Paul Stephen reports

AFC Wimbledon ran out 1-0 victors despite numerous second half chances for the Stags, including two missed penalties.

The visitors took the lead early on through Danny Kedwell before being reduced to 10 men with just over half an hour remaining. The Dons stood firm though and Mansfield's misfiring forwards could not find the back of the net even after the award of two spot kicks right at the death.

David Holdsworth was forced to reshuffle his side due to injury with Scott Garner coming in for Michael Brough at centre half and Ryan Williams starting on the left as replacement for Andy Burgess who was sidelined with a stubbed toe. Louis Briscoe took up position on the right of midfield with Blair Sturrock making way whilst Rob Duffy did not feature in the 16-man squad at all as he was feeling unwell.

Terry Brown's men came to Field Mill having lost four of their last six games including a 5-0 thrashing at York on Wednesday night. They lined up with danger man and top scorer Danny Kedwell who was looking to add to his 22 goal haul for the season.

The match kicked off in glorious sunshine with Stags attacking the North Stand containing a healthy number of visiting fans.

The first chance of the game fell to the home side in only the third minute when Williams won a corner down the left. He stepped up to take it and found the head of Garner whose weak goalbound effort was comfortably cleared.

Stags threatened again in the seventh minute when Speight turned his marker in the box after getting on the end of a Mills free kick but he could only shoot wide from a narrow angle.

These were only half chances though and less than 60 seconds later and against the run of play, Alan Marriott was picking the ball out of his own net when Wimbledon forward Danny Kedwell exploited a moment of indecision from skipper Luke Foster. The former Oxford man dallied after attempting to mop up a hopeful through ball on the edge of the box allowing Kedwell to nip in front of him and lift the ball over Marriott into an empty net for his 23^rd strike of the season.

Stags could not make an instant response as they had at Cambridge on Easter Monday and Williams tested Seb Brown in the visitors' goal with his long range effort on 14 before Wimbledon were given an opportunity to extend their lead. Foster was the guilty man again as he fouled Duncan on the edge of the box to concede a free kick. It was a great shooting position for the Dons but Steven Gregory took it quickly and drove it straight into Marriott's arms.

Wimbledon showed no sign of shutting up shop and just sitting on their lead as they continued to press for a second goal. Silk did well to close down Hendry and put the ball behind for a corner on 24 which was headed over the bar by Paul Lorraine at the back post.

It made for an exciting first half for any neutral fans at Field Mill as both sides committed men forward and Jon Challinor was heavily involved in attacks for both teams shortly after the half hour mark. Firstly Mills' free kick was headed down to the ex-Cambridge man on the edge of the six yard box who saw his shot blocked on the line before the Stags midfielder lost possession in the middle of the park a minute later allowing Moore and Kedwell to break away at speed. It was a two on two scenario but thankfully Marriott was able to cut out Moore's ball from the right when Kedwell was lurking nearby.

Williams shot wide on 41 when he could have taken more time over his attempt after a Challinor long throw from the right was cleared to him about 12 yards out before Marriott was called into action at the other end and made a wonderful point blank save from Kedwell after Duncan had threaded the ball through to him near the penalty spot.

Three minutes added time was played out but Stags went into the break finding themselves fortunate to be behind by only the one goal after making several needless mistakes at the back and not properly testing Brown in the visitors' goal over the 45 minutes.

The second half started with a bang as Mansfield had a decent penalty shout turned down within only 30 seconds of the restart. Gary Mills was bundled over by Derek Duncan to the right of the six yard box as he chased a through ball from Jake Speight but had his appeals waved away much to the disdain of Stags' faithful.

The home side underwent a tactical change five minutes into the half when Ryan Williams was withdrawn for Kyle Nix. Louis Briscoe was pushed up front to join Jake Speight and Kyle Perry in attack as part of a 4-3-3 formation with Nix lining up alongside Challinor and Mills in a midfield bank of three.

Challinor made way for Blair Sturrock moments later before the home side were handed a numerical advantage following Derek Duncan's 57^th minute dismissal. The Dons' midfielder was given his marching orders for dangerously leading with his elbow when rising for a header with Kyle Perry knocking the Stags forward to the ground and meant that Mansfield would play out the last half hour against 10 men for a second match in a row.

This succeeded in halting Wimbledon's attacking thrust and the home side entered into a period when they dominated possession. Andy Nicholas headed over from Sturrock's cross on 61 before Speight forced a fingertip save from Seb Brown seconds later. The ball went out for a corner which Perry headed goalwards and watched as his effort was desperately cleared away on the line.

Terry Brown made two changes of his own to bolster his depleted side and wisely replaced a forward with a defender when he substituted Luke Moore for Jay Conroy in the 65^th minute before taking off goalscorer Danny Kedwell for Nathan Elder three minutes later.

Wimbledon were doing their best to frustrate the home side and hold up play and won a series of free kicks after Elder and Hatton went down easily in Stags' half. Holdsworth's final throw of the dice came when he threw on forward Jon Shaw for Louis Briscoe with just over ten minutes remaining.

The substitute was involved almost instantly when his left wing cross was headed against the bar by Kyle Perry before Andy Nicholas scuffed the follow up.

With full time fast approaching, Nix found Shaw on the left of the area on 86 who crossed for Perry on the edge of the six yard box but his shot was well saved by the resolute Seb Brown.

The game was turned on its head in the last five minutes with an incredible finale as the Stags were handed a late lifeline in the form of a penalty. In a game that had many parallels with Monday's defeat at Cambridge, the home side had another glorious chance to salvage a point late on but squandered it. Paul Lorraine took down Kyle Nix on the edge of the six yard box on 88 giving referee Paul Davison little choice but to point to the spot. Jake Speight was the taker but Brown guessed the right way and brilliantly saved it by diving to his right. Nicholas got to the rebound and whipped the ball back across goal where Silk and Perry had the easiest of chances to prod the ball past the Dons 'keeper, who was still grounded, but inexplicably neither managed to connect with it and it went behind for a corner.

The action wasn't over there and Stags were given a second bite of the cherry and another chance to redeem themselves in the first minute of stoppage time with the award of a second penalty. This time it was Silk who was tripped by the offending Ben Judge just inside the Dons' area. Kyle Perry was given responsibility for the spot kick this time only to see his weak effort palmed away by Brown who correctly leapt to his left. The ball fell to Sturrock who sent the rebound crashing into the side netting consigning Stags to their fifth home defeat of the season and third loss in as many games.

Sponsors' man of the match: Alan Marriott

Attendance: 2,470 (304 away)

Team: Marriott, Silk, Foster, Garner, Nicholas, Williams (Nix '50), Challinor (Sturrock '57), Mills, Briscoe (Shaw '77), Speight, Perry.