Darren Moore admits to struggles for Sheffield Wednesday against Mansfield

Posted Sunday, November 27, 2022 by PA

Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore admitted some of his players struggled after his side claimed a hard-fought 2-1 win over Mansfield in the second round of the FA Cup.

The Stags went ahead through George Lapslie but two late goals from Michael Smith secured a place in the third round for the Owls.

Moore said: “It was hard for us today. I knew the mindset they’d be in and that we could be in for a long afternoon. Credit to Mansfield, they sat in and broke on us well.

“We made some changes to let a few players stretch their legs. In future games we’ll see the benefits of those players getting minutes today.

“Without naming names, I thought one or two struggled today, which is understandable with the lack of time on the pitch. The cohesion of the team wasn’t there.

“It was a clear indication of how subs can impact a game. We didn’t want to have to make those subs but, with the way the game was going, we had to. We started to get behind them when the changes were made.

“On another day we could’ve been knocked out or had a replay which we wanted to avoid. Michael (Smith) came on and did what he does best. There was a real quality to our goals.

“There’s an efficiency about us at the moment. We might not be playing free-flowing football but we are showing a doggedness and an ability to win games.”

Mansfield boss Nigel Clough said his side needed to be more clinical in front of goal.

Clough said: “We had lots of chances in the first half which we didn’t finish well enough. We created the chances and we just needed someone on the end of them.

“We have to score more if we’re not going to defend as well as we should do. I thought we’d at least take them back to our place but we just weren’t quite good enough in both penalty areas today.

“There are lots of positives to take from the performance, we’ve been as good as a side at the top of League One. We showed so much heart and spirit.

“We got into key positions but we didn’t make the most of our opportunities and the damage was done in the last 15 minutes.

“George had a great chance right at the death but he had a heavy touch and hit it into the stands, that summed our day up really. The difference between League One and League Two was shown in the quality of finishing.

“I hope the fans are proud. Like us, they will be scratching their heads as to how we’re not in the hat.”