Mansfield boss Dempster rues missed opportunities following Stevenage stalemate

Posted Sunday, August 25, 2019 by PA

Mansfield boss John Dempster rued his side’s missed opportunities following their goalless draw with battling Stevenage.

The home side enjoyed plenty of possession throughout but were unable to apply the killer touch, with Alex MacDonald, Danny Rose and Otis Khan all going close.

Goalkeeper Conrad Logan pulled off a brilliant save to keep out Paul Taylor after 12 minutes.

Ryan Sweeney had a goal ruled out for offside in the 36th minute after a close-range finish..

Khan and Rose had goal-bound shots blocked and Paul Farman pulled off a brilliant one-handed reflex save to deny Rose after 77 minutes as the Stags upped the pressure late on.

MacDonald was then denied by a stunning goal-line clearance by Luther James-Wildin with two minutes to go.

Dempster said: “It is frustrating to keep a clean sheet and not win. We had plenty of chances and that is the first time we have fallen short in that end of the pitch this season.

“You want a level of performance but you also want to create chances and put your chances away. This is a missed opportunity, we didn’t take our chances.

“The injuries we have been picking up are frustrating, they are impact injuries and there is nothing we can do.

“I felt Danny Rose was going to get a goal at some point today, but it didn’t happen. Alex MacDonald had chances and it was a great block on the line.

“Conrad Logan has not had a lot to do other than that one save, so we are disappointed not to win.

“There is a long way to go, though, and we have another point and something to build on.”

Delighted Stevenage boss Dino Maamria praised the efforts of his side’s more experienced players.

“We knew Mansfield would make it hard for us and this is a brilliant point,” he said. “We were very good in the first half and had the best chance, we should have scored and it would have been a different game.

“I thought the experienced players were magnificent for us today. Joel Byrom was outstanding, Chris Stokes was magnificent at the back and Danny Newton never stopped running.

“They carried the young players through. We’ve had a lot of injuries and if you lose so many key players any team will struggle.

“We have eight first-team players out, we are not in a great position, but you have to look at the circumstances. If any other team was facing these problems, they would do much worse.

“We’ve got a lot of young players and they are all learning and putting their bodies on the line.”