Lady luck was on the Stags’ side as they got the job done with a narrow victory against Carlisle United

Mansfield Town were lucky not to concede in the dying embers of the game but you can’t always win games by playing pretty as they did the dirty work well to secure the three points.

The only goal of the game came in the sixth minute after Elliott Hewitt delivery was nodded into the net by Stephen McLaughlin at the back post.

Nigel Clough had to make two changes from the side that beat Doncaster Rovers in the Second Round of the FA Cup last weekend.

Rhys Oates and Ollie Clarke both picked up injuries with Jordan Bowery and Harry Charsley replacing the duo in the starting 11.

Deploying with the usual 4-5-1 formation, the amber and blues were looking to score early. George Lapslie skipped past his marker and delivered a ball into the box but he failed to pick out any of his teammates.

Moments later, Stephen Quinn broke forward down the left and passed the ball onto George Maris. The midfielder in turn slid it to Lapslie who looked to pick out Charsley with a pass but it ran out of play for a Carlisle United goal-kick.

Mansfield opened the scoring in the sixth minute. Hewitt’s pinpoint cross found McLaughlin at the back post who headed the ball past Mark Howard to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

After the goal, the visitors didn’t let their heads drop as they looked to pose a threat for the Stags. Brennan Dickenson found Jack Armer out wide with the full-back’s delivery into the box claimed easily by Nathan Bishop.

Up the other end, the amber and blues worked the ball well which allowed Maris to release a shot but he dragged his effort off target.

Will Forrester, who scored Mansfield’s equaliser against Doncaster in the FA Cup at the weekend, was caught out by Tristan Abrahams. Luckily for the young defender, the forward’s effort was tame and Bishop made an easy save.

Bowery played Charsley through as the midfielder bared down on goal. His effort was saved well by Howard with Maris’ rebound blocked out for a corner.

It could have been trouble for the Stags with 10 minutes of the first half to go. After a Carlisle corner, Charsley looked to clear the danger but headed the ball straight into the air. Bishop looked to push it over but made a mess of it as the ball cannoned off the crossbar and dropped into the danger area. Fortunately, none of the Carlisle players were alert to the chance as the Mansfield shot-stopper caught the ball.

Carlisle’s best chance came in the 44th minute. Callum Guy fired an effort that ricocheted off a Stags player and in turn wrong-footed Bishop. The ball rolled wide of the post but would have most definitely hit the back of the net if it had gone goalwards.

In the second half, the Cumbrians grew stronger and advanced into attacking positions more regularly as Stags’ backline was tested time and time again.

Forrester was replaced by Ferrend Rawson in the 57th minute as the young defender hobbled off the pitch after a stray pass which was a worrying sight for Clough.

In the 64th minute, McLaughlin looked to find Bowery in the box with a teasing ball. The forward was unable to latch onto it initially but got the shot off after Hewitt lifted the ball into his path. However, the effort was blocked as the Stags continued to defend their slim 1-0 lead.

Bowery looked to turn provider this time as he broke forward at speed. He tried to find Charsley in the box but his pass was a poor one.

Carlisle’s chances started to come with around 20 minutes to go. Dickenson curled corner had to be cleared off the line by Hewitt to stop a certain goal.

Substitute Kelvin Mellor released a shot from range which hit Dickenson’s knee as the midfielder lifted the ball over.

In the dying embers of the game, Howard’s long goal-kick found Jordan Gibson who saw his wonderful effort cannon off the crossbar and back into play.

John-Joe O’Toole gave away a free-kick just outside the area but Dickenson’s free-kick was caught by Bishop who slowed the game down before punting the ball forward.

Another win for Mansfield saw them make it eight wins out of the last nine games in all competitions and saw them edge closer to the play-offs.

Carlisle slumped to their 10th league defeat and will need to start picking up results if they are to avoid relegation down to the National League this season.

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