Mansfield Town earn point at Bradford City as Tyreik Wright cancels out Victor Adeboyejo maiden goal
Mansfield Town were unable to make their early lead against Bradford City stick after Tyreik Wright salvaged a point for the promotion chasers.
Clough warned ahead of the match that Bradford would be a tough opponent to face on home soil, considering they have lost just twice at Valley Parade this season. Dubbing the opposition ‘relentless’ in their own back yard, the Stags boss acknowledged their habit of scoring late goals this season, which is exactly what came back to punish his side during their visit.
Wright provided the Bantams with an important equaliser to ensure their previous defeat against Wigan Athletic did not become an unwanted pattern.
Victor Adeboyejo opened the scoring early on in the match and celebrated his first goal since signing for the club in January. Stags took the lead into the break and held it until deep into the second half but Wright’s effort pulled the scoreline even again in the 72nd minute. Bantams pushed to find the winner late on in the match but Mansfield Town held firm to deny them all three points.
Travelling Stags fans also got to see the return of captain Ryan Sweeney, who was named in the starting line-up after coming back from injury. The skipper also provided the assist for Adeboyejo’s goal to mark his comeback.
Fourth-placed Bradford now add another point to their tally to keep them at arm’s length of those challenging to break into the play-off spots.
Stags also keep their points count ticking over as they push towards the 50-point mark in these final weeks of the season.
Bradford City vs Mansfield Town stats
Six yellow cards were dished out during the clash, with Kyle Knoyle and Jon Russell going in the books for Stags.
Bradford City piled on the pressure at times as the promotion hopefuls pushed for a win. They registered 14 shots and created three big goal-scoring chances, while taking 11 corners. Stags managed just one big chance, along with nine shots and five corners awarded.
The two sides were pretty much equal with tackles (13 to 12) but Bradford completed 434 passes compared to Stags’ 250.
After seeing out their midweek game in what is unfolding into a busy run of fixtures, Mansfield Town will now dust themselves off and focus on facing Northampton Town on Saturday.