The Alexandra Stadium, home of Crewe Alexandra based in Cheshire. 30th October 2018 and Mansfield are away to Crewe on a Tuesday night and I have the week off due to half term and me and the Super Stag are on our way. Mansfield unbeaten in 7 and looking for automatic promotion against a Crewe side in mid table.
Arrival at the ground with time to kill, time for some food and then back to the ground and the arrival of the Mansfield team bus. A handshake for me by Mansfield manager David Flitcroft, fantastic! In we go. £20 to watch this League 2 clash! Fair enough!
Kick Off! “They’re here! They’re there! They’re every f***ing where! Empty seats! Empty seats!” Where are you Crewe fans? A bright start for Mansfield who took the game to Crewe. 7 minutes gone and Jacob Mellis plays the ball to Timi Elsnik who drives forward to the edge of the Crewe area and shoots…… AND SCORES!!! 0-1 and thoroughly deserved for Mansfield. The Mansfield fans started to pipe up now drowning out any noise the Crewe fans with the drum behind the goal were making. “YELLOW & BLUE ARMY!” continuously for around 10 minutes by the Mansfield fans.
Crewe responded well and had the ball on the left which was delivered towards Shaun Miller… OH HE’S MISSED!!! 5 yards out and completely unmarked puts it wide. Big chance that! But Mansfield continued to have the upper hand in the game, 35 minutes and Mansfield come again, Danny Rose with the ball to Timi Elsnik… HE’S DONE IT AGAIN!!! 0-2 what a finish!! On the edge of the box, Elsnik fires his shot straight into the top corner! No more goals in the first half meant the score at half time was 0-2.
Second half, an early chance for Crewe, Corey Whelan with a shot at a tight angle! Straight at Bobby Olejnik in the Mansfield goal. Mansfield would ultimately have more of the ball and on the hour mark, CJ Hamilton had the ball on the left, a ball in the box low on the ground to TYLER WALKER!! It’s 3!! Backheel into the net from close range and Mansfield have surely won it now! Straight from the restart and Mansfield regained possession of the ball and played a lovely passing move to the delight of the travelling Mansfield fans. The ball was on a plate for CJ Hamilton! What a goal this could be… He’s put it wide… “Timi on a hat trick! Timi on a hat trick! Nana na na! Nana na na!” Unfortunately Timi Elsnik would not complete his hat trick and the score remained 0-3.
FT: Crewe Alexandra 0-3 Mansfield Town
Ratings
- Atmosphere: 5/10 – The travelling Mansfield fans enjoyed themselves with only a little noise from the Crewe end.
- The Ground: 6/10 – It’s an OK ground all in all.
- Expense: 7/10 – £20 is decent, especially when you see a fantastic performance from your team.
- Overall Experience: 8/10 – I enjoyed the game and the night as a whole, great performance, fun in the away end and a handshake from the gaffer!
26/40