THERE were all sorts of strange goings on at Mansfield Town last weekend.

No surprises that City were left scratching their heads after the 2-0 defeat to the Stags last Saturday.

Skipper for the day Mitch Ward was listed on the team sheet as Itch Ward.

City number two Chris Porter has had to be content with bench warming duties so far this season but showed the reflexes of a cat to spare Jon Parkin's blushes at Field Mill.

The City striker was just about to enter the field of play as a substitute for Craig Dove when Porter spotted a price tag was still attached to Parkin's shirt and dangling in the wind.

Quick as a flash, Porter jumped from the bench to remove the offending article.

And probably another footballing first at Mansfield was the sight of Stags' striker Colin Larkin running out of the relatively new tunnel at Field Mill with his team-mates just prior to kick-off, running across the pitch and straight back down the old players' tunnel at the opposite end of the pitch.

Apparently, Larkin needed to nip to the toilet and knew the old wooden stand, which now houses the press and a handful of home supporters, still had a working WC.

Updated: 12:19 Saturday, October 18, 2003