League Two’s in-form sides go head-to-head as the Stags welcome Exeter City to the One Call Stadium

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After three positive away performances, Mansfield Town welcome Exeter City to Nottinghamshire as the league’s best performers face-off.

The Stags and the Grecians occupy the top two places in the form table after the last 10 league games, amassing 24 and 21 points respectively.

Nigel Clough’s men rounded off a run of three consecutive away games with a victory over Mark Hughes’ Bradford City in the 58-year-old’s first match in charge of the Yorkshire club.

Following a relatively quiet first half, the game sprung to life just before the half-time interval. Nathan Bishop cleared the ball forwards as Matty Foulds headed the ball backwards and into the path of Rhys Oates. The forward, as he usually does, put his head down and drove goalwards before steadying himself and sending a curling effort into the top corner of the net to give the Stags a 1-0 lead.

Minutes after the second half got underway, Mansfield doubled their advantage. Good play down the left saw Stephen McLaughlin play the ball into the feet of Jamie Murphy. The Hibernian loanee fired his effort into the back of Oates as Matty Longstaff seized on the opportunity and slotted the ball home from close range.

The Nottinghamshire outfit were able to hold onto the 2-0 win as they extended their unbeaten run to 13 league games.

Matt Taylor’s Exeter side have been on a fantastic run of form, having not tasted defeat in their last nine League Two encounters.

The Devon-based side are in a similar position to the Stags as they are only a point ahead of the Amber and Blues and only two points behind the automatic promotion places, with three games in hand on Tranmere Rovers in the final spot that guarantees promotion up to League One.

In their last encounter, the Grecians took on the revitalised Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium. The Gas got off to a flying start inside the first 10 minutes as Luca Hoole put his side ahead.

The ever-reliable Jevani Brown scored his fifth goal of the season as he drew the game level just a few minutes before the half-hour mark. Both sides were unable to find a winner and therefore settled for a point each as their respective good runs of form continue.

Exeter City and Mansfield Town have been resolute defensively, conceding 31 and 33 goals respectively. Keeping attacking forces at bay has seen both sides make rapid rises up the league with their strong defences playing vital parts in every fixture.

When the two sides faced each other back in October, a tight encounter saw the Grecians come from 1-0 down to win the game 2-1.

Coming into the game on the back of a positive 1-1 draw against Port Vale, Clough’s side hit the front in the 50th minute. A free-kick from Stephen Quinn floated onto the head of Oli Hawkins who nodded the ball past Cameron Dawson to put the Stags ahead.

Just after the hour-mark, the hosts equalised through Timothee Dieng as the Grecians pounced on a disorganised Mansfield defence.

Exeter completed the turnaround with 10 minutes to go as Matt Jay was unmarked at the back post and headed the ball through the legs of Bishop to secure his side came away from the fixture with the win.

This monumental fixture between the two in-form sides in the division could see an unbeaten run come to an end. With that being said, both sets of players will leave everything on the pitch as the season enters its latter stages.

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