Midfielder Stephen Quinn and forward Rhys Oates found the net as Stags produced a spirited performance in a 4-2 friendly loss at home to Championship outfit Rotherham United.
Nigel Clough’s men will doubtless be encouraged with various passages of their play as well as increasing the game-time for Stags’ squad.
Rotherham started brightly and opened the scoring after 63 seconds following a throw on the right flank.
Georgie Kelly did well to hold the ball with his back to goal inside the area before laying it off for a trialist who hammered it into the net from 12 yards.
Stags responded immediately and levelled the scoring inside the fourth minute.
Midfielder Hiram Boateng threaded a superbly weighted ball through to forward Rhys Oates, who raced beyond the defender to square for Quinn who slammed it in to the roof of the net at the far post.
On 11 minutes, Stags’ frontman Lucas Akins then battled with his marker to advance into the box before firing a low left-footed shot which Rotherham goalkeeper Dylan Phillips was equal to at his near post.
Millers’ full-back Lee Peltier was given a ticking off by referee Declan Bourne for hacking down Stags’ midfielder Stephen Quinn after 15 minutes.
Boateng then curled an effort into the palms of Phillips as Stags searched for a second.
But it was the visitors who regained the lead after 26 minutes when Georgie Kelly skipped through the middle to direct his effort beyond Christy Pym in the Stags’ goal.
On 32 minutes, Stags’ defender Alfie Kilgour was shown a yellow card for tripping Kelly outside the centre circle.
Davis Keillor-Dunn tried his luck from the edge of the box, with a curling attempt, which clipped off the head of a Rotherham player to spin behind for a corner.
And from the flag-kick, Stags were level on 40 minutes.
Keillor-Dunn delivered to the head of Bailey Cargill, who flicked towards goal from inside the six-yard box. And Oates was quickest to react, nodding over the line, despite the best efforts of a Rotherham defender to keep it out.
Stags were gaining momentum and Louis Reed stung the palms of Phillips with a vicious effort from 20 yards.
Nigel Clough made his first change on 49 minutes when Stephen Quinn was replaced by George Maris.
Two minutes later, defender Baily Cargill received an unintentional whack in the face and was withdrawn for Aaron Lewis, which forced Callum Johnson to fill in at right centre-half, enabling Lewis to perform at right-back.
Rotherham then struck a quick-fire double to extend their lead, the first of which on 54 minutes.
Georgie Kelly directed his header into the far corner from 10 yards after Rathbone galloped down the left to drift in a pin-point cross.
And Kelly found the net again just three minutes later, heading home inside the six-yard box to claim a hat-trick.
Rotherham began to dominate the ball but Stags got a foothold back in the game on 65 minutes when Maris leapt well to head over from Boateng’s right-wing cross.
Oates fired over on 73 minutes from 22 yards following a good spell of possession from Mansfield. And moments later, four changes were made in the home camp.
Stags then made four changes as Christy Pym, Alfie Kilgour, Louis Reed and Lucas Akins were replaced by Scott Flinders, George Cooper, Anthony Hartigan and Jordan Bowery.
On 82 minutes, United substitute Josh Atherton struck narrowly wide from an acute angle before James Gale was introduced for Rhys Oates in Stags’ ranks.
A minute later, Maris robbed Rotherham of possession on the cusp of the visitors’ box. And after slipping it wide for Gale, his low, right- flank delivery narrowly evaded Maris’ outstretched leg in the centre of the box.
Boateng then placed a lovely ball into the path of Bowery, but his strike was blocked by Tyler Blackett.
And seconds before the referee blew for full-time, Rotherham’s Jake Hull headed over at the back stick from a corner.
STAGS: Pym (Flinders 73), Johnson, Kilgour (Cooper 73), Cargill (Lewis 52), Macdonald, Boateng, Reed (Hartigan 73), Quinn (Maris 49), Keillor-Dunn, Oates (Gale 81), Akins (Bowery 73)
ROTHERHAM: Phillips, McCart (Blackett 64), Cafu (Rathbone H/T), Trialist A (Humphreys 64), Kelly (Wiles 64), Bola (Seisay 73), Peltier (Bramall 52), Morrison (Hull 64), Trialist B (Atherton 68), Durose (Hall 73), McGuckin (Abraham 74).
SUBS NOT USED: Johansson, Abraham, Ayres
REFEREE: Declan Bourne
ATTENDANCE: 2,154 (437 Rotherham fans)
