Goalscorer Emmanuel Dieseruvwe was pleased that his attacking endeavours finally paid off in the 1-1 draw with Barnet at One Call Stadium this afternoon.
The Chesterfield loanee bagged his first league goal of the campaign on the half-hour mark after Bees’ forward John Akinde had earlier put the visitors into the lead.
And ‘Mani’ was relieved to get on the scoresheet in the contest after not scoring on previous outings since he joined the club in mid-March.
“I’m very pleased, as you could tell with the celebration – it’s been coming, I’ve just been trying to work hard in every game. Luckily today, the ball just bounced for me in the box and I managed to just put it away.
“I’ve been looking for that elusive first league goal for a while now, for the whole of this season. It meant a lot for me to finally get off the mark for the season, for Mansfield as well.
“I think it was my first real shot for the club and thankfully it went in as well. It was always going in once it left my foot!”
The 21-year-old also praised the Stags for getting a well-earned point, considering the style that Martin Allen’s Barnet used to combat the hosts.
“The boys put in everything. It was a difficult game, they came here to slow the game down and try and get their long throws involved in the game. That was their main threat, and getting the ball forward to (John) Akinde.
“We really put effort in as well, we tried to get the ball forward as quickly as possible; get onto second balls and stuff, to try and create a tempo and an atmosphere – unfortunately we just couldn’t get the win.”
Dieseruvwe says he’s aiming for ‘at least two more goals’ in the remainder of the campaign, and paid boss Adam Murray a compliment for believing in the attacker’s ability.
“I think I’ve done okay [since I came], I’ve tried to work as hard as I can. The gaffer’s given me a lot of faith which I’m happy with and I just want to repay him and score as many goals as I can.
“There’s only a couple of games left now, I’ve enjoyed my time here and I think I’ve given 100 percent for the team.”
Supporters can view Mani Dieseruvwe’s post-match interview on Stags Player HD.
