Dykes was substituted. Worked hard, but it was mostly defensive as Mansfield controlled a significant portion of the second half.
Luke Harris: 6
Harris returned after his long injury lay-off, and saw 20 minutes of action. Another who was unable to have much of an impact, and looked like a player who hasn't played in 2 months. I'm sure he'll find his stride with some more gametime.
Taylor Gardner-Hickman: 6
TGH came on for Laird to play his part in the final 20 minutes. We looked marginally more assured, and he made a crucial challenge one of the times Mansfield found themselves in space. Came on played his role in ensuring we took a point from the game.
Marc Leonard: 6
I'm desperate for this man to start on Tuesday night. I'm sure one of Tomoki and Paik would value the time to rest their legs, and Leonard is not far off their quality. He was brought on to control the game, struggled with the physicality like so many of his team mates, but did help us to regain control for the final 10.
Ayumu Yokoyama: 6
Had a 10 minute cameo and beat his man two or three times for pace early on. I think if we were going to get a winner, this was the avenue it was going to come down, but we were often unable to find Ayumu in space. Another sub who had limited impact, albeit with the least amount of time on the clock.
