Flitcroft happy with draw in first game at Mansfield

Posted Wednesday, March 07, 2018 by PA

New Mansfield boss David Flitcroft was pleased with a point in his first game in charge despite seeing his new side denied a win against local rivals Lincoln.

Former Stag Ollie Palmer scored a last-minute equaliser at Field Mill as both teams ended the match with 10 men.

The hosts had led via substitute Joel Byrom’s first goal for the club after 49 minutes but City sub Palmer struck at at the death to snatch a point, although they were stunned to see skipper Luke Waterfall shown a red card after the celebrations for seemingly throwing a bottle into the stand after it was initially launched from a section of the home crowd.

Rhys Bennett also saw red in injury time for a second booking but Flitcroft was pretty satisfied with the eventual outcome, admitting a draw was a fair result.

“No, it didn’t feel like a defeat, it was a draw and we got a point and it all adds to the total,” said Flitcroft.

“I think a point was a fair result. Lincoln came out and pressed and the balance of the game was pretty even. The way they forced us back, they could have gone on to win the game, but it’s certainly a point gained.

“I was encouraged by all the commitment from the lads, they’ve been good the last few days, but there’s still a lot of improvement to be made.

“When we did get it down and start to play, we looked a decent team. In the second half, though, the goal was the only bit of quality from us.

“Myself and Ben (Futcher, assistant boss) got a fantastic reception from the fans and you can sense there’s an energy here and they want to back the players, and I just hope we can keep that energy high.”

Lincoln manager Danny Cowley was glad his side clinched a dramatic point to end their mini slump of two straight defeats and put their play-off bid back on track.

“If we had ended up losing that 1-0, it would have been very harsh on us,” said Cowley. “I was proud of the efforts today as I thought the players played with a real intensity and enthusiasm.

“This is a very good Mansfield team, they have the best squad in the league and I felt this was about as good as we’ve been away from home this season. I don’t remember them having a shot on target in the second half and I am disappointed with the goal we gave away.”

On Waterfall’s dismissal, he added: “I think someone threw a water bottle at him and he threw it back off the pitch. Like most managers say, I didn’t see it, so it’s really hard and I can only go off what Luke and the referee have said, and there’s a little bit of difference between both stories. We’ll have a look at it and go from there.”