Deflated Mansfield manager Nigel Clough says his side must start to defend better after their 4-1 defeat at Lincoln.
Two goalkeeping blunders and some poor defending played a key part in their defeat, with keeper Christy Pym at fault for City’s first two goals.
The Stags keeper was was beaten by Adam Jackson coming for a cross after 29 minutes and Lincoln doubled their lead when Pym made a mess of Sean Roughan’s inswinging free-kick in first-half stoppage-time.
“We came here with a lot of hope after an unbeaten start to the season,” said Clough.
“Everyone is despondent, everyone can do better, certainly at defending, We have to defend better.
“The free-kick right on the stroke of half-time is an absolute killer.
“We talked all week about the importance of set-pieces and long throws. We gave a soft free-kick away and Christy Pym failed to deal with it.
“He made two errors for the first two goals, they are probably the first two errors since he came in.
“We will never know what would have happened if we had got in 1-0 down at half-time.
“There was a lack of thought and a lack of intelligence today. We looked vulnerable every time the ball came into our box.
“Lincoln are an established League One side and they had the quality. They have a little bit more know-how at this level and they exposed us today, but we contributed too much to the defeat today..”
Lincoln added a third three minutes into the second half when an unmarked Jackson headed home his second of the afternoon.
The rampant Imps scored a fourth when Ben House tapped home a rebound after 51 minutes.
Deji Oshilaja pulled a consolation goal back with a close range finish after a corner on 69 minutes.
Head coach Michael Skubala felt his side got their rewards for a good team performance.
“We did really well today,” he said. “The plan was to try and catch them in transition and use our intensity in the right moments.
“I really liked the look of us today, we blew them away in the second half of the first half.
“All in all it is just a really good team performance. Mansfield are a really good team, they have experienced coaches and got a result at Barnsley.
“We knew balls would come into the box and we had to deal with that. They are big and physical and get runners off the back of us.
“We knew we had to hurt them in transition because of the way they play. We looked a real threat today.
“Set-pieces are a big part of what we do and we work really hard on them. Our attacking set-pieces were good today, they are a big part of this league.
“We blew them away with our intensity. We have started fast in every game and an early goal probably killed the game for them.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Mbappe VS Liverpool Path confirmed… Kylian Mbappe after Virgil van Dijk took him down. 0.6% chance. 99.4% faith. lol I can't unsee this … League titles won "since 2009" Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credit: Justtoonit, FootballLaughss, PL__OOC)...
The Egyptian is locked in contract negotiations with the club, who do not want to commit to a multi-year, high wage deal.Salah is in the form of his life, but is 32, which is giving the Reds pause for giving him a two or three-year extension.Per Sky Sports, clubs in the Saudi Pro League are not actively pursuing Salah at present.While he is a target and one they would love to sign, they are not go...
The Blues have made an effort to sign the best and youngest talent from around the world since the takeover by Clearlake.Chelsea are in talks to sign the son of Emmanuel EboueChelsea will have to pay compensation for Mathis EboueThe club are now in talks to sign Mathis Eboue from the Watford academy.The 15-year-old is, of course, the son of Arsenal cult hero Emmanuel Eboue.The Daily Mail have clai...
Inter Miami forward Luis Suarez signed a one-year contract extension, meaning he will continue to play in Major League Soccer next season.Suarez, who joined the Herons on a one-year contract in December, tied for second place in the MLS Golden Boot race and earned a nomination to the 2024 MLS newcomer of the year award."I'm very happy, very excited to continue for another year and to be able to en...
United target Napoli's KvaratskheliaManchester United are reportedly showing strong interest in Napoli forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, according to SportMediaset. The 23-year-old Georgian star, under contract with Napoli until 2027, has yet to reach an agreement on an extension with the Serie A leaders. The Red Devils are prepared to table a lucrative five-year deal worth at least €8 million ...
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Big GabrielSporting 1-5 Arsenal Who will win this month's Manager of the Month award? What happens when you come up against Saliba and Gabriel... Wayne Rooney, a true legend on and off the pitch. Cristiano Ronaldo in the iconic white and gold jersey brings back so many unforgettable memories! Throwback to THIS Beautiful Moment when Lionel Messi scored his 50th ca...
Bellingham admits 'vibrations' were key to Liverpool snubJude Bellingham has revealed how close he came to joining Liverpool, and the "vibrations" he felt when Real Madrid came calling."It wasn't as close as it was said," Bellingham said ahead of Real's Champions League clash with Liverpool. "There were conversations. There was Dortmund and I did it with several clubs. When Real Madrid call you, t...
Manchester City's Champions League match on Tuesday night was marred by crowd trouble, with Feyenoord fans causing chaos at the Etihad Stadium. The Dutch supporters, escorted by police from the city centre to the stadium, filled all three tiers of the South Stand.After City scored three goals, Feyenoord managed to net one with about 15 minutes left, leading to riot police stepping in to prevent cl...
Liverpool boss Arne Slot insists Mohamed Salah isn't unsettled over his contract situation.After scoring twice in victory at Southampton on Sunday, Salah revealed he had not heard from management about a new deal. His current contract expires in June."The only thing I can say is, if I look at my line-ups, Mo is more in than out," said Slot."I don't think he's distracted at all. I haven't seen that...
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said he doesn't fully understand how the new Champions League format worked after his team earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday to improve their chances of reaching the knockout stage.Bayern needed a first-half goal from defender Kim Min-Jae to battle past 10-man PSG and claim a third win in five matches."I don't look at the table...
- 1 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 2 Chelsea make Nkunku sale call amid ManUtd interest
- 3 Ex-Prem ace asked Liverpool star for his sister's phone number
- 4 €60-70m could bring star to Liverpool or Man Utd
- 5 Mascherano nears Miami; Martino exits
- 6 Chloe Kelly sends fans wild in daring outfit at GQ Men of the Year
- 7 Former Premier League star saved his wife and baby from house fire
- 8 Thierry Henry poses with rarely-seen partner Andrea on red carpet
- 9 Ruben Amorim ‘could move to Ten Hag or Pogba’s old homes’
- 10 Transfer news & rumours LIVE