Nigel Clough hails fast-starting Mansfield after beating Barnsley in opener

Mansfield boss Nigel Clough praised his side’s start to the game as they marked their return to the third tier with a 2-1 victory at Barnsley.

Playing at this level for the first time in over two decades, the promoted Stags were quickly out of the blocks at Oakwell and led 2-0 after 18 minutes through Stephen Quinn and Lee Gregory goals.

Luca Connell pulled one back for the hosts before half-time but Barnsley could not capitalise on a number of chances to equalise as Mansfield held on for the points.

Clough said: “What a way to start our first season back in League One after 20 odd years and to start the game in the manner that we did.

“We just caused ourselves a problem conceding a very (un)fortunate goal in the end, being deflected, and that got them back in the game.”

Mansfield went ahead in the 13th minute when Quinn struck a left-footed effort into the top-right corner from outside the box and Gregory doubled the lead soon after when he headed beyond Barnsley keeper Ben Killip.

That sparked Barnsley head coach Darrell Clarke into an early change, replacing Georgie Gent with Jon Russell, and the hosts halved the deficit in the 32nd minute through skipper Connell’s deflected effort.

Clough added of his side’s start: “It’s just the positive approach that we’ve been emphasising to the players and we’re going to have to change and be flexible at times as we were in the second half.

“It forced Barnsley into a substitution after 25 minutes, they changed formation and got a little bit more traction in the game so we had to react accordingly.

“The build-up was magnificent for the (second) goal. Keanu (Baccus) has crossed it blind which is what we’ve asked and there was Lee across the near post.

“He’s got his first league goal for us so (that’s) brilliant for him.

“He wasn’t going to play really because he’s been ill, but we thought he was the best out of the three to give us that hour (that he played).”

In stark contrast to Clough, Barnsley boss Clarke was far from happy with the way his side began the game.

He said: “We were all over the shop in that early part.

“We’d worked on a game plan; how we were going to hurt them and we never got any control in that first 20 minutes.

“They were coming through us way too easy. That’s cost us the game to be honest with you.”

Regarding the early substitution, Clarke said: “Georgie did nothing wrong whatsoever, it was just the shape. They were overrunning our midfield and the work we’d done to make sure we had that didn’t materialise.

“I thought once we’d made that change, we were in control for large amounts of the game.”

Clarke also bemoaned his side’s inability to make their opportunities count, adding: “It’s not just a striker’s responsibility to score goals, it’s through the team.

“We’ve had a lot of good chances, other players have had good chances, strikers have had good chances and to get yourselves at the top end of the division you have to be clinical.”