AFC Mansfield

AFC Mansfield boss Matt Chatfield said he couldn’t have been prouder to see his side turn a corner and start 2020 in the perfect fashion with two wins from two unlikely sources.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th Jan 2020, 17:39 BST
Updated 20th Jan 2020, 15:01 BST
Action from AFC Mansfield's unlikely win over Hemsworth.Action from AFC Mansfield's unlikely win over Hemsworth.
Action from AFC Mansfield's unlikely win over Hemsworth.

After earning their first league win in over four months against Staveley, the Bulls came from behind to take down another title-chaser in Hemsworth Miners’ Welfare on Saturday.

The Bulls boss reckoned that new year resolutions played a part in their recent change of fortunes.

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“I said to the lads before: new year, new start, and we had two very tough games with Staveley and Hemsworth.

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Action from AFC Mansfield's unlikely win over Hemsworth.Action from AFC Mansfield's unlikely win over Hemsworth.
Action from AFC Mansfield's unlikely win over Hemsworth.

“Before the new year we’ve been very unlucky because when we’ve played the top sides we’ve always played really well and not got what we deserved.

“We dominated the first 35 minutes, they scored in a very disappointing way but – to be fair – we did then score out of nothing to make it one-all.

“It was a scrappy game in the second half but I think we edged it. At times it’s not going to be pretty but it’s what we need to start picking up points.”

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Chatfield was quick to praise new arrivals for their key impact on the squad, as he looks for the perfect balance between youth and experience.

“Matt (Wilson), Cam (Dear), Morgan (James) and Gav (King) have made positive impacts where we’ve needed them the most.

“With (striker Ross) Duggan sidelined, everyone was fearing the worst but we’ve now got that quality to get us over the line, which we didn’t have before.”

The hotly-contested afternoon saw the visitors taste first blood with debutant Layton Swaine volleying home off the underside of Hugo Warhurst’s bar to give Hermsworth the lead.

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The Bulls responded almost immediately when Nicky Darker flicked a header over out-rushing Hemsworth stopper Jordan Greaves from a Jamie McGuire set-piece, before a scrappier second half went down to the wire.

With Sidney Santos and Sam Jones both missing key chances to fire the visitors back ahead, AFC sensed another upset was around the corner and Grant Ryan nodded Brandon Webster’s cross beyond Greaves on 83 minutes.

A late second booking and red card for Jones helped AFC hold on to their first consecutive league victories of the season.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The victory left the Bulls 18th in the Northern Counties East League with 17 points from 18 matches and took them four points clear of the bottom two – and with games in hand on those around them.

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