Mansfield Town 3-3 Crawley Town (EFL League Two) 05.12.20

There’s a ‘never say die’ attitude engulfed in these Mansfield Town players right now and even when things weren’t quite going there way the side would come together, battle through it and ‘never give up’ which is a sign of bigger and better things to come this season.

The Stags lead early doors against Crawley Town and all was going to plan as the half time whistle was blown. An early Ryan Sweeney strike, prodding home from a George Maris corner was enough for a slender lead at the break, a good solid performance which might have seen a penalty given on 26 minutes when shouts for handball were waved away by the referee after two opportunities for Lapslie to double the lead. Chances came and went as the Stags were good value perhaps disappointed the score wouldn’t be more by the time the orange segments were handed out back in the changing rooms.

Whatever the visiting Manager John Yems said to his team at the break, it worked. From first half passengers to second half pilots, Crawley took off like a Concorde to turn the game around in a matter of minutes.

First Watters, on the pitch for four minutes coming off the bench for the departed Tsaroulla, Stags went close to retaking the lead through Lapslie but were sucker punched like an over committed boxer with his guard down. Dallison with a second, Crawley had the lead on 54 minutes.

It got worse, a boxer now trying to avoid a standing eight count, to get up and get knocked down again, 59 minutes, Max Watters the difference, what a substitution, what are Mansfield to do?

The game would settle after the storm, slowly Mansfield, hurt but not beat, would come back, but as the rounds clocked up, time was running down.

Lapslie threw the Stags a lifeline on 72 minutes, a wonderful volley to reduce the deficit to one, then came the kitchen sink, the pots and pans, the cups and saucers and finally, after three minutes of injury time, substitute Andy Cook who had already gone close volleying wide, hit an attempt, deflected by a Crawley defender and looping home over goalkeeper Morris to snatch a late point that was probably two less than Manager Nigel Clough had wanted at the break, but was one more than he thought he would get with an hour, or even ninety-two minutes of the match played.

Manager Clough exhausted after the whistle stating “It was a great result in the end in the fact that we’ve come from 3-1 down with not long left, but over the course of the whole game, we thoroughly deserved to win it.”

“The level of performance – apart from at the start of the second-half – was absolutely brilliant today. We created enough chances to win about four games.”

Mansfield Town: Stech, Gordon, Rawson, Sweeney, Benning, Charsley, Clarke, Lapslie, Maris (Cook 90), Reid (Maynard 83), Bowery.

Crawley Town: Morris, Sesay, Tunnicliffe, Craig, Dallison, Tsaroulla (Watters 46), Hessenthaler, Bulman (Frost 74), Powell, Nadesan (Matthews 74) Nicholls (McNerney 90).

Venue: Field Mill

*Main image @mansfieldtownfc the Stags celebrate scoring an early goal on a dramatic afternoon.