Paul Stephen reports from Field Mill
Mansfield Town made it three wins in their last three home games at Field Mill this afternoon whilst bringing Forest Green's six match unbeaten run to a shuddering holt.
A solitary goal scored shortly after kick off was enough to separate the teams as the home side took the lead in dramatic fashion when Rob Duffy was felled in the box and converted the penalty for his eight goal of the season.
Mansfield lined up with four changes as manager David Holdsworth tried to shuffle things round following the disappointment of losing to Barrow midweek. Paul Heckingbottom was handed his league debut in the place of the injured Craig Armstrong while Captain Gary Mills was welcomed back to first team duty after serving a three match suspension.
Daryl Clare and Blair Sturrock made up the other additions to the side in place of Louise Briscoe and Jake Speight who took his place on the bench alongside Kyle Perry who also returned from suspension.
The visitors got proceedings underway by kicking off towards the North Stand which for the second game in a row was bereft of away fans. It became apparent quite quickly that the blustery conditions were going to cause problems for both sides over the course of the afternoon as the ball had to be replaced on the centre spot following a strong gust of wind.
The breakthrough came for the home side almost immediately as Rob Duffy cut into the six yard box following a fluid attacking move only to be brought down under a clumsy challenge by Forest Green defender Ollie Thorn. A spot kick was given and the no.9 dusted himself off to calmly slot the ball in the bottom right hand corner for his eight goal of the season and third penalty kick in as many games.
Mansfield continued to apply pressure in search of another goal in order to extend their slender lead and went close to doing so on 25 minutes. Taking advantage of the strong wind at his back, Blair Sturrock unleashed a powerful right foot shot from 30 yards out which looked to be heading into the back of the net before being tipped over by an outstretched hand from Forest Green keeper Terry Burton.
Chances for the visitors were limited as Mansfield kept most of the possession but the Stag's defence were caught napping on the half hour mark as Lewis Spence found room to drill a low shot from a left wing position on the edge of the area that tested Alan Marriott's reflexes as he quickly dived to his right to prevent it from sneaking inside the near post.
On 41 minutes Sean Rigg had another opportunity to punish some poor defending by the Stag's as he found himself only 10 yards out with only the keeper to beat. Thankfully he scuffed his shot and it spooned up over the bar.
Only two minutes were added to a frustrating and uneventful half that required few stoppages as the adverse weather conditions made playing attractive passing football almost impossible for either side.
No doubt Holdsworth will have counselled his side against complacency in his half time team talk as the Stag's came out in the second half looking to not only protect their one goal cushion but to extend it aswell.
It was the visitors who were out the traps quickest and in a spell of sustained pressure came close from a corner that required a goal bound header to be cleared by Duffy. On 54 minutes the dangerous looking Rigg tried to capitalise on an error from Heckingbottom whose weak back pass to Marriot presented him with a clear cut chance before a timely tackle from Luke Graham saw the ball roll out harmlessly for a throw in.
Holdsworth made a double substitution with half an hour remaining and threw on the fresh legs of Jake Speight and Kyle Perry in the place of Blair Sturrock and goal scorer Rob Duffy. This proved a shrewd tactical move as Speight proceeded to harry Forest Green's defence with his pace and frustrate their efforts to win possession as he ran down the wing almost at will.
The Stag's thought they had extended the lead and had the ball in the net again in the 78th minute as Williams threaded a clever ball between two green shirts to send Jake Speight through on goal. Although the subsequent shot beat the keeper - it was ruled out for offside.
Mansfield made their final substitution on 82 as the lively Nix was replaced by Matt Somner who bolstered the Stag's midfield as they sought to prevent a nervy finale.
Forest Green's best chance to get something from the game fell to Ameobi in the last minute of normal time when he ran at the defence at speed. As the goal opened up to him in the area, he left Gary Silk in his wake but fired his shot over the bar when he had all the goal at his mercy.
Following four minutes added time, there was relief at the final whistle as Mansfield held on to record another home victory. Holdsworth will no doubt be delighted with his player's response to defeat on Tuesday night as they got ahead and then showed some grit to sit on a precarious lead for almost 90 minutes of the game.
