Nigel Clough hoping Matty Longstaff has major impact on Mansfield midfield

Posted Wednesday, February 02, 2022 by PA

Nigel Clough is hoping surprise transfer deadline day loan signing Matty Longstaff can freshen up a tired Mansfield midfield following a 0-0 draw at Harrogate.

The Stags’ club record run of eight successive league victories ended at a windswept Wetherby Road, with Clough admitting the exertions of that impressive winning streak might be taking its toll.

Longstaff, recruited from Newcastle, did not feature at Harrogate, but will be available for Mansfield’s next match.

Clough said: “We certainly weren’t at our best and I’m glad we brought some players in before the transfer window closed to freshen things up.

“We were well off it in the first half. Ollie Clarke gave lots of free-kicks away just through fatigue and it was the same with George Maris and Ryan Stirk in midfield – they were nowhere near as good as they have been.

“The chance to get Matty Longstaff in came pretty late in the afternoon. He was lined up to go somewhere else, but it didn’t happen.

“We got a shout to see if we wanted to take him and he wants to play because he went to Aberdeen and didn’t play as much as he’d have liked.

“Hopefully, he can supplement our midfield and give us that bit of quality that might have been the difference against Harrogate.”

Clough also lamented a second-half Jordan Bowery chance that the former Aston Villa striker hit straight at home defender Leon Legge from inside the six-yard box.

He added: “We had a glaring opportunity to win the game. Jordan Bowery was three or four yards out from goal and you have to score from there.

“Not taking that chance was the difference. You have to score certain types of chances but they could have nicked a goal as well.

“We were never going to keep winning every match but, when you don’t, it’s important to get a point.”

Harrogate boss Simon Weaver was pleased with a return to form for his team following the disappointing 3-0 loss at Stevenage on Saturday.

“It was a return to what got us to this level of football,” he declared.

“It was a performance full of energy, effort and getting in people’s faces.

“We also had players out there who can run with the ball like Brahima Diarra, Jack Diamond and Alex Pattison and I thought they did that well in the second half.

“They put us under pressure with long throws and they played the conditions, but I thought we got better and better and started getting the ball down to feet and getting in behind them.

“In the second half, we played a better style of play and it was more productive for us. It was a really good performance, full of passion and grit and I was proud of them.

“The lads deserve a lot of credit for the way they tried to play and the way they played in such difficult conditions.”