Mansfield Town earned a ‘special’ win over Reading in their latest League One outing, says a delighted Nigel Clough.
An overall solid performance broke a nine-game winless run against promotion hopefuls Reading on a chilly night in Mansfield. The Royals, who hadn’t lost in their last six games, were denied the chance to move into the play-off spots after a Louis Reed goal proved the difference. The skipper fired in a shot from the edge of the box, which rifled past Joel Pereira in the Reading goal with the help of a deflection.
“It’s a big win. We haven’t won for quite a few weeks when we’ve deserved to. We’ve done enough to win matches so it’s a special one tonight,” Clough reflected after his side’s hard-fought win over the Berkshire side.
Nigel Clough, Manager of Mansfield Town, acknowledges the fans following the teams victory in the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Burnley and Mansfield Town at Turf Moor on February 14, 2026 in Burnley, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)placeholder image
Nigel Clough, Manager of Mansfield Town, acknowledges the fans following the teams victory in the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Burnley and Mansfield Town at Turf Moor on February 14, 2026 in Burnley, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
“Because Reading are in such good form, and they are such a good team, it makes it even more satisfying, but we just needed the three points tonight.”
Despite enduring a lengthy stretch without a win, the manager has taken positives from Mansfield Town’s run of results in all competitions over the last week.
“Absolutely brilliant. We started with a point last week at Rotherham – two cleans sheet the league. Conceded against Arsenal but they were pretty good goals. We just need better finishing, better crossing, that sort of thing… and hopefully the confidence will come.”
Stags will take their hard-fought win into the weekend when they face Barnsley. The final weeks of the season are now in sight and Clough is determined to keep his team’s foot on the gas to put as much daylight between them and the relegation places as possible.
“There’s 12 games to go so it’s a bit late for this season but it gets us towards safety and that’s our target. Get over that 50-point mark,” the manager said, reflecting on Stags’ recent run.
“It’s funny because we haven’t lost that many when you look at it. We’ve had a lot of draws in that time but the draws build the confidence and we turn those into victories like tonight.”
Man of the Match George Abbott praised
Loan star George Abbott earned another start after impressing in the FA Cup against Arsenal at the weekend. His efforts against Reading earned him the Man of the Match award and Clough was pleased with his performance on Tuesday.
“We decided to go with the same three that played so well against Arsenal on Saturday. He’s settling in nicely and building up his minutes. I wish we’d had him at the start of the season, with a good pre-season and fully fit.”
Clough also praised Deji Oshilaja and Frazer Blake-Tracy for their performances in defence. The duo were particularly solid against Reading as they held firm to deny the away side a way back into the game and kept an all-important clean sheet on home soil.
“Those two have been the stalwarts of the back three or four, whatever we play. I think those two were absolutely outstanding today.”
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