Dan Branowsky reports from Field Mill

Mansfield Town suffered only their second defeat of the season after a resolute Tamworth battled for three points.

Ben Wilkinson scored the only goal of the game after a quick counter attack split the Stags defence in half.

Before the match, David Holdsworth and his men would have been looking to consolidate their place at the top of the table however, Gary Mills' Tamworth side had only lost one of their first six games coming into the match so would have been hoping to continue their impressive run.

Mansfield were unchanged from their 4-0 thrashing of Altringham on Tuesday night and Tamworth fielded the same side that played their last three outings, with ex-Stag Kyle Perry heading the attack for the Lambs.

An early clash of the heads between Tyrone Thompson and Daniel Bradley resulted in Bradley being substituted after just 7 minutes, not able to carry on with Jake Sheridan replacing him.

The opening 10 minutes were somewhat disjointed with neither team able to generate a real effort on goal until Tyrone Thompson put in a teasing lobbed ball with found Connors head who picked out Foster whose shot was scuffed over the bar.

Tamworth proved to be a very physical side, seemingly intent on frustrating the Stags but Mansfield had a number of corners, free kicks and crosses into the box which caused the Lambs defence all kinds of problems, a cheeky back heel from Parker was inches away from finding Connor who would have surely rifled the ball home.

Things didn't seem to be working for the Stags, opitimised by a lack of communication between Parker and Briscoe when the two combined down the right hand side before Briscoe sending the ball the opposite way to which Parker was aiming his run.

On 17 minutes, Alex Rodman skipped away from failing challenges to get behind the defence on the right hand side but his ball across the box was well blocked, a warning sign to the Stags.

As the half got on the game started opening up with a number of defensive mistakes leading to chances at both ends, Kyle Perry went the closest when his well hit shot from the edge of the box was struck over the bar.

Tamworth couldn't deal with Adam Smith, who had an impressive start to the game, using his pace as he weaved in and out of the Lambs but Ben Wilkinson hacked the young winger down as he was making his way inside.  Keigan Parker got his head on the end of the resulting free kick which was gathered comfortably by the keeper.

Kyle Perrys return to Field Mill was not without controversy, getting involved in a number of scuffles, receiving a hostile reception from the crowd.

Tamworth went ahead on 28 minutes with a quick counter attack that stung the Stags.  After Briscoe put in a good ball into the Tamworth box the Lambs broke and Danny Thomas got the better of Briscoe, caught out of position before cutting inside and finding new signing Ben Wilkinson, who slotted the ball home.

Tamworth hadn't shown much going forward and the goal was certainly a shock to the fans.

After the goal, Mansfield pushed for an equaliser and Parker went close, rounding the goalkeeper but the ball going out of play.

As the half drew on, Kyle Perry became more and more of an irritant to the home fans, man-handling and tugging the Mansfield players before finally getting a yellow card. The referee awarded Mansfield a free kick just outside the box which Parker curled delicately onto the bar.

In the final few moments of the half Tyrone Thompson produced a defence splitting ball which Keigan Parker took around the keeper but his shot from a tight angle was cleared off the line.

The second half started similarly to the first, plenty of possession but few chances.  Fans favourite Gary Silk burst forward down the right hand side and won the Stags a corner resulting in a number of half chances which were all blocked from the steady Tamworth defence.

Mansfield were lucky not to concede again after Rodman broke down the wing and his ball across the box came off an unknowing Chris Smith which fortunately went over the bar.

Things started to look better for Mansfield when Parker and Briscoe combined well down the left but the keeper was alive to the danger and got off his line to collect the ball just before Parker could get on the end of it.

In order to shake things up and get that vital equaliser manager David Holdsworth made two subs, taking off Thompson and Briscoe for Luke Meldey and Kyle Nix.

The final ball just wasn't there for Mansfield in the second half and despite enjoying some decent possession they couldn't quite carve out a good chance, lacking a bit of craft and guile. The story of the game so far for the Stags.

With only 16 minutes left on the clock, Keigan Parker had a golden opportunity to equalise after superb work from Gary Silk who picked out Parker but his shot was blocked by a barrage of Tamworth defenders, throwing themselves at the ball.

Tamworth defended well throughout the match and certainly had the numbers back which frustrated the Stags, giving them a lack of time and space on the ball.

Tamworth continued to threaten on the break and Thomas managed to get clear of the Stags defence but his cross was poor and Sandwith cleared it over the bar, vital as Perry was waiting behind.

With only 10 minutes to go it was Tamworth who ended the game more positively and a flick on from big man Perry got Sheridan through on goal but his shot was weak and wide. The Stags continued to press and despite a large amount of crosses and corners flying into the box, Tamworth were first to nearly every ball, clearing the danger.

With Mansfield committing men forward it left space at the back and despite calls from the crowd for offside, Kyle Perry managed to get one on one with the keeper but his shot was smashed wide of the inside post.

As the game drew to a close Mansfield almost had a slice of luck when Tamworth keeper, Atkins smashed the ball at Rob Duffy which deflected away from goal, fortunately for the goalkeeper.

The match ended 0-1 despite a chance for Mills in the dying seconds of the game, whose header was saved off the line.

The away crowd of 106 would have gone back to Staffordshire happy with their team's resilient performance, a frustrating afternoon for the Stags.