LAST-GASP GREEN ON THE MARK
MANSFIELD Town manager Adam Murray heaped praise on the professional display of his team after they downed Leyton Orient and then thanked Premier League West Ham United following the encounter at Brisbane Road.
Stags made the trip down from Nottingham on the Friday to prepare for the match and it seemed to work.
They started brilliantly in E10 and should have gone ahead after 22 minutes when Krystian Pearce was fouled by Yvan Erichot inside the box.
Matt Green stepped up to take the spot-kick, but ballooned over the crossbar and it was goalless at half-time.
Mitchell Rose put Mansfield ahead in the 68th minute, though, after Kevan Hurst’s cross went all the way through to him at the back post, but O’s levelled through Liam Kelly just five minutes later as he fired into the corner following Jordan Bowery’s cutback.
Green had the last laugh, however, as he smashed through Alex Cisak’s legs in the 89th minute to spark wild celebrations from the Stags.
Murray said: “The thing I’m most pleased with is the performance. It was utterly professional and we keep speaking to the boys about the process and making sure that’s right, because if the process is right the results will ultimately follow.
“The win is 100 per cent for the fans and I said in my press confer- ence on Friday it is a long journey and myself and the lads thank Paul and Tina Broughton and the chairman John Radford for letting us come down early on Friday and prepare right.
“It really shows the difference it does make. We thank West Ham for letting us train there on Friday and the fans were outstanding.
“I asked them to stay positive and get behind us and they did just that.
“To give them the three points to travel home with is worth the sore throat.”
Orient boss Andy Hessenthaler was left to bemoan poor defending from his team at Brisbane Road.
He said: “It is frustrating because we are conceding too many goals and we looked like we were going to concede early on in the last two games and we didn’t get punished. “Against Mansfield we did and I won’t single people out because there is individual mistakes for both goals, but as a group we’ve got to do better. “We can’t concede goals like that, we’ve got to see the game out and manage it and take the point.” The O’s were again without Jay Simpson, who has been linked with Southend United, while Mansfield’s Green is allegedly a target for Orient. But Hessenthaler said: “I don’t know anything about Matt other than he scored.” LEYTON ORIENT (4-2-3-1): Cisak 7, Hunt 6, Erichot 5, Parkes 7, Semedo 5, Kelly 7, Atangana 7, Cornick 6 (Bowery 62 7), Cox 7, Massey 7, Palmer 5 (McCallum 62 6) Subs not used: Sargeant, Kennedy, Weir, Pollock, Koroma MANSFIELD TOWN (4-1-3-2): Jensen 5, Bennett 6, Howkins 6, Pearce 8, Benning 7, Collins 6, Rose 7, Chapman 6 (McGuire 80 6), Hurst 7 (Baxendale 80 6), Henderson 6 (Hamilton 50 6), Green 8 Subs not used Shearer, Taft, Hoban, Hemmings