By Chris
Notts County are on the brink of a perfect September, navigating through their six games so far with a 100% record, scoring 12 goals and conceding just one en route to the top of the table.
But now comes the sternest test of all - arguably our fiercest local derby, against Mansfield Town, away from home.
Here is Chris's scouting report for the Nottinghamshire derby.
History
Notts County and Mansfield Town have met 49 times over the years.
The first fixture between the two was in October 1937, a 2-0 win for the Magpies in Division Three (South).
Notts only just have the upper hand with 18 wins, 17 defeats, and 14 draws.
Between 1989 and 2001, the two sides met six times – and Notts won each time.
County's record over the last 10 meetings, however, is poor, standing at two wins, four defeats, and four draws.
This record is embellished by the fact Notts have beaten Mansfield twice in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in the last two years.
In reality, the Magpies haven't got a league win over the Stags since August 2005.
Run-down of their last six features
Saturday 2nd September – Carlisle United 1 Mansfield Town 1
Saturday 9th September – Mansfield Town 4 Grimsby Town 1
Tuesday 12th September – Mansfield Town 0 Wycombe Wanderers 0
Saturday 16th September – Lincoln City 0 Mansfield Town 1
Saturday 23rd September – Mansfield Town 2 Cambridge United 2
Tuesday 26th September – Cheltenham Town 3 Mansfield Town 0
The Players – Fact Sheet
Highest Goal Scorers; Danny Rose 4, Lee Angol 4, Alfie Potter 1 and David Mirfin 1.
Persistent Foulers; Jacob Mellis 4 yellow cards, Calum Butcher 3 yellow cards, Joel Byrom 2 yellow cards and Danny Rose 2 yellow cards.
The Key Players
The once promising Chelsea academy product and England Under-19’s midfielder Jacob Mellis is a quick minded player, who can play box-to-box and turn the opposition inside out with clever play – he is a great asset for Mansfield and his no-nonsense approach to physical tackles will be something to be aware of.
Paul Anderson is also a very experienced winger, who likes to run directly at times and can unlock sides with a defend cross or well placed through ball.
Mansfield’s star player for me appears to be the 23-year-old striker Danny Rose, who is comfortable in possession and waiting for the perfect opportunity to get a strike on goal. His positioning is generally quite tricky to track and as a result allows him to find space in keys areas.
Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses
In games when allowed to play, Mansfield Town start off very direct and take to attacking with sheer pace. They mix their breaks from all across the park, but in my opinion they look more dangerous when they take to using the flank as a way to cut back in.
They appear to be a very capable side, and quite well organised in terms of their positioning.
Going forward they do have limitations, and their midfield seems to play to far up the field – with their defence weirdly quite deep.
This tends to create a lot of space in the centre of the park, but forces teams to drop back themselves. However, better sides seem very able to hit Mansfield on the break and as a result they then start to appear just like an average League Two team.
Defensively, they look very chaotic when hit and possession is held by the opposition team. Leading to panic and confusion within their defence.
Overall Notts should just look to make use of the wing themselves, as aerial threats appear to be one strong weakness. It’s a game that Shola Ameobi would literally love, as he would be able to calm the place down and allow for more pacier players to be the direct threats.
Free kicks will most likely be won in favour of Notts, as the Stags like to use this to break down the play.
But really, quick movement and clever positioning would work to great effect against Mansfield. If Notts can build positively, control the game in key areas such as the midfield and force them to be more defensive – team should be on the Magpies’ side when it comes to creating decent chances.
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