Just four days after scoring nine goals, Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough said his side today paid the price for poor finishing in the disappointing 2-1 defeat at Walsall.
Clough commented, “Missed chances and a soft second goal cost us the game,” after the Stags lost to Stockport County, who were leading the league.
There’s a case to be made that, while we did not finish nearly as well as we did on Tuesday night, we did have better opportunities overall.
You were betting on Will Swan to blow one of his opportunities today all day long.
If VAR had been used at this level, Stags might have scored a goal that the referees might have missed tonight.
Clough added, “We also believe that one did cross the queue because it was hard for the assistant to see.
We may fairly claim that the day wasn’t great for us in the penalty areas.
“The boys at the time were certain it was half a yard over the line, and if we had the technology that I believe they even have in the Championship, maybe we would have scored the goal,” said the assistant, who was partially blind.
“We were really comfortable throughout open play, but they scored twice from corners today. However, we haven’t covered two of the many set plays that make up the game.
“I didn’t think we would lose. There have been two occasions where we have scored 13 goals thanks to excellent finishing. We had ten or twelve opportunities today, but we only managed one goal.
“I got that one wrong, I changed my mind about starting George Williams today. He was fresh and should have started,” he continued.
“With the outcomes we’ve had—everyone is talking about the nine—Walsall were game today, and that’s something you have to learn to cope with. And I believe we spent a lot of time addressing it.
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