Mansfield Town boss bemoans Sheffield Wednesday ‘injustice’ after late Owls win

The Owls came from 1-0 down to win 2-1 at Hillsborough this weekend, with a late Michael Smith brace securing their spot in the third round of the competition.

It was the Stags who asked most of the questions throughout the tie, and were unlucky to be on the losing side.

As quoted by the Mansfield and Ashfield Chad, Clough said, “We will take some pride from the performance in the next few days, but at the moment it hurts we are out of the cup.

“I wish we hadn't played as well as that's what hurts the most when you put in a performance like that for 98 minutes and come away with nothing. It really does feel an injustice.

“At times it looked as though we were as good as the League One side.”

He did admit, however, that Smith’s goals weren’t dealt with well by his side, saying, “But I don't think we have defended well enough for the two goals and we certainly haven't scored as many as we should have done today.

“We had numerous chances against a team at the top of League One and we should have scored after a minute. We missed a brilliant opportunity.

“Our general play was good and all you can do is create chances and rely on someone to put one in for you.

“Then the big lad comes on and does the damage in the last 15 minutes.”

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