Derby day defeat as Mansfield fall to Southwell in heavy rain at Eakring Road

Just 10 minutes into the match between the local rivals, the rain arrived and refused to leave, effectively halting what could have been an open, flowing game and turning it into a battle of attrition that saw Southwell ultimately emerge victorious.

The first 10 minutes saw Southwell start well, registering their first try after just a couple of minutes. A successful conversion saw the visitors take a 7-0 lead.

But then, the heavens opened.

Relentless torrents battered the turf, rendering some areas of the pitch a slip and slide.

This effectively changed the layout of the entire game as both teams now had to find a way to play the conditions as the rain refused to let up.

Mansfield defended well and probed into their opponent’s territory but couldn’t come away with any points.

A succession of penalties saw them able to get field position and chip away at the scoreboard, Taran Elms slotting a penalty to make the score 7-3 to the visitors.

Both teams played the conditions as best as they could, but ultimately nature emerged victorious as the rain prevented any more scores being added, the half finishing at 7-3.

Mansfield started the brighter in the second half with a wonderful crossfield kick being nimbly picked out of the air by Nathan Hind, who then pirouetted round a would-be defender to nudge the Blue-and-Whites into the lead.

A successful conversion by Elms saw the lead extend and the home team up 10-7.

Unfortunately, that was the end of the home scores.

Southwell played the conditions better in the second half and scored three converted tries without reply.

Mansfield’s defence was strong for much of the game and they had some exciting breaks through the middle of the park.

But in the end they were unable to convert the opportunities and were unable to keep the visitors from extending their lead.

For his efforts at directing play and for having a hand in all 10 of Mansfield’s points, Elms picked up the player of the match award from matchday sponsors Sue Skillington and AIPS Insurance.

Mansfield didn’t help their own cause by receiving a yellow card in each half, making an already difficult game even harder.

However, they defended well for large portions and harried the visitors into making mistakes.

The conditions didn’t help at all but the Blue-and-Whites will be disappointed they didn’t use them to their advantage when they could.

Mansfield return to Eakring Road in a couple of weeks hoping to end their season on a positive note with a home win.