Graham Coughlan ‘fuming’ after Mansfield throw away two-goal lead to draw

Mansfield manager Graham Coughlan was “absolutely fuming” despite his side taking a point in a 2-2 draw at Leyton Orient.

The Stags boss saw his side throw away a two-goal lead, although they did score for the first time this season when Jordan Bowery’s penalty was followed by a goal by Andy Cook.

Orient hit back with eight minutes remaining when goal-poacher Danny Johnson scored his fifth goal of the campaign before Ruel Sotiriou snatched an equaliser in added time.

“It should have been another three points. We should have had six from two league games and we only have two,” Coughlan said.

“We are two-nil up and our decision-making was poor and we have given two terrible goals away.

“We just switched off for the last 10 minutes. At the end of the day, we might have taken a point before the game but I cannot emphasise how angry I am right now.

“When you are two-nil up and give the opposition a glimmer of hope it’s hard to take, but we simply pushed the self-destruct button. It’s these silly, silly moments that have cost us again. When we are two-nil up and Ollie Clarke decides to shoot from the halfway line, things like that make me furious.

“We go back to the training ground and keep working hard. We have a good group here and we will get our reward if we keep working hard.”

Orient head coach Ross Embleton admitted he was relieved with the eventual outcome.

The O’s boss had been disappointed after seeing his side fall behind but took encouragement from the fightback which maintained their unbeaten start to the season.

“From a character perspective, the way the players and staff have put their bodies on the line has been remarkable,” Embleton said.

“I had nine players on the list this morning who were at risk and I almost had to tear up the notes because it was difficult to know who was fit to play 90 minutes.

“The performance I was disappointed with because I felt we could have been much better at times, but ultimately I’m pleased we showed once again to find a way and grab a point late on.

“Danny Johnson found the net again, which is great to see, and it feels at the moment as though he can’t stop scoring.

“And I’m also delighted for young Ruel to get off the mark for the season after James Brophy’s superb run, which made amends for his earlier error when he gave away a soft penalty.”