18 August 2018 Venue One Call Stadium Attendance
Match preview: Stags vs Colchester United
Stags welcome Colchester United to One Call Stadium this weekend for our third league fixture of the 2018-19 Sky Bet League Two season. Here's all you need to know ahead of the clash...
Centre-back Matt Preston is available for selection after he missed out on Stags' 6-1 win over Accrington Stanley due to concussion.
Defensive duo David Mirfin and Zander Diamond will miss out as they continue their recoveries from long-term knee and back injuries, respectively.
U's boss John McGreal has a fully-fit squad to select from ahead of this weekend's match.
The referee for Saturday's game will be Michael Salisbury, assisted by Gary Hilton and Wade Smith. The fourth official will be Duncan Street.
The last Stags' game Mr. Salisbury took charge of was our 1-1 draw with Coventry City at One Call Stadium in February of this year.
Stags' record-breaking 6-1 win over Accrington Stanley on Tuesday night saw them cruise into the second round of the Carabao Cup. Mansfield have also made a solid start to the league season, beating Newport 3-0 at home before picking up a hard-fought away point against Yeovil last weekend.
Colchester have also picked up four points from their first two league games, but went out of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night after losing 6-5 on penalties to Cheltenham.
STAGS' LAST FIVE GAMES: 4W | 1D | 0L
COLCHESTER'S LAST FIVE GAMES: 3W | 1D | 1L*
*Drew 2-2 with Cheltenham Town but lost 6-5 on penalties.
Tickets for the match are available to purchase online via www.stagstickets.co.uk, at the ticket office on Quarry Lane, or by calling the ticket office on 01623 482 482.
Supporters can also purchase tickets on the day of the game. The matchday ticket office will also be open for fans to buy tickets from 12pm until 3pm.
Our family ticket offer is also available for Saturday's game, which admits one adult and one child for just £18! Supporters that have purchased a family ticket will be seated in our family block, which is located in Block A of the Quarry Lane End. Fans with a family ticket may also be seated in Block B of the Quarry Lane End if demand dictates so.
Please note that, on police advice and for ease of congestion, the gate between the North and Ian Greaves Stand will be closed after every home game this season, re-opening approximately 20 minutes after the final whistle.
The Sandy Pate Sports Bar will open at 9am, serving delicious cooked breakfasts until 11am. After this, the bar will not serve food from the main menu, although the matchday kiosk inside the bar will open at 12.30pm, serving pies, chips, burgers and hot dogs.
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are available for both home and away supporters, and the bar is located at the rear of the Ian Greaves Stand.
The bar will begin to serve food from its main menu following the full-time whistle.
The sports bar will remain open until 11pm after the match.
Ticket holders in Blocks N, P, Q and R of the Ian Greaves Upper tier will also be able to access our Kevin Bird Suite from 1pm.
Supporters will also be able to purchase this season's first edition of our award-winning matchday programme, The Stag, which will be available to buy around the ground for just £3 before the match. Fans can buy The Stag from the merchandise stand near the Sandy Pate Sports Bar, or any of our mobile programme vendors around the ground.
Car parking is severely restricted at One Call Stadium and works on a first come, first served basis. All reserved car parking spaces are within the location of the Ian Greaves Stand car park.
Matchday parking costs £5.00 per car. Please note that the car park shuts at 30 minutes prior to kick-off due to safety regulations.
The following sites, owned by Mansfield District Council and with easy access to the One Call Stadium are Grove Street, Victoria Street, Garden Road and Church Lane.
Charges are as follows:
Grove St 50p/hr.
Victoria St 50p/hr.
Garden Rd 50p/hr.
Church Lane 80p/hr.
All of the above pay and display surface level car parks offer cashless parking via RingGo as an additional way to pay.
Every car park has a unique code so people can either pay over the phone, by text, online or by using a free smartphone app.
Details of how to do this are displayed in each car park. Information about all Mansfield District Council car parks can be found at www.mansfield.gov.uk/carparks.
Where do I go when I get to One Call Stadium?
If you are a hospitality guest, please enter the stadium via the brown double doors to the rear of the Ian Greaves Stand, which is the entrance to our hospitality suites.
The doors are located to the left of the white merchandise stall outside the Sandy Pate Sports Bar, backing onto the main car park and sign-posted 'The Kevin Bird Suite'.
Members of the media are asked to also head to the entrance to our hospitality suites, where our media steward will provide you with the necessary accreditation.
The required entrance is located to the left of the merchandise stall outside the Sandy Pate Sports Bar and signposted 'The Kevin Bird Suite'.
If you need to collect tickets, please head to the main ticket office on Quarry Lane. For ticket purchases, please visit the matchday ticket office, adjacent to the Quarry Lane Stand, around the corner from the main ticket office.
Entry to the Quarry Lane End is via the turnstiles situated parallel to the road running alongside One Call Stadium.
The Ian Greaves Stand is the main stand at One Call Stadium, which backs onto the main car park.
Away fans are housed in the North Stand, which is located next to Portland Retail Park. Please note: there is no matchday parking in the retail park.
Can't make it to the game? You can follow the action live via our Twitter feed or via the match centre on our wesbite, which will contain Opta-populated updates.
iFollow Stags subscribers can listen to full-match commentary of the clash, courtesy of commentators Martin Shaw and Dean Foulkes.
A report of the match will be published on the club website after the full-time whistle, and post-match reaction will be available to view on mansfieldtown.net and iFollow Stags.
Match report: Stags 1-1 Colchester United
Mansfield Town were held to a 1-1 draw by Colchester United after Craig Davies' opener was cancelled out by a last-gasp Sammie Szmodics equaliser.
It was a quiet first-half by Mansfield's standards as they dominated much of the possession without a goal to show for it.
The second-half burst into life when substitute Davies looked to have stolen all three points with a rasping drive from 19 yards. But Szmodics had other ideas as he poked the ball home following a goalmouth scramble, meaning the spoils were shared at One Call Stadium.
David Flitcroft made just a single change from Tuesday's record-breaking victory in the Carabao Cup – as Bobby Olejnik made way for Conrad Logan between the sticks.
It was a first-half that was dominated by the Stags' lengthy spells of possession, albeit no goals to show for it.
In the fifth minute, CJ Hamilton cut in from the left-hand side but his foot struck the ball too far south as it sailed over Dillon Barnes' crossbar.
Mansfield continued to probe at the visitors' back-line as they searched for an early opener at One Call Stadium.
Otis Khan then played a delightfully whipped cross from a corner towards the head of Ryan Sweeney – but the centre-half was unable to meet the ball with his head following a late run.
The match had already adopted a much slower start than the Stags' previous three fixtures during the 2018-19 season, so far.
Trying to capitalise from a set-piece, Mal Benning's effort towards goal struck the Colchester wall. The ball was then recycled by the defender, however it was too long a delivery for everyone in the middle and Colchester breathe a sigh of relief.
The left-back was then involved once more as he stopped the ball reaching Colchester's right-back, Jackson, but his header gifted the visitors a corner.
The subsequent ball was looped to the back-post by Brennan Dickenson and Prosser powered a header goalwards, which Logan was able to claw away acrobatically.
Down the other end, first Tyler Walker then Benning were both upended as the Stags continued to look for an opener after their scare just moments prior.
Khan's next ball into the mix was cleared away with ease by Colchester and Alex MacDonald's ball back in fell into the arms of 'keeper Barnes.
Moments later, Walker received the ball on the right-flank and his attempted through-ball to Khan was slightly over hit, as he watched is roll into the arms of Barnes once more.
On the half-an-hour mark Hayden White scooped a lovely ball between two players to find Hamilton; however, the winger's touch was too heavy as he let Colchester off the hook.
Calum Butcher then opted for a pass to Khan instead of Walker who looked to had made a great run, and the home side had to settle for a subsequent throw-in.
Stags' skipper, Krystian Pearce, then pulled down Courtney Senior to halt a Colchester attack and received a yellow card for his troubles. Luckily, nothing came to fruition for the visitors.
Five minutes from half-time, Hamilton sprinted alongside Kane Vincent-Young and dug out a low cross that was hooked away by Prosser.
And one minute later it was Hamilton's teammate, Butcher, who found himself in a similar position. The midfielder's attempted cross could only find Barnes as the half looked to be petering out without a goal to show for it.
On the stroke of half-time, Pearce denied the U's any chance of taking the lead with a standing challenge that was met with applause from the Stags' faithful.
Into the second-half and Sweeney looked to have misjudged a header that almost let Szmodics in-behind – but he tidied up well following a neat one-two with Logan.
An hour into the game and the decibel levels rose inside One Call Stadium as Hamilton won a corner for his side. It was taken in due course and moments later Mansfield had both a penalty and handball appeal waved away by referee Michael Salisbury.
Frank Nouble tried his best to bring Colchester forward but was eventually suffocated between several Mansfield defenders who were able to bring the ball away.
On 67 minutes substitute Craig Davies battled with Vincent-Young, who tried to shield the ball out of play, but the striker came out on top as he won a corner for the Stags.
The ball then found its way out to Khan following the corner, and his teasing ball was inches away from Walker's outstretched right boot.
The boss then introduced both Neal Bishop and Danny Rose as he looked to take all three points with just over ten minutes left to play. The latter then won a free-kick 35 yards from Colchester's goal after looking to break away with the ball.
Despite Flitcroft's two final substitutions, it was his first that was able to produce the goods in the 81st minute.
Craig Davies picked up the ball on the left-hand side, and after his initial attempt at goal was blocked, he struck a rasping drive through Barnes' hands to give his side a deserved lead.
With their tails up, the Stags came forward with Hamilton once more. He fed the ball to Rose and his curling shot could only find the mid-rift of Colchester's shot-stopper.
The final minutes were dominated by the visiting side as they sought an equaliser.
Mansfield stayed resolute for the most part, however, it was heartbreak for Flitcroft's men after Szmodics rescued a point for the visiting side in the 95th minute. A long throw was not dealt with by the Mansfield defence and it bounced along for the midfielder to prod home.
There will be little time for reflection, though, as the Stags are next in action on Tuesday evening as they make the journey north to face Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park.
STAGS XI: Logan (GK), White, Benning, Pearce ©, MacDonald, Mellis (Bishop 77'), Khan (Rose 77'), Butcher (Davies 58'), Sweeney, Walker, Hamilton.
SUBS NOT USED: Olejnik (GK), Atkinson, Sterling-James, Gibbens.
COLCHESTER UNITED XI: Barnes (GK), Jackson, Kent, Prosser ©, Vincent-Young (Eastman 87'), Lapslie, Pell, Dickenson, Szmodics, Senior (Norris 72'), Nouble (Mandron 88')
SUBS NOT USED: Ross (GK), Wright, Comley, Collins.
REFEREE: Michael Salisbury.
ASSISTANTS: Gary Hilton & Wade Smith.
FOURTH OFFICIAL: Duncan Street.
ATTENDANCE: 3,909 (196 away).