CURZON ASHTON 0, MANSFIELD TOWN 4
Before Mansfield Town’s Emirates FA Cup, first-round tie at non-league Curzon Ashton, Stags’ manager Nigel Clough spoke about a lucrative Emirates FA Cup run being a ‘game changer’.
Certainly the estimated £50,000 Curzon Ashton have banked from reaching the first round proper will be a massive financial help to the club which operates on a shoestring budget and punches well above its weight in Vanarama National League North.
With new cover planned for the open terrace behind the goal at the end of the season, the proceeds from the cup run will be welcome revenue.
Clough’s Mansfield travel to fellow Sky Bet League One side Stevenage in the second round and possibly are only 90 minutes away from a lucrative tie when the Premier League giants enter the fray.
The Stags’ manager reminisced about his Burton Albion, then a non-league side, and their cup exploits including taking Manchester United back to Old Trafford for a replay.
He said: “Oldham were flying high in League One and we took them back to Eton Park, where we played then, for a replay which was live on television and that money gave the club a huge boost.
“When we later took Manchester United to a replay, it was a whole different level and set up the club and gave it a foundation to move forward.
“We paid off the debt on the new ground and it put the club on a footing it has been on for the last 10/15 years.”
Curzon, who were in the first round for the third successive year, were left to reflect on what might have been had defender Marcus Poscha not been sent off early in the game for a controversial handball on the goalline.
Poscha, who protested his innocence, later posted a photo on social media of a ball mark on his chest to prove his point.
It was widely accepted – including the television pundits – that referee Thomas Parsons got it wrong.
Curzon player-manager Craig Mahon was measured in his response pointing out it is ‘swings and roundabouts’ saying some decisions this season have gone their way while others haven’t.
For this one to go against them in a game of such magnitude must have been a bitter pill to swallow.
Mahon was proud of the way his 10 men battled for 75 minutes with a numerical disadvantage to create chances and cause problems for the Stags.
And Clough gave credit to Curzon for the way they played with 11 and 10 men saying their display was above the standard of the league in which they play.
Once Lucas Akins fired Mansfield ahead with that 16th minute penalty, realistically that was the end of Curzon’s hopes of an upset.
Stephen Quinn doubled Mansfield’s advantage on the half hour and Curzon must have feared what lay ahead.
The Nash dug in and Mansfield’s had to wait until the 73rd minute when youngster Ben Waine fired home a third after moments earlier being denied by the frame of the goal.
As the part-timers tired against the League One high-flyers, Ben Quinn added a fourth goal in the 86th minute while Aden Flint headed against the bar for the visitors who finished the game strongly as you would expect.