Mansfield Town (U18s) 1-0 Doncaster Rovers (U18s)

Mansfield Town (U18s) 1-0 Doncaster Rovers (U18s)

Football League Youth Alliance

Saturday 13th March 2021

Mansfield's training ground where the game was played (Photo: Rob Waite).

Things need to get better (and quickly!) for Doncaster Rovers' youth team after another underwhelming showing in a 1-0 defeat to Mansfield Town.

Jack Deakin - the best player on the pitch, scored the only goal when he turned and found the top corner with an effort from the edge of the box on the half-hour mark. That only tells half the story though as Rovers had two penalties saved with Liam Ravenhill and skipper Lewis Cunningham being the guilty parties who couldn't convert from 12 yards.

The contest was heavily affected by strong winds whilst a couple of sporadic hail showers made life difficult, but the overall display from the team in red and white hoops, once again, left plenty to be desired.

Being totally honest, Rovers' performance was a continuation from last week's defeat to Notts County - it was far too disjointed, it was naive, it was littered with sloppiness and individual mistakes, it was tough to watch because it was that poor at times and it simply doesn't reflect well on the players involved. 

I'd go as far as saying it's the worst team display that I've seen from the Under 18s over the past two seasons - and that isn't being flippant, it was just genuinely that bad.

Mansfield weren't exceptional by any stretch of the imagination - something which is reflected by their lowly league position this year and, if anything, the conditions favoured them the least because it was a day to get the ball down, play, move it well and show composure in possession. 

They should have been beaten - and maybe a more confident team would have swept them aside? The weather factor should have played into Rovers' hands, but it didn't, and ultimately there are too many could have's, should have's or would have's about this game.

Mansfield won because they were much more organised, kept their shape better (something which was obvious from an elevated vantage point), kept their discipline, worked harder and each player grafted for the team-mate next to him. 

Granted, they had two lucky breaks with the penalty saves, but on the flip side Jack Deakin 'bullied' the centre-back pairing of Michael Nesbitt and Charlie Petch - using his strength and hold-up play to very good effect and produced a quality finish in what was the Stags' only shot on target.

For Rovers though there is so much to reflect on, think about and improve!

It always seems to be windy at Mansfield's Woburn Lane training complex and this occasion was no different. Therefore, it took some time for both sets of players to adapt to the challenging conditions and unlike last season's meeting, which Rovers won 2-1 and was played on grass, this game was played on the adjacent 4G pitch.

The only opening of any real note in the early stages came when Lewis Cunningham saw a low, 20-yard free-kick (taken from a similar position to where he scored in February's win at Lincoln City) comfortably saved by Stags' 'keeper Owen Mason.

Otherwise, both teams struggled to retain the ball early on - it was niggly, scrappy, too many passes went astray, it wasn't pretty and there wasn't much going on in terms of goalmouth action or encouraging build-up play, or anything really.

Nevertheless, Rovers soon had a solid minute-long spell of possession inside Mansfield's half which began when Tom Henson (who offered perhaps Rovers' best attacking threat) battled and won the ball back on the right flank, but despite stringing about 15-20 passes together in an attempt to work their opponents, the hosts regained and retained their shape and possession was eventually given away.

Corie Cole was then flagged offside a few minutes later as a move which could have been promising broke down and things remained quiet in both boxes.

Mansfield hadn't done an awful lot up to this point. They'd had a couple of corners (one of which was won by careless stupidity at the back), showed bits and pieces of promise - moving the ball well through the middle on one occasion too, but not done an awful lot. Out of everyone, Jonty Bouch, the skipper who sat infront of the back four, had been more involved than anyone else in an amber shirt and vocal with it.

It was apparent that Jack Deakin, playing up top, was a threat and he soon underlined his importance with a very good goal. The first-year forward received the ball with his back to goal on the edge of the box, showed excellent strength to 'pin' and prevent any sort of challenge from Charlie Petch and then turned and unleashed a peach of a strike into the top corner. Rovers 'keeper Ben Bottomley had no chance!

The goal ensured Donny's ignominy of having not kept a clean-sheet yet this season continues but between that strike and half-time Rovers at least showed some signs of life and that a fightback might happen - especially when they won a penalty after Alex Wolny's strength and subsequent lay-off inside the Stags' penalty area, resulted in Will Hollings being clumsily fouled - leaving the referee with no other option than to point to the spot.

Liam Ravenhill stepped up from 12 yards and although his effort was low and towards the corner, it lacked sufficient power and Mason was able to get down well and make a save. 

Some harsh words were no doubt delivered by the coaching staff at the interval and it was certainly needed because the players would have known themselves that they're capable of much more than what they actually delivered. Although Mansfield had been difficult to break down and their shape was very good, there was plenty of things lacking (not least in an attacking sense) from a Rovers perspective.

Within a couple of minutes of the re-start, the Stags managed to concede another spot-kick - this time for a careless handball from an attempted delivery into the danger zone. Cunningham - continuing to stand-in as captain in Ethan Bojang's absence, shouldered the responsibility this time but his subsequent effort was even more tame than Ravenhill's earlier attempt, lacking both power and conviction, and Mason guessed correctly to make another stop.

A period of pressure continued with Cunningham going closer with a cross-shot from wide out on the left flank which looked as if it might creep into the net at one point. The left-back then tried his luck with a ridiculous pot-shot from 30-35 yards which flew harmlessly wide, whilst Ravenhill went no closer from a free-kick in slightly closer range. Mason also made an actual save following a low shot from either Owan Derrett (who was introduced on roughly the hour mark) or Tom Henson, but all too often the final ball into the box just didn't exist and things broke down too far away from goal.

Luca Nelson, on around 75 minutes, was also introduced to try and add some life to Rovers' attacking threat but quality, composure and courage, in many ways, were non-existent throughout because it was so scrappy and bad to watch.

At the other end, Bottomley was a virtual spectator. The impressive Deakin; the hosts' best player and main threat, continued to get the better of Rovers' two centre-halves before he was eventually substituted - probably through exhaustion as he'd worked hard for the cause and created a very good impression.

As the final whistle drew closer, so did a hail shower, along with stifling tactics from Mansfield aimed at frustrating their opponents. It worked and Nesbitt was unlucky not to provoke a melee when he attempted to get the ball back with a little too much enthusiasm from Mansfield coach Mike Whitlow, who actually put his arm across his own player to prevent a scuffle from breaking out.

Minutes later, the game drew to a close. The Stags were fortunate in some ways to win when you consider the penalty saves, but that's immaterial because despite Rovers being better in terms of pure footballing ability, they'd not demonstrated it anywhere near enough or anywhere near effectively, and were very much second best in showing all the other attributes needed to get a result. 

As a collective, the team display was well below a good standard - there was too much carelessness, too much sloppiness, too much naivety, too much individuality, not enough hard work or clever work in the right areas and if this is replicated in the upcoming re-arranged FA Youth Cup tie at Peterborough United, which is scheduled for next Friday, then they're not going to get a good result. Instead, they'll get hammered - that's the reality!

Going through the players individually, Ben Bottomley didn't actually have a save to make. The goal was a top corner finish and therefore fault can't be pointed towards him for not keeping it out. The shot shouldn't have been allowed to come in anyway, and the problems lay elsewhere on the pitch.

Michael Nesbitt and Charlie Petch, the centre-back pairing, both had poor games and their partnership didn't work. In Petch's defence, though he shouldn't have been 'pinned' for the goal and should have put a challenge in, he was the youngest player on the pitch and needed good leadership from everyone else around him - something which was completely lacking. Given that he has a two-year scholarship to come - the exposure to a decent forward yesterday is going to serve as a good learning curve to what to expect from this level. He's played in some other games recently, done okay, but there are things to learn from this experience. In my view, he'll get better with more games and this defeat isn't necessarily a bad one for him on a personal level because there's a big opportunity to learn and get better.

Nesbitt, alongside him, just didn't perform well. The pairing didn't work and his passing was more 'miss' than 'hit' - something which has been an unfortunate trait recently. He's capable of performing so much better because he's done it before and whilst the 'edge' to his game isn't necessarily a bad thing in my eyes, he's got to be cleverer about it. For example, if Whitlow had reacted differently to the incident in the closing minutes, it could easily have resulted in punishment (i.e. a red card) from the referee as it's almost certain a melee would have broken out.

Elsewhere, playing at left-back, Lewis Cunningham had a game to forget. His set-piece deliveries and crosses into the box were very inconsistent and the penalty was awful; the less which gets said about it, the better! In open play, he wasn't bad, but overall, it was a personal performance still below his usually high standards.

At right-back, Charlie Bell got better after some sloppiness early on and overlapped with Tom Henson a few times, which wasn't a bad thing as it least offered some shoots of an attacking threat. Nobody would deserve more than a '6 / 10' if players were given ratings for their performance, but he'd be up there as one of the better ones - he could have just done with a few team-mates showing the same hunger, desire and team-work ethic.

In midfield, things didn't function between Will Hollings and Liam Ravenhill.

Hollings has talent but needs to be pulling the strings more often. He went down easily a few times in the early stages and, consequentially, was possibly perceived by Mansfield as someone they could target and get success from - they didn't do that as things transpired, but there's a lot of room for improvement from him and he needs to produce a big individual performance which he can glean confidence from and use as his springboard to announce his arrival as a key player. 

Alongside him, Ravenhill had more of the ball, tried to get things going on some occasions but again, it just didn't happen for him in this game. His penalty miss was unfortunate - there might have been an element of telepathy from the 'keeper in reading which way he'd go, but if he'd put his foot through it then it may well have ended up in the back of the net.

On the right, Tom Henson was okay in possession and also in an attacking sense - probably offering the best attacking threat throughout the team. His driving runs almost caused a couple of openings, including one instance at 0-0 where he'd ridden a challenge and was in a perfect position to let fly, only for play to be brought back by the referee. He was involved in winning the first spot-kick which came about in not too dissimilar fashion and his link-up play wasn't bad, but out of possession, he could have done more - such as pressing the opposition as was noted in one specific occasion in the first period.

On the left, Tavonga Kuleya did little bits and pieces, has improved as the season has gone on, though his overall involvement in this game wasn't significant - nor was that from Owan Derrett, who came on to replace him (on the back of an ineffective showing last week against Notts County), but did get a shot away at least.

Elsewhere, whilst Corie Cole is arguably the best player in terms of technical ability and intelligence, his contribution to the cause wasn't very much in this game. He's got so much skill yet only had a handful of touches in his time on the pitch, didn't get involved enough, and there were negative things such as sloppiness in possession, being caught offside (just look across the line and hold your run!) and when these are accumulated together, it becomes a bigger issue. There was a definite need to do more and it didn't happen in this game.

Alex Wolny's hold-up play and strength couldn't be faulted, in my opinion, and it was his ability which played by far the major part in winning the first spot-kick. He also demonstrated that same strength (which has notably gone up a few notches recently) during other periods and if he was a regular goalscorer, he'd be one of, if not the best forward, at any team in the Youth Alliance League. However, whilst he didn't sometimes get into good enough positions or gamble enough in this game, he needed more support from those around him and he didn't get it - hence a frustrating afternoon!

Of the other substitutes who received game-time, Luca Nelson wasn't on the pitch for long enough to make any major impact and Dan Wilds, likewise, couldn't alter what was already a very poor game. Max Jemson, who came on late following a long spell out injured, was probably the most positive thing to happen because he won his headers, looked composed, was generally alright and can't be faulted.

Overall, it was desperately disappointing and there are plenty of things which need to happen before the game at Peterborough United next Friday (19th March).

No player did themselves justice or performed well enough to cement a place in the starting line-up for the upcoming FA Youth Cup tie. Those lads who don't feature will only have themselves to blame for losing their shirt when a solid display at Mansfield could have ensured another start.

The big positive is that this defeat has only be seen by a limited audience whereas the Peterborough contest might be streamed live on YouTube next Friday (though it's still to be confirmed) - thus meaning everyone from across the world; supporters, scouts, agents, coaches, managers, can watch.

A good first impression is there to be made... just like Jack Deakin made a good one in this game, but that's only going to be done by hard work, performing together and producing the goods.

However, if the lads replicate how they collectively performed at Mansfield when they meet Peterborough then they're only going to let themselves down and it'll be a long afternoon.

A win would ensure a home tie in Round Four. For some players at the end of their two-year scholarships who already know their fate in regards to earning a pro contract, winning at Peterborough is the only way to ensure they'll get to play at the Keepmoat Stadium.

It's the biggest match of the season and, once again, things needs to be a million times better. It's down to the lads to regroup and deliver a big display rather than being stuck at 'Groundhog Day' and experiencing yet more frustration...

Team: Ben Bottomley, Lewis Cunningham, Charlie Petch (Max Jemson), Michael Nesbitt, Charlie Bell, Tom Henson, Will Hollings (Luca Nelson), Liam Ravenhill, Tavonga Kuleya (Owan Derrett), Corie Cole (Dan Wilds), Alex Wolny. Unused Sub: Luke Chadwick.