at Kirklington Road, Rainworth MWFC
Football League Youth Alliance
Mansfield Town (0) 1
Cain Smith (pen) 88
Lincoln City (1) 1
Matt Clarke 32
Admission £3
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Sam Wilson, Teddy Bloor (Surafel Behailu 86), Louis Danquah, Drew Gibson, Morgan Ratcliffe, Kieran Harrison, Zayn Hakeem (Henry Britton 76), Cain Smith, Ellis Ogle, Devante Reittie, Tyler Blake (C)
Unused subs - Tom Marriott, Alistar Smith, Callum Docherty
Imps line up:
Richard Walton (C), Leon Loftus, Callum Stewart, Sam Fawkes, Jack Fixter, Jack Weatherwell, Jenk Acar, Liam Harris, Jack McMenemy, Matt Clarke, Lewis Millington
Subs - Archie Moyses, Regan Start, Luke Anderson, Reece Robinson- Jones, Ryley Thompson
The game was earmarked as a difficult opening game for Mansfield, but after an initial early spell of pressure from the Imps, the home side went on to prove that they were up to the challenges this fixture presented them with.
Inside the first ten minutes, Mansfield weathered a bit of a storm and Teddy Bloor had to be on hand twice to make goal line clearances from both Sam Fawkes and Jenk Acar.
The visitors keeper and captain Richard Walton had a big presence inside his area and he was on hand to cut out Zayn Hakeem's right wing cross to Devante Reittie, as the Stags first attack of note came to nothing.
Bloor, who had already played a starring role in defence, was getting down the right flank and linking up with the Stags forward's well.
The Stags began to find their feet and Drew Wilson played a great ball into the path of Tyler Blake, but Walton dashed five yards out of his area to clear the danger.
Clarke delivered another telling dead ball into the Stags penalty area, but Sam Wilson had positioned himself well to deal with Clarke's header.
Rettie got behind Jack Fixter, but just as he was about to recover the Imps defender recovered enough to put the ball behind for a Stags corner... or so everyone in the ground thought, including Fixter, but the referee saw it differently. These things even themselves out eventually.
On the balance of play the visitors deserved their lead, but after Clarke was denied a second goal by Wilson thirty seconds later, the alarm bells sounded and the Stags sprang into action.
Bloor beat his man out on the right and picked out Reittie, but Walton was in a determined mood and he smothered the ball to thwart the Stags number 10.
Tyler Blake delivered the ball into the Imps six yard box from out on the left, where the defence could only clear it as far as Cain Smith on the edge of the box whose speculative shot was held by Walton.
Ellis Ogle and the Stags captain Blake, both had hopeful shots charged down as the Imps closed ranks with half time fast approaching and the visitors held on to their interval lead.
HT: Stags Youth 0 v Imps Youth 1
Zayn Hakeem back heeled the free kick into the path of Ogle, but the Stags striker couldn't quite get over the ball and he blasted it well over the bar.
Lincoln attacked again and forced a corner out on the left which Callum Stewart scuffed through a crowded defence to where Jack McMenemy toe poked it against the crossbar.
The crowd were in uproar when Ellis Ogle rode two attempted fouls by Fixter and Walton, stayed on his feet and advanced towards the open goal, only for the referee to blow up and award a free kick.
Only Mr Allen will ever know why he didn't play the advantage and allow Ogle to continue his run.
In the event he booked both of the Imps players, but that didn't placate the home fans at all, particularly when Walton grabbed the ball from Louis Danquah's free kick before any of the Stags players jostling for position in the area could get near it.
Bloor attacked down the right wing again, but Walton snatched the ball from Reittie's head.
There were several undignified bouts of pushing and shoving off the ball at set pieces as the mood of the game deteriorated somewhat following the referee's interpretation of the advantage rule had denied Ogle a goalscoring chance.
And the psyche of several angry young men wasn't exactly quelled when Fixter was shown a second yellow card and got his marching orders.
If Mansfield had started the game under the cosh, they had certainly turned the tables now and were well in the ascendancy.
Smith's left wing corner was met by Danquah, but the Stags left back's header was blocked once again by Walton.
With just two minutes of the scheduled ninety remaining, Smith broke into the Lincoln area and as he cued up his shot Stewart nudged him in his back and the lively midfielder couldn't stay on his feet.
Walton went the right way but Smith had placed the ball beyond his reach just inside the post to grab a late equaliser for Mansfield.
FT: Mansfield Town Youth 1 v Lincoln City Youth 1
