Mansfield Town 2-3 Middlesbrough (FA Cup Round Three) 08.01.22
Mansfield took on Championship side Middlesbrough losing out in a thrilling cup tie on a super soaked Saturday afternoon that almost went the distance at Field Mill.
Although the One Call crowd full of cup fever ahead of the match was buoyant underneath their brollies early doors, the away side soon dampened the spirits of the Stags fans with an early goal themselves on four through the beast like Uche Ikpeazu who fended off his markers with impeccable strength to strike home from long range into the top left hand corner of Nathan Bishop’s goal.
On fourteen things got even worse for Nigel Clough’s men, Middlesbrough two up thanks to Northern Irish youngster Caolan Boyd-Munce. Netting on his debut with a sweet finish after good work by Joe Gibson.
The Stags however fought back with a terrific second half comeback twice scoring themselves, Hawkins heading past Lumley on 67 to give the home side a real opportunity of getting back into the match before Rhys Oates levelled with just five minutes left, latching on to a good pass by Law before rounding the goalkeeper to slot home sending the home support into frenzy.
As the clock looked like running into an extra couple of halves of extra time which would have been deserved reward for Mansfield’s fabulous fightback, just as they did in 2008, the home team put through their own net in the final seconds, JJ O’Toole deflecting a cross by Isaiah Jones into his own goal which in the end gave Middlesbrough a stoppage time winner.
Hard for Stags to take but after battling well they’ll be plenty more positives than negatives from the performance. It never looked like being an upset until the final five minutes but just as the Stags fans started to dream, they came crashing back down to earth as the Championship side edged through.
Terrific performance from Mansfield who can be proud for pushing all the way. Back to league action next and the outside possibility of a playoff push which is still very much on the cards.
Mansfield Town: Bishop, Hewitt, O’Toole, Hawkins, McLaughlin (Lapslie 61), Clarke (Johnson 61), Maris, Quinn, Stirk (Law 72), Bowery, Oates.
Middlesbrough: Lumley, Peltier, Wood, Bamba, Gibson (Crooks 58), McNair, Howson, Boyd-Munce (Tavernier 58), Kokolo (Jones 77), Ikpeazu (Dijksteel 78), Coburn (Hernandez 67).
Venue: Field Mill
*Main image @mansfieldtownfc Elliott Hewitt in action for Mansfield beaten by Boro.
