Reds unable to
SKY BET LEAGUE TWO
MANSFIELD TOWN ........ 2 STANLEY........................... 1
STANLEY lost out at Mansfield who celebrated promotion to League One.
An own goal and a second half strike by Stephen Quinn sealed the three points for the Stags which saw them over the line and moved them into second spot.
For the 18th placed Reds, they had late hope when Tommy Leigh scored an 85th minute goal but couldn’t spoil the party as John Doolan continues to assess his squad for next season.Matt Lowe made his first start since December but Stanley had a difficult start when Mansfield took the lead on two minutes.
A short corner was played into the box by George Maris and, through of sea of bodies, it was deflected into the back of the net although it was credited to Maris.
Radek Vitek stopped it being two on nine minutes, pushing away a Hiram Boateng strong strike.
Stanley grew into the game and Shaun Whalley had a great chance on 20 minutes but his header was collected by keeper Christy Pym.
Mansfield continued to press, without troubling Vitek, although a Lucas Akins dangerous cross just needed a touch.
The Stags started the second half pressing with top scorer Davis KeillorDunn testing the Manchester United loan keeper while the striker fired another effort over the bar.
Keillor-Dunn was clean through but the Reds defence managed to clear before he could shoot.
Joe Pritchard and Josh Woods came on on 57 minutes and Stanley forced the pace, putting a spell of pressure on the Stags backline, with Leigh trying his luck from distance.
However, Mansfield increased their lead on 63 minutes when KeillorDunn’s cross found midfielder Quinn whose initial shot was saved by Vitek but it spun back into his path and he fired home.
A minute later the legs of Vitek kept out another Quinn close range strike.
Stanley never gave up and, five minutes from normal time, Jack Nolan’s ball into the box found Leigh who turned and his shot found the back of the net
However, with the Mansfield fans congregated to celebrate, the Reds couldn’t grab an equaliser.
The win saw the Stags secure a place in League One and manager Nigel Clough said: “I feel hugely relieved to get it over the line.
“Now I want to win the last two games and finish the season with as many points as we can. I would rather finish second than third, which is where we are now at the moment. It’s a professional thing.
“The season is not over yet. It is in terms of achieving our aim but we still have two games to play. So we will do everything we can to beat Gillingham on Saturday and then get something at Barrow the week after.
“When you have been so close, to finally achieve it takes a bit of time to sink in. It will take a few days. Everybody gets affected by it in different ways.
“But the main thing is we got promoted.
“It’s taken us three years to achieve it, but we made it in the end. We have
improved year on year in terms of the squad. This is by far the best squad and the most capable of dealing with the injuries that we have had – seven defenders could not start tonight.
“It is a special night and an unbelievable achievement for Mansfield to be playing in the league above for the first time in 22 years. It’s taken three years and quite a bit of pain to get to this point. It doesn’t matter what happened in previous seasons – we’ve done it in this one.
“This is for the thousands that were here, some people have been supporting the club for 50-60 years – it’s for them. They have seen some quite low times here over the years, so it’s lovely they can enjoy it.”