Clough salutes Mansfield performance after Wednesday win

Manager Nigel Clough praised Mansfield’s “absolutely outstanding” second-half display after they beat Sheffield Wednesday 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough in the Carabao Cup.

Rhys Oates produced a superb equaliser with five minutes left after Anthony Musaba headed the Owls in front in the first half.

Goalkeeper Christy Pym then saved spot-kicks from Will Vaulks and Liam Palmer in the shoot-out as Mansfield progressed.

Clough said: “I thought in the second half we were absolutely outstanding. It was just whether we could get the goal or not.

“What a goal it was in the end, with 32 passes leading up to it and a magnificent run and finish.

“It’s not a fluke, it’s not a one-off, we’ve played like that in most of the six games, which is why we’re unbeaten.

“I didn’t think we took advantage of the positions we got into in the first half but we just needed that one piece of brilliance, which came in the second half.

“I thought that on the second-half performance, it was deserved.

“We seemed to grow in confidence as the game went on. I thought he (Christy Pym) played very well.”

Wednesday manager Xisco Munoz was left to rue his team’s failure to capitalise on the chances they created.

He said: “I’m a little bit disappointed about the game. We need to change our attitude in some moments of the game.

“We shoot 20/25 times and you have clear chances and you don’t score. This is football.

“We will have a moment for reflection and we have to think how we will change the situation.

“It is impossible to lose the game. My job is to try and put the guys in the box and today they are in the box. We need to improve in the last third, of course.

“They shoot, I think, three, four or five times and they score. We shoot 25 – it’s five times more.

“We are the team of the Championship and they are a team of League Two. Sometimes it’s difficult in this situation.”