Mansfield 2-1 Newport Player Ratings: speed of Hamilton

Shaquile Coulthirst’s scored the winning penalty as Mansfield came from behind to beat 10-man Newport 2-1 – but how did players on both teams rate?

Mansfield Town

Jake Kean – looked shaky prior to his first half injury. Spilled the ball to Bird for the opener. 4

Lee Collins – a centre-back by trade and it showed. Looked far too timid at right-back and was lucky he faced a side without much width. 3
Krystian Pearce – didn’t deserve his man-of-the-match award despite his goal. One or two sliced clearances, even when under little pressure. 4
Rhys Bennett – one shaky moment inside the first 30 seconds and did not look confident after that, bar one good block from Bird. Should have done better with a first half header at goal. 3
Mal Benning – poor distribution and looked a little lost at times. 4

Jamie McGuire – put in some strong challenges that stopped the opposition getting any forward momentum. 7
Joel Byrom – some of his set piece deliveries could have been better. Showed a willingness to get forward until McGuire came off and he occupied a more circumspect role. 5
Benjamin Whiteman – teammates got the ball to forwards early, meaning Whiteman was on the periphery. With the limited possession he did have he made one or two good deliveries, including the cross for Hamilton’s second half header wide. 6
CJ Hamilton – a constant threat down the left. Got in behind Samuel on numerous occasions and could have had a goal. 9

Patrick Hoban – worked hard and held onto the ball, yet couldn’t use his physicality to get beyond the opposing back-line. 5
Shaquile Coulthirst – caused problems with his pace and tenacity. Deserved his goal from the spot – despite the wind suggesting otherwise when it moved the ball on the penalty spot… 7

Scott Shearer (on 40) – didn’t face any shots on target, but didn’t induce confidence with one or two nervous flaps. 4
Alex MacDonald (on 73)
Yoann Arquin (on 88)

Newport County

Joe Day – went walkabouts for the first goal, got a hand to the penalty. Made some decent saves in the first half. 7

Alex Samuel – technically a wing-back, but with more emphasis on ‘back’ than ‘wing’. Terrible defensively yet when the shackles were released, he put in one good cross from the right. Should have been allowed more freedom. 4
Scot Bennett – drafted in to replace the injured Mark O’Brien and given the late notice, he did ok. 6
Darren Jones – caught out for a lack of pace on occasions. Coulthirst caused problems for him. 4
Micky Demetriou – did not do too much wrong defensively and produced one fine goal-line block from Hoban. 6
Dan Butler – too close to the centre-backs to have an influence on the game. With Mansfield’s right-sided vulnerabilities, he should have pushed forward more often. 3

Mitch Rose – not the best technically but ran his socks off and put up a fight out of possession. Sometimes he was the only player pressing the ball. 6
Michael Flynn – often dropped from midfield into the defence, prior to his unfortunate first half injury. 4
Craig Reid – something of a passenger without the ball and offered little with it. Gave away a penalty for his handball in the second half. 2
Janaai Gordon – faded after some decent early runs. Controversially sent off for a late challenge on Byrom. 4
Ryan Bird – capitalized on Kean’s spill for the opener. Produced two other reasonable attempts at goal, despite being starved of service. 6

Paul Bignot (on 27) – showed a reluctance to close down – didn’t get out to Hamilton quickly enough. 4
Josh Sheehan (on 80)
Marlon Jackson (on 85)