Brown reflects on draw with Hartlepool United.
Man of the Match Junior Brown had a mixture of emotions after today’s 1-1 draw with Hartlepool United at One Call Stadium.
In an ill-tempered clash which saw both teams have players dismissed, the 24-year-old, on loan from Oxford United until the New Year, opened the scoring with a predatory strike after a good move involving Reggie Lambe.
However, the Pools equalised early in the second half to snatch an unlikely point, but they still remain at the foot of the Sky Bet League Two table.
On the goal, Brown’s first for us, the winger said: “I played a nice little ‘give and go’ with Reggie (Lambe) and it opened up for me, then I was able to hit the ball under the ‘keeper, so it was a nice way to open my account for Mansfield.”
He continued: “It’s disappointing not to get three points after last week’s performance [at AFC Wimbledon] where we battled so hard and dug in for so long, but it’s still a step in the right direction and a valuable point which gets us closer to where we want to be.
“With Hartlepool being down there it’s a difficult time for them, so they were always going to be fighting for every little bit and every little inch and in the second half they came out and put us right under the cosh.
“Unfortunately we conceded, but I thought we dug in well and showed good spirit and created a lot of chances even when we were a man down. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t go and get all three points.”
Looking ahead, the winger is unsure where his future lies, but admits he has enjoyed his time with us so far: “It’s a difficult one as it’s not just down to me what happens.
“As any player will tell you, they want to be playing games, and that’s all I want to do. Hopefully, we can get something sorted and I can carry on playing games.
“It’s been frustrating [at Oxford] not getting games, so coming here and getting the opportunity to get games has been great. I’m enjoying my football.”
