A stunning late comeback saw Mansfield Town under-18s claim their first league win of the season against Huddersfield Town under-18s at the Canalside Sports Complex.
The Stags fell behind midway through the opening period but came back to dominate the second-half.
The amber and blue were rewarded for their strong display in a remarkable five-minute spell which saw Joshua Scott score from the spot, before Jimmy Knowles won it with a superb curling effort.
Knowles’ late strike sparked jubilant scenes of celebration from the Stags’ players after such a hard-fought victory.
It was a cagey start to the game as both teams struggled to fashion any real chances in the opening ten minutes.
The Stags very nearly broke the offside trap in the seventh minute after Scott and Knowles played a neat one-two. The former looked set to open the scoring but the assistant raised his flag to halt him in his tracks.
The Terriers' first chance of the contest came after nine minutes. A short corner from Luke Daley picked out Ben Midgley on the edge of the box, but the forward could only fire his first-time shot wide.
Daniel Baxter-Alleyne then went close for the hosts. Robson Shipley played a searching ball through the middle and the striker fired a low shot wide.
The Terriers then made their pressure tell with the opening goal. Luke Daley collected the ball from a throw-in out on the left flank. The full-back glided into the box, leaving three players in his wake before firing low past Maison Campbell.
The Stags went searching for an equaliser and were desperately unlucky on the half hour mark, as they saw two golden chances go begging.
Scott, who worked tirelessly throughout the match; won the ball back in midfield and fed Ethan Hill. From the edge of the box, the midfielder unleashed a powerful drive which Huddersfield ‘keeper Giouse Bellagambi palmed for a corner.
From the resulting set piece, defender Jamie Chisholm met full-back Kian Sketchley’s cross but he could only head over from the penalty spot.
The Stags should have levelled just before the break. Hill whipped in a delightful cross, but Chisholm fired over from a goal mouth scramble.
After a difficult opening period, the Stags started the second-half brightly, as they went searching for the equalising goal.
Shamar Lawson was inches away from finding it with a stunning effort. The winger cut inside on the left flank and curled a beautiful 25-yard shot which had Bellagambi nervously scrambling across his goal. Fortunately for the Terriers' 'keeper, the effort hit the crossbar.
The lively winger looked the most likely to create something for the Stags and he crafted three good chances for his side.
Firstly on 62 minutes he planted a cross onto the head of Scott as the striker saw his looping header beaten away by the ‘keeper.
The on 65 minutes, Lawson cut inside after beating Taylor Annakin and drilled an effort at goal which was palmed away by Bellagambi.
He then cut inside again and unleashed a goal bound effort, but Annakin got a crucial touch to take the venom out of the shot as it fell into the hands of the grateful Bellagambi.
With ten minutes left, the Stags should have levelled. Knowles skipped past his marker and squared the ball to Scott, the striker looked certain to score from six yards but somehow fired wide.
The striker dusted himself off and continued to press and again, he was unlucky on 84 minutes when he saw his goal bound header cleared off the line by Nasim Kherbouce.
It looked like it was going to be another diffuclt day at the office for the Stags, but Knowles had other ideas. The striker won a penalty for his side after being clipped in the box by Daley. Scott planted the ball on the spot and sent Bellagambi the wrong way to equalise.
The Stags weren’t prepared to settle for a draw as they chased the winning goal straight from the kick-off.
The amber and blue were again denied by the impressive Bellagambi in their pursuit of the all-important third goal as he saved from both Lawson and Knowles.
The latter was not to be denied again though as he won the game in stunning fashion. Lawson saw his shot blocked and the ball fell to Knowles inside the area.
From a wide angle, he composed himself before curling a shot into the top corner to spark wild scenes of celebration from the Mansfield players.
The Stags stood up to some late pressure from the hosts to claim a deserved win. The amber and blue had performed well without reward so far this season and their late rally finally saw them find that overdue first win of the campaign.
HUDDERSFIELD XI: Bellagambi, Annakin, Daley, Okpolokpo, Kherbouce, Krasiniqi, Billam, Bell, Shipley, Midgley, Baxter-Alleyne.
SUBS: Roxburgh, Edionhon, Baruc.
STAGS’ XI: Campbell, King (Cooper 71'), Sketchley, Tomlin, Saunders Chisholm, Molyneaux (Caine 75'), Hill, Scott, Knowles, Lawson.
UNUSED SUBS: Phillips, Ingram, Fisher.
