Morecambe 1 Mansfield Town 1: How both camps reacted afterwards

Morecambe manager Derek Adams felt his players were well worthy of the point they took from Saturday’s draw with Mansfield Town at the Globe Arena.
Morecambe manager Derek AdamsMorecambe manager Derek Adams
Morecambe manager Derek Adams

The Shrimps moved five points clear of bottom club Stevenage after Alex Kenyon’s late equaliser cancelled out Joe Riley’s goal for the visitors.

Having equalised late on, the Shrimps could have taken three points but for late saves from Bobby Olejnik denying Jordan Slew and Adam Phillips.

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“For three-quarters of the game, I thought we were the better side,” Adams said.

“First half, I thought we controlled large spells and created chances but we didn’t take them.

“They passed the ball well, we ran forward, got into really good areas in that 18-yard box and didn’t find that killer touch.

“Second half, for the first bit, Mansfield had the better of that, but then, with 15 or 20 minutes to go, we had the next bit.

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“We had enough chances to win not only one but probably two football matches.

“The way we cut the ball back, the way we made the keeper make three or four magnificent saves has enabled them to get the point.

“They got the goal, really, out of nothing; we couldn’t really see them breaking us down. We had control of the game and they got that goal.

“We didn’t play well in the second half. I thought that we didn’t pass the ball as quickly as we did in the first half, we didn’t create as many opportunities.

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“Mansfield had the better of the second half but we changed formation, we wanted to go a wee bit longer.

“We didn’t do that, we actually tried to play a wee bit of football which was a mistake which allowed them to nick a few passes.

“After that, the way we finished the game, we’ve had four very good chances to win the match.”

As for Mansfield assistant boss Joe Dunne, their performance left him with mixed feelings.

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“Obviously we’re disappointed to come away with only a point,” he said afterwards.

“Coming here today, we were against a team that is in a similar position to us and have good home form.

“I thought, second half, we were in good control of the match. Getting the goal, I thought we were going to go on and win it.

“In the end there was some heroic defending to preserve that point, but it shouldn’t have really come to that.

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“We feel that it’s a couple of points that we should have had in the bag again, and it (Kenyon’s goal) has come from a disappointing situation.

“However, there were a lot of positives in the second half.”