Stags have the chance to immediately bounce back from defeat with a clash against Port Vale

Mansfield Town end a run of three games against fellow promotion contenders with an encounter in Staffordshire against Port Vale.

The Stags will be hoping to right the wrongs after a relatively poor performance against Tranmere Rovers saw them record their first defeat in 2022.

Injuries to Farrend Rawson, Lucas Akins and Stephen Quinn did not help the amber and blues, but on the night, the hosts deserved the points more out of the two sides.

The out-of-form Rovers side rapidly came out of the blocks and took the lead inside the first five minutes of the encounter.

From a corner, the ball was headed back across goal by Calum MacDonald for the unmarked Peter Clarke to head home off the underside of the crossbar.

In added time of the second half, the Stags got themselves level through Matty Longstaff’s third goal in as many games.

With 15 minutes to go, substitute Elliott Nevitt put the hosts ahead once more as they barred down on their first win in five matches. However, Oli Hawkins had other ideas as he scored another equaliser for Mansfield, with his header beating Joe Murphy in the 91st minute.

There was to be another twist to the tale as deep into added time, Nevitt was able to grab his second goal of the afternoon and secure the win for Tranmere.

With that result in the past, Nigel Clough’s side cannot let their heads drop and lose confidence after a defeat that ended a run of 14 games without a loss.

Up next for the Stags is a clash against another fellow promotion rival, Port Vale. The Valiants are currently on a good run of form and sit directly below the amber and blues in 10th place.

The Burslem based outfit have only recorded one defeat from their last 11 games and will be hoping to edge ever-closer to the play-offs.

Last time out, Vale were able to cruise past Crawley Town with a comfortable 4-1 victory in front of the Vale Park faithful.

The game got off to a poor start for the Valiants as Nathan Smith put the ball into the back of his own net to give the Red Devils a 1-0 lead after nine minutes.

Goals from Ben Garrity and David Worrall put the hosts ahead before the half-time interval as Vale went up another gear in search of a win.

That victory was sealed by the hour mark as a second from Garrity and a goal from Connor Hall secured the three points for the outfit from Stoke-on-Trent.

The Stags have only been beaten once by Port Vale in league action since the formation of the new fourth tier, with the defeat coming in March 2019.

Picking up points at this stage of the season is vital for Mansfield and a positive result at Vale Park could see the amber and blues jump back into the play-offs.

However, it will not be an easy game against a Port Vale side that will want to close the gap on the play-offs and join the hunt for an automatic promotion spot.

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