Back to back wins is the aim for the Stags as they face Port Vale at Vale Park in the final game of the season

Two successive wins would be a perfect way to sign off for Mansfield Town after a season that has been up and down for the whole duration.

The amber and blues will be happy that they have achieved survival this season but ending the season with three points could set them on the right track to starting the 2021/22 season on a positive note.

In their final home game of the season, Nigel Clough’s Stags welcomed Keith Curle’s Oldham Athletic to the One Call Stadium as both sides looked to return back to winning ways.

The amber and blues dominated proceedings and started the game off fantastically with the opener in the 12th minute. Jamie Reid passed the ball into the path of Tyrese Sinclair who slotted the ball beyond Laurie Walker to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

Mansfield’s lead was doubled before half-time through George Lapslie. The midfielder had the easy work of tapping the ball into the back of the net after Stephen McLaughlin weaved his way into the box to deliver the ball into the Stags’ number 32.

A freak mistake between Aidan Stone and Ryan Sweeney handed Oldham a way back into the match in the 51st minute.

The defender looked to shepherd the ball out of play but tackled with the goalkeeper allowing Zak Dearnley to smash the ball into the back of the net to reduce the deficit to one goal for the Latics.

Those hopes were put to bed when Lapslie scored in the 80th minute to give Mansfield their two-goal cushion once more and the game was put beyond Oldham when Reid scored with two minutes of normal time left in the match.

A valuable three points for the Stags were earned with a display that could have seen them scored more than four with Mansfield Town manager Nigel Clough saying his side should have done better in front of goal in his post-match interview.

“I counted three [chances]within the first five or ten minutes. We had very good chances today and with better finishing, even by half-time we’d have been out of sight.

“The goal let them back into it with that mix up defensively. The goalkeeper [Aidan Stone] should deal with it, then they’re back in the game for ten minutes, which I think they didn’t deserve.

“You can’t afford to make those errors, but we did let them back in. The first-half, we lost count of those chances and we have to start putting them away.

“As pleased as we are with the victory, it’s good because it still shows up a few of the frailties that we have. We had very good chances today and were entitled to score more than the four goals.”

Mansfield’s opponents this weekend, Port Vale, have been on a fantastic run of form since the arrival of Darrell Clarke in the hot seat at Vale Park.

The Valiants were on a nine-game unbeaten run before relegated Grimsby Town halted them from reaching 10 games without a loss.

Matt Green’s goal in the 32nd minute was enough for the Mariners to get all three points from the fixture at Blundell Park with the visitors dominating the match as a whole.

To make matters worse for Clarke’s men, Cristian Montano was shown a straight red card in the dying embers of the match meaning he will not be available for the fixture against Mansfield.

In the reverse fixture at the One Call Stadium, the Stags ran out as victors on a very snowy evening in Nottinghamshire.

Ollie Clarke opened the scoring inside 60 seconds and the tone was set from then on with Jordan Bowery doubling the lead for the Stags in the 32nd minute.

Leon Legge’s sending off in the 47th minute gave the hosts a massive advantage as they attacked through the second-half and added to their lead with Jordan Bowery getting another two and completing his hat-trick with the Stags winning 4-0.

The Stags have had a mixed run at Vale Park with two wins, one draw and two losses. The most recent trip to Burslem ended in a 2-0 defeat back in December 2019 in the EFL Trophy.

A win would give the amber and blues a lot of confidence ahead of the new campaign, but it won’t be easy at the Valiants will be hungry for the victory after their defeat again Grimsby last weekend.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt