Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough furious with centre halves and referee after controversial draw at promotion rivals Newport County

Stags were immaculate for much of the game and in control at 1-0 up.

But a needless mass brawl sparked by Hawkins saw Hawkins booked and O'Toole sent off and both will now be suspended.

Referee Finnie then gifted Newport an unlikely equaliser from the penalty spot with a controversial handball decision against Hawkins.

“I thought we were absolutely brilliant up to the sending-off,” said Clough.

“To come to somewhere like this and take the game to them and control it for the vast majority of it speaks volumes of where we are as a team at the moment.

“We are 12 unbeaten and we've reached the 50-point mark, but it should have been an extra two today.”

On the brawl, Clough said: “I was a long, long way away.

“But I can't believe that, with his experience, Oli Hawkins would even want to get involved. It's their throw-in and all he had to do was spin back into position and deal with the throw-in.

“But sometimes with these players, things go through their heads. I can't fathom it. He's on nine bookings, the crowd is quiet, the game is dead and we're winning 1-0 and in complete control.

“But he wants to rile the crowd and get involved in something he shouldn't, got himself a yellow card and he is now missing for two games.

“Then his partner in crime alongside him decides to join in and get himself a red. For two 30+ year-old players to do that is quite incredible really.”

He added: “In the bad run we were on earlier in the season when we were frustrated and got red cards it was understandable.

“But, playing as well as we are at the moment, and in complete control of the game, there is no excuse.”

However, Clough's ire was also for the referee.

“I also didn't think there was any excuse for some of the decisions from the referee today,” he said.

“I think we would have hung on, even with 10 men and probably won the game 1-0 without that penalty being given.

“All in all it's been an incredibly poor performance by the referee today.

“The penalty decision was incredible. The ball has ricocheted up and hit Oli Hawkins on the arm – there was absolutely nothing anyone could have done about that.

“But he was very keen to give it and gave it very quickly.

“You never see those given as penalties and, on the back of the sending-off, the booking and everything that was going on, it was just another hammer blow.

“There wasn't much for the referee to do today, though he could have given a couple of yellow cards – one for a late challenge on Stephen Quinn and another for a late challenge on Ryan Stirk when the lad had his foot up.

“But they were not deemed yellow cards, yet ours were. And the penalty was given. The only thing that surprised me was I thought he would send Oli Hawkins off.

“We are going to have a very, very good look at the footage and see if there is an appeal. We will look at what John-Joe was sent off for.”

Clough said it was two points dropped in the end.

“To play that well away from home against a fellow promotion contender and not win, that was two points dropped,” he said.

“I hope our supporters enjoyed the way we played and they will be feeling a bit of injustice at the result today, but we will keep doing that and hopefully have some better decisions next week.

“We've not had that happen to us since earlier in the season when we were having the bad run and every single decision was given against us.”

Stags had only themselves to blame for not putting the game beyond Newport in a one-sided first half.

“We controlled the game and had so many situations and chances in the first half,” said the Stags boss.

“The only bit of fortune we had in the whole game was the (deflected) goal.

“But sometimes, having created so much, you need that bit of luck.

“The goal was reward for our positive play and from thereon in it should have been pretty straightforward. Some of our play was excellent.

“We had very good chances in the first half to put us one or two up at least, then it's a different game in the second half.

“But when you're missing Rhys Oates and Jamie Murphy, that's bound to have an effect on things, especially when they're your two main goal threats.

“But, having got the goal, we should have got the three points from there.”

Stags' 10 men had to survive an arduous spell at the end when the referee played over eight added minutes with Newport pressing for a winner.

“We were brilliant at the end,” said Clough.

“We threw bodies in the way and protected Nathan Bishop – he has one or two saves, that's all.

“He put seven minutes up at the end though played eight or probably more. But we defended resolutely.”

Clough added: “I thought Lucas Akins was outstanding today, winning his stuff in the corner flags in the last few minutes.”