Mansfield Town (U18s) 2-0 Doncaster Rovers (U18s)

Mansfield Town (U18s) 2-0 Doncaster Rovers (U18s)

EFL Youth Alliance Cup

Saturday 25th September 2021

Trends which are a significant cause for concern are developing because this was another humbling defeat for Doncaster Rovers' youngsters against Mansfield Town. 

Having been out-played and out-fought by the Stags in a 4-0 reverse at Cantley Park just a fortnight ago, this time Rovers went down 2-0 in an EFL Youth Alliance Cup encounter - a loss which means they're now already out of the competition with one game still to play.

The overall team performance left a lot to be desired as the lads were once again dictated to (and even bullied to a large extent) by stronger, cleverer and more physical opponents who had the proverbial grit between their teeth and wanted it more. Mansfield might not always possess the most technically-gifted of players but they're extremely good and well-drilled in what they do and their victory was both comfortable and deserved. Nobody can have any complaints about the outcome.

Jack Deakin capitalised on some sloppy defending to open the scoring on 20 minutes before Bobby Faulkner's own goal within a minute of the re-start left Doncaster with a mountain to climb - one which they didn't ever really look capable of doing.

It's a trait now that against opponents with a 'pure football' ethos, Rovers do well. Against physical opponents, they don't do well - and considering this is now the third defeat already this term to opponents in the latter category (the other coming against Grimsby Town), the latest setback needs to serve as a big reality check to the lads of where they're really at in footballing terms. For it to happen three times, it just isn't a coincidence nor can it be considered as one.

The lack of a midfield enforcer - probably not seen in the youth team since the AJ Greaves days, is apparent, but with personnel unlikely to change anytime soon the lads quickly need to adapt as best they possibly can and figure out how is best to compete against that certain calibre of opponent that they struggle against. 

If they don't, then the reality is we're only going to be here again further down the line.

Arguably the most frustrating aspect of what unfolded is that Mansfield didn't exactly create a raft of openings; proof of that being Rovers 'keeper Luke Chadwick only made one save of any note which was in a one-on-one just after the second goal. It could even be argued that the Stags' opener came against the run of the play to some degree as well.

However, Rovers' overall performance was poor. Too many direct balls forward only served to concede possession on far too many occasions, the midfield didn't get on the ball enough (and when they did it was too late in the game and they were often easily knocked off it), nor was any player fully able to exploit the space in wide areas which Mansfield allowed due to their shape. There was a litany of individual errors and it's a collective display which needs plenty of reflection and plenty of quick learning from.

The line-ups suggested that Doncaster may have had a decent chance of coming out on top as Mansfield chose not to field any first-year professionals (as they did in the game a fortnight ago). Ethan Hill and Nathan Caine, both of whom featured at Cantley Park, have now been loaned out to non-league teams to gain vital senior experience and their absences, along with those of quite a few of their second-year players, meant the hosts' xi was mainly that of first-year scholars. Owen Mason - in my opinion the best 'keeper seen anywhere in the EFL Youth Alliance for some time wasn't included, so Louie Turner deputised between the posts.

Rovers' line-up was pretty much as expected though attacking options were limited and there was no involvement for Ethan Harrison, Alex Wolny, Tavonga Kuleya or Owen Scattergood for a range of different reasons.

The opening stages of the game were largely scrappy and devoid of any major chances. 

Jack Raper did get a 25-yard free-kick on target for Doncaster after Will Hollings was brought down but this was routinely saved by Turner. There were also a couple of set-piece situations which lacked a quality delivery as Dan Wilds' deep free-kick was claimed under zero pressure whilst a Corie Cole corner didn't pose any problems as it didn't beat the first man.

At the opposite end, Mansfield's only chance in the first quarter-of-an-hour came when a speculative snap-shot bounced wide of Luke Chadwick's left-hand post.

However, with 20 minutes played, the Stags opened the scoring. A quick one-two following a throw-in resulted in a ball being flashed all the way across the six-yard box and with no defender able to make any connection, it was recycled back towards Deakin who stabbed it goalwards beyond Chadwick. Appeals for offside, which it probably wasn't, fell on deaf ears and the goal stood. It was a blow for Rovers as they'd been on the front foot for much of the previous 10 minutes or so, but now found themselves in a battle to get back on level terms.

Gradually from this point onwards, Mansfield's physicality and work-rate became more noticeable and although Donny did carve out a few openings, their overall play and retention of the ball required plenty of room for improvement.

Jak Whiting produced the first quality delivery into a dangerous area with a left-wing cross from open play to pick Jack Goodman whose header from inside the area bounced narrowly wide. Goodman later broke away in a counter-attack in the minutes leading up to half-time but, having taken too many touches and kept the ball at his feet despite there being both an opportunity and angle to shoot, the move was prematurely halted by an extremely late flag from the linesman.

At the other end, some concentrated defending by Bobby Faulkner saved Raper from embarrassment after the midfielder chose to keep the ball in play and knocked it backwards to inadvertently set-up a Mansfield counter-attack.

The half-time whistle couldn't come soon enough though. Rovers' performance had been poor and too many long balls had resulted in possession being lost cheaply. There was a severe need for both improvement and for players to want the ball, to get on it, drive forward and force issues.

Initially, the start to the second half seemed promising enough as two corners were won within the first two minutes, though it ultimately proved to be Doncaster's undoing.

The second set-piece delivery was cleared by the Stags' defence and after covering defender Alex Fletcher failed to win a header midway inside the hosts' half, with nobody else covering behind him it led to a quick four-on-one breakaway. Faulkner sprinted back and recovered some ground whilst Diego Edwards' poor touch allowed Chadwick to advance just past the edge of his own box and get to the ball first. However, his intended clearance ricocheted off either Faulkner or Edwards, diverting the ball goalwards where it ended up in the back of the net - and an already difficult-looking task was now even greater.

Things could have then got even worse because within the blink of an eye from re-starting play, Mansfield's 'high press' resulted in Faulkner being dispossessed by Edwards on the edge of his own box. Chadwick was quick and alert in reading the immediate danger and produced a smothering save at the feet of an attacker who received the ball and got a shot away.

After this mistake by Faulkner and the bigger set-back of having gone 2-0 down, in all fairness to the Rovers players, they enjoyed their best spell of pressure during proceedings which lasted up until around the hour mark and saw them create a series of half-decent openings.

In the immediate aftermath of the aforementioned opportunity where Chadwick produced a save, the defence cleared their lines and sprung a counter-attack where Tom Parkinson was involved in some positive play which helped stretch the Stags defence. It culminated in Whiting having a goalbound effort deflected wide at the expense of a corner - from which Faulkner headed over despite being in an unmarked position.

Hollings was soon the victim of a pscything knee-high tackle which was ridiculously only punished by a yellow card - leaving even some of the Mansfield-supporting parents on the sidelines flabbergasted as they knew it should have been a straight red card.

The intensity of the game was better at this point and in Fletcher's last major involvement before he was replaced by Faris Khan which brought about a change in shape, the full-back was guilty of not unleashing a shot when he caught a glimpse of goal inside the hosts' penalty area.

Hollings came closest to pulling a goal back for Doncaster with a low 20-yard drive which came back off the post after a corner was only partially cleared away, but that was as good as it got because from this point onwards things fizzled out and Mansfield never seemed under too much more pressure.

The Stags lost Deakin to injury after the big striker pulled up whilst chasing the ball down and he was replaced on the frontline by Colt Reynolds who possessed a deceptively half-decent turn of pace and boasted quite a bustling physique. 

Josh Lindley was also introduced from the Rovers' bench for the last 20 minutes following a spell out injured and showed some neat and tidy touches - demonstrating a willingness to get on the ball and pick out some passes to get things going. His influence alone wasn't anywhere near enough to change what seemed to be a foregone conclusion in regards to the final outcome though.

The closest that the visitors came to a goal during the closing stages was when Parkinson and Wilds combined in a move which saw the ball flicked up for the Rovers skipper to hit and his connection forced a save - albeit a routine one for the Mansfield 'keeper.

The full-time whistle brought the curtain down on a disappointing display and the fact that the post-match debrief lasted for some time afterwards proves there were plenty of things that needed to be dissected and many lessons that can be learned. 

What was produced simply fell some distance short of what's required to beat Mansfield or any physical team for that matter. Across the pitch, as a collective, things were disjointed, it seemed jaded, poor on both quality and in decision-making at times and the lads allowed themselves to be dictated to, bullied, and easily beaten.

None of the lads can come out of it with a vast amount of credit, barring an odd one or two exceptions such as Josh Lindley (and that was only a positive 20-minute showing from when he came on) or Jak Whiting (who tried to exploit the space in wide areas and produced a bit of quality at times with his delivery). Others showed tiny snippets of good things - some more so than others, but that needed to happen an awful lot more for it to be effective and influence the scoreline. Others, individually, just had poor games considering the expectations/standards which they'll have for themselves and they'll know that - hence why I won't 'dig out' anyone specifically. 

Another frustrating aspect, which is a big concern, is that the lads didn't force the issue anywhere near enough, or want to get on the ball and drive with it until after they were 2-0 behind - by which point it was already too late and far too much of an uphill battle. There were way too many direct balls from the back which Mansfield's defence gratefully lapped up and it made things really comfortable for them.

Considering that this Stags team was young (and, in my opinion, potentially one of the more inexperienced xi's they've fielded over the past few years), the performance/result must act as a stark reality check. Had Mansfield fielded their 'big dogs' (i.e. Ethan Hill and their other first-year pros, along with some more of their second-year scholars) then their winning margin would only have been more emphatic.

Having watched this Rovers team regularly, and disregarding this performance altogether, it's obvious that they're capable of doing well and expressing themselves positively against opponents with a footballing ethos and I've said consistently that at some point they will beat a team convincingly by a decent scoreline. 

Sadly, however, on the flip side of that statement, unless there is a quick and significant improvement, they're only going to be on the end of more heavy defeats against teams who employ a direct, physical or combative approach. The next of such opponents will be Rotherham United in October.