In Saturday’s 1-0 loss to Bristol Rovers, Mansfield Town was denied an equalizer with one of the game’s last kicks.
The handball call that denied the Stags an equalizer with one of the game’s last attempts against Bristol Rovers on Saturday afternoon, according to Mansfield Town manager Nigel Clough, was a reflection of their recent bad luck as they lost 1-0 at the One Call Stadium.
The performance proved sufficient to give Matt Taylor’s team a much-needed away victory. Rovers had seized the lead early in the second half when Luke McCormick knocked in a ball across goal from Isaac Hutchinson at the back post.
In a game of low quality, Mansfield did see two good opportunities fall to forward Will Evans in either half but the former Newport County player couldn’t convert.
When George Maris hammered the ball into the net deep into extra time, the majority of the spectators believed the Stags had earned a point. However, Ben Waine had already blown the whistle for handball after knocking the ball down with his arm.
“We’ve had more than enough situations today and I think we’re very, very unlucky with the last kick of the game,” Clough told club reporters after the game after considering the decision.
“Ben stated that it definitely struck his arm, but there is nothing he can do about it. When he rockets it back over, Aaron Lewis is about five yards away, but it just hits him and falls. Sometimes you’ll get them, and other times you won’t. The fact that it may have struck his arm is more indicative of how our luck is currently holding up. We’re denied an equalizer with the final kick, and I’m not sure if it needs to be deliberate these days. summed up the day.
“I think Lucas [Akins] might have been fouled on the halfway, I’ll have to have a look back at it, but from that point I think it was three very crisp, good passes,” Clough said, addressing the rumours that there had been a foul in the build-up to Rovers’ goal forty-odd minutes earlier.
“Someone followed it in and ultimately tapped it in, although I’m not sure if the guy was crossing or shooting for the last one. At League One, that’s the trait that could work against you. They just need to do it once or twice in a game to win, and that’s the threshold that has been raised this season.”
Mansfield, who entered the match in seventh position and participated in the 13th-fewest League One games, had suffered a 1-0 away loss to Wrexham two weeks before. They were considered extremely unfortunate to lose the game, though, as they had been the superior team for significant portions of it.
With twelve shots to Rovers’ nine and 57 percent of the possession, the home team had more chances than their visitors, despite the lack of clear-cut opportunities.
Lee Gregory, the Stags’ leading scorer, was also sidelined due to a knee injury, and Clough feels that his team is currently going through a bad run and needs more from his other attackers.
The manager of Mansfield said, “Similar to Wrexham,” after considering his team’s performance. “There aren’t many issues with the performance overall. Throughout the game, we produced opportunities, scenarios, and one bit of quality that ultimately led to our defeat.
“To achieve a goal, we must do more. All of our play up to that point has been excellent, but our strikers and everyone else in the final third need to do more. I believed that we controlled the game for extended stretches of time; all we needed was someone to create or earn us a goal.
