Town were held at home by David Flitcroft’s Mansfield who ended the game with ten men after Will Atkinson was sent off in the first half for two bookable offences.
Atkinson could have been sent off for his original booking when he caught Matt Taylor right in front of the two dugouts.
Swindon drew for the second home match in a row despite having the majority of the ball throughout the game. Mansfield disrupted the game well and were able to come away with what was a deserved point.
First Half
It took a fair while before either side created a clear-cut chance as both sides won the ball back off each other in midfield – the referee did not help the stop-start nature of the game, blowing up needlessly at points.
Mansfield, on 13 minutes, had the first chance – CJ Hamilton latched onto a flick-on, but blazed over under pressure from Lancashire and Taylor.
Then came a series of bookings – Marc Richards was first with a tackle that rattled Atkinson – Diagouraga was next, before Atkinson took his anger out on Taylor in an almost identical spot to where Richards had caught him.
As the game hotted up, Mansfielf had their second opening – a header at the back post which Lawrence Vigouroux, on his return to the side, had to be alert to tip over.
Town’s first opening came five minutes later – Taylor curled into the area and Elijah Adebayo rose highest. His header was down and on target but Robert Olejnik was quick to react and parry.
Swindon’s most inventive chance came through Adebayo, working on the hard on the left, he earnt himself a yard of space and found the run of Keshi Anderson. Olejnik was out fast to narrow down the angle and turn the ball away.
Then came the sending off – Atkinson clipped the heels of Anderson well in his own half and he was shown a second yellow just before the break.
Second Half
Town started the second half in a more sprightly fashion – Adebayo beat Matt Preston and cut the ball back, but Michael Doughty couldn’t poke the ball in.
Phil Brown’s introductions of Jermaine McGlashan and Kaiyne Woolery from the bench made an impact on a game that was threatening to stutter to an anti-climax.
Woolery picked the ball up in the box on 67 minutes – he turned and shot but couldn’t get enough power to really trouble the Stags goalkeeper.
Adebayo was next – and it was McGlashan who teed him up. The substitution’s cross almost snuck under the crossbar – Olejnik tipped away and Adebayo looked set to score but couldn’t react quick enough to turn an effort goalwards.
It really was a game of inches by this point – Taylor put in a peach of a cross, but Woolery couldn’t quite extend his leg enough to get a touch.
Sid Nelson was next in line for a Taylor pass – but couldn’t stretch his neck to guide a header on target.
The left-back then tried himself – whipping a free-kick to the near post to try and catch Olejnik out but to no avail.
The final chances came to both teams – Tyler Walker evaded Olly Lancashire, but Vigouroux sprinted off his line to slide in, win the ball and set Anderson free up the other end. The Stags stopper was on-hand to stop the final attempt from Anderson.
