The Stags hold their first home game of pre-season as they welcome Grimsby Town to the RH Academy

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After a 9-1 victory against Retford and two defeats against Matlock Town and AFC Mansfield, Nigel Clough will look to instil that winning mentality as the amber and blues face the Mariners on Tuesday afternoon.

Pre-season preparations continue to be ramped up as the EFL League Two season edges closer and closer. The Stags are set to face Bristol Rovers in the first game of the new season in about three weeks time with minutes and fitness needed before the start of a new campaign.

Many if not all the players have got minutes under their belts, apart from the selected few, who have been self-isolating since last week.

The game against Grimsby Town may be a chance for those players to return and play some part as getting them back to full fitness will be key for Clough and his coaching staff.

The Mariners, on the back of their relegation down to the National League, got their pre-season underway with a 4-1 victory over neighbours Cleethorpes Town on Saturday afternoon.

Grimsby were 1-0 down after only three minutes. An un-named Cleethropes trialist was able to calmly slot the ball beyond Ollie Battersby to give the hosts the lead.

It didn’t take long for Paul Hurst’s men to equalise as in the sixth minute, Shaun Pearson was able to get on the end of the corner with a diving header to level the score at 1-1.

Edwin Essel made his mark six minutes into entering the field of play. The youth team player stuck in his side’s second as they gained the lead.

Michee Efete added number three after the break as Max Wright made it 4-1 two minutes from time giving Grimsby a winning start to pre-season.

The two sides had two very tight affairs last season in League Two which resulted in two draws. Blundell Park was the venue for the first encounter with the game ending in a 1-1 draw after Ira Jackson Jr opened the scoring, but Nicky Maynard responded with a goal from the penalty spot to split the points between the sides.

March’s encounter was a thriller. Four goals, a stoppage-time equaliser and the Stags were leading on two separate occasions.

George Maris gave the amber and blues the advantage in the 20th minute with that being the only goal in the first-half.

Grimsby found the net through Lenell John-Lewis to level the game at 1-1, but that didn’t last long, as Jason Law gave the Nottinghamshire club the advantage four minutes later. George Williams had the final say in stoppage time by grabbing a late goal to rescue a point for the Mariners.

The result between these two sides on Tuesday afternoon will mean very little as pre-season is for working on fitness and match sharpness, but Grimsby would be delighted with a victory at the RH Academy especially with the Stags now being one league above them.

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