Davis Keillor-Dunn To The Rescue As Mansfield Town’s Unbeaten Run Continues
Stags’ top goalscorer Davis Keillor-Dunn scored at the death to rescue a point for the amber and blues’ as Mansfield Town settled for a 1-1 draw against Colchester United.
Joe Taylor put the U’s in front after half an hour but it was the inevitable Keillor-Dunn who levelled the game up in the 90th minute and saw the points shared between the two sides.
With the draw at the JobServe Community Stadium, the Stags kept their unbeaten start to the season alive as they extended their run to 10 games in all competitions.
The hosts were able to record their second game without a defeat as they moved four points clear of the relegation zone.
U’s manager Ben Garner named an unchanged side from the 2-0 victory over Tranmere Rovers last time out as the Essex-based side looked to build on their win and move clear of the relegation zone.
Stags boss Nigel Clough made one change from the side that beat Accrington Stanley 3-0 last weekend. Hiram Boateng came into the starting XI in place of George Maris.
Mansfield Town, playing in their red away strip, started the stronger of the two sides as they had two brilliant chances through Louis Reed and Lucas Akins but neither of them could hit the target.
Samson Tovide looked to clip the ball to the back post in search of Taylor but the forward is eased out of the way as the ball ran out of play.
Aden Flint looked to progress forward as he let fly from distance but his effort flies over the bar.
Taylor was able to get in behind the Stags defence as the forward looked to score but was denied by a great save from Christy Pym.
On the half-hour mark, Colchester got the breakthrough as Taylor smashed his effort home from inside the area to put the U’s in front.
Six minutes later, Tovide looked to extend the lead for the hosts but he dragged his shot wide.
The Stags looked to get at Colchester from the start of the second-half as Aaron Lewis found Keillor-Dunn but his shot was straight at U’s shot-stopper Owen Goodman.
Cameron McGeehan looked to set away Taylor but the midfielder’s pass had a little too much pace as the forward failed to latch onto the through ball.
Keillor-Dunn had another fantastic chance to score as Jordan Bowery’s deliver found the forward but he headed the ball over from eight yards out.
Arthur Read tried his luck as his effort took a wicked deflection which saw Pym scramble across his goal and collect the ball on the line.
Lewis played another brilliant ball, this time intended for Will Swan, however, the forward failed to connect with it.
In the 90th minute, Stags got the leveller as Keillor-Dunn scored his seventh goal of the EFL League Two season. Flint’s knockdown was seized upon by the forward who smashed his effort into the top corner.
The game ended in a 1-1 draw as Mansfield Town’s unbeaten start to the season continued, amid a poor display in Essex.
The point sees the Stags drop down to fifth place, four points away from league leader Gillingham and one point away from the automatic promotion places.
For the U’s, they moved up to 18th place in the table, four points clear of the relegation zone and four points away from mid-table.
Colchester are in action in midweek as they take on Tottenham Hotspur’s under-21s in the Papa John’s Trophy with a trip to Crewe Alexandra next weekend.
Meanwhile, Mansfield Town have a week to prepare for their clash against Barrow next Saturday at the One Call Stadium.
Colchester United XI: Goodman, Hall, Tovide (Ihokinvien 81′), Chilvers, McGeehan (Mingi 60′), Mitchell, Read, Egbo, Taylor (Akinde 81′), Kazeem, Fevrier
Mansfield Town XI: Pym, Bowery (Cargill 61′), Flint, Brunt, Macdonald (Williams 81′), Reed, Lewis, Boateng (Clarke 71′), Keillor-Dunn, Gale (Swan 46′), Akins (Johnson 60′)
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