Tuesday 22.7.25 - Pre-Season Friendly - Mansfield Town (0) 0 v. Oxford United (1) 1 (Tom Bradshaw 2) - Attendance: 1,476 (inc. 90 Away fans)
Mansfield Town: Roberts, Knoyle, Sweeney (C), Cargill (Blake-Tracy 27) (Bowery 72), Baccus (Lewis 81), Reed (Maris 81), McDonnell (Hendry 56), Moriah-Welsh, McAdam, Evans (Oates 81), Dwyer (Bolton 70). Unused subs - Mason, Oshilaja, McLaughlin.
Oxford United: Cumming, Leigh (Trialist), Moore (Sibley 60), Helik (Lacey 86), Spencer (Kioso HT), De Keersmaecker (O’Donker HT), Brannagan (Griffiths 86), Goodrham (Snowden 72), Phillips (Currie HT), Mills (Golding 60), Bradshaw (Harris HT). Unused subs - Ingram, Placheta.
Mansfield Town have gone over budget and struggled to meet their predicted deadlines, while sprucing up the old Bishop Street Stand at Field Mill (AKA One Call Stadium). This much needed building project is being undertaken to increase the ground capacity (and matchday income) by renovating what had become an unused and unsightly eyesore for far too long now. Regardless of anything else, sorting out the east-side of the ground has been long overdue.
During the rebuilding process, that has been beset by several unanticipated problems, the question has been asked numerous times, why they haven't just bulldozed the original dilapidated structure and started afresh, with something more modern, that would have been quicker to construct and, as it transpired, probably cheaper too. And the long-winded answer to that pertinent question is out there for you all to peruse on the official Mansfield Town website and all over various social media groups, if you should wish to do so.
Part of being given the nod for the job to go ahead, is that the footprint and dimensions of the ‘new’ old stand had to remain the same as the original template. Which means there will still be a considerable amount of space on that side of the ground, that isn't being unutilised. While fully understanding the pros and cons of having to follow the letter of the law regarding all of the restrictions, regulations and planning issues that have thrown up numerous obstacles, while tarting up the facilities, I still feel that adhering to a limited capacity design, instead of going for something more substantial, is a missed opportunity.
But, on the plus side, aesthetically the ground is going to look a hell of a lot better than it did previously, as this picture (below) I took from the Quarry Lane End in days of yore, of the former blot on the Field Mill landscape, demonstrates. To be frank it had become a bit of an embarrassment. BTW, if you look closely at the next image down you will see that the blue and amber seats are finally being installed this week. If you keep your eyes peeled while traveling around local non-league grounds, you will be able to spot where a lot of the original ones ended up.
Despite flirting with the wrong end of the League 1 table towards the back end of last season, the Stags were, more often than not, playing in front of sell-out crowds and as such have seemingly been outgrowing their rather bijou home. I believe I’m correct in saying that 9,186 is still the official stadium capacity, prior to the completion of the current renovation.
Another serious factor that needed to be taken into consideration, is that Mansfield were missing out on the huge financial windfalls, that could have poured into their coffers, from the potentially sizeable away followings, that some of the bigger clubs who have found themselves in the third tier in recent years, would have had following them, if only the extra tickets had been made available.
There are even those who could’ve comfortably sold out double, or in some cases even triple, the paltry allocation of tickets that the One Call Stadium’s limitations would allow them to sell to their big fanbases. The Stags will soon be getting extra bums on seats and extra money coming in through the turnstiles, they have also raised the cost of individual match tickets to £30 per game. Eek! For Third Division football!?
I don't think that's going to encourage the next generation of supporters to flock to the ground in their hordes, or any of the floating, more casual type football watchers in the locality to undertake visits to Quarry Lane on a more regular basis. Perhaps, just maybe, a rethink on the new price-structure is required. But then again, having travelled extensively throughout League 1 in recent times, that's actually not too dissimilar to a lot of the prices being charged elsewhere. It's actually only slightly above the average going rate, in a world where: “You don’t get ‘owt for ‘nowt”.
So, working on the premise that league football is, first and foremost, a business; then being the cheapest club in the league to watch, might be all well and good for the pockets of supporters, but it would also be tantamount to handing a massive financial advantage, to all of those opposition clubs who are charging more at the turnstiles and milking the loyalty of their followers to the max.
Football fans, by and large, are a tribalistic and partisan lot, who are often willing to make numerous sacrifices elsewhere, to facilitate their match watching habits (or to feed their addiction, you could say). You can ask the person that I share a joint bank account with for confirmation of that scenario.
Mansfield have (once again) already sold a large amount of their value for money season tickets up front for the 2025-26 campaign. It’ll be interesting to see how the attendances hold up, as the season progresses.
I fully expect Nigel Clough's team to finish higher in the table this time around, than they did last term, which in itself means that people might be more willing to boost club funds at the turnstiles, if they can see that investment is being pumped into tangible progress, both on and off the pitch. Of course, what you lose on the swings, you gain on the roundabouts; having to pay top whack on a match to match basis, might encourage more people to buy in bulk instead and opt to invest in a season ticket.
Championship side, Oxford United have played in the second tier, since they beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0 in the League 1 play-off final at the end of the 2023-24 season, with a brace of goals from Josh Murphy (who now plays for Portsmouth).
Gary Rowett's well-organised team (it’s what he does) with it’s rigidly tight defence, had far too much in their locker as Nigel Clough's Stags tried to break them down. Rowett-Ball is stubborn and rather predictable variant of the sport of football. But, it's a horses for courses, necessity. His teams keep things tight when they are on the ball and even tighter when they are out of possession.
Hard-work and keeping their shape, might not make for the mist entertaining of spectacles; but, realistically, Oxford United aren't likely to be challenging for honours again any time soon, so all things being relative, maintaining their Championship status would be seen by many as success, of a sort. When you are punching above your weight, it's always best practice to keep your guard up.
The U’s proved to be formidable opponents, as the Mansfield succumbed to their first Pre-Season defeat. There were times when it appeared as though the Stags were lacking cohesion and playing too many misplaced passes. Maybe they were, but Oxford’s have been drilled how to anticipate where opponents are most likely to be playing the ball and are very adept at plugging those gaps. Going all cavalier and gung-ho isn't an option when not losing games, becomes your priority as opposed to looking for a winning formula, against teams who operate on an infinitely superior foothold resources wise.
The only goal of the game was scored just a couple of nano-seconds after the first minute of play had elapsed; amidst a crowded goal area, Brian De Keersmaecker (who spent five years at FC Brugges KV as a youngster (I knew that you'd all want to know that 😉) stepped over the ball and played a delightful backheel towards to Tom Bradshaw who spanked the ball home.The U’s took the lead with just over 60 seconds on the clock when midfielder Brian De Keersmaecker’s excellent cutback allowed Tom Bradshaw to sweep the ball home from close range. Was Liam Roberts, the Stags goalkeeper, unsighted by the scrum of players in front of him when Oxford scored what proved to be the only goal of the game? Possibly, but it was a quality strike nevertheless and the ball was probably goalbound the moment that the U’s number 20 connected with it.
Mansfield went close when Dom Dwyer headed narrowly wide from Kyle MaAdam’s delivery, but the offside flag had already been raised anyway. Baily Cargill limped out of the game just before the half-hour mark, clutching an ice-pack to his hamstring. His replacement Frazer Blake-Tracy also had to leave the pitch halfway through the second-half having gone over on his ankle. A lengthy injury list was one of the main reasons that the Stags season ran aground last year, so hopefully both tweaks aren't too serious and don't become a precursor for what lays ahead.
The McAdam and Dwyer combination appears to bode well for the future an even though Oxford were withstanding just about everything that was launched at them, the attacking duo complimented each other well and kept battering away.
The U’s tried a couple of audacious long-range strikes on goal, Michael Helik cleared the bar with his attempt, while Matty Phillips was nowhere near hitting the target with a punt from inside his own half. Moments later Phillips thought he had scored a second goal for the visitors, but his strike was ruled out for offside.
Micheal Helik and Peter Kioso continued with the visitors insistence of trying to catch out Liam Roberts from distance, but struggled to keep the ball and only troubled the empty seats in the North Stand. Maybe the Oxford scouts had watched Roberts before and believed him to be susceptible to struggling against such things. Either way, Oxford weren't causing him any grief and he appeared to be very comfortable and supremely focussed when he denied Leo Snowden who was through on goal.
Rhys Oates and new signing (from Wrexham) Luke Bolton offered fresh impetus to the home sides attack, as the clock ticked down, with the latter twice going close to finding an equaliser. But all told, Gary Rowett's side had been the better side over the entire contest… and although Pre-Season results count for bugger all, Oxford had successfully implemented their game management plan, looked (by far) the stronger side and deserved their win. FT: Mansfield Town 0 v Oxford United 1
I don't think that I would want to watch Oxford on regular basis, they're not particularly easy on the eye. But, they are bloody good and very effective at what they do… and will probably pick up enough points over the course of next season, grinding out enough results to remain in the Championship.