Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough claimed his side showed a lack of intelligence as they suffered their first defeat in the third tier in more than 21 years.
The Stags travelled to the LNER Stadium, home of Lincoln City, and applied themselves well. Louis Reed stung the gloves of opposition keeper George Wickens with the best chance of the opening half hour.
Despite having much of the possession, Clough’s side fell behind to an Adam Jackson header. Sean Roughan’s cross was nodded into an empty net by the former Hibernian man, as Christy Pym came for the ball but fell some way short.
The goal sparked the home side into life, and they could have had a second after good work by Jovon Makama saw defender Paudie O’Connor strike the crossbar. The reprieve was brief – a free-kick in first-half stoppage time saw Roughan loop a cross-cum-shot over the head of the stranded Pym to double the advantage.
Within minutes of the second half starting, the Imps wrapped up the game with another Jackson header. Roughan again delivered an accurate cross, and O’Connor headed into Jackson’s path, who planted a header firmly past Pym.
The Imps threatened to run riot, making it 4-0 on 50 minutes. Makama, a constant thorn in the visitor’s side, helped tee up Ben House, who needed a second stab at beating the Stags keeper but did so comfortably.
That prompted a raft of subs by the home side, which broke up the flow of the game. Deji Oshilaja pulled a consolation goal back for Clough’s side on 69 minutes, poking home after the home side failed to clear a corner. It was too little, too late, a fact acknowledged by Clough, who had seen his team unbeaten in their opening two fixtures.
“There was a lack of thought and a lack of intelligence today,” he told The Chad. “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.”
The victory was the Imps’ first against the Stags in League action for 17 years, and the home support showed their appreciation at full time by chanting manager Michael Skubala’s name. The last two times the Imps have put four past Mansfield, they ended up in the play-offs, and their fans will be hoping that’s the case in 43 matches.
“In the later stages of the first half, I felt we blew them away,” said Lincoln boss Skubala. “It was a really good team performance overall.
“Mansfield are a good team who went to Barnsley and got a result. They’re physical, big and are a threat, but we had to hurt them in transition. I felt the two up front for us looked electric and a real threat.”
Writer’s View
While 4-1 looks like a sound thrashing, it could be argued the scoreline flatters Lincoln a little. They were the more composed with better chances, and they were clinical, but Mansfield were not as bad as it suggests. They controlled play in the opening exchanges, and were it not for a solid Imps performance, Clough’s side might have got something.
What if they’d gone in 1-0 at halftime or got the first goal in the second half? Much could have changed, but those quickfire goals on either side of halftime turned the 9,800-strong crowd. If the visitors had scored first, it would have been very different.
Yes, Mansfield need to be a little more streetwise in their defending, but two mistakes have handed the advantage to the home side. If they smarten up, there’s no reason why this Stags side cannot be knocking on the door in the top half of the table.
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