Mansfield boss Nigel Clough frustrated by referee after defeat to Lincoln

Mansfield manager Nigel Clough was again furious over refereeing decisions as his side had two penalty shouts turned down in a 2-0 home defeat by in-form Lincoln.

Rob Street’s penalty and Tom Bayliss’ late goal sealed the win for Lincoln but Clough claimed Rhys Oates and Tyler Roberts were both fouled in the area in the second half.

Clough, whose side are without a win in seven league matches, said: “It was a tale of three penalties really.

“The first one was definitely a penalty just before half-time, and it was a poor decision by Will Evans.

“Second half I thought we were absolutely brilliant and we gave everything.

“So to have two very good shouts for a penalty, as well as a free-kick on the edge of their box, and not get any of them was incredible.

“Conservatively now that’s 10 points this season that decisions have cost us.

“Most teams might say they’ve cost us two or three points, but not 10.

“This is pretty blatant stuff now and we’re talking about it week in and week out.

“We have lost three games on the spin now and the last two have been down to decisions and it is incredibly frustrating in our position.”

Home keeper Liam Roberts saved superbly from Sonny Bradley but he could not stop Street’s powerful 44th-minute penalty after Will Evans had tripped Jack Moylan.

Mansfield rallied after the break and pressed hard, with Oates and Roberts both adamant they had been fouled in the box.

But the Imps countered well in added time to seal the points as Bayliss volleyed in from six yards to make it 16 games unbeaten.

Lincoln boss Michael Skubala said: “We had to dig really deep today, especially second half when we had to grind out the three points.

“That is what League One football looks like sometimes and it’s not very pure. Second half was a bit ugly, but we got the job done. They put it on us and we had to be very strong.

I think the game had a story of two halves. The first half we were the team in the ascendancy on the ball, trying to put them on the back foot and get the first goal.

“Second half you saw the best of us without the ball.

“The pitch was very soft after all the recent rain which made it a bit slower and the ball was getting stuck between players. It was hard to play on for both teams.

“Mansfield made it very difficult. Nigel Clough is doing a great job with all the injuries they’ve got. They put us under a lot of pressure and we dealt with it well.

“Ours was definitely a penalty and we were creating some momentum at that point – Rob Street finished it really well.

“None of Mansfield’s shouts were penalties for me. It was difficult for the referee with the noise from the home crowd, but I thought he got every one of them right and did really well.”