The Stags produced a dominant second-half display to earn a 2-0 win against Doncaster Rovers at One Call Stadium in the Youth Alliance League on Saturday afternoon.
Versatile attacker Ronnie Kokkinos broke the deadlock on 65 minutes when he received the ball inside the area to turn a defender and slot the ball into the bottom left-hand corner.
With 72 minutes on the clock, forward McKeal Abdullah doubled the amber and blue's advantage.
After picking up the ball on the edge of the box, he cut inside and curled a brilliant effort into the top left-hand corner which clipped the underside of the bar on the way in.
Midfielder Alfie King returned to the starting XI after spending three-months on the sidelines with a broken finger.
The first-half saw control of the game swing back and forth as both sides hunted for the opening goal.
Stags’ right-back and captain, Taylor Anderson, proved to be a constant threat throughout the game, sending several brilliant deliveries into the Doncaster area but nobody could find the back of the net in the opening exchanges.
The visitors had a great chance to take the lead on 17 minutes when a ball was whipped into the Mansfield box looking to pick out Rovers’ striker Jack Goodman. However, defender Tyler Whyle was there to clear up the initial danger and centre-back partner Ben Whelan knocked the ball out of play for a corner.
Alfie King provided a number of opportunities for his teammates on his return to the side. One of which came 20 minutes into the game when he looked to pick out Abdullah, who made a sharp run down the right-hand flank, but the ball ultimately rolled out of play.
Doncaster had a great chance to take the lead after 21 minutes as a cross whipped in from right-back Alex Fletcher found Goodman inside the area, whose powerful header towards the bottom corner was saved by Mansfield goalkeeper Louie Turner.
Stags’ midfielder Finn Flanagan almost opened the scoring on 30 minutes. After receiving the ball inside the box his close range effort was blocked by Rovers’ centre-back Charlie Petch.
The amber and blue came out a much stronger outfit in the second-half and started to control the game.
The first substitution of the match saw the returning Alfie King replaced by forward Louis Bonser for the hosts as the encounter approached the hour-mark.
Three minutes later, Mansfield’s central-midfielder Charlie Carter found himself taking up a position on the right-hand side of the pitch. And he endeavoured to to make the most of his new role by showing outstanding strength and power to get beyond the Doncaster defence and put a ball into the box, but nobody was there to turn it into the back of the net.
The Stags got their reward on 65 minutes when they opened the scoring. After receiving the ball inside the Doncaster box, Kokkinos turned his man and slotted his effort into the bottom left-hand corner of Jake Oram’s goal from close range.
The hosts doubled their advantage on 72 minutes as forward McKeal Abullah received the ball on the edge of the opposition's box. Cutting inside onto his left-foot, he curled a phenomenal effort into the top left-hand corner of Doncaster’s net, clipping the underside of the bar on its way in.
With 11 minutes remaining, defensive-minded midfielder Lewis Warnaby replaced goalscorer Ronnie Kokkinos in the Stags’ second substitution of the game.
The amber and blue had a great chance to score a third goal on 80 minutes as the hosts caught Rovers on a counterattack. Flanagan received the ball and played through attacker Bonser who then picked out Abdullah, but some last-ditch defending from the visitors prevented an almost certain goal.
The hosts’ final substitution saw attacker Noah Aynsley-Johnson replace Abdullah following a fine performance and goal that will live long in the memory.
In the final moments of the game, the Stags controlled the fixture which saw them end the game with not only three points but a clean sheet to go with it.
MANSFIELD TOWN: Turner, Anderson, Whelan, Whyle, Wauchope, Carter, Flanagan, Kruszynski. King (Bonser 59), Kokkinos (Warnaby 79), Abdullah (Aynsley-Johnson 87)
UNUSED SUBS: Leech, Hamilton
DONCASTER ROVERS: Oram, Fletcher, Whiting, Lindley, Petch (Bennett 87), Flint, Scattergood (Khan 62), Raper, Goodman, Green (Allen 71), Parkinson
UNUSED SUBS: Pooley, Tomlinson
REFEREE: Matt Rose
