‘Little nagging feeling’ - Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough praises his side after narrow FA Cup defeat to Arsenal
Nigel Clough has shared his reaction after Mansfield Town pushed Premier League leaders Arsenal all the way in a tightly-contested 2-1 defeat
Mansfield Town manager Nigel Clough says he is very proud of his team’s performance after a narrow 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup.
The Stags, who were competing in the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1975, had already showcased that they could raise their game to compete with a higher calibre of opposition having eliminated Burnley at Turf Moor in the last round, while also overcoming Championship side Sheffield United away from home earlier in the competition.
The stakes were high heading into this one infront of the TNT Sport cameras. Games against Arsenal are few and far between for a club like Mansfield, in fact it’s the first meeting between the two sides in over 90 years.
And despite the fact they lost, it’s fair to say that Mansfield made an excellent account of themselves against the Premier League leaders.
Clough said after the game via TNT: "I thought the effort the players gave was absolutely incredible. We wanted to make it a proper cup tie and make it uncomfortable for Arsenal. I thought we did that.”
Mansfield started the game sharply and threatened to score through both Tyler Roberts and eventual Man of the Match Rhys Oates, who gave everything against his boyhood club.
"We're very proud. We said to the lads, if we do concede - don't concede a second one. Then it becomes a bit too easy. That didn't happen today. We could have done it. But I think everyone else enjoyed it."
Nigel Clough says he’s proud of Mansfield’s performance
In his post-match interview, he elaborated: “ We’re all extremely proud of the performance. The club generally I think but certainly the performance on the pitch and the players.
“But we’ve little nagging feeling in our stomach. Because we had an opportunity today and we could have nicked it. Everything we set out to do. Make it uncomfortable for Arsenal, not sit back, we did that. The difference in the end is the finishing. And the qualities of the goals they put in and it always will be.”
Clough added that he’s invited Mikel Arteta for a beer after the game, saying he’s more than welcome as long as he doesn’t mind the dog.
Attention for Mansfield now turns to another home test against Reading, followed closely by another match at the One Call Stadium against Barnsley in the battle to secure League One safety.
“It’ll be the mental and physical recovery from everything that’s gone into today over the next couple of days. And then it’s all about trying to get some points in our next two home matches.”