Gary Caldwell and Nigel Clough share frustration after goalless draw

Wigan head coach Gary Caldwell and Mansfield boss Nigel Clough each felt their side was unfortunate not to nick a tight Sky Bet League One encounter that ended goalless.

Wigan’s two best chances fell to on-loan Aston Villa man Brad Burrowes, who saw his first effort blocked by team-mate Scott Hogan before being denied later in the first half by Town goalkeeper Liam Roberts.

Mansfield’s best opportunity came in first-half stoppage time but Michael Smith could only send a free header right into the hands of Wigan keeper Joe Whitworth.

“I thought we slightly edged it, and had the better chances,” said Clough.

“But I thought it was quite an entertaining 0-0, and it was an important point for us.

“Both teams I think were searching for that one little bit of quality to win it, which would have decided it either way.

“I thought we gave the ball away too much, we couldn’t get going, and that’s why we made a couple of changes at half-time.

“We controlled the ball at the start of the second half, we dealt with it well, but we couldn’t make the most of it.

“After losing at the weekend, it was important not to lose again. You never want to go back to back because then all of a sudden there’s more pressure on the third game and it just cranks up.

“I thought we were much better tonight than we were at the weekend and even though we didn’t win, it was still a good point.”

His counterpart in the Wigan technical area had a very similar assessment.

“It was a frustrating night in all,” said Caldwell.

“Early on, it looked like two tired teams, who were playing Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday…you can sometimes get that with a quick turnaround.

“I thought overall we were the better team and if anyone was going to win the game, it was us.

“So a little bit frustrating in that regard, but plenty of positives…a clean sheet, and the way we controlled the game was good against their biggest, most physical team they could have picked.

“They came here with a clear intention to really get in amongst us and put us under pressure, and we stood up to that extremely well.

“I thought we created the better chances, but just couldn’t find that goal. We had a lot of shots but not enough on target, and not with the amount of quality we would like.

“We take a point and we move on.”

The Scot was also adamant his side should have been awarded a penalty in the first half when Connor Barrett appeared to be tripped.

“Let’s not talk about referees, it’s every week,” he said. “I lose count – and I feel for Nigel as well, he’s the same.

“I don’t think he was bad for us, he just wasn’t great.”