Below-par Stags well-beaten by the Cobblers as the winless run continues for the amber and blues

It was simply poor from Mansfield Town as they were defeated by Northampton Town at Sixfields.

The Stags look depleted and are low on confidence to put it simply. Nigel Clough eluded to it during his post-match press conference and said his players will ‘keep fighting’.

“We’re extremely low on confidence and we’re losing games. We’re absolutely on the floor. It’s just confidence.

“When you’re winning games everyone is buzzing, but when you’re losing, it’s a real test of character to give everything all over the pitch.

“We’re going to keep fighting and scrapping. I think they [fans]know from the first five games of the season how we can play and how we want to play.

“It’s not going to be immediate. It’s going to take time to get back to that point as players come back.”

From minute one, Mansfield were not there for the first and second balls as the Cobblers would play one pass that would cause the Stags havoc.

Shots were also hard to come by for the visitors as on too many occasions they’d get close to the 18-yard box only for them to pass it around and see the chance wasted.

Northampton’s first goal came in the 23rd minute. The ball was cleared to the edge of the area where Aaron McGowan was located and the full-back’s low shot trickled past Nathan Bishop and into the bottom right hand corner of the goal.

The remainder of the first half followed the same principal as both sides didn’t create too much with the Cobblers taking their 1-0 lead into the half-time interval.

Jon Brady’s men went close to doubling their lead in the 59th minute. Mitch Pinnock picked out Ali Koiki with an excellent ball with the full-back delivering the ball into the box. Kion Etete was there to pounce on the opportunity but his effort hit the crossbar and the Cobblers were unable to extend their lead.

However, the hosts got their second goal with 15 minutes of the contest to go. A brilliant delivery from Pinnock found Fraser Horsfall as the centre-back headed the ball into the back of the net to kill the game off and earn Northampton an important victory.

Mansfield did have a penalty unrightfully taken away from them as George Lapslie was fouled inside the area only for the linesmen to overrule the referee with a free-kick awarded instead.

This defeat for the Stags sees them fall down to 22nd in League Two, only above the relegation zone on goal difference.

Mansfield have now failed to score in their last four consecutive league games with their winless league run extended to 10 matches.

Nigel Clough will be hoping that the return of Stephen Quinn and Tyrese Sinclair from suspension will give his side a much-needed boost in midfield and attack.

Injuries have hampered the Stags a lot but a change of system, formation and tactics may be what they need in order to stop the rot.

Mansfield take on Port Vale on Tuesday evening and something must be taken from that match to avoid falling into the drop zone.

Results and points are needed as the amber and blues continue their slide down the table with the season setting up to be another tough one.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt