AFC Mansfield held to stalemate against Eccleshill United

AFC Mansfield defend a Eccleshill free-kick.

The visitors started brightest and won a corner in the first minute before keeping up the pressure.

AFC Mansfield’s first effort of the game was a Kian Sketchley drive that cleared the bar and on 10 minutes Kian Bramley saw his effort go wide of the post.

Two minutes later Eccleshill had the ball in the back of the net but Sam Awty was clearly offside.

The visitors continued to have the lions share of possession but apart from a couple of wayward efforts never really troubled Jason White in the first 45 minutes.

Eccleshill started the second half brightly with Ellis Wade clipping the bar with his 25-yard free kick.

A change of personnel and formation for the home side seemed to spark them into life and on 69 minutes Lynton Karkach saw his curling effort go agonisingly wide.

Kofi Appiah thought he had broken the deadlock on 75 minutes from outside the box, the ball heading for the bottom corner before Brad Emmerson made a superb one handed save to turn the ball around the post.

AFC Mansfield had the ball in the back of the net on 80 minutes after a superb run from Karkach into the box, his effort was touched home by Gibb but was ruled out for a foul by the diminutive striker in the build-up.

Jack Gibb forces a save out of Emmerson on 88 minutes and at the other end White saves with his feet from Aldrich.

Some superb footwork from Sketchley took him clear in the box but the wide man scuffed his effort and the final whistle blew.

Eccleshill had the majority of possession but AFC Mansfield looked solid and the home side could have taken all three points with some intense pressure in the last 20 minutes.

AFC Mansfield: White, Gibb, Rajter (Dudley 67), Slone, King (C), Cropper, Appiah, D’Laryea (Hobson 45), Bramley (Pipes 67), Karkach, Sketchley. Subs not used: Noon & Maguire.

Eccleshill Utd: Emmerson, Aliya, Bodle, Wade, Bradley, Laird (C), Cox (Cooper 76), Day, Awty (Aldrich 76), Cissa (Wilkinson 87), Sangster. Subs not used: Sykes & Owen.

Referee: Christopher Rose (S&H FA)

Assistants: Darren Billings (Derbys. FA) & Gareth Davies (Notts. FA)

Att: 90

Bulls MoM: Tom Slone