GARETH Ainsworth has praised the ability of his young players to adapt and solve problems on the go after his side came from a goal down in a “blood, guts and thunder” performance to sink last season’s saviours Mansfield Town.

A sloppy first 20 minutes saw Blues' backline struggle to contain Matt Rhead, who rose unchallenged to nod in Mansfield’s opener, and the Stags could have been three up within half an hour before Blues turned the game around.

Mansfield saved Blues blushes as the death of last year’s league campaign, beating Bristol Rovers on the last day to help keep Wanderers in the football league.

But there was no love lost between the two sides as the physical, battling visitors overpowered Blues' young defence in the first period before Paul Hayes’ penalty restored the balance and Peter Murphy clinched the winner.

And Ainsworth praised the resilience of his players, particularly centrebacks Aaron Pierre and Alfie Mawson, for their ability to learn from their mistakes in the heat of battle and before it’s too late.

He said: “It was a difficult game, they’re the most physical team in the league, a real physical bunch they play very direct football and they rely very heavily on set plays.

“These are things we’ve been saying all week, so the disappointing thing for me was the first 20 minutes. I thought we were out thought and outplayed for 20 minutes, they had the better of the chances.

“The pleasing thing is the learning capacity of some of the boys. They learned to deal with problems, they solved them on the pitch over the course of 90 minutes and the trwo centrebacks, two young lads, learned quickly how to deal with a real big physical presence up front.

“At the end the Mansfield players were frustrated that we were coping with everything they were firing at us.”

Ainsworth reserved praise for match-winner Peter Murphy, who took a smack to the face for his efforts while nodding in Blues' second and being replaced with ten minutes to go after sustaining a bloody nose.

Four goals puts the midfielder one ahead of man of the match and forward Paul Hayes, with the tenacious scouser developing a habit of popping up to score crucial goals.

And Ainsworth said his willingness to put his body on the line for the cause is testament to the attitude of his small squad, which sits in fourth place in League Two with only one defeat.

He said: “I’ve signed him to score goals from midfield and he’s doing exactly that. He’s popped up at the right place at the right time again but taken a whack to the nose.

“That’s the character we have here, no one will pull out of anything, it’s all blood guts and thunder.

“He was quiet on the ball by his standards, but popping up with a goal is what he’s been signed for and he’s paying me back at the moment definitely.”