Montgomery Waters Meadow, home of Shrewsbury Town based in Shropshire. Nicknamed the “Shrews” and play in blue and yellow just like Mansfield who were drawn against them away in the FA Cup on 30th November 2019.
3 hours to get there by coach from Mansfield? Shrewsbury must be the hardest place to get to in England possibly. We did eventually get there and headed for the nearest bar for the early kick off which was Newcastle Vs Man City. The game finished 2-2 and City lose ground on the leaders Liverpool, Get in! Good start to the day for me! Let’s hope Mansfield can add to it! Quick pit stop before the game and one of the nicest fish & chips I’ve ever had, hats off Shrewsbury!! £15 to watch this FA Cup tie! Splendid!
Kick Off! Mansfield started the match with more possession but little creativity. A ball whipped into the Mansfield box, met by Dave Edwards… Wide! 10 minutes gone and a corner for Shrewsbury, ball in and Aaron Pierre’s header… OFF THE LINE! So close for Shrewsbury there. The game became an end to end affair but both teams couldn’t find a goal and the score at the break was 0-0.
A half time drink was in order and a debate over the future of current Mansfield manager John Dempster between me, the Super Stag and some other fellow Stags fans in the break out area of the ground. Some were saying in and some saying out, me personally at this point was still behind him! But don’t make me change my mind please Dempster!
Second half, a slow start to the half with no team creating any chances. An hour played and a goal kick taken by Conrad Logan, the ball fell to Jacob Mellis and a battle with Shrewsbury’s Ollie Norburn saw him blast the ball at Mellis whilst on the ground which angered the Mansfield players and fans. Red Card!! Norburn was off and Mansfield were a man up. “GET OTIS KHAN ON!!” I shouted. I believed that with Otis Khan on the pitch, Mansfield could take the game to Shrewsbury and get a result.
Mansfield did take the game to Shrewsbury but were struggling to find the killer pass to break down the Shrewsbury back line. Come on Dempster bring Otis on! 75 minutes and a chance for Shrewsbury down the left hand side, ball driven in low, IT’S DONALD LOVE!!! OH MY WORD!! HOW ON EARTH DID HE NOT SCORE??? Big let off for Mansfield there!
88 minutes and I finally had my wish and Otis Khan was about to come on for Mansfield……… Just as Shrewsbury took the lead… Daniel Udoh had the ball and went for goal which was deflected straight to Josh Laurent who put the ball away! “WE WANT DEMPSTER OUT!” Now from the Mansfield fans… And I was one of them… Mansfield threw the kitchen sink at Shrewsbury in stoppage time. 95 minutes and a break away for Shrewsbury, Daniel Udoh leading the break and he played in Brad Walker, around Conrad Logan and game over!! Celebrated right in front of us to rub it in for Mansfield.
FT: Shrewsbury Town 2-0 Mansfield Town
Ratings
- Atmosphere: 4/10 – Not many Mansfield fans in attendance today but the ones who were managed to generate some noise, Shrewsbury fans were not so loud and for a team who have a safe standing section, I did expect better from them unfortunately.
- The Ground: 6/10 – Fairly standard ground for the football league.
- Expense: 6/10 – £15 is a good price for any Football League team these days but the game at times was very dull and lacked entertainment, especially with the hatred of John Dempster by Mansfield fans.
- Overall Experience: 4/10 – A bad end to the day was what I remembered it for unfortunately and this was the game I lost faith in John Dempster which is a real shame considering his work with the youth team and playing career with Mansfield.
20/40