OPINION: Logan the Stags hero on miserable night at the Mill

Mansfield Town made it four points in the space of three days with a scrappy 0-0 draw with Wycombe Wanderers on a miserable wet evening at Field Mill last night.
Mansfield Town v Wycombe Wanderers at the One Call Stadium - Sky Bet League Two, Tuesday September 12th 2017. Mansfield player Rhys Bennett goes close. Picture: Chris EtchellsMansfield Town v Wycombe Wanderers at the One Call Stadium - Sky Bet League Two, Tuesday September 12th 2017. Mansfield player Rhys Bennett goes close. Picture: Chris Etchells
Mansfield Town v Wycombe Wanderers at the One Call Stadium - Sky Bet League Two, Tuesday September 12th 2017. Mansfield player Rhys Bennett goes close. Picture: Chris Etchells

The positives from the game were that we kept a clean sheet, looked solid at the back and there were no injuries. On another day we could have easily have lost the game by at least four goals if not for keeper Conrad Logan pulling the saves out of the bag.

There were stand-out performances from Logan, Johnny Hunt, David Mirfin and Krystian Pearce to name a few that have done enough for me to keep their place in the team against Lincoln come Saturday.

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The negatives were not taking advantage of the chances we had, being dispossessed far too easily for me, and not being able to get a foothold in the match.

The team was unchanged from the one which beat Grimsby convincingly which, for me, was spot on.

The first half started with the Stags creating chances and Lee Angol’s first time shot was well saved by Scott Brown.

In the first 15 minutes we played some good football, showing signs that we would be the most likely to score.

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But Wycombe stood up well to the challenge, making life hard for our front men to make much of an impact on the game, out-muscling them and being organised when called upon under pressure.

Dan Scarr must have thought he put his side in front when his header looked certain to end up in the back of the net only for Logan to pull out an impressive save from close range. That was only one of his saves to keep out the Chairboys.

Wycombe kept on pressing us high up the pitch, with Mansfield struggling to get a foothold in the game in my opinion, especially in the midfield area.

Once again Scarr found himself on the end of another header towards the Stags goal, again being kept out with Logan heading away from goal but somehow keeping it out.

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Even though the conditions did play a part throughout the match it was frustrating us not being able to play our usual game, as we have been doing a lot so far this season.

Next was Marcus Bean to fancy his chance with a shot from outside the box, which Logan could only parry out to Craig Mackail-Smith, whose shot was well kept out from point blank range by the former Rochdale man.

So far this season he has been criticised for his performances thus far, including myself in previous blogs.

But if it wasn’t for his saves we could have easily gone on to lose this game 4-0 with the chances they created.

Logan - if you’re reading this, hats off to you.

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The half-time whistle blew with the scores at 0-0 and the rain not letting up any time soon.

My overall assessment of the first half was disappointing after the first 15 minutes of the game with Mansfield not doing enough on the ball and making the most out of the chances we had in the early periods of the match.

The second half began with Will Atkinson and Paul Anderson replacing Alex MacDonald and Jacob Mellis respectively.

Much of the second half was very scrappy with both teams getting into some crunching tackles and the ball being played too much in the air for me.

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We had a good chance to break the deadlock when Hemmings’ cross into the box was screaming for the ball to be put away, with Rhys Bennett inches away from connecting with the ball.

Alfie Potter was introduced for Calum Butcher, who put in an average performance at best, not having made much of an impact since his promising debut against Carlisle.

In the last 10 minutes Wycombe were mounting on the pressure, taking advantage of our sloppy play by giving the ball away, inviting them to attack us.

The rest of the half was nothing to shout about with the only other chance coming from the Stags when Hemmings’ shot was completely mis-timed, giving Wycombe the chance to clear their lines.

So it’s on to Lincoln on Saturday which will be a good test for the team - onwards and upwards.