Referee Darren Drysdale wrote all the headlines on another visit to Field Mill after a moment of controversy near the end of the first half which turned the game on its head.

Double goalscorer Kyle Perry was sent off upon the advice of the fourth official as Drysdale deemed that the frontman stamped on Stevenage's Lee Boylan.

Stevenage took advantage of their extra man and made it count as they had to come from behind to claim all three points.

Stags, however, started at break-neck speed and were on the scoresheet on just 65 seconds.  Louis Briscoe did well to create havoc in the goal area as Rob Duffy headed goalwards from short range.  Stevenage did well to block the Welshman's effort but they could do nothing about Kyle Perry's shot from six yards.

Stevenage registered their first effort on target inside the sixth minute, but Lee Boylan's pot shot from 20 yards was no real threat at the Stags goal.

Stags would have doubled their lead on nine minutes had it none been for the brilliance of Chris Day in the away goal.

Louis Briscoe surged to the goal line and his inch perfect cross for the head of Kyle Perry was one-handidly saved by Chris Day from only four yards out.

But Perry's second goal finally came on 16 minutes.  Rob Duffy headed down to Kyle Perry following a Craig Armstrong throw-in, and the burly forward slotted it just inside the goalkeeper's left hand up post from inside the area.

Stags had a half-hearted shout for a spot kick on 21 minutes when Ryan Williams appeared to be sandwiched by to Borough defenders as he raced in goal. But referee Darren Drysdale got it right and play resumed.

Stevenage started to look dangerous on occasions during the final third, but Stags kept them at bay.

Boro boss Graham Westley had to ring an early change as left-winger Mitchell Cole was replaced by ex Oxford forward Yemi Odubade.

Stevenage came close to testing Alan Marriott on 27 minutes.  Joel Byron swung in from the left and found the head of ex-Stags forward Chris Beardsley, but he was put off in the final moments by defender Luke Jones as he rose high to connect.

Mansfield had Louis Briscoe to thank on the half-hour mark as the forward headed a Michael Bostwick header off the line at the near post following a corner.

Then Scott Garner had to throw himself at the ball on 32.  Odubade nutmegged Silk inside the area, but Garner blocked superbly to thwart the attack as Stevenage continued to press.

Odubade had an even better opportunity to grab one back for Boro four minutes later when the Stags defence weren't alert to a quick free kick, but fortunately, Odubade blazed horribly over from inside the area.

Perry was denied a hat trick on 38 by defender Scott Laird.  He was the man on the line to block Perry's close range header following a Gary Mills corner.

Then came the moment of controversy which changed the entire match, and ultimately, the result.

Play was stopped three minutes before the end for a long period after Stevenage's Lee Boylan inexplicably fell to the ground during the action. Referee Darren Drysdale was eventually summoned to speak to his fourth official after a five minute delay, and then soon brandished Kyle Perry the red card.It

In the seventh minute of the six added on at the end of the first half, ex Stags forward Chris Beardsley headed home from shirt range following a pin point right wing cross.

Stevenage, buoyed on by their numerically advantage, attacked the Stags from the start of the second half.  They came close on 55, but Louis Briscoe cleverly hooked the ball back to Marriott on the goal line when a clear goalscoring chance may have prevailed.

But Stags were undone on the stroke of the hour when Beardsley drifted in from the left and Odubade was on hand to poke home the equaliser.

The diminutive Ryan Williams was then replaced on 64 minutes by fellow small winger Levi Porter, making his debut after signing a month's loan deal from Leicester City yesterday afternoon.

Boro substitute Charlie Griffin did well to deliver into the box from the right, and Odubade should have done better as Stevenage searched for the leading goal.

Griffin turned from provider to goalscorer as Stevenage got their noses in front on 69.  Alan Marriott did his best to try and clear a ball into the box, but he could do nothing about Griffin's goal line shot home.

Manager David Holdsworth rang the changes two minutes later in the quest for an equaliser.  Louis Briscoe and Rob Duffy left the pitch and were replaced by midfielder Steven Istead and livewire Jake Speight.