STAGS HELD UP IN RACE TO TOP

FRUSTRATED Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough accepted it was a case of two points dropped at Morecambe as his promotion-chasing side dropped to third in the League Two table.

- Bob Clarke

A Baily Cargill goal on the hour looked set to be enough to give the Stags the three points over the Shrimps, but a Charlie Brown goal 12 minutes from time gave the home side a valuable point.

Clough said: “The conditions were difficult for both sides but we scored a really good goal and should have seen it through.

“At the end of the day it was a good point but you would like more when you go a goal up in a game like this.

“They came at us after we scored and I thought we had got over it but then we gave a sloppy goal away, a goal we shouldn’t concede.

“We came for the three points, we tried to get the three points but the timing and the nature of their goal was really frustrating for us all.’’

Morecambe manager Ged Brannan, who saw four key loan players return to their parent clubs in the week, said: “Mansfield are probably the best team in the league and they will be delighted to be going home with a point because we were by far the better side today.