The amber and blues needed to win their postponed fixture against the Dale to remain in the hunt for a promotion spot. They delivered that with a scrappy performance at times, however, a win is a win and it moves them closer to the play-offs and automatic promotion once more.
Nigel Clough made some personnel changes ahead of the clash in Greater Manchester as John-Joe O’Toole and James Perch partnered up at the heart of the defence, Matty Longstaff and Stephen Quinn returned to the midfield and Oli Hawkins linked up with Rhys Oates upfront.
The match started off very slowly as the two sides looked to get a spell of possession under their belts and steadily build their way up towards goal.
Oates had the first shot on target of the game as he fired a shot goalwards from outside the box, however, it was a tame effort that Jay Lynch comfortably saved.
Moments later, Stephen McLaughlin delivered one of his signature crosses. The ball found Hawkins but the forward’s tame effort failed to trouble the goalkeeper.
Tahvon Campbell had a brilliant chance to get a shot away after an Elliott Hewitt mistake. The forward robbed the ball off the Stags full-back but failed to keep his effort down as it went over the crossbar.
Rochdale continued to ask questions of the Mansfield defence as they put the visitors under pressure. Max Clark drilled the ball across the face of goal looking to find a teammate with none of the Dale players attacking it.
After it was partially cleared by the amber and blues, James Ball saw the ball land at his feet but saw his effort blocked.
At the epicentre of everything good for the Stags was Oates as he looked to link-up play, fire in crosses and take some shots of his own.
The best chance of the half fell to Murphy who fired a lovely curling effort but it failed to hit the target as the two sides went into the break level at 0-0.
Clough reshuffled the formation for the second half as Hawkins stepped into a three-man backline alongside Perch and O’Toole with Hewitt and McLaughlin operating as wing-backs and Murphy moving upfront.
Matt Done was a dangerman for the Dale in the second half as he found pockets of space and had a few chances. However, his efforts did not really trouble Nathan Bishop and the clock ticked down with the score still at 0-0.
In the 58th minute, Ryan Stirk picked out the Murphy who looked destined to open the scoring. Unfortunately, the forward did not do enough as the Rochdale defence recovered quickly to stop him from shooting.
Lynch was forced into making a quick reaction save after Murphy clipped the ball into Oates who powerful drove the ball goalwards but the Rochdale goalkeeper was alert to the danger and palmed the ball away.
Stags’ number seven had another fantastic opportunity as Matty Longstaff picked him out. The angle was against him however and his effort clipped the outside of the post with the amber and blues getting more and more closer to a goal.
Alex Newby and Conor Grant both had chances blocked or easily saved by Bishop as the match was won with four minutes of normal time left.
O’Toole intercepted the ball and found the run of Oates. The forward intelligently ran towards the byline and crossed it into the box for Bowery to power home.
Rochdale threw the kitchen sink at the amber and blues for the final minutes of the game but Mansfield held onto the win and earn a big three points.
Ultimately, the performance did not matter as a scrappy game from the Stags’ perspective saw them pick up a victory on the road and close the gap on the promotion places.
For the Dale, they record their second consecutive defeat and will be hoping to pick up results in the final nine games of the campaign to avoid a shock relegation.
Mansfield Town now take on another away trip with relegation-threatened Oldham Athletic welcoming the amber and lues to Boundary Park this weekend.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”609″ heading=”EFL” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1072″ heading=”News” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
Returning drivers and rookies put their skills on display at the Bahrain Grand Prix as two drivers emerged victorious to pick up more silverware in the top junior category.
Jack Doohan transitioned to Virtuosi Racing for the 2022 season after his short stint with MP Motorsport at the back end of the previous campaign.
The Formula 3 runner-up claimed his first pole position by utilising an empty race track and setting a 1:40.542 in the process.
Before the drivers could start their laps, the red flag was waved as the DAMS of Ayumu Iwasa grounded to a halt and the rookie was forced to watch the rest of the session from the pit lane.
Jake Hughes took provisional pole position after the first runs were completed by setting a 1:41.469 with Doohan just behind him in second.
The Aussie used track space to his advantage as he eclipsed the Brit’s time by over a second as the drivers re-emerged back onto the track.
Juri Vips came the closest with his first attempt as he moved up to second but was unable to displace the Virtuosi driver.
The second runs saw Pourchaire claim a front row start, however, the Frenchman missed out on pole by a tenth as Doohan clinched his first pole position.
The ART Grand Prix driver remained second with Vips dropping down to third. The Carlin duo of Logan Sargeant and Liam Lawson finished fourth and sixth respectively with Ralph Boschung sandwiched in between them in fifth. Prema’s Jehan Daruvala only found pace for seventh, Hughes finished eighth, Trident’s Richard Verschoor in ninth and Felipe Drugovich in 10th.
Starting from reverse grid pole position, Felipe Drugovich got a poor getaway as the lights went out which propelled Verschoor into the lead and the Dutchman never looked back since.
The Trident driver comfortably controlled the race, and as Daruvala and Boschung were squabbling for second, he created a gap between himself and the leading duo to claim his second race win in the category.
From the start, pole sitter Drugovich quickly dropped down the order as Verschoor promoted himself up into first with Boschung in second and Daruvala in third.
Collisions were a common theme between Formula 2 and Formula 3 this weekend as Marcus Armstrong, Pourchaire and Hughes were all forced to retire from the first race of the season.
With that being said, Verschoor controlled all of the restarts and bolted away at every given opportunity to comfortably cross the line in first place.
Behind him, Boschung and Daruvala engaged in a battle for second which the latter came out on top in with the former eventually dropping down to fourth as Lawson claimed the final podium position.
After a poor start, Drugovich was able to claim some points as he finished fifth with Sargeant in sixth, Vips in seventh and Iwasa claiming the final points position. The DAMS driver made up a fantastic 14 places after starting the race in 22nd and last place to finish eighth and secure a point in his first race in Formula 2.
Pourchaire claimed the first Feature Race victory of the season as the unfortunate Vips endured a long pit stop which saw him dropped down to 12th but the Estonian recovered to finish on the podium.
Pole sitter Doohan and second-placed Pourchaire were overtaken quickly by the Hitech of Vips and the Campos of Boschung as the duo took P1 and P2.
It was all about getting the pit stop correct which unfortunately hampered the Estonian driver, put him outside of the points and took his chance of securing a victory away.
The slow stop for Vips promoted Doohan into the race lead, however, he tangled with Pourchaire and had to replace a broken front wing.
This momentarily put Iwasa up to first before the Japanese driver dived into the pits for a new set of tyres and released Pourchaire into the lead.
The Frenchman held onto the lead as he crossed over the line in first ahead of Lawson in second a Vips in third, who valiantly fought his way onto the podium.
Boschung claimed a second fourth-place finish of the weekend as he overtook Drugovich who finished in fifth. Armstrong followed in sixth with Sargeant in seventh, Nissany in eighth, Hughes in ninth and pole sitter Doohan recovering from a collision to finish in 10th.
Formula 2 returns back to action in a couple of days time as the ‘drivers of tomorrow’ take on the challenge that is the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Pourchaire holds a slim one-point lead in the championship as the Frenchman looks to show his best qualities and secure an F1 seat for 2023.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”105″ heading=”Other Sports” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1072″ heading=”News” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]
The opening round of the 2022 Formula 3 season delivered a lot of excitement, drama and joy as drivers saw the green light once more after a winter break.
Franco Colapinto delivered Van Amersfoort Racing a pole position in their debut round. The Dutch outfit, who replaced the departing HWA Racelab team, will have been delighted with their young Argentinian driver after a rapid 1:46.249 lap time.
Roman Stanek was less than a tenth slower than the pole sitter in second with Kush Maini eight-thousandths slower than the Czech driver as he finished third.
However, after failing to stop at the FIA weighbridge, the Indian driver was handed a penalty and started from the pit lane.
Grégoire Saucy ended qualifying in fourth with Victor Martins in fifth, Juan Manuel Correa in sixth, Zane Maloney in seventh, Alexander Smolyar in eighth, Isack Hadjar in ninth, David Vidales in 10th and Oliver Bearman in 11th and Zak O’Sullivan in 12th.
Due to his qualifying position, the Carlin driver claimed reverse grid pole position ahead of the Sprint Race and was joined by his compatriot Bearman on the front row of the grid.
After crossing the line first, Bearman was awarded a five-second time penalty for track limit infringements which demoted him down to second and handed Hadjar the win.
Qualifying front runners, Stanek and Colapinto, collided in the opening laps of the race and retired from the race alongside ART Grand Prix teammates, Saucy and Martins, who also came together to see their respective races come to a premature end.
Starting from second, Bearman was able to take the lead of the race from O’Sullivan as the Carlin driver dropped slowly dropped down the order.
Hadjar was able to make positions moved up to second as he overtook Maloney as Smolyar followed him through to claim the final podium position.
Fortunately for Hadjar, he was three and a half seconds away from Bearman which earned him the race victory after the Brit’s penalty was applied.
The Prema was able to finish on the podium as he fell down to second with Smolyar finishing in third place. Maloney and Arthur Leclerc had a drag race to the line but it was the former that claimed fourth with the latter taking fifth after a fantastic fightback from 13th on the grid.
Reverse polesitter O’Sullivan finished the race in sixth with Caio Collet in seventh, Kaylen Frederick in eighth, Juan Manuel Correa in ninth and Vidales in 10th.
Martins, who experienced a horror of an opening race following a collision with his teammate Saucy, went on to claim his first race win of the season with a fine drive from fifth to first.
After a fantastic Safety Car restart, the Frenchman bided his time and lunged past polesitter Colapinto on lap 15 for the win.
Francesco Pizzi and Maloney both grounded to a halt after spinning on the opening lap as Caio Collet and Nazim Azman joined the duo in retiring from the race.
There were many collisions throughout the second race of the weekend as four drivers were forced into making pit stops due to sustaining punctures or damage.
Out in front, Colapinto did very well to hold onto his lead for a long time as the Argentine driver looked to secure a first win in Formula 3.
However, once he was overtaken by Martins, he battled with Leclerc for second place before being handed a five-second time penalty for track limit infringements and saw his chance of a podium evaporate.
Prema’s Leclerc went one better from the first race and earned a rostrum finish after starting from 13th on the grid. The Monegasque driver quickly diced his way through the pack to end up only one and a half seconds behind winner Martins.
Saucy and Juan Manuel Correa benefitted from Colapinto’s penalty as they moved up to third and fourth respectively as the Argentine finished fifth.
Prema teammates Bearman and Jak Crawford followed in sixth and seventh with Vidales in eighth William Atatalo in ninth and Frederick in 10th.
The Formula 3 drivers take a month-long break after the first round of the season as they return back to track action in Imola.
Victor Martins and Arthur Leclerc are the leading duo in the championship as it stands and will be looking to continue to stake their claims for the title at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”105″ heading=”Other Sports” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1072″ heading=”News” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]
Nigel Clough’s Stags have seen their promotion challenge halted ever so slightly following back-to-back league defeats for the first time since September.
Following a spirited fightback against Tranmere Rovers, where they came from behind twice, the amber and blues unfortunately recorded a 3-2 defeat and travelled to Staffordshire in midweek hoping to regain confidence with a positive result.
The game at Vale Park got off to a slow start, but against the run of play, Rhys Oates rounded Aidan Stone to slot the ball into an empty net and put Mansfield into a 1-0 lead.
It did not take long for Port Vale to level the game as Ben Garrity found James Wilson in space. The forward fired a low effort that went straight through the gloves of Nathan Bishop and into the bottom corner of the goal.
In the latter stages of the second half, substitute Kian Harratt fired in a double which handed the Valiants a 3-1 victory over a fellow promotion rival and moved them ahead of the Stags in the league table.
With that being said, the amber and blues are by all means not out of the promotion picture. As the season enters the final stretch, Clough will know how vital points will be in the battle at the top of the table and a positive result against a struggling side may be the perfect game to bounce back from two consecutive league defeats.
Rochdale welcome the Stags to Greater Manchester having not picked up a win in their last five league matches. The Dale last won a game at the end of February and currently languish in 19th place, nine points above the relegation zone.
Since their relatively bright start to the campaign, Robbie Stockdale’s side has endured a drop off in form which has resulted in them currently occupying a place in the bottom half of the League Two table.
After a midweek 1-1 draw against Salford City, the Dale travelled to the capital to take on fellow struggles, Leyton Orient.
The visiting Rochdale got off to a fantastic start after Alex Newby’s goal in the sixth minute. The O’s levelled the game up five minutes before the end of the first half as Paul Smyth got on the scoresheet.
Orient then ran away with proceedings in the second period as Ruel Sotiriou and the club’s top goalscorer Harry Smith completed the turnaround and handed the hosts a comfortable 3-1 win.
That defeat at the Breyer Group Stadium was the Dale’s third defeat in five games and saw both Carlisle United and Leyton Orient leap above them in the table.
Rochdale and Mansfield Town have faced each other close to 100 times in their all-time head-to-head with the first game between the two dies dating back to the 1930s.
However, they have only come up against each other once in the last five years in league action due to Rochdale plying their trade in League One up until their relegation to the fourth tier last season.
The reserve fixture at the One Call Stadium in September saw the sides not separated as they played out a 1-1 draw.
With the Stags’ last victory at the Crown Oil Arena coming back in 1997, can the amber and blues break their duck in Greater Manchester and return back to winning ways?
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”609″ heading=”EFL” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1072″ heading=”News” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
After a fantastic battle between Ferrari and Red Bull, a late Safety Car brought the pack together however both of the Bulls retired from the race due to reliability issues.
An impressive lap from Leclerc in Saturday’s Q3 session saw the Monegasque driver start from pole position, with Max Verstappen starting from second and joining the Ferrari driver on the front row of the grid.
Sainz started from third and the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez was alongside him on the second row in fourth. Ex-teammates were on the third row as Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were fifth and sixth with Kevin Magnussen starting from seventh on his return to F1, Fernando Alonso in eighth, George Russell in ninth and Pierre Gasly in 10th.
Esteban Ocon narrowly missed out on the top 10 as he started 11th with Mick Schumacher recording his best starting position and joining the Frenchman on the sixth row of the grid.
Lando Norris was the quickest McLaren in 13th, Alex Albon started from 14th on his return to the sport, Guanyu Zhou qualified 15th on his F1 debut, Yuki Tsunoda in 16th, Nico Hulkenburg in 17th, Daniel Ricciardo in 18th, Lance Stroll in 19th and Nicholas Latifi in 20th and the final spot on the grid.
Leclerc got the better launch as he held onto the lead into the first corner. Verstappen and Sainz closely followed the pole sitter in second and third as Hamilton and Magnussen moved up to fourth and fifth after a poor start from Perez.
The Mexican did however regain a position two laps later as he took advantage of Magnussen locking up and swept around the outside of the Haas driver into turn four.
Following the first five laps of the race, Leclerc led the race with Verstappen in second and Sainz in third. Hamilton was fourth, Perez in fifth, Magnussen in sixth, Russell in seventh, Gasly in eighth, Alonso in ninth and Ocon in 10th.
Magnussen lost out on another position as he locked up again and saw Russell claim sixth. After a poor start, Bottas made amends with an overtake on Schumacher to move up to 13th and closer to the points.
Ocon was handed a five-second time penalty for his collision with Schumacher on the opening lap of the race as the German continued to fall down the order.
In the battle for fourth, Perez breezed past Hamilton into turn four and was back in his starting position. The two Alfa Romeo’s of Bottas and Zhou overtook Albon as Hamilton was the first driver to make a pit stop.
The Brit switched to the hard compound tyre and had trouble in heating them up which saw him go deep into turn one and allow Zhou to get ahead of him with ease. However, the seven-time world champion got back into the groove and overtook the Chinese driver a lap later.
Verstappen then made his stop on lap 15 as he looked to trigger the undercut with race leader Leclerc pitting a lap later. The Monegasque driver’s advantage slimmed down to less than a second as the Red Bull driver had the lead of the race in his sights.
The leading pair exchanged blows over the next couple of laps as Verstappen would take the lead into turn one but Leclerc would regain his position into turn four. After three attempts from the Dutchman, he dropped back a little bit as his brakes and tyres were overheating due to the pressure put on them.
McLaren’s woes continued as Norris dropped back down the order. Zhou, Schumacher and Albon overtook the Brit as he ran 15th.
At the halfway point of the race, Leclerc was first ahead of Verstappen in second and Sainz in third. Perez ran fourth, Russell in fifth, Magnussen in sixth, Gasly in seventh, Hamilton in eighth, Ocon in ninth and Tsunoda in 10th.
Alonso made up some ground after his pitstop as he got ahead of Albon and Schumacher to move into 12th place. On lap 31 and 32, the leading duo made their second pit stops as their teammates, Sainz and Perez were momentarily released into first and second.
A handful of laps later, both Red Bull’s stopped again and this is when problems were caused for the Bulls. Both drivers complained of problems with their cars but were assured by the team to remain calm and focused.
Gasly pulled up to the side of the track as his AlphaTauri car endured a mechanical problem and set on fire. The marshals extinguished it quickly as the full Safety Car was released and the grid dived into the pits for a cheap pit stop.
After the restart, Leclerc got a brilliant getaway as Verstappen continued to struggle with his steering. Schumacher quickly dropped out of the points with Tsunoda, Alonso and Zhou all overtaking the Haas driver.
With three laps to go, Sainz moved up to second as he got past Verstappen into turn 10 with the Dutchman pulling into the pits moments later to retire the car.
The same fortunes happened to his teammate on the final lap of the race as Perez spun on the exit of turn one, lost the engine and jumped out of the car.
This handed Hamilton an unlikely podium finish and promoted Zhou into the points on his F1 debut. However, all the glory will be shining on Ferrari as Leclerc crossed the line to claim the Scuderia’s first win since the Singapore Grand Prix and the team’s first one-two since that exact race as Sainz finished in second place.
Hamilton crossed the line third with Russell in fourth, Magnussen in fifth, Bottas in sixth, Ocon in seventh, Tsunoda in eighth, Alonso in ninth and Zhou in 10th.
The F1 action continues in the Middle East as the Jeddah Corniche Circuit is set to hold the second ever Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in a couple of days time.
Charles Leclerc, after scoring the maximum amount of points in Bahrain, holds the championship lead and will be looking to extend it even further at the second round of the 2022 Formula 1 season.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”105″ heading=”Other Sports” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1072″ heading=”News” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]
Ferrari were on the pace throughout all three qualifying sessions and have proved early on that they are back to competing at the top.
The two AlphaTauri and Williams drivers were out onto the Bahrain International Circuit first as the Q1 session got underway.
Yuki Tsunoda completed the first competitive time run and set a 1:33.581, five-tenths slower than his teammate Pierre Gasly who crossed the line moments later.
McLaren’s Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo went second and fourth fastest as the Woking-based outfit’s struggles continued as they were way off the pace.
It was no surprise to see Max Verstappen setting the first lap time in the 1:31s as the Dutchman sprung to the top of the timing sheets.
On his return to Formula 1, Kevin Magnussen momentarily set the second-quickest time of the session with his Haas teammate, Mick Schumacher moving up to fourth.
Valtteri Bottas then went second fastest before the two Ferrari’s of Leclerc and Sainz claimed first and second place.
Mercedes were only able to go fifth and eighth fastest as their car continued to look very unstable and unable to challenge for pole.
At the end of Q1, it was Leclerc and Sainz in first and second with the Red Bull of Verstappen in third. The drivers eliminated from the session were Yuki Tsunoda, Nico Hulkenberg, Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi.
Alex Albon was the first driver out on track in Q2 as he was the only Williams left in the running following Latifi’s elimination.
With that being said, the Thai/British driver did not set a competitive lap time and returned back to the pits after one lap on used tyres.
Magnussen set the first lap time of the session with a 1:31.461, five-tenths quicker than Schumacher. The Haas drivers quickly dropped down the order as Verstappen entered the 1:30s and claimed the top spot.
Leclerc could only muster a lap to go second fastest, half a second slower than quickest man Verstappen and a couple of hundredths quicker than Sergio Perez in third.
The Red Bull man held onto first place at the end of the session with Sainz leapfrogging his teammate Leclerc as the Ferrari duo finished second and third.
The drivers eliminated from Q2 were Esteban Ocon, Mick Schumacher, Lando Norris, Alex Albon and Guanyu Zhou.
As the top 10 shootout got underway, the two Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were out on track first as they looked to set the early pace.
The latter crossed the line first and set a 1:32.291 on used tyres. Hamilton followed suit and went a tenth quicker than his teammate, however, those lap times were blown out of the park by the ‘Prancing Horses’.
Ferrari’s Sainz went over a second quicker than the seven-time world champion to claim provisional pole with Leclerc closely behind in second.
The Spaniard was denied pole position however as Leclerc set a 1:30.558 to claim P1 ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Verstappen moved up to second dropping Sainz onto the second row of the grid where he will be joined by Perez. Old teammates will lineup on row three with Hamilton in fifth and Bottas in sixth. Magnussen on his return to the sport will start from seventh ahead of Fernando Alonso in eighth, Russell in ninth and Pierre Gasly in 10th.
Charles Leclerc will be hoping to convert pole position into a race victory and claim Ferrari’s first win since the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix.
It will not be an easy task with the rapid Red Bull of Max Verstappen alongside him and the determined Lewis Hamilton starting from fifth.
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”105″ heading=”Other Sports” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1072″ heading=”News” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]
Chances were far and few between as the two sides took their time to settle into the game, but after a spell of dominance from Port Vale, the Stags sprung a fast breakthrough Kieran Wallace’s pass finding the path of Rhys Oates.
The forward still had a lot to do but got past his marker and latched onto the ball as he bared on goal. Seeing that Valiants goalkeeper and ex-Stags goalkeeper Aidan Stone was looking to dive at his feet, Oates rounded the shot-stopper and cooly slotted the ball into the back of an empty net.
11 minutes later, Vale scored the equaliser through James Wilson. Ben Garrity slipped the number nine through, and as he evaded the challenges from James Perch and Oli Hawkins, his low effort went through the hands of Nathan Bishop to put the hosts back on level terms.
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with very few chances as both sides looked to grab the win. Stags’ best chance fell to George Lapslie who should have smashed the ball in from close range but the midfielder was denied following a brilliant save from Stone.
With 15 minutes to go, the hosts took the lead for the first time in the game through Kian Harratt. After pinball inside the Mansfield box, the substitute fired a shot goalwards which was well saved by Bishop. Unfortunately for the goalkeeper, the ball fell right into the path of the forward who tapped it in from close range.
In the 88th minute, the Valiants secured the victory following a brilliant set play. The free-kick was swung to the back post with Jamie Proctor cutting the ball back to Harratt for the youngster to claim his brace and to score Vale’s third.
The hosts were well worth their win in the end and took their chances away when they were presented to them. The Stags have a lot to learn ahead of the clash against Stevenage at the weekend to avoid a third straight defeat and potentially set a new club record for consecutive home league victories.
Nigel Clough gave James Perch the opportunity to start his first game since his injury back in August. Alongside the veteran defender, Farrend Rawson was included in the backline, even though he required lengthy treatment against Tranmere Rovers last Friday, and Hawkins started at centre-back with Elliott Hewitt and John-Joe O’Toole finding places on the substitutes bench.
Mansfield Town lacked simple communication in the backline at times throughout the 90 minutes. The changes to the defensive unit somewhat disrupted the partnerships created and saw the whole squad in disarray, and at times, they looked like they were not on the same wavelengths.
The biggest talking point from the start of the game was that of the inclusion of Rawson in the starting 11. After sustaining an injury against Tranmere a couple of days before the match, the defender was a doubt for the game and it looked highly unlikely that he would start.
However, the team news was announced and he was starting from the first minute which was huge surprise for everyone. Stags’ number six, alongside the rest of the defence, did not enjoy a fantastic game and having conceded three goals for the second game in a row, something needs to change before the amber and blues get punished even more for their poor defensive unit.
The forward was back on the scoresheet once more with a fine finish that put the Stags in front midway through the first half.
A fantastic interception from Wallace saw the midfielder immediately distribute the ball forward as Oates looked to get past Nathan Smith.
He was able to do so with relative ease before charging down on goal, going round Stone and slotting the ball in from close range.
Oates will be confident that with 12 games to go this season, he can get close to reaching 20 goals for the campaign and helping Stags achieve promotion at the end of it.
Without the experienced midfielder, Mansfield have only recorded one win highlighting just how important the Irishman is for the side.
An ankle problem following the Tranmere game is what kept him out of the clash against Vale and his desire to strive for greatness was sorely missed in the clash at Vale Park.
With Matty Longstaff also absent, the centre of the park was in spells non-existent and Clough will hope that his important cogs are back in the side for the clash against Stevenage.
The Stags return to home comforts once more as they welcome Steve Evans’ Boro to the One Call Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It is set to be a hotly anticipated affair due to the new Stevenage boss’ affiliation with the amber and blues and the way he left the club near the end of the 2017/18 season.
Mansfield will be hoping to put behind them two abysmal performances and revitalise their form to remain in the promotion pack.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”609″ heading=”EFL” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1072″ heading=”News” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
The Stags will be hoping to right the wrongs after a relatively poor performance against Tranmere Rovers saw them record their first defeat in 2022.
Injuries to Farrend Rawson, Lucas Akins and Stephen Quinn did not help the amber and blues, but on the night, the hosts deserved the points more out of the two sides.
The out-of-form Rovers side rapidly came out of the blocks and took the lead inside the first five minutes of the encounter.
From a corner, the ball was headed back across goal by Calum MacDonald for the unmarked Peter Clarke to head home off the underside of the crossbar.
In added time of the second half, the Stags got themselves level through Matty Longstaff’s third goal in as many games.
With 15 minutes to go, substitute Elliott Nevitt put the hosts ahead once more as they barred down on their first win in five matches. However, Oli Hawkins had other ideas as he scored another equaliser for Mansfield, with his header beating Joe Murphy in the 91st minute.
There was to be another twist to the tale as deep into added time, Nevitt was able to grab his second goal of the afternoon and secure the win for Tranmere.
With that result in the past, Nigel Clough’s side cannot let their heads drop and lose confidence after a defeat that ended a run of 14 games without a loss.
Up next for the Stags is a clash against another fellow promotion rival, Port Vale. The Valiants are currently on a good run of form and sit directly below the amber and blues in 10th place.
The Burslem based outfit have only recorded one defeat from their last 11 games and will be hoping to edge ever-closer to the play-offs.
Last time out, Vale were able to cruise past Crawley Town with a comfortable 4-1 victory in front of the Vale Park faithful.
The game got off to a poor start for the Valiants as Nathan Smith put the ball into the back of his own net to give the Red Devils a 1-0 lead after nine minutes.
Goals from Ben Garrity and David Worrall put the hosts ahead before the half-time interval as Vale went up another gear in search of a win.
That victory was sealed by the hour mark as a second from Garrity and a goal from Connor Hall secured the three points for the outfit from Stoke-on-Trent.
The Stags have only been beaten once by Port Vale in league action since the formation of the new fourth tier, with the defeat coming in March 2019.
Picking up points at this stage of the season is vital for Mansfield and a positive result at Vale Park could see the amber and blues jump back into the play-offs.
However, it will not be an easy game against a Port Vale side that will want to close the gap on the play-offs and join the hunt for an automatic promotion spot.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”609″ heading=”EFL” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1072″ heading=”News” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
The Stags have simply been unstoppable over the last four months and have put themselves well and truly in the promotion picture.
Only 20 or so games ago, the amber and blues faced problems with suspensions and injuries which saw them occupy 23rd place and the final spot in the drop zone.
Fast forward a couple of months and they are within reaching distance of the automatic promotion places and could further their hopes of going up with a win against the Birkenhead-based outfit.
Similarly to the Stags, Tranmere are within the mix in terms of promotion and sit on the exact same amount of points as their opponents on Friday evening.
However, the Rovers’ form has stalled in recent weeks and they come into this fixture without a win in their last five league fixtures.
Mansfield took on another fellow promotion rival last Friday as they welcomed Exeter City to the One Call Stadium.
This was a crucial clash for both sides and the Stags passed the test with flying colours as they recorded a 2-1 victory over the Grecians.
Restricting the visitors to very little in the first half saw Nigel Clough’s men take the lead in the 34th minute. After a corner, the ball was recycled to Matty Longstaff who crossed it back into the box. Rhys Oates flicked the ball on at the front post and gave Farrend Rawson an easy tap-in from close range.
They further extended that advantage in the second half as a certain on-loan midfielder scored his second goal in as many games.
Another move that was created down the Stags left-hand flank saw Stephen McLaughlin drill the ball into Jordan Bowery who had his back to goal. The forward could not do anything productive passed it back to left-back, who found Longstaff unmarked in the area, as the midfielder fired the ball into the back of the net.
The amber and blues failed to hold onto a clean sheet as Matt Jay fired in a consolation goal for the Grecians in the final minute of added time, however, a victory against a promotion rival was achieved.
Tranmere faced Northampton Town at the Sixfields Stadium as the two sides looked to get back to winning ways to further their promotion hopes.
Fraser Horsfall put the Cobblers two goals in front ahead of the half-time interval as the hosts looked to close the gap to league leaders, Forest Green Rovers. Mitch Pinnock put Northampton 3-0 up in the 66th minute as Jon Brady’s side secured a win without really being challenged.
In the final 15 minutes, Rovers sprung to life a got a goal back through Josh McPake. Tranmere were able to score another goal with two minutes of normal time to go as Kane Hemmings converted from the penalty spot. Unfortunately, the visitors were unable to find an equaliser and were doomed to their fourth defeat in five games.
Since the formation of League Two, the Stags are unbeaten against the Rovers, recording three wins and four draws from the last seven meetings between the two sides.
The amber and blues will also be hoping to complete their first league double over the Merseyside club since the 1957/58 season.
Clough’s side recorded their first win of the season against Tranmere as they recorded a 2-0 win. Rhys Oates and Danny Johnson were on target for the Nottinghamshire club which kickstarted their fantastic run of form up to now.
The Rovers will be looking to get back to winning ways and record a victory for the first time in five games. With that being said, the Stags have only lost once in their last 18 league fixtures and will be looking to continue that as they bare down on the automatic promotion places.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”609″ heading=”EFL” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1072″ heading=”News” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
A mix of old and new faces were out on track as the drivers and teams stepped up their preparations ahead of a brand new start and another exciting campaign.
2021 Formula 3 Champion, Dennis Hauger, alongside eight other F3 drivers have moved up to Formula 2 as they look to impress in their maiden campaigns in the category.
Liam Lawson, who moved from Hitech Grand Prix to Carlin, topped two of the five sessions during Testing as he looks to right the wrongs of last season with a new team.
The aforementioned Lawson was the quickest in the first session of the Bahrain test as he set a 1:44.522, four-tenths quicker than second-placed Felipe Drugovich and half a second faster than third-placed Logan Sargeant.
Jehan Daruvala re-joins Prema after a successful Formula 3 campaign back in 2019 and he was about a tenth slower than the Sargeant and set the fourth quickest time in the morning session.
2021 F3 runner-up Jack Doohan finished fifth, with Virtuosi teammate Marino Sato in sixth, Marcus Armstrong in seventh, Jake Hughes in eighth, Theo Pourchaire in ninth and Ralph Boschung in 10th – exactly a second slower than quickest man Lawson.
Clement Novalak and Enzo Fittipaldi, who finished the session in 11th and 12th respectively, were split by one-hundredth as they narrowly missed out on the top 10. 2021 F3 Champion, Dennis Hauger, has made the step up to Formula 2 with Prema and came 13th in the first session of the test, 1.2 seconds slower than Lawson.
Three other rookies in Frederik Vesti, Ayumu Iwasa and Olli Caldwell followed as they finished 14th, 15th and 16th. Roy Nissany was 17th, Richard Verschoor in 18th, Amaury Cordeel in 19th and Cem Bolukbasi in 20th.
Juri Vips and Calan Williams finished 21st and 22nd but could only muster up nine laps collectively as they experienced a tough opening session of the test.
The fastest time of the day and the afternoon session was set by Daruvala with a 1:42.074. Williams made amends for limited running in the morning by going second quickest as Hauger was third fastest and over five-tenths slower than his more experienced Prema teammate.
Carlin duo, Lawson and Sargeant, followed in fourth and fifth with Drugovich, Armstrong, Fittipaldi, Vips and Nissany rounding out the top 10.
Pourchaire was 11th and was over two seconds slower than Daruvala. Boschung was a few hundredths slower than the Frenchman as he finished the afternoon in 12th with Sato in 13th, Hughes in 14th, Iwasa in 15th, Caldwell in 16th, Vesti in 17th, Doohan in 18th, Novalak in 19th, Verschoor in 20th, Cordeel in 21st and Bolukbasi in 22nd.
Final Standings after Day One of Testing
1. Daruvala – 1:42.074, 2. Williams – 1:42.540 (+0.516), 3. Hauger – 1:42.602 (+0.528), 4. Lawson – 1:43.478 (+1.404), 5. Sargeant – 1:43.483 (+1.409), 6. Drugovich – 1:43.590 (+1.516), 7. Armstrong – 1:43.877 (+1.803), 8. Fittpaldi – 1:43.946 (+1.872) 9. Vips – 1:43.946 (+1.872), 10. Nissany – 1:44.003 (+1.929), 11. Pourchaire – 1:44.132 (+2.058), 12. Boschung – 1:44.156 (+2.082), 13. Sato – 1:44.212 (+2.138), 14. Hughes – 1:44.271 (+2.197), 15. Iwasa – 1:44.289 (+2.215), 16. Caldwell – 1:44.443 (+2.369), 17. Vesti – 1:44.457 (+2.383), 18. Doohan – 1:44.498 (+2.424), 19. Novalak – 1:44.539 (+2.465), 20. Verschoor – 1:44.778 (+2.704), 21. Cordeel – 1:45.644 (+3.570), 22. Bolukbasi – 1:47.425 (+5.351)
After a relatively mediocre day by his standards, Vips set the quickest time of the morning session on the second day with a 1:46.705. Once again, the second quickest driver, Verschoor in this instance, was half a second slower than the fastest time with third-placed Bolukbasi close to a second slower than Vips.
Fittipaldi followed in fourth, however, he was over two seconds slower as Hughes and Boschung battled for final top five spot with the former finishing fifth, two-thousandths ahead of the Campos driver in sixth. Four rookies rounded out the top 10 with Williams in seventh, Sargeant in eighth, Vesti in ninth and Hauger in 10th.
Lawson missed out on the top 10 by three-hundredths as he finished 11th with Drugovich in 12th and only four-thousandths slower than the New Zealander.
Sato followed in 13th, Daruvala in 14th, Armstrong in 15th, Pourchaire in 16th, Nissany in 17th, Doohan in 18th, Caldwell in 19th, Iwasa in 20th, Novalak in 21st and Cordeel close to four seconds slower than Vips in 22nd.
In the afternoon, it was Lawson back on top as the Carlin driver was the first and only driver to set a time in the 1:41’s with a 1:41.623.
Boschung and Pourchaire set the exact same lap time as they occupied second and third with Sargeant, Doohan, Sato, Vesti, Drugovich, Daruvala and Verschoor rounding out the top 10.
Van Amersfoort Racing duo Hughes and Cordeel finished the session in 11th and 12th as morning’s fastest man, Vips followed in 13th. Hauger was 14th, Bolukbasi in 15th, Fittipaldi in 16th, Novalak in 17th, Williams in 18th, Nissany in 19th, Iwasa in 20th, Caldwell in 21st and Armstrong in 22nd after only being able to complete two laps before encountering a problem.
Final Standings after Day Two of Testing
1. Lawson – 1:41.623, 2. Boschung – 1:42.096 (+0.473), 3. Pourchaire – 1:42.096 (+0.473), 4. Sargeant – 1:42.133 (+0.510), 5. Doohan – 1:42.144 (+0.521), 6. Sato – 1:42.174 (+0.551), 7. Vesti – 1:42.174 (+0.551), 8. Drugovich – 1:42.273 (+0.650), 9. Daruvala – 1:42.286 (+0.663), 10. Verschoor – 1:42.297 (+0.674), 11. Hughes – 1:42.483 (+0.860), 12. Cordeel – 1:42.562 (+0.939), 13. Vips – 1:42.565 (+0.942), 14. Hauger – 1:42.612 (+0.989), 15. Bolukbasi – 1:42.729 (+1.106), 16. Fittipaldi – 1:42.739 (+1.116), 17. Novalak – 1:42.991 (+1.368), 18. Williams – 1:43.000 (+1.377), 19. Nissany – 1:43.083 (+1.460), 20. Iwasa – 1:43.284 (+1.661), 21. Caldwell – 1:43.654 (+2.031), 22. Armstrong – 1:49.832 (+8.209)
A sandstorm halted proceedings before they even got underway in the afternoon but MP Motorsport’s Drugovich and Novalak made the most of the morning by claiming first and second.
The former set a 1:44.911 which was half a second quicker than his teammate and over a second quicker than Vips in third.
Carlin’s Lawson and Sargeant followed in fourth and fifth with Nissany, Hauger, Pourchaire, Doohan and Iwasa rounding out the top 10.
Hughes finished the session in 11th, Vesti in 12th, Boschung in 13th, Cordeel in 14th, Daruvala in 15th, Sato in 16th, Williams in 17th, Caldwell in 18th, Verschoor in 19th, Fittipaldi in 20th, Bolukbasi in 21st and Armstrong in 22nd.
Final Standings after Day Three of Testing
1. Drugovich – 1:44.911, 2. Novalak – 1:45.883 (+0.472), 3. Vips – 1:45.978 (+1.067), 4. Lawson – 1:46.114 (+1.203), 5. Sargeant – 1:46.761 (+1.850), 6. Nissany – 1:46.791 (+1.880), 7. Hauger – 1:46.979 (+2.068), 8. Pourchaire – 1:47.235 (+2.324), 9. Doohan – 1:47.377 (+2.466), 10. Iwasa – 1:47.465 (+2.554), 11. Hughes – 1:47.488 (+2.587), 12. Vesti – 1:47.590 (+2.679), 13. Boschung – 1:47.800 (+2.889), 14. Cordeel – 1:47.944 (+3.033), 15. Daruvala – 1:47.992 (+3.081), 16. Sato – 1:48.346 (+3.435), 17. Williams – 1:48.456 (+3.545), 18. Caldwell – 1:48.805 (+3.894), 19. Verschoor – 1:48.807 (+3.896), 20. Fittipaldi – 1:49.084 – (+4.173), 21. Bolukbasi – 1:49.519 (+4.608), 22. Armstrong – 1:49.839 (+4.928)
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”105″ heading=”Other Sports” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1072″ heading=”News” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]