MAYNARD’S TRIPLE LEADS STAGS ROUT
MANSFIELD boss John Dempster hopes the ruthless drubbing of nine-men Oldham will get supporters believing in him.
Nicky Maynard scored a first-half hat-trick, with David Wheater’s own-goal and strikes from Oladapo Afolayan and Jimmy Knowles’ penalty ensuring the Stags’ victory.
The rookie boss had a poor start to the season, but his first back-to-back wins saw his side get a deserved ovation as Oldham paid the price for a first-half double sending-off.
“It was a performance to be proud of and, hopefully, now we will start transforming the doubters into believers,” said Dempster. “We can be a force this season but, if we are, it will be together – supporters, players, staff and the board.”
Oldham had Tomas Egert and Filipe Morais sent off after 37 minutes for two awful tackles in a row and Dempster said: “I wasn’t pleased with the straight-red tackle and I think the second yellow was a second yellow. It was a bit of a bizarre situation and you don’t often see that.”
He added: “It was an outstanding performance and we felt that had been coming over the last month or so.”
Mansfield’s early dominance had been rewarded when Maynard headed home a superb Kellan Gordon cross from five yards.
He made it 2-0 three minutes later, when tapping home from close range after Otis Khan drilled the ball across goal.
But, in the 37th minute, Oldham lost their heads as Morais, already booked, went in late on Neal Bishop and, as his pass reached Mal Benning, he was hit by an awful Egert challenge, with Morais shown a second yellow and Egert a straight red.
An error by keeper Conrad Logan, flapping at a cross, gifted the nine men a goal after 43 minutes, Tom Hamer tucking the loose ball away, only to see Maynard race away onto a Conor Shaughnessy through ball in stoppage time and round the keeper for his third.
In the 56th minute, a cross from Mal Benning rolled into the net off Wheater for a fourth, before a home breakaway saw Maynard set up Afolayan to roll home a fifth.
Oldham’s misery continued as sub Dylan Fage was stretched off within seven minutes, before Knowles bagged his first league goal with a penalty after Hamer had brought down Afolayan in the 83rd minute. Oldham boss Dino Maamria was furious with his side. “To have two players sent off so early is always going to lead to a heavy scoreline,” he said. “The red cards were bemusing to say the least. Sometimes you get a wrong red card decision, but to get two inside the same minute is bizarre. “I hope the ref will look back on that and get questioned. The moment of madness has changed the game.”