Dempster furious with Mansfield’s ‘unacceptable’ start

Posted Sunday, August 11, 2019 by PA

New Mansfield boss John Dempster criticised his players for a poor start to a game for the second week running as they again had to battle back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at home with Morecambe.

Nicky Maynard and Danny Rose’s goals pulled Mansfield level after Sam Lavelle and Lewis Alessandra’s strikes gave Morecambe control.

It was the same scenario for Mansfield as at Newport last weekend.

Dempster said: “We were 2-0 down so I suppose it’s not a bad point, but we will this week really focus on how we start football matches as that was unacceptable.

“We will speak on Monday and review the video, then have a discussion.

“I want characters, leaders, people that are not scared when the crowd are on their back. People who react well to adversity.

“I gave the players a pat on the back last week for their reaction after being 2-0 down at half-time.

“But today was not good enough and they were questioned at half-time if they had the character to come back into the game again. They answered that question with a yes – they have.

“But I expect that kind of character and determination from minute one.”

The Stags also ended up with 10 men for a second week in a row after Matt Preston was red-carded eight minutes from time for a lunge on Alessandra.

“The sending-off was disappointing. There was no need for Matty Preston to make that challenge,” said Dempster.

Lavelle headed Morecambe in front on four minutes from a far post John O’Sullivan cross and Alessandra made it 2-0 when his head beat keeper Conrad Logan to Kevin Ellison’s looping cross on 21 minutes.

But Maynard pulled one back on 39 minutes, pouncing after Barry Roche could only parry Alex MacDonald’s 20-yard strike, before MacDonald’s cross set up Rose for a headed equaliser on 72 minutes.

Morecambe boss Jim Bentley said: “You want to win every game, but you’d take a point away at Mansfield before the game with what they’ve got, where they are expected to be and what happened to us when they thumped us here last year.

“We are up and running with our first goals and point and we gave a good account of ourselves.

“It was an eventful game away to one of the favourites in the league who have quality players.

“We were playing against one of the best sides with one, if not two, of the best strikers in this division in Maynard and Rose – I thought Rose was exceptional today.

“Our fans will have been delighted to be 2-0 up away at Mansfield and it could have been three or four.

“My disappointment is I think we’ve got more in the tank and we are better than what we showed. But there were a lot of positives.”