Latics vs. Mansfield Town

Sky Bet League Two - Matchday 38

25 March 2022

Latics are back at Boundary Park again this weekend as they welcome Mansfield Town for another crucial Sky Bet League Two game (3pm KO).

With five consecutive defeats for John Sheridan’s men, this game is of huge importance as Oldham look to give themselves ahead in the battle to avoid the drop.

Last time out, it was a disappointing 3-1 defeat against playoff hopefuls Sutton United on home turf.

Form Guide

Club News

25032022 Mansfield Programme

25 March 2022

The Stags come into this game on the back of a victory, but they did lose the two games that came before that.

However, those two defeats can be seen as blips when consulting the form book as prior to that they had gone 14 league games without defeat.

In the middle of that 14 game run in the league was an Emirates FA Cup run that saw them eventually fall to Sky Bet Championship side Middlesbrough courtesy of a cruel own goal in time added on at the end of the second period.

Mansfield’s 10^th place position is a little bit misleading as they sit just two points away from a place in the play-offs with three games in hand on seventh-placed Swindon Town.

The Stags’ last six:

Rochdale 0-1 Mansfield Town
Port Vale 3-1 Mansfield Town
Tranmere Rovers 3-2 Mansfield Town
Mansfield Town 2-1 Exeter City
Bradford City 0-2 Mansfield Town
Newport County 1-1 Mansfield Town

Head-to-Head

Played: 66

Latics wins: 29
Mansfield wins: 19
Draws: 18

In the game at Field Mill earlier on in the campaign, the two clubs played out a goalless draw.

The last time that Oldham managed to get the better of their opposition was January 2020 at Boundary Park, it was a comfortable Tuesday evening for Latics.

First-half goals from Jonny Smith and Tom Hamer put the hosts in the ascendency and Gevaro Nepomuceno’s 58^th minute strike added to the comfortable feeling.

Otis Khan was on hand to claw back a consolation goal for the Stags in the third minute of added time at the end of the game as it finished 3-1.

Watch Out For

Matty Longstaff is the key man and a catalyst for Mansfield’s impressive form.

Matty Longstaff.jpg

Arriving on loan from Newcastle United, the signing seemed like a massive coup for Mansfield and, so far, he has not failed to live up to expectations.

In the six games that the young midfielder has played for Town, he has found the back of the net on an impressive three times.

He was absent due to injury in the Port Vale defeat and his return to the side for the Rochdale clash was a welcome one as he played the full 90 in the 1-0 win.

The ginger-haired sensation burst onto the scene for his parent club in a 1-0 win over Manchester United at St James’ Park.

Appearing in a two-man midfield with brother Sean, Matty scored the winning goal at the Gallowgate End with a cultured finish from the edge of the area and he was awarded the man of the match award to boot.

Unfortunately for the 22-year-old, he has found game time hard to come by in the Premier League for the Magpies but when he has been given the opportunity he has seldom looked out of place amongst the big boys.

Matty will provide a tough test for the Oldham midfield and he has shown that he has an eye for goal, so he could potentially trouble the backline.

In The Dugout

Nigel Clough is the man in the dugout for the visitors.

Nigel Clough - Two.jpg

Son of the legendary Brian Clough, Nigel has also managed to make a name for himself in the management game.

The 56-year-old has had great success at Burton Albion whilst also taking charge at Derby County and Sheffield United.

He has been in charge at Field Mill since November 2020.

As a player, Clough represented Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, Manchester City, Sheffield Wednesday and Burton Albion and also represented the English national team on 14 occasions.

Match Officials

The official in the middle for the game is Benjamin Toner.

Ben Toner.jpg

Toner last officiated a Latics game in September 2021 for our 4-0 away defeat against Leyton Orient. On that day, he handed out three yellow cards and zero red cards.

He's taken charge of 25 games, so far, this campaign, handing out a total of 71 yellow cards and three red cards.

Toner will be assisted by Declan Ford and Stephen Ward, with Ollie Williams as the Fourth Official.

Sky Bet Odds

Unsurprisingly given the form book, Mansfield are favourites for this game and are currently priced at 21/20 to take maximum points.

Latics are in desperate need of points and the bookies have them at 12/5 to claim all three.

12/5 is also the price for the draw.

Please gamble responsibly by clicking here. For more information visit: www.begambleaware.org

How To Follow The Game

Fixture News

25032022 Mansfield iFollow Match Pass

25 March 2022

Live match action on the £10 'match pass' is available on iFollow Latics in the UK and overseas for supporters who can't attend in person, with Roy Butterworth and Michael Brown talking you through the match action due to the international break.

For more information, visit the iFollow Latics page by clicking here.

Alternatively, supporters can also follow the game with live updates on the club's official Twitter account: @OfficialOAFC.

Match Reports

Latics 1-2 Mansfield Town

26 March 2022

Latics were left bitterly frustrated as Mansfield Town compounded the ‘boys in blue’ to another defeat on home turf.

Oldham had a promising start to the game as Jack Stobbs shaped a fine bit of individual brilliance to provide Keillor-Dunn with assist from the right-hand side.

Frustratingly, the Yellows levelled after the restart when Rhys Oates’ strike from the edge of the penalty area was deflected and found its way into the far corner before George Lapslie bundled in a winner in stoppage time.

With the visitors in search of back-to-back away wins, Shez opted for two changes from the midweek defeat against Sutton. Most notably, Carl Piergianni returned to the side after serving a two-match suspension and Dylan Bahamboula also returned.

As the sun beamed down on Boundary Park, both sides began the encounter with attacking intent which saw Oates cleverly cut inside from the left-wing before he drilled a low effort goalwards, but Danny Rogers comfortably denied the attacker.

In typical fashion, Nicky Adams delivered a pinpoint cross towards a towering Piergianni near the penalty spot with Nathan Bishop comfortably keeping hold of the skipper’s header, but it offered Latics positive signs.

Following that, Stephen McLaughlin raced down the left-hand side and illustrated immense vision as he sent Oates one-on-one with the Latics shot-stopper, but his low strike was excellently denied by the ‘keeper.

In the 24^th minute, the terraces erupted as Keillor-Dunn put the hosts ahead after remarkably work from a teammate. Stobbs received possession towards the halfway line, and then, began a skilful dribble down the right-wing in order to supply an outstanding cross to the Sunderland-born man and he steered his header into the bottom corner.

Oldham were gathering momentum and forced the visitors into needless errors as the interval neared. Once again, Adams provided an impressive corner onto the head of Piergianni with the ‘keeper parrying the effort over the crossbar.

A half-time substitute, Jordan Bowery endeavoured to make an impact on the game, and he almost did just that within a minute of his introduction. The former Aston Villa striker picked up the ball on the byline before he selflessly pulled it back to Matty Longstaff inside the six-yard box, but somehow, Rogers kept him at bay.

Latics should’ve extended their advantage as Stobbs won possession inside the area, and then, laid it back to Keillor-Dunn, but the attack-minded individual fashioned a weak attempt which failed to cause the goalkeeper any real problems.

As it often is in football, Shez’s men were left to rue their missed opportunities with Oates finding the back of the net with a deflected effort in the 53^rd minute to the joy of the away fans and the visiting dugout.

The Stags started to apply a vast amount of pressure and were nearly celebrating again when McLaughlin raced into the area, but his fierce low effort dragged past the far post. Then, a corner found Ollie Hawkins inside the six-yard box, and he instinctively flicked goalwards, only to be denied by Rogers.

In added time, Latics suffered more heartbreak as Mansfield clinched all three points courtesy of a substitute. Oates blasted his strike off the post before it hit an unmarked Lapslie inside the six-yard box and rolled over the line.

In the final seconds, the Stags were determined to remain tight at the back and they managed to see out the result which will be massive in their pursuit of the play-offs.

Oldham Athletic XI – Rogers (GK), Clarke, Piergianni ©, Adams (Hunt 67’), Whelan, Hope, Keillor-Dunn, Stobbs (Vaughan 74’), Bahamboula, Sutton, Couto (Fage 68’).

Unused Subs: Leutwiler (GK), Da Silva, Diarra, Hopcutt.

Goals: Keillor-Dunn 24’

Mansfield Town XI – Bishop (GK), McLaughlin ©, Hewitt (Bowery 46’), Murphy, Hawkins, Perch, Quinn, Oates, Wallace (Stirk 67’), O’Toole, Longstaff (Lapslie 80’).

Unused Subs: Stech (GK), Rawson, Johnson, Akins.

Goals: Oates 53’, Lapslie 95’

Attendance: 6,042 (1,321 away)

Referee – Ben Toner