07/01/2008 - Brighton 1 Mansfield Town 2
READING striker Dave Kitson may not give two hoots about the FA Cup, but try telling Mansfield Town this competition is a waste of time.
On an afternoon as memorable as it was rain-swept, the Stags brushed away all pre-match forecasts and a capable Brighton side to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 20 years.
With the Stags having won just one game away all season – in the previous round of the cup at Harrogate Railway – and having the bare minimum 16 senior players available, they were rated, quite rightly, as rank outsiders to go through.
Brighton’s fans, supporters and officials were united in their absolute expectancy that they would breeze it against a team sitting 91st in the Football League and a division below them.
But the plot took an unlikely twist with Matt Hamshaw’s opener in the tenth minute and from then on it was clear Albion were going to be in for a far from comfortable afternoon.
Although the home side bossed possession for much of the game it was Mansfield who were by far the more incisive and had the greater number of clear-cut chances.
And for that reason it was a win that was clearly no fluke. The Seagulls had few complaints about their exit, other than their disappointing performance.
Whereas Mansfield have struggled to cut teams open in the last few away trips, they did it time and time again at the League One promotion hopefuls.
In fact, they probably fashioned more openings in this one game than they have done in their last four journeys to MK Dons, Chesterfield, Grimsby and Rochdale.
Naturally, that has begged the question from Mansfield fans: Why can they do it in the FA Cup but not where it most matters, in League Two?
Not even boss Billy Dearden is sure of that answer though, as he pointed out, a morale-boosting victory at the Withdean Stadium was far preferable than yet another confidence-sapping defeat.
But from the sidelines it seemed that Mansfield passed the ball with a greater precision, which allowed them to build their attacks. Instead of chasing back all the time after giving the ball away, the players’ greater comfort on the ball allowed them to pick out a route to goal.
It was also encouraging to see the Stags break from defence at pace before the opposition were allowed to recover their shape.
Too often this season the Stags have meandered their way forward and then faced a wall of defenders on reaching the 18-yard area.
But with the speed of Nathan Arnold and thrusting runs of Matt Hamshaw, the visitors always had the outlet to get themselves back on the front foot quickly.
Another key element to the win was the influence of Simon Brown. With Ian Holmes chasing everything up front, the former West Brom man played in between the Brighton midfield and defence.
As a result, the Seagulls did not know who should mark him and he used the space to good effect time and again.
However, it should not be forgotten that the defence were equally important.
Jake Buxton and Gareth Jelleyman were superb in the middle, and only once did they lose a big header, right at the death, when Carl Muggleton made a crucial save from substitute Nathan Elder.
With Stags having failed to win this season after conceding the first goal, the match’s opener was always going to have a big bearing on the game.
When Mansfield got it, their confidence visibly grew.
Simon Brown slid a pass inside full back Joel Lynch, leaving Hamshaw to advance into the box and finish past Michel Kuipers from a narrow angle for his first goal of the campaign.
As the Stags looked bright on the counter, their fans would have hoped for a period of consolidation at the back.
But by the 23rd minute, the Seagulls were level when a harshly awarded free-kick was whipped in by Dean Cox and headed home by Alex Revell for his fifth goal in three games.
From there, Brighton thought they would go on and win the game, but Mansfield had other ideas.
A sign of what was to come came just before the break when Holmes got away from Brown’s pass and screwed the ball across the face of goal when he might have scored.
In stoppage time, though, Mansfield did go back in front with one of the best team goals they are likely to score this or any other season.
From their own left-hand corner, the Stags passed their ball all the way up field and down the right flank through Nathan Arnold, Jonathan D’Laryea, Simon Brown and Matt Hamshaw.
It allowed Johnny Mullins to get to the right byline and put over a low centre that Holmes slotted in from close range.
After the break came the predictable Albion onslaught. But while they huffed and puffed, there were few real chances.
Indeed, it was Mansfield who had the better opportunities to add to their lead. Stephen Dawson and Brown had shots superbly saved by Kuipers and Holmes delayed too long when he looked odds on to score his second.
Even the three minutes of injury time were not too much of a problem for Mansfield, although Buxton did have to head over his own bar in a packed goalmouth. At the end, almost every Stags player ran over to the West Stand where their delirious supporters were congregated.
Even normally placid boss Dearden clapped from afar, unable to restrain his undoubted joy, while Brighton were booed from the field.
A measure of the Stags’ achievement was that the last time they had their name in the hat at this stage of the cup they drew Wimbledon in 1987-1988, who went on to lift the trophy after beating the Stags 2-1 at Field Mill and going on to conquer Liverpool. And there was more than a little of the ‘Crazy Gang’ spirit in this determined Mansfield performance.
The victory was made all the more enjoyable for the visiting supporters coming, as it has, after so much misery this season. It was also all the more remarkable giving their away record in League Two, where they are yet to triumph.
Hopefully, this success will demonstrate once and for all to the players that they have sufficient ability to start picking up points on their travels. The Stags will play sides with far less potency than Brighton between now and the end of the season, and if they can reproduce displays of this stature they ought to be all right.
Taking part in a phone-in after the match, Brighton chairman Dick Knight revealed he told Mansfield’s management he hoped they would go on to draw Manchester United at Old Trafford in today’s fourth round draw.
My, how that would do nicely.