Imps News

“He’s very honest which is a nice change from our previous manager.”

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Ahead of tonight’s match against Mansfield Town in Sky Bet League Two, I’m going to fast forward to this season (rather than look back at last) and another meeting between the two sides in the Checkatrade Trophy, this time at Sincil Bank in front of a crowd of 4,205. The visitors won 2-1 that night, with Matt Rhead putting The Imps ahead in the 6th minute, followed two minutes later by a Callum Butcher goal making it 1-1. Substitute Tyler Walker netted the winner in the 72nd minute. The Imps finished the match with 10 men when Michael O’Connor was sent off in the 4th minute of stoppage time, following a melee on the halfway line.

The first meeting of this season in Sky Bet League Two was played on Saturday 24th November, in front of a crowd of 9,773 at Sincil Bank. This match finished 1-1, with The Imps taking the lead in the 85th minute through substitute Kellan Gordon. Unfortunately, though, the visitors made it 1-1 in the 3rd minute of stoppage time. Jacob Mellis the goalscorer.

Time for the Q&As! Thank you to Mansfield Town supporters Cameron and Jack for answering our questions! The answers have been published on two pages. To get to the second set of answers, simply click “click here for the second set of answers!” at the bottom right of the page, or click HERE!

First up, the answers provided by Cameron:

How long have you supported Mansfield Town?

15 years.

Where did you finish last season?

8th just outside the playoffs.

What do you think of your Manager?

A fantastic manager that’s turned the club around. He gets some stick from fans but all round does a good job and got us into a fantastic position with 9 to go.

What were your hopes and expectations at the start of the season?

After last season’s collapse, playoffs would’ve been my target but it’s fantastic that we’ve brought players in that has helped us build the best defence in the league and one of the most threatening teams in the league.

One(s) to watch?

Tyler Walker definitely because of his goal scoring threat but Alex Macdonald now that he’s fit is a real threat, attacking threat but also can pick a 30/40 yard pass out and can really create some good chances for us.

Who do you think will finish in the top 7?

Lincoln City, Mansfield Town, Bury, Milton Keynes Dons, Tranmere Rovers, Carlisle United and Forest Green Rovers.

Who do you think will finish in the bottom 2?

Notts County and Yeovil Town.

What are your thoughts on Lincoln City?

Fantastic team and what a job the Cowleys have done. Turning City from an average National Premier team into all but League Two champions is fantastic, being a stags fan and seeing stags in the conference allow me to see quite a few Lincoln games and the poor turnouts both teams got and to see what a decent manager can do to not only get decent players in but also bring the feel-good factor back to the club and take them back into the league.

What do you think the score will be?

It’ll be close but it’ll 100% depend on who wants it more. Being a Mansfield fan I want Mansfield to win and probably 2-1 Mansfield.

Random fact about your Club?

The ground used to have a dog racing track around the Edge of the pitch.

If you could steal one Lincoln City player for your own team, who would it be and why?

Bruno Andrade would be my pick, absolutely fantastic talent and really could go a long way with the ability he has.

Got the skills, got the pace and certainly knows where the net is and Stags really will have to be on their toes with him tonight.

What are your proudest and most embarrassing moments as a Mansfield Town Supporter?

Proudest is seeing the club get promoted back into the league on the last day of the season against Wrexham 2012/13 season.

Most embarrassing is probably last season after being near or in the top 3 all season and collapsing into 3rd. Had a team that could get us there but didn’t care and didn’t have the passion to get us there.

Who would you say is your most underrated player?

Ryan Sweeney. Fantastic talent and at such a young age really does have a fantastic career ahead of him. Solid unit at the back but threatening when he comes up from corners.

Do you have a Supporters Trust and what role do they play at the Club?

We have the SSA which is the Stags Supporters Association and they supported the club and helped raise funds and actually helped bring bigger players in and helped pay for players wages when the club didn’t have too much money. They also provide away match day travel at great prices which allows more and more fans to travel far and wide to support our team.

Which was your favourite match involving Mansfield Town?

Chesterfield away last season. All but relegated them and being such a big game for us it helped us in a push for the playoffs. Such fiery games between players on the pitch and fans in the stands it really was a great day to be a stag and beating the biggest of rivals.

Which was your least favourite match involving Mansfield Town?

Lincoln at home last season. Being in front till injury time and then for Palmer to pop up is just typical Mansfield, always a former player to pop up and spoil the party.

Do you have a Former Players Association at Mansfield Town?

Not as such but we have a lot of former players that have a lot to do with clubs, Kevin Bird is a fantastic example, the club named one of the corporate suites after him and helped raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society something which Kev sadly lives with but the club has always supported him with.

What’s the best thing about Mansfield?

Probably the football ground. There’s not much about Mansfield that really stands out that people want to visit.

The Swimming complex is probably a close 2nd but the ground is still the number one attraction in Mansfield.

Does it still hurt to see away fans sat in the North Stand and has it ever been questioned about giving it back to the home fans?

Because I’m still young I never actually saw the home fans in the North Stand so I’ve always grown up with the Quarry Lane End being the home end.

I hear many stories about the North Stand having a great atmosphere and fans wish they had it back but I think now that the club has spent money on the QLE it wouldn’t be worth moving the home fans again.

Are you glad you own your stadium again?

Fantastic to finally own the ground, to get rid of Haslam has been long overdue and last week finally came to get rid of him so now hopefully we can start to make Field Mill a good ground again.

Posted by Vital Lincoln City on Monday, 18 March 2019

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