The Stags made an excellent start to the game by scoring in the 5th minute. The young guns battled the elements as they opened the home side’s defence with some slick passing football.
Stags’ ‘keeper Louie Turner started the play by spraying a pass out to the left side towards full-back Darien Wauchope. Wauchope drove forward before playing a magnificent through ball to find forward Jack Deakin in on goal, the amber and blue’s top scorer confidently placed the ball into the bottom right corner to give Mansfield the lead.
The home side slowly got back into the game on 20 minutes. A Scunthorpe attacker cut inside from the Stags’ right and found his strike partner on the edge of the box. Despite the unfavourable distance from goal, the forward smashed Turner’s left post.
In the 21st minute, the Stags looked to double their lead from a counterattack inside their own half. Taylor Anderson played a lofted ball forward and puts Deakin through on goal, the striker attempted a challenging half-volley but his effort was unable to trouble United’s goal.
Moments later, Kruszynski whipped a teasing corner into the six-yard box to find Freddie Pitts. The Mansfield man connected well but his bullet header flew over the target.
After the interval, Scunthorpe looked to get back into the game by carving through the centre of the pitch. Cody Collins was was required to make a great block following a venomous strike from the home side from inside the box.
Following a free-kick from the Iron on 55 minutes, Stags’ shot-stopper Turner produced an acrobatic spread to keep the ball out of the net and clear to safety.
As the game headed towards the closing ten minutes, Scunthorpe were rewarded a deep free-kick from on their right side. The hopeful punt into the box makes first contact with a Scunthorpe player who loops a well-timed header over Turner to give the home side an equaliser.
In the dying embers, the Stags looked to get a winner. Mansfield countered the home side with Carter playing a great pass down the right side of the Scunthorpe defence to find Deakin. The striker crossed the ball to find McKeal Abdullah unmarked in the box but his attempted strike was prevented from going into the Scunthorpe net by the Iron ‘keeper.
The Stags’ next fixture is against Doncaster Rovers at Home on Saturday 18 December, the last under-18s fixture of the calendar year.
STAGS' XI: Turner, Anderson, Pitts, Collins, Wauchope, Hurdis, Carter, Flanagan, Kruszynski, Deakin ©, Edwards
Subs – Avery, Hamilton, Kokkinos, Whelan, Abdullah
