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Mansfield mauled by brilliant Town

Mansfield 2nd XI  0  Coalville Town 2nd XI  3

Bodykraft 2nd XI East Midlands Premier Division

  Town’s 2^nd X1 turned around their two recent horror shows to produce a superb display of controlled and disciplined hockey against a team notorious for their fighting qualities, both in aggressive and adventurous play, to pull off a thrilling and well deserved 3 – 0 victory at stronghold Goosedale.

  On a freezing, dismal day, it was soon obvious that this game was going to be won in midfield and Town wasted no time in forcing their quality on the home team. With a more determined and focused approach, Town’s midfield quartet of skipper Tony Crowie, Richard Wright, Sam Crowie and Brent Clamp took the game to the home side right from the start, and with Stuart Jobburn in the holding position behind them, Town’s defence was in no initial danger from any home advances. 

Yet despite this advantage, it was fully 15 minutes before they tested the home keeper when Niki Arnold fired just wide following a run and squared pass from Scott Meadows. At the other end, and playing a nominal back three of Glen Marston, Ian Wright and Gareth Toyer, Town’s defence was in equal control, as again, Joel Barker, in the Town goal, only needed to watch shots go wide of his posts.

  With Town in so much control, they began to pound the home side and with Meadows and Arnold running the home defence ragged, Town were unlucky to find a keeper in such good form as he kept his team in the game. However he couldn’t stop Coalville going one up at the end of the first half, when after 33 minutes, Toyer got on the end of a ball driven into the dee to slam home his first 2nd XI goal of the season. 

  The second half started with Mansfield very much on the attack but play was soon brought to a halt when 15-year-old Jordan Ward suffered an ankle injury which saw him carried from the field. When play restarted, it was Mansfield in control as they drove Town back to their 22 metre line looking for an equalizer. 

With Town’s defenders backing off so as not to give away free hits or penalty corners, Barker was at last called upon to make his contribution to the game as he pulled off some superb saves, both from shots at goal and at the feet of home forwards. With Ian Wright brilliantly marshalling the backline, and with some great tackles coming in from Marston and Toyer at his side, Town weathered this storm, and with Jobburn cleaning up in front of them, this allowed them the breathing space they needed. 

With Town now back on top, they nearly made it two when Meadows was put away down the right flank and working his way into the dee , fired a superb angled strike only for the keeper’s diving save to push the ball across the goal and to safety. Frustration grew among the home team and discipline fell, with some poor tackles coming in, but worst of all, dissent to the umpires, which resulted in a Mansfield midfielder being yellow carded after 55 minutes.   

  This put Mansfield in disarray from which Town took full advantage, going two ahead minutes later with a brilliant piece of fast attacking play. Richard Wright, who was having an outstanding game, seized on the ball in midfield to send a pinpoint pass through to Meadows who burst into the dee drawing the keeper, and although he was clattered to the floor he still managed to square the ball across the face of the goal, where Brent Clamp, running in at full speed, squeezed the ball into the net under pressure from a defender.

Although Mansfield refused to give up, Town’s defence held out well and to cap a brilliant display of hockey, they made it three right at the death with another fabulous piece of play from a battered and blooded Meadows. This time it was Tony Crowie who produced the master pass for him to run on to and as he drove into the dee , this time from the left, he was again confronted by the keeper. But again Meadows managed to square the ball across for Clamp to blast home his second and Town’s third.

Town’s brilliant team performance on such a horrid day against a tough and determined team was something to behold and if they can keep this devastating form for a few more matches, who knows where it could take them.