Nigel Clough offered his analysis of league leaders Mansfield’s battling 1-1 draw at home to Colchester United.
Blustery conditions swept through One Call Stadium in a lunchtime kick-off live on Sky Sports.
Harry Anderson opened the scoring for the visitors on 12 minutes before Lewis Brunt tapped home to equalise for Mansfield on 63 minutes.
Speaking to iFollow Stags after the match, Nigel was satisfied with a point: “In the end yes [I was satisfied with a point] because of the way the game went and the conditions.
“It was one of those games where, having given a soft goal away early on, we could’ve lost 1-0. Because of the conditions, we were pleased with a point.
“[We started the game] Nowhere near as well as last week [at Bradford] and we gave Colchester too much encouragement. It was a soft goal to give away and it came about from not being at it early on. We had enough situations and chances today but couldn’t quite get more than the equaliser.
“They (Colchester) would’ve been happy with 0-0 and a point today. You give them 1-0 and it gives them that added incentive.
“We kept plugging away and I thought we put some good crosses in today. The equaliser in the end has come from a scrappy goal from a set play.”
The gaffer felt windy conditions significantly affected play: “I certainly think the conditions played a major role. We saw yesterday it was going to be blustery [today] and it was.
“When you do try and get it down and play it makes it very difficult, especially when it’s blowing straight down the pitch as it was today, it doesn’t make for the best game.”
The boss says his side’s attention now turns to a mouthwatering fixture at Wrexham on Good Friday: “[The result] Keeps our little run going. We haven’t had enough draws [of late], those [recent] defeats should’ve been draws.
“So we go to Wrexham next week in better heart than we would’ve done had we lost the game [today]. We’re still top of the league. Let the others battle it out this afternoon and it could be a very valuable point come the end of the season.”
