We came for a point and took it. Not a great game but a decent point to start the campaign.
Indeed. Another up and down performance but a decent result.
I thought we started the first half poorly, going from back to front too quickly and by-passing midfield, which allowed Mansfield to get on top with their physicality and emphasis on set plays. Manny was roughed up by Cook early on and looked nervous, while Davies was lucky to get away with an error which resulted in Mansfield hitting the bar. However, midway through the half we settled and started to play through midfield, and I thought we looked the better footballing side when we kept the ball on the floor.
The second half followed a similar pattern. A really poor fist twenty minutes where Mansfield got on top of us physically, although we defended our eighteen yard box well and they did not create much. Jackson deserves some credit for recognising we were struggling and switching to a 352 formation, and we looked pretty comfortable for the remainder of the game.
Could we have brought Payne on when we changed shape, to go for the victory ? I could understand Jackson not wanting to lose his first game, in what looked a tricky fixture on paper, but I think in the long term we have got to get somebody alongside Vaughan. On today's evidence I am not actually convinced Mansfield are one of the better sides in the division, as they were very direct and reliant on Cook's physicality.