Stags are back in action at the One Call Stadium for their midweek Cup clash tonight and Harry Lewis has been named in the Nigel Clough’s starting line-up.
The 29-year-old is ready for another run out to ‘show what he’s about’ as Mansfield hope for their first win in this season’s tournament.
Stags have been drawn into Group D for the 2026/27 EFL Trophy, alongside Chesterfield, Port Vale and tonight’s opposition Man City U21s.
Mansfield Town goalkeeper Harry Lewis at the Sky Bet League 1 match against Exeter City FC at the One Call Stadium, 07 Feb 2026, Photo credit Chris & Jeanette Holloway / The Bigger Picture.mediaplaceholder image
Mansfield Town goalkeeper Harry Lewis at the Sky Bet League 1 match against Exeter City FC at the One Call Stadium, 07 Feb 2026, Photo credit Chris & Jeanette Holloway / The Bigger Picture.media
Mansfield Town are already out of the FA Cup following their defeat to Championship side Sheffield United. Since then, they have picked up their first League One win of the season and are eager to keep pushing on as they look to improve on last season.
Lewis may have conceded three goals against the Blades but he believes he put in an all-round better performance in the FA Cup than he did during his three clean sheet appearances in the league last season.
“It’s funny but I probably played better against Sheffield United than I did those three league games, in terms of what the manager wants to see from his goalkeeper, being aggressive and making good decisions on the ball,” the shot-stopper said ahead of the game.
“In those three games last season, they were three 0-0s and at that stage of the season, it was just about getting points on the door.
“I did what I was there to do, which was keep the ball out of the net. But in a lot of ways, if you isolate my performance, I probably played better in the game we got beat.
“It’s not a position everybody understands a lot of the time but I came away from the 3-0 thinking that, of course I wanted to keep a clean sheet but I was relatively happy that I was quite solid in my performance.”
Now, Lewis has been called upon to face Man City U21s in the EFL Trophy and he will look to build on the shift he put in against Sheffield United.
“It’s another important opportunity to keep sharp and show what I’m about. It’s a different kind of test but having been on the other side of it when I was at Southampton and playing for the U21s in this competition, you’d like to think as the senior team, we can dominate physically and be more aggressive. So it will be an interesting match up.
“There’s been a lot said about this competition over the last couple of years but apart from everything else, it’s 90 minutes of football and an opportunity to show what you’re about.”