Home Form Imperative In The Stags’ Success As Barrow Make The Trip To Nottinghamshire

In their last three outings at the One Call Stadium, Mansfield Town have gained seven points, scoring six, conceding two and keeping one clean sheet proving that a good home record could go a long way in the Stags’ promotion hunt.

Mansfield Town and Barrow have had heated affairs since the Bluebirds’ promotion to the Football League in 2020 and this will be another tough encounter for the unbeaten Stags.

If the amber and blues are to continue their strong start to the season, they must get past a resolute Barrow side who have conceded only six goals so far this season, the joint-lowest in League Two.

Stags’ Unbeaten Streak Continues

With an unbeaten run to protect, Mansfield Town travelled to the JobServe Community Stadium with confidence and swagger but were also wary of the threat that Colchester United can pose on any given day.

Ben Garner’s side proved exactly that by beating struggling Tranmere Rovers 2-0 the week before and amassing a total of 30 shots with 12 of those being on target.

It was the hosts who managed to take the lead on the half-hour mark.

As the U’s started to knock on the door, talisman Joe Taylor found himself on the ball in the box and fired an effort past Christy Pym and into the back of the net.

In the second-half, both sides were looking for more goals but it wasn’t until the 90th minute that the ball found the net once again.

Fortunately, the goal came for the Stags as the ball fell for Davis Keillor-Dunn who smashed his close-range shot into the top corner of Owen Goodman’s goal.

The draw saw Colchester move up places but Mansfield Town fell down to fifth as a result of wins for Wrexham and Swindon Town.

Bluebirds Battle From Behind

Pete Wild’s Barrow have enjoyed a good start to the League Two season, occupying 10th place with only one loss from seven matches in the league.

Conceding the joint-lowest amount of goals, the Bluebirds looked to continue their strong start with an away game against Newport County.

With 64% possession of the ball throughout the whole game, it was the Exiles who took the lead in the 40th minute through Shane McLoughlin.

However, the hosts would face an uphill task in keeping ahold of their lead as three minutes later, Ryan Delaney was sent off.

Barrow were awarded a penalty in the second-half which Dean Campbell to draw the game level, however, Barrow failed to go on and find the winner as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw against 10-man Newport.

The result saw Barrow fall down the table but the Bluebirds have the Play-Offs and Automatic Promotion places firmly in their sights.

Form Guide

In the last five matches, Mansfield Town have won two and drawn three as their unbeaten league record remains intact.

Scoring eight goals and conceding four have seen the Stags in flying form in the last five matches as they aim to continue their unbeaten run.

The amber and blues have kept three clean sheets from eight league matches and this may prove to be a pivotal asset ahead of this weekend’s clash.

Barrow, meanwhile, have recorded one win, three draws and one loss with the overriding result being a 1-1 draw from the last five matches.

Keeping one clean sheet, scoring four and conceding four, the Bluebirds have found the right balance between scoring and conceding but will need to score a lot more of they are serious promotion contenders come the end of the season.

Head-To-Head

In the all-time League Two head-to-head between the two sides, Barrow hold the upper hand with four wins compared to Mansfield Town’s two.

The Bluebirds won their first three games against the Stags in the EFL with the amber and blues then recording three wins of their own (two in League Two and one in the FA Cup).

Pete Wild’s side retained the advantage in the all-time head-to-head in all competitions with a 3-2 win in January at the One Call Stadium.

In six League Two games, there were 19 goals scored, an average of over three goals per game.

With 10 goals alone in the last three League Two fixtures, this game is set to be another thriller between two strong sides.

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