Paul Stephen reports from Field Mill
Super sub Jake Speight rescued a point for the Stags tonight with a late equaliser.
The home side looked destined to defeat after falling behind with 20 minutes to go before Speight's spectacular overhead kick levelled the scores in the fourth minute of injury time.
It was no less than they deserved after opponents Altrincham mustered little in the final third and scored with their only real attack of the game. Mansfield had a host of chances to take all three points in a game they dominated from start to finish but will be relieved to have snatched a share of the spoils from the jaws of defeat.
Unsurprisingly David Holdsworth named an unchanged side from the one that thrashed Histon 5-0 at the weekend as he set out to beat Altrincham for a third time this season following victories against the Robins in the league and FA Cup back in October. Ironically, the last time we entertained Graham Heathcote's men at Field Mill for our FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round tie almost five months ago, it was also the last time Stags picked up back to back wins.
Alty came to us looking to extend a six match unbeaten run and with two ex-Stags among their ranks with forward Jon McAliskey starting and veteran striker Colin Little taking a space on the bench.
The game kicked off in light rain with the home side starting from where they left off on Saturday by passing the ball neatly across the greasy surface. Mills set up Challinor for the first shot of the night in the sixth minute when his through ball found the ex-Cambridge midfielder on the left hand side of the 18-yard box. Challinor got a shot away and forced Coburn to dive to his left but it flashed a metre wide of the post.
Altrincham had a rare chance when Adam Carden won them a corner in the 13th minute. It was cleared behind by Brough at the near post for a second corner which was quickly taken but the ref deemed that a foul had occurred on Marriott and a free kick awarded to Stags.
Mills linked up with Perry in the 18th minute with a punt from midfield but the burly forward's header from the edge of the box was never a problem for Coburn. A minute later Stags' domination of proceedings looked like it would pay off when Blair Sturrock was too quick for the defence and ran through on goal with no-one in between him and the 'keeper. It would have been a photo finish but unfortunately the flag had gone up on the far side as he was adjudged to have been offside.
Marriott's incredible vision produced another decent chance for Mansfield in the 25th minute when he collected a Carden cross on the edge of his six-yard box and instantly threw the ball out to Burgess on the left wing. Alty's defence looked stretched as they tracked back into their own half and were split in two by Burgess' pinpoint pass to Sturrock. The latter turned and shot from distance but saw his ambitious curling effort fly narrowly over the bar.
Garner headed over on 26 before Briscoe pulled the ball back from the bye-line for Sturrock just past the half hour mark. Sturrock couldn't quite get the ball from between his feet and it was clawed away from him before he could get a shot in.
There was only one side who looked likely to break the deadlock before half time as Stags applied the pressure once more in Alty's area with five minutes of the half remaining. Briscoe galloped into the area and was forced wide by a defender before his clever back heel found Gary Silk who tried his luck but fired his 12 yard effort over the bar.
The deadlock could not be broken, however, and the home side reached the break comfortably on top but needing to dig a little deeper in order to find the elusive first goal.
The visitors, who had failed to threaten in the first 45 minutes, caused a bit of a scare four minutes after the break with a free kick from the left hand side. Densmore found Denham at the near post who hooked the ball over the face of goal to Rob Williams. The Alty forward could have caused damage and was in a good position to score from only six yards out but thankfully headed harmlessly over the bar.
Stags resumed the one-way traffic shortly after and went close again on 58 when Mills linked up with Briscoe down the right flank. Briscoe burst into the area and sent an inviting cross into the six yard box which was desperately headed away by Shaun Densmore when Kyle Perry and Blair Sturrock were waiting.
Blair Sturrock won the ball midway in Altrincham's half in the 65th minute with a brilliant tackle before threading a perfectly weighted ball through the Louis Briscoe. Briscoe turned to run through on goal but was dispossessed with a timely last ditch tackle by Shaun Densmore to deny the home side another chance to get a richly deserved opening goal.
Stags were left frustrated and made to pay dearly for not taking their earlier chances when Altrincham snatched the lead in the 69th minute. Rob Williams attempted to volley a corner that came in from the left for the visitors but collided with an Amber and Blue shirt. The ball ran as far as Adam Carden who headed it back into the six yard box where Greg Young rose highest and unmarked to nod it into the top right corner of Marriott's net.
Holdsworth responded immediately by sending on Jon Shaw for Kyle Perry to add some fresh attacking impetus. Perry was followed three minutes later by Jon Challinor who was withdrawn for Jake Speight.
The home side pressed on and Garner headed wide from a corner on 74 before Speight screwed his shot wide minutes later.
The visitors altered their shape for the final quarter of an hour by leaving Chris Senior as their sole attacker and packing their defence to shut Mansfield out. It was a tactic that worked well as all of Stags' forays forward were repelled and came to nothing.
Holdsworth made his final substitution with seven minutes to go when Kyle Nix came on for Louis Briscoe as his charges worked tirelessly to try and salvage something from the game.
Livewire Speight won a corner in the 85th minute which was whipped in by Kyle Nix and found the unmarked Andy Burgess. The former-Luton midfielder drilled in a low shot but Coburn got down quickly and smothered the shot.
Nix shot over on 87 before Mills earned the only booking of the night for the home side following his rough challenge on Ryan Brown as frustration boiled over.
The game had just entered into four minutes of added time when the Stags put eight men in the box for an Andy Burgess free kick. It was to no avail however, as Alty cleared their lines and Stags were left to try again.
It was late arriving but the equaliser eventually came in acrobatic fashion in the 94th minute. Shaw ran into a crowded area and narrowly avoided colliding with Andy Nicholas as he shot from 10 yards out. It ricocheted off a red and white shirt and ballooned up in front of Jake Speight who had his back to goal but hit the back of the net with a superb overhead kick.
It was the last action of the game as the whistle was blown immediately after the restart and Stags could breath a sigh of relief at securing a point and preventing a fourth home defeat of the season.
Sponsors' man of the match: Andy Burgess
Attendance: 2,364 (away 65)
Team: Marriott, Silk, Garner, Brough, Nicholas, Briscoe (Nix '83), Challinor (Speight '73), Mills, Burgess, Sturrock, Perry (Shaw '70).
