Midfielder George Lapslie says his dramatic 95thminute winning goal in Mansfield’s significant 2-1 away victory over Oldham Athletic is a moment he will ‘cherish’.
The Stags had to come from behind in the contest after Davis Keillor-Dunn opened the scoring in favour of the hosts after 24 minutes.
Rhys Oates’ strike drew the Stags level on 53 minutes before Lapslie latched onto a rebounded shot off the post to secure the victory for Mansfield with seconds remaining.
The goal scorer said he initially didn’t expect the ball to come to him after Oates had unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the box.
“I thought it was going in [from Oates’ shot] then it came off the post, hit me and went in,” he said.
“As it came off [the post] I sort of directed it with my leg, but it was a great strike from Oatesy [Rhys Oates]. At first, I thought maybe I was offside but, I wasn’t.
“To be honest I think I owed the lads that [goal]. I’ve missed a few chances lately so I’m just buzzing I could get that goal for them.
“It’s a moment I will cherish, it was a good moment for myself.
“The most important thing was getting the three points. It’s crunch time in this stage of the season so we just need to keep on getting points on the board.”
Mansfield are now just four points off the automatic promotion places with three games in hand. The 24-year-old hopes Mansfield can continue in their current vein of form of back-to-back away wins to push up the Sky Bet League Two table.
“If you keep picking up points on the road you’ve got a chance [of achieving something] and our home form has been good lately,” said Lapslie.
“We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing. There’s no point trying to change anything now, we’re obviously doing okay at the minute. We’re just trying to keep going and trying to get points on the board.
“It doesn’t really matter [if I’m starting games] as long as the team that’s out there can get the result for the boys like they did today, that’s all that matters.”
The Mansfield number 32 says the Stags’ fans can play an important role in the final ten league games of the season.
“It’s unreal [to play in front of the Stags’ fans],” he said.
“It’s probably the best away following I’ve ever had. [It’s] quite unbelievable. Sometimes you come away and don’t really know whether you’ve played at home or away, they’re so loud.
“[I’m] thankful for the fans and even when we were going through a tough time, they stuck with us.
“We’re hoping as a squad we can just deliver what they want from us.”
