Midfielder Alistair Smith believes missed chances were Mansfield Town’s downfall this evening as they were beaten 6-5 on penalties by Morecambe in the Carabao Cup.
The Stags twice came from a goal down to level proceedings when Steven Old’s duo of headers were cancelled out first by Krystian Pearce and then Omari Sterling-James, as the game finished 2-2 after 90 minutes, leading to the taking of spot-kicks.
And despite the hosts creating chances in abundance, the youngster feels as though his side were unable to take the extra one that would have tipped the Round One contest in their favour.
“That’s what it felt like [missed chances],” the 20-year-old began. “Conceding at the other end never helps but it’s a bit of both.
“It’s frustrating. You do the hard work, you create the chances but that’s football – some days they go in and some days they don’t.
“I think we did enough [to win]. We created plenty of chances, hit the crossbar and had a lot of nearly chances but if you don’t take them you get an end result like this.”
The Stags’ number 30, who made his second senior appearance for Mansfield this evening, continued by assessing his own performance in a critical, yet positive manner.
“I thought I did well but I feel as though I can move the ball a bit quicker in certain situations – that probably comes with patterns of play and getting used to having game time.
“It was good to get 90 minutes in the tank in a competitive environment, it felt like we did well and it was a good performance from the boys.
“It’s a massive step up, you don’t really notice until you’re in with the pace of the game and sometimes it can catch you out.
“Like I said, it’s about getting more game time under my belt, getting used to it and I’ll be alright.”
Smith also revealed his ambitions for the remainder of the campaign as he seeks more regular first-team action.
“All I can do is go out there and do my best,” he continued. “Whatever the gaffer’s decision is at the end of the day is what goes.
“[It’s about] staying fit, ready to come on if required and show what I can do.”
iFollow Stags subscribers can watch Alistair's interview in full by logging into mansfieldtown.net/ifollow later tonight.
