Evans has to defend ‘rubbish’ players...

BOSS Steve Evans says he is hurting after watching his Mansfield side fail to beat lowly Yeovil.

The promotion-chasing Stags were held to a goalles draw despite a dominant second half, which saw the Glovers struggle to even get out of their half.

But, despite that territorial superiority, below-par Mansfield failed to create enough clear cut chances.

Evans said: “We played very well in the second half and are disappointed with the result.

“We are hurting and it is going to be a long night. I hear the players have been called rubbish by the fans – that is just frustration from the stands.

“We are all frustrated. The players are not rubbish. They are talented boys.

“We threw the kitchen sink at them. We are pleased with the level of performance, but not the end product.

“We hurt because we should have won the game – it’s as simple as that.”

But delighted Yeovil boss Darren Way felt the hard-fought point represented a continued improvement for his side.

“The players held their nerve and were magnificent. They showed a real good spirit of performance,” he said. “We have lost two out of eight in all competitions and you can see the progression.

“I did not expect this season would be easy. As much as I want to be in a higher position, the players have given everything.

“We know our away performances have got to be better. The hard work and the effort is there but we have to make sure that we keep growing and keep the group together.”

Francois Zoko brought a good low save out of Conrad Logan before Sam Surridge headed against the bar as the visitors started the game brightly.

Logan then did brilliantly to keep out Matt Worthington’s deflected effort on 16 minutes.

Alex MacDonald wasted a great chance when he fired straight at Artur Krysiak on 22 minutes before Surridge chipped an effort narrowly over on 29 minutes. Jacob Mellis saw a shot deflect off Omar Sowunmi and go inches wide in first half stoppage time.

The second half was dominated by Mansfield, with Mal Benning slicing wide from the edge of the box on the hour mark.

Krysiak beat away CJ Hamilton’s fierce volley with a great reaction save on 70 minutes as Stags cranked up the pressure but they could not find a way past the on-song Glovers goalie, who also denied Paul Anderson.