Deliberate ‘time wasting tactics’ from Mansfield Town cost Bury all three points in last night’s League One stalemate according to caretaker manager Ronnie Jepson.
The 0-0 match also saw Mansfield boss Paul Cox sent to the stands after a dispute with the fourth official.
Bury had a host of chances to seal victory in a match that saw Mansfield defender John Dempster sent off for a two-footed tackle on Shaun Harrad.
After the match Ronnie Jepson told BBC Radio and TeamTalk that he felt his team had been let down by the opposition’s tactics.
“The lads are playing in the right way and we’re getting good deliveries from wide areas but it’s just not dropping in the box for us,” he said.
“We had a great game of football on Saturday against Portsmouth and then Mansfield just wanted to look for set-pieces and slow the game down.
“It was like a testimonial at times because of the pace they were going at.”
Jepson called the performance ‘ridiculous’ and claimed that Mansfield were only ever interested in securing a point, rather than playing competitively.
“Everybody gets frustrated. It’s not a great spectacle,” he said.
“I don’t mind if it’s at the end of the game but it was throughout the game.”
Paul Cox, by contrast, told the Mansfield FC website that his team’s ‘heart and desire’ was never in any doubt.
“It’s a point gained when you have a man sent-off so early in the second half,” he said.
“I can’t give enough credit to my boys for working hard.”
Whatever Jepson’s feelings on Mansfield’s tactics may be, Bury are still hovering precariously above the drop zone after the draw.
“We just need anything,” Jepson said.
“Everyone at the football club, from the chairman to the supporters, wants a result.”
Image courtesy of BFC via YouTube, with thanks
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