Stags get back to winning ways as the combination of Hawkins and Oates fire the amber and blues up to 15th in League Two

Mansfield Town bounced back from their midweek defeat to secure a 2-1 victory over Crawley Town at The People’s Pension Stadium in stormy conditions.

The Stags broke the deadlock in the 24th minute through Oli Hawkins, who started upfront for the first time since the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Northampton Town. The forward was able to latch onto a brilliant Ryan Stirk delivery to dink the ball past Glenn Morris from close range.

Two minutes into the second half, Crawley equalised through their first shot on target. Jake Hessenthaler’s layoff found James Tilley who fired his effort beyond Nathan Bishop and into the back of the net.

Rhys Oates, however, made sure the three points were heading back to Nottinghamshire as he restored Mansfield’s lead in the 72nd minute following a sumptuous outside the boot assist from Hawkins.

Both sides had chances of adding to the goal tally but Hessenthaler, Tyrese Sinclair and Kwesi Appiah were denied by either the post or the crossbar.

Nigel Clough made four changes from the midweek defeat against Sutton United as the Stags boss opted for a 3-5-2 formation.

Nathan Bishop started in goal with Will Forrester, making his first league start, Ferrend Rawson and John-Joe O’Toole ahead of the shot-stopper in a back three.

Stephen McLaughlin and Elliott Hewitt were deployed as wing-backs with Ryan Stirk, Stephen Quinn and George Lapslie the three starting midfielders.

Oli Hawkins and the returning Rhys Oates started up front for the Stags as the summer signing looked to continue his great goalscoring form.

Within the first five minutes, the hosts looked to create a shooting chance through Ashley Nadesan but the forward took far too long on the ball and was eventually dispossessed.

The Stags had a chance of their own a couple of minutes later. Following a corner, the ball was knocked down into the path of Stirk who saw his effort dealt with by the Crawley defence.

After a relatively quiet start, Mansfield were able to break the deadlock in the 24th minute. This time Stirk turned provider as his brilliant delivery found Hawkins who dinked the ball past Morris and into the back of the net.

Oates, who returned to the starting 11 after overcoming his injury problems, was able to race goalwards but the forward lost his footing as he looked destined to shoot.

Before the half-time interval, the Stags continued to put the Red Devils under pressure, however, they failed to create any real danger as they held their 1-0 lead at the break.

Crawley were straight out of the blocks in the second half as they scored the leveller in the 48th minute. Hessenthaler laid the ball off to Tilley who smashed his effort past Bishop from outside the box.

Just after the hour-mark, the hosts could have doubled their lead through assister Hessenthaler. The midfielder released a shot from an acute angle, but fortunately for the Stags, the ball cannoned off the post and back into play.

The Stags went up the other end a few minutes later as Oates found Lapslie. Mansfield’s number 32 then passed the ball to Hewitt but the wing-back failed to keep his shot down.

In the 73rd minute, the amber and blues regained their lead. A brilliant ball from Hawkins saw Oates pounce on the opportunity as he slid the ball under Morris and into the bottom corner of the net.

For the final quarter of an hour, the game was on a knife-edge as either side could have scored in the dying embers.

Firstly, Sinclair was through one-on-one with Morris but the youngster could only direct his effort onto the post, and with virtually the final kick of the game, Appiah directed his header onto the bar from close range as Mansfield secured a vital 2-1 win.

The Nottinghamshire club now face another away game this time in the FA Cup as they take on Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat Stadium next weekend.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt