Goals in either half from Matt Preston and Danny Rose earned Mansfield Town a convincing 2-0 victory against Scunthorpe United at One Call Stadium.
The amber and blue’s sixth outing in Sky Bet League Two ended in delight after a superb all-round performance was rewarded with three points.
Preston rolled home from close range on the half-hour mark while Rose doubled his side’s advantage early in the second period courtesy of a clever finish.
John Dempster signalled two changes from last Saturday’s trip to Exeter.
CJ Hamilton took the place of Mal Benning while the Stags’ latest recruit, Conor Shaughnessy, made his debut as Will Tomlinson dropped to the bench.
In addition, Dapo Afolayan and Hayden White were both out of contention due to respective knocks.
Mansfield had signalled their intent from the outset as Kellan Gordon’s delivery from the far side forced Harrison McGahey into turning the ball behind for a corner.
The visitors were soon presented with a dangerous set-piece, situated just yards from Conrad Logan’s area, but Abo Eisa was unable to bypass the five-man wall that faced him.
CJ Hamilton then had the beating of two Iron defenders, skipping into the box only to be dispossessed as he lined up to strike.
Minutes later, Nicky Maynard would have profited from a mix up in the Iron’s defence but his curling effort was beaten away by Rory Watson.
Gordon was involved once more on the half-hour mark – earning his side their second corner of the afternoon, which would soon provide the breakthrough.
While the initial delivery was hooked clear, the Stags recycled possession through a combination of Jacob Mellis and Hamilton.
The latter spotted Preston arriving at the back post and an inch-perfect cross saw the centre-half turn home on the stretch.
Dempster’s men were evidently buoyed by the opener as they went in search of a second in quick succession.
Alex MacDonald whipped a low ball into the middle that was somehow missed by everyone bunched inside the 18-yard box.
The amber and blue midfielder continued to find pockets of space as he then angled an attempt wide of the far post.
Much like in the early stages, the visiting side were awarded another set-piece within striking distance; but were unable to find the target through Jamie Proctor’s low drive.
This signalled a deserved half-time lead with Preston the solitary name on the scoresheet.
However, he was soon joined by Rose exactly nine minutes into the second period.
Despite pressure from the visitors, the Stags’ frontman notched his sixth goal of the campaign after pouncing upon some hesitancy by the duo of Watson and Andy Butler.
A deft, clever finish ensured the home side were thrusted into a comfortable position with over half an hour to play.
Hamilton continued to escape the attentions of Jordan Clarke but fired an effort against the side netting.
And the Mansfield winger did find the back of the net soon after, although it was quickly chalked off as he strayed beyond the last man a little too early.
Substitute Kevin van Veen looked to reduce the arrears for the Iron but watched his header float wide after pressure from Preston.
Ryan Sweeney’s late clearance almost caused problems from Watson in, who had to backtrack to ensure the ball would clear his bar.
Expert keep-ball from Mansfield ensured they were left untroubled for the majority of the second half and would walk away with a clean sheet to couple their points haul.
Next up for the Stags is a trip to face Crawley Town this forthcoming Saturday.
STAGS XI: Logan (GK), Preston, Pearce ©, MacDonald, Mellis (Bishop 69’), Maynard (Benning 80’), Shaughnessy, Sweeney, Gordon, Hamilton, Rose.
UNUSED SUBS: Stone (GK) Khan, Tomlinson, Sterling-James, Smith.
SCUNTHORPE XI: Watson (GK), Clarke, Lund, Songo’o, Butler ©, McGahey, Slater (Colclough 46’), Brown, Miller (van Veen 46’), Eisa, Proctor.
UNUSED SUBS: Eastwood (GK), Gilliead, McArdle, Bedeau, McAtee.
REFEREE: John Busby
ASSISTANTS: Joe Clark & Richard Bartlett
FOURTH OFIFICIAL: David Benton
ATTENDANCE: 4,772 (554 away)
