Mansfield Match Report

The Stags were again without Simon Brown and Richie Barker, though the latter did find a place on the bench. Youngster Nathan Arnold continued up front with on-loan striker Alan Russell. Jon Olav Hjelde came in for the suspended Gareth Jellyman , which saw Baptiste move to right back and Buxton to left back .

In front of a crowd of just under 5,000 it was the visitors in the form of Yeo who had the first strike on goal , a tame effort from 25 yards which Pressman gathered with ease . However , the Stags first effort almost resulted in a goal . Dawson put in a fine cross from the right , Rundle’s goal-bound effort was blocked by the chest of an Imps defender and Russell , under pressure from Marriott and a defender , blazed over the rebound from 8 yards . meanwhile , Kevin Pressman leapt like a salmon to palm away an excellent free-kick from 20 yards . Hughes , the Imps left winger , had already had an entry into dive of the season , when just before the break he eventually got the booking his earlier antics had deserved , a late challenge on Baptiste incurring the wrath of the otherwise rather lenient man in black .

Half – Time 0-0

The Stags had the first good chance of the second half . Rundle broke well on the left , cut the ball back to Russell who badly scuffed his shot , but the ball fell to Dawson , who slipped to the floor just before he was about to fire home and as a result could only stab a tame effort wide . Lincoln fans had a rather hopeful shout for a penalty waved away when Day clearly won a challenge with Yeo , forcing the ball wide for a corner . To great evation Barker , still struggling with a back problem , replaced the in effective Russell just before the hour . His introduction , and a few minutes later the introduction of Birchall for Arnold signalled a much needed improvement in the Stags performance. Uhlenbeek catching the eye with several fine crosses , one of which was almost headed home by Barker on the far post.

Overall this was a poor spectacle , Lincoln’s style is not easy on the eye , but with the Stags struggling for form , they too reverted to high , hopeful balls far to often . When the ball did reach the strikers , Russell failed to hold the ball for any length of time. On a more positive note , D’Laryea did well in the centre of the park, Pressman made two excellent saves and Baptiste continued his good run of form with a fine game in an unaccustomed right back role. A draw was probably just about a fair result, but with a little more quality in the side, it could easily have been a much needed victory .
By Derek
By Derek