Mansfield Town defence holds firm to see out goalless draw with Wigan Athletic
Mansfield Town saw out a 0-0 draw with Wigan Athletic to keep their unbeaten run on the road ticking.
A Tuesday night trip to the Brick Community Stadium ended in a stalemate as both sides’ defence refused to budge.
It was a big point for Wigan, who are relying on any positive results to hoist them out of the relegation zone. Meanwhile, Stags will be pleased their defeat to Notts County hasn’t triggered a string of losses.
Nigel Clough made three changes from Saturday’s team as Elliott Hewitt, Kyle Knoyle and Rhys Oates were given the nod to start over Stephen McLaughlin, Regan Hendry and Tyler Roberts.
Oates had a couple of flashes in attack but he couldn’t trouble the Wigan goalkeeper. He had a shot on target saved on 18 minutes and his cross a little later was collected comfortably.
Jon Russell had a big chance on 23 minutes after a sharp cross from Jordan Bowery but the midfielder fired his attempt high.
Wigan had the biggest opportunity of the match through Bradley Burrowes, who made a great run clean through the Stags defence to chase a long ball from goalkeeper Joe Whitworth. Liam Roberts was on hand to deny the chance.
Michael Smith had a free headed chance just before half-time but his effort landed straight in the hands of Whitworth.
Both sides continued to flirt with the idea of scoring later in the match but neither could break the deadlock. George Maris saw a chance just before the hour mark denied at close range, while Kyle Knoyle put in a huge block late on the deny Wigan on the break.
Four Mansfield Town players went into the book as they threw themselves into challenges to keep the clean sheet. They managed just seven shots throughout the match and while it wasn’t the most entertaining display, Stags return home with a valuable point on the road after dusting themselves off from Saturday’s disappointment.