MANSFIELD Town manager Steve Evans believes the performance his side yesterday produced warranted a least a point at the Energy Check County Ground.

Matt Taylor’s first-half strike proved the only tangible difference between the League Two promotion rivals, as David Flitcroft’s troops came away with a valuable three points.

While it appeared to be the home side who had the better grip on the game, former Leeds United boss Evans shared a different viewpoint.

“I think without a doubt it’s the harshest result of the season. I think we were the better team by a long, long way and a goalkeeping error costs us going behind,” the Stags’ chief told the club website.

“We had enough dominance, especially in the second half, to go and get something from the game but it wasn’t to be.

“I think that’s harsh on us today, given the dominance of the team. Even with the removal of ball boys late on, with 10 minutes to go, it’s a trick from the 1980s but that never stopped the waves of attack.

“I think if we’d have got one with a sensible time left, we’d have won the game but well done to Flicker (Dave Flitcroft) and to Futch (Ben Futcher). They’re two good lads. This is a good club so we wish them well.”

The result saw Swindon jump up to fifth on 54 points, while Mansfield sank to sixth with a point fewer.

After another tight game, Evans admitted League Two is fiercely competitive this season and suggested Town will be in the mix at the end of the season.

“You take disappointment but you take a little bit of satisfaction in the dominance we had in certain periods of the game,” he added.

“This (Swindon) is a good side; it’s a team that’s gone above us into the top five or six today and they might have played a game more but our job is to haul the likes of them back and others.

“We can see with the results around the league today, it’s a difficult league. It’s tough to get results but maybe in our performance in other games, have we deserved to win? Not always. We deserved a minimum of one point today, if not all three.”