Lady luck evading the Bulls, says Funk

Manager Rudy Funk was pleased with the showings from his new AFC Mansfield signings, despite a 3-2 defeat to Sheffield FC.
Rudy Funk.Rudy Funk.
Rudy Funk.

But he also felt hard done by refereeing decisions as the Bulls staged a brave fightback, inspired by the new faces, after going three goals down.

“We’ve had a tough time,” Funk said. “Lots of things have changed at the club but lady luck has evaded us.

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“Grant Ryan scored on his debut. I’ve worked with him before at Scarborough and I know what he’s all about, so it’s a great addition to the club.

“Joe (Iaciofano) and Sean (Whaler) both added a different dimension to the game and hopefully that will continue.”

Assistant manager Mark Ward also had plenty of praise for the Northampton Town loanees.

“Once we got a foothold back in the game, I thought we put Sheffield under a lot of pressure in the last 20 minutes and I think that was down to the two young lads.

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“No matter how the game was going, they still gave their all and still looked keen. They dragged the lads through.”

Iaciofano appeared to have put the Bulls ahead early on, but his header from a corner was ruled out for a handball.

Marc Newsham headed the visitors in front on half-time and added a second with a 51st minute tap-in.

James Gregory added a third with a cool one-on-one finish before the Bulls hit back.

Iaciofano converted Cameron Dear’s cross on 83 minutes and Ryan dinked the ball over Adam Kelsey to set up a tense finish, but the Bulls couldn’t find a leveller.