Mansfield Town

Prior to this clash of two in-form sides, the young Stags stretched their unbeaten run to six games since January with a vital 2-1 victory over nearest title rivals Oldham Athletic.

Although Oldham bagged the opener after 12 minutes via Brad Kay, Mansfield were right back in the contest when forward Jason Law rode two challenges and scored on 28 minutes.

Law netted his second three minutes after the restart, confidently finding the target on the back of strike partner Nyle Blake’s assist.

Success over the Latics’ youngsters reinstated John Dempster’s men to the top spot, where they currently reside, three points ahead of second-placed Oldham with 42 points.

While academy manager Dempster was impressed by his players’ commitment to earn three crucial points towards the business end of their Youth Alliance title defence, first-team manager Steve Evans congratulated the under 18s on their winning efforts.

In the two rounds preceding the outing against the Greater Manchester side, the Stags’ youth side scripted back-to-back victories over Notts County 3-2 and Hartlepool United 3-1, and also recorded a 2-1 win over Rotherham United either side of draws against Doncaster Rovers (1-1) and Lincoln City (0-0).

As Chesterfield prepare to host the Stags in the second of their four consecutive home fixtures, they have climbed to sixth in the table with 29 points from 18 matches.

Moreover, the young Spireites are on a five-game unbeaten run since January. After they thumped Lincoln 9-0, they have won 2-1 against Doncaster, 3-2 against Burton Albion and 4-2 over York City.

However, Hartlepool held the Derbyshire outfit to a 2-2 draw last time out, when forward Liam Travers’ double negated Chesterfield starlet Ricky German’s first-half brace.

Supporters are welcome to attend the game for FREE this Friday at the following venue:

The Proact Stadium,

1866 Sheffield Road,

Whittington Moor,

Chesterfield,

Derbyshire, 

S41 8NZ