Nigel Clough pleased depleted Mansfield played their match after comeback win

Posted Monday, December 27, 2021 by PA

Mansfield boss Nigel Clough was delighted his gamble of making sure the game went ahead, despite a depleted side, paid off as the Stags came from 2-0 down to beat Hartlepool 3-2 in thick Nottinghamshire fog.

Already shorn of four key players, Clough lost another four with positive Covid tests.

But, from 2-0 down, three goals in 11 second-half minutes saw them home for a 10th win in 11 games.

“It was a bit of a gamble getting the game on today after losing players, but we thought we had enough with the starting XI to get a result and we needed a game after two weeks without one,” he said.

“We lost three players at lunchtime and I think if we’d told one or two half truths we’d have got the game off. But we wanted to put a game on for the spectators – it’s Boxing Day.

“I thought right from the first five minutes it was a brilliant game and I am not quite sure how we got to be 1-0 down, giving away two sloppy goals.

“To come back from 2-0 down gives everyone a lot of confidence.”

On a late offside decision that denied Hartlepool a point, he added: “We maybe got a little fortunate in the last minute. I have not seen it back – the flag went up quite late. But we were not getting those breaks a couple of months back.”

Luke Molyneux tucked away a low Matty Daly cross to give Hartlepool a 25th-minute lead against the run of play and Nicky Featherstone smashed in a second from outside the box on 51 minutes after Stags keeper Nathan Bishop spilled a cross to spark a scramble.

But John-Joe O’Toole began the fightback on 55 minutes, heading in a George Maris corner, before Jordan Bowery headed home an Elliott Hewitt cross on 62 minutes.

Four minutes later a Maris cross sailed through everyone into the net to put Stags ahead but they survived a last gasp scare as Gavan Holohan poked home a long cross but was ruled offside.

Hartlepool boss Graeme Lee said: “From my angle I don’t see how it was offside. He made a run and came across one of their defenders and knocked it in.

“The linesman believed he was in an offside position before the kick was taken.

“I need to watch it again. If he has got it right then well played, but from my angle it looks a clear goal.

“But we shouldn’t be looking for a last-minute equaliser when we were 2-0 up. We should see the game out or at least keep doing the right things.”

“We know they’re a good team. But when you are 2-0 up I would expect us to win. We stopped doing what we’d been doing, sat off, and stopped pressing them.

“We dealt with crosses really well first half but second half we looked like a different team and it cost us.”