Mansfield boss Nigel Clough: Tranmere win as good as any we’ve had this season

Posted Sunday, February 19, 2023 by PA

Mansfield manager Nigel Clough described his side’s 2-0 win at Tranmere as one of their best victories of the season as the Stags continued their push for an automatic promotion place.

Goals from Riley Harbottle and Davis Keillor-Dunn ensured the Stags picked up their eighth away win of the season in impressive style.

The visitors took the lead when Harbottle headed home from close range in the 34th minute for his fourth goal of the season and never looked back after that.

And Town doubled their lead in the 54th minute when Keillor-Dunn had the simplest of tap-ins after Tranmere goalkeeper Murphy could only deflect the ball onto the crossbar.

It is now three wins in succession for the Stags who have also kept three clean sheets and scored eight goals in what has been a fantastic seven days for the club.

Clough said: “To keep three clean sheets in a week, nine points and score eight goals it’s as good as any victory we’ve had this season.

“Football-wise it wasn’t the most sparkling but it was more about the desire to get a result and the players showed that.

“It started off pretty even and I felt some of our players were still on the coach in the first 10 minutes, but then we settled down and we created three very good chances and you worry when they don’t go in.

“But then Harbottle pops up with a goal and settles us down a bit and then you know Tranmere are going to come out and give it a go at the start of the second half, it’s a dual problem but you’ve got to deal with it.”

Mansfield are fifth in League Two, three points behind third-placed Carlisle with a game in hand.

Clough added: “We’ve put ourselves in a reasonable position with 15 games remaining, so let’s see where we end up.”

As for Tranmere, it is another defeat for Micky Mellon’s side, who are seeing any hopes they had of a play-off push fading fast and the Rovers boss could hardly contain his anger after the game.

Mellon said: “I can understand why the fans are frustrated because I’m frustrated and it’s hard to explain how you feel when you see the goals that you give away impact what it is you’re trying to do.

“We all work very hard on our defensive play and I’ve seen some stuff there today that just isn’t good enough at this level.

“We lost so many battles across the pitch and I just don’t know why we’re not aggressive enough when we need to be.

“The last however many games we’ve given away goals that disappoint you because we work so hard and know so much about what we want to see – it’s just so poor.

“I have to take responsibility for this as that’s my job and that’s what you do as a manager and whether that’s right or wrong that’s the way it rolls.”