Nigel Clough admitted to having mixed feelings following his Mansfield side’s 3-3 draw at Blackpool.
The Stags may have ended their seven-game losing run at Bloomfield Road but, having come from behind to lead 3-1 thanks to goals from Will Evans, Keanu Baccus and Lucas Akins, they were pegged back late in the day and had to settle for a point.
Despite his disappointment Clough was pleased with how his squad performed, particularly in the first half.
“It was a pulsating encounter,” he said. “And I’m happy because, if you’d offered us a point at the start of the day, we’d have taken it to stop the rot and obviously, when you get 3-1 up and we have such a great opportunity to go 4-1 up there’s a tinge of disappointment in there, but I’m very, very pleased with the overall performance today.
“I think when you come into a game like Blackpool away when I don’t know how many games we’ve lost on the spin, to put that sort of performance on was very important today, as well as the point.
“We were excellent in the first half, their first goal was completely against the run of play. It was the first time they’d been in our penalty area.
“But we stuck at it and just kept playing our stuff. We knew they were going to make changes and switch the formation, which they did, they got three fresh subs on at half-time so we had to deal with that, which I thought we did for 10 minutes and then got back on top again.
“The third goal really should have been enough, and then you can see the game out. We just can’t quite do that at the moment.”
Seasiders boss Steve Bruce was relieved to have rescued a point after their poor first-half showing, in which Sonny Carey’s opener was their only high point.
Bruce did, however, praise his players for their willingness to come back in a much-improved second period for the hosts, in which goals from Ashley Fletcher and Niall Ennis helped them extend their unbeaten run to 10 games.
While their search for a home victory goes on – Blackpool have not won on home turf since September – Bruce was pleased to have salvaged a point from a topsy-turvy outing.
“I think we have to be honest, our first-half performance was arguably the worst since I’ve been here,” he said. “It was very, very poor against a team who looked full of confidence even though I think they’ve lost the last six or seven. We made too many mistakes and gave the ball away too cheaply.
“We scored with our first real attack, but I have to say we were nearly out of the game in the first half. The subs came on and made a difference to us. We were certainly better so well done to them, and for again showing that resilience that the team has got.
“We’ve got to overcome this mental thing we’ve got at the moment where we don’t have the ability to win at home.
“Look, we had chances to nick it at the end. We were like chalk and cheese today and our second-half performance was more like it. There was something more about us, which they found very, very difficult.
“Any team that I manage, they’ve got to have something about them. And the players know that. I’m delighted with their attitude. We showed a bit of courage and great determination because at one stage we looked down and out.”
