PREVIEW: The Stags are next up

Tuesday night away game for the Blues

6 December 2021

United return to league action on Tuesday night when they head to the One Call stadium.

bits

The Stags made a move in the free agent market in October when they captured midfielder John-Joe O'Toole on a short-term deal until January.

The 33-year-old had been out of contract since leaving Burton Albion at the end of last season.

Having racked up over 450 career appearances he joined at a time when an upturn in results was needed.

"John-Joe is a player we know well from our time at Burton," Nigel Clough told the club's official site."He is competitive, aggressive at times, and good in the air, which is something we also need.

"With us currently being low on playing personnel through injuries, it's ideal for both us and him to join us and see how it goes."

opposition

November was a good month for Tuesday night's opponents with a bit of a giant-killing setting things off when they dumped Sunderland out of the FA Cup courtesy of a fifth minute goal from Rhys Oates at the Stadium of Light.

They put the Newcastle United U21 team to the sword four days later with a 6-3 Papa John's Trophy home win, and the upward trend continued when they overcame Stevenage by 2-1 on their own patch.

Scunthorpe were next to be dealt with - that was a 3-1 home success - but a hiccup was on the way when Sutton United proved to be stubborn hosts. They scored twice to send the Stags home with nothing.

The response was swift, with a 2-1 away win at Crawley bringing a busy month to a close.

Saturday took them to Doncaster for FA Cup round two action and a brace from George Lapslie was complemented by a decent finish from Will Forrester as the Stags pulled off a cup 'shock' to secure their place in the next stage of the competition.

who watch

26-year-old forward Rhys Oates is our one to watch on Tuesday night.

Three of the four goals he's bagged this season have come in his last five outings, so he's found a vein of confidence that will stand both him and his team in good stead.

He's had a total of 25 shots in league games, with a 40% conversion rate, and he knows how to put himself about both inside and outside the area.

Click HERE to purchase a match pass which will allow you to WATCH to this fixture via our match streaming service.

This fixture is streamed live as part of the EFL midweek fixture agreement.

With match commentary provided by BBC Radio Cumbria, this is a fantastic way to follow your team through the season.

Match audio passes are available for ALL EFL league games - click HERE to find out more about this season’s iFollow United service.

highlights

	Carlisle wins	Draws	Mansfield wins
League	29	18	31
Cup	0	0	1
FA Cup	2	1	0
Total	31	19	32

Carlisle were at Field Mill in March 2021 and it was Ozzy Zanzala who gave the Blues a lead on 66 minutes. Any thoughts of a win were wiped away when Stephen McLaughlin equalised with 10 minutes left to play.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

These two sides came together pre-Christmas in 2020 with the Stags heading north to Brunton Park. A neat pass from Jack Armer was complemented by a stunning finish from Omari Patrick, and that goal proved to be the difference between the sides on the day.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

A visit to Mansfield was on the cards just ahead of the Covid lockdown in February 2020. It turned into an exciting encounter as Nicky Maynard put the home side two goals to the good. Elliot Watt and Josh Kayode struck back late in the day to earn the Blues a hard-earned draw.

These teams met at the start of the 2019/20 season when the Stags came north to Brunton Park. It was a game where United struggled to get going and they were undone early in the game by a deep cross to the back post. Danny Rose arrived late to smash it into the net. The advantage was doubled on the stroke of half time, and that's how it stayed as the visitors went away with a 2-0 victory.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Carlisle United 3 - 2 Mansfield Town - Saturday 5 January 2019

Mansfield Town 1 - 0 Carlisle United - Saturday 1 September 2018

officials

Referee - Neil Hair
Assistant Referee - Paul Graham
Assistant Referee - Wayne Grunnill
Fourth Official - Steven Rushton
Observer - John Jones

Our referee for this game is Mr Neil Hair.

Neil has taken charge of 15 games so far this season and has shown 44 yellow cards and three reds.

This is only the second time he has taken charge of a fixture involving Carlisle United.

We first met him back in October 2018 when we drew 2-2 at Sincil Bank. Ashley Handesan twice put the away side ahead but Michael O'Connor and Bruno Andrade bagged for the Imps, with all four goals coming in the first half. No names were taken on the night.

tickets

Tickets will be available to purchase on match day.

There will be a £2 increase per age category for match day tickets; cash only sales, as there are no card facilities at the away end.

Please note, young adults must show ID and are advised to bring it with them on the day of the game.

Dates of sale:

Date	Time
Sunday 5 December	Closed
Monday 6 December	10am - 4pm

Prices:

Adult	£23
Senior 65+	£20
Young Adult 18-21	£17
Junior 7-17	£14
Under 7	FoC
Carer	FoC

The admission price for disabled supporters with a carer is based upon their relevant age category.

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Methods of purchase:

In person – come to the main ticket office in the Pioneer Stand at the designated time. Ticket sales on home match days will be from the West Stand ticket office.

Phone – ring the ticket office on 0330 094 5930 at the designated times and pay with a credit / debit card.

Internet – click HERE and follow the online instructions.

Match Reports

MATCH REPORT: Mansfield 1 - 0 United

Report from the Tuesday night away game

7 December 2021

United were back on the road following a run of four home games with a trip through the rigours of Storm Barra to Mansfield.

There were two changes from Saturday's FA Cup meeting with Shrewsbury with Jon Mellish back from his suspension and Jordan Gibson moved up and into the starting eleven.

Both sides had flirtations in each other's halves early in the game, with a Lapslie cross cleared and a Guy free kick allowed to skip through, but it stayed tight with the defences doing their jobs.

But the Stags had the lead with just six minutes on the clock when Charsley pulled wide with the ball. He fed it back to Hewitt, and his deep delivery found McLaughlin completely unmarked at the far post. He thundered a powerful header into the back of the net from close range.

Dickenson and Armer combined to try to fashion an early response and the drilled pass into the six-yard area had Abrahams interested. Bishop was off his line smartly and he pulled the ball out of the air.

A looped, high corner from Guy followed and Dickenson battled with his marker to get a touch. His header had direction but it was easy for Bishop to take.

Abrahams was tenacious when a pass was floated down the right flank, and he shrugged Forrester out of the way before angling his run at the area. His shot curled but the stopper had watched it all the way.

Mansfield worked their way through the middle of the park when Lapslie came out of a tackle with the ball at his feet in the centre circle. Bowery took over, and he sent Charsley clean through, dead central. His shot was saved on the stretch by Howard, and Maris sprinted in to try to finish it off. His toe poke took a touch off the recovering McDonald and flew over the bar.

The Stags came again when Quinn overlapped on the left and his low cross had to be hooked away by Feeney.

Dickenson and Whelan almost picked a path at the other end, and a corner brought an inswinger from the left winger that was met at the front stick by McDonald. That header was going in until a touch from O'Toole sent it wide.

Another deep set piece caught Charsley off-balance and his miscued header caused all kinds of problems as it dropped out of the night sky. Bishop tipped it onto the bar, but it fell invitingly onto the line. The alert glovesman was the first to react and he gathered it in with some amount of relief.

Mansfield became wasteful with possession and Young was onto a loose pass in a flash, before he set off on a run. He rolled it to Abrahams, and his instinctive piledriver from 28-yards was straight at Bishop.

More good work from Young earned a corner as he twisted and turned his way past two challenges, and United kept the pressure on as they looked to find the telling ball. That almost came when Guy nicked it back as he latched onto a clearance on the left wing. He let one fly and it took a wicked deflection, leaving Bishop as a spectator on the floor. He was relieved once again to see it spin away to safety.

The start to the second period was scrappy, and it wasn't until the 59th minute that either side made headway. That came when Guy sent Whelan wide, but the cross looped onto the roof of the net.

Mansfield showed when McLaughlin skipped into the box to cut it back for Bowery to strike. He dummied, and Hewitt arrived to lift it into space. Bowery lunged to volley but that was charged down.

Substitute Kelvin Mellor had a low delivery from the right swiped away just after he came on, and Dickenson earned a corner when his clipped pass came off O'Toole.

It was a better spell from the visitors, and they thought they'd scored when Dickenson delivered a wicked corner to the front post. Fishburn flicked it, and it was going in until it struck a body - possibly Morgan Feeney - on the line.

United came again and Mellor went for it from distance. Dickenson helped it on its way, but his toe poke sent it high and into the stands.

Chances were at a premium, with frustration for both teams as good situations went begging. Carlisle kept going, and Fishburn found the ball at his feet inside the box in time added on. Three yellow shirts converged to smother the moment.

And Gibson was denied when he unleashed a cruncher from 23-yards. Bishop was beaten, but it smashed against the bar and dropped too far out of reach of the onrushing strikers.

Mellish glanced a difficult header wide as the seconds ran out, and the same player won a free kick with what was almost certain to be the last attack of the night. Dickenson took it, but it whipped untouched into the keeper's hands.

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Goals

Mansfield Town - McLaughlin (6)

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Bookings

Mansfield Town - Bowery (64), O'Toole (70)

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Teams

Mansfield Town - Bishop, McLaughlin, Hewitt, Charsley, Bowery, Maris (Sinclair 86), Quinn (c), Forrester (Rawson 57), Stirk, Lapslie, O'Toole. Subs - Shelvey (gk), Nartey, Burke, Law, Gale.

Carlisle United - Howard, Whelan, McDonald, Feeney, Armer, Gibson, Mellish, Guy (c) (Mellor 64), Dickenson, Abrahams (Fishburn 64), Young (Devine 78). Subs - Norman (gk), Dinzeyi, Charters, Mampala.

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Match officials

Referee - Neil Hair
Assistant Referee - Paul Graham
Assistant Referee - Wayne Grunnill
Fourth Official - Steven Rushton
Observer - John Jones

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Attendance - 3,695 (133)