Danny Cowley was delighted with his side's resilience after they snatched a late draw at play off chasing Mansfield Town.

The Imps still harbour promotion hopes of their own, but they trailed Mansfield 1-0 going into the final few minutes, with David Flitcroft set to earn his first win as Stags manager.

Former Mansfield striker Ollie Palmer rescued the Imps with a well-taken strike, sparking frantic scenes. Lincoln skipper Luke Waterfall was sent off for appearing to throw a bottle into the crowd, before Mansfield's Rhys Bennett also saw red for a second bookable offence.

Cowley was delighted with his sides spirit. Quoted by Lincolnshire Live, he said: "I liked a lot of what I saw tonight and it’s given us a platform to build on for the rest of the season. The will (to win) is really important. We’ve all had to work really hard to get to this place – we all want better for ourselves and for this brilliant football club. To do that you have to fight really hard and out-work people, which tonight we did."

The draw saw the Imps climbs one place to ninth in the table with 54 points, seven behind Mansfield in fifth. The Stags play host to Colchester United this weekend, whilst City travel to second from bottom Chesterfield looking to find a first win in three games.

The Verdict

This was a hard fought draw between two of the division's better sides. David Flitcroft will be happy with what he saw, whilst Cowley's Imps perhaps showed they haven't found their upcoming Checkatrade Trophy final too much of a distraction.