Stags' boss Steve Evans said he was proud of his players after they secured a hard-fought point away to Newport County this afternoon.
In high winds and driving rain, Stags took the lead midway through the first half when striker Danny Rose struck a low effort into the bottom corner for his eighth goal of the season.
Second half substitute Shawn McCoulsky rescued a point for the hosts when he volleyed an effort beyond goalkeeper Conrad Logan from 10 yards.
And during an afternoon in which Stags were forced to battle for a point, the gaffer commended his players for standing up to the physical nature of their South Wales counterparts.
"They've got a lot of big lads and I was really proud of the players today, they stood up to that," the Stags' manager said.
"They play a certain way that's very difficult from every angle. They put long throws, crosses, corners, free-kicks, everything goes into your box.
"I'm pleased with how hard we worked; we need to do more in terms of when we've got the ball, in terms of creativity and keeping it better, but I'm proud of my players with how hard they've worked in the last two games.
"We asked for a response after Swindon and you could see the supporters, to a man, giving the players a standing ovation today and that's just for effort."
The manager made a double substitution in the 72nd minute, replacing front two Danny Rose and Kane Hemmings with Jimmy Spencer and Omari Sterling-James, and the former Leeds United boss revealed the change was to try and inject some freshness into the front line after an energetic display from the pair.
"I'm pleased with how hard we worked; we need to do more in terms of when we've got the ball, in terms of creativity and keeping it better, but I'm proud of my players with how hard they've worked in the last two games."
"He (Danny Rose) had nothing left, him and Kane Hemmings. It's a big pitch; it's a wide pitch. It's a saturated surface and it takes a lot [out of you].
"What we tried to do when we made the double change was to get a bit of freshness at the top end of the pitch and – we almost did it once or twice – we thought on a counter attack basis we could catch them.
"Credit to the players. We'll travel home and we'll freshen some of the group up for Tuesday."
With the season now 15 games old, the manager believes partnerships within the Stags' side are growing week-by-week.
"We've come, we've got a point. It's a hard-earned point. You look at the results around the league today, I've just glanced at them - it's a hard league.
"Our partnerships and our little things are growing every week. Every week we come to work, it's getting a little bit better; a little bit better in training, a little bit better understanding and there's some real competition for places, as we saw today with the bench we could name."
Supporters will be able to login to iFollow Stags to listen to the manager's post-match interview later this evening.
