Stags Record Back-To-Back Wins

Bristol Rovers 1-2 Mansfield Town (EFL League One) 29.03.2025

Nigel Clough’s Mansfield Town side picked up back-to-back wins for the first time since the turn of the year on Saturday, winning 2-1 away to Bristol Rovers, moving the Stags within three points of the top twelve in League One.

Coincidentally, back in early January, those consecutive victories were also 2-1, when seeing off Bolton Wanderers and Stockport County; since the win over Stockport, it’s been a miserable, fourteen-match winless streak, consisting of four draws and ten defeats.

For now though, it seems a corner has turned, with the Stags winning their last two outings, both of which have seen winter window signings, Caylan Vickers and Dom Dwyer, find the back of the net.

Vickers has two in his last tow outings, having netted the opener, his first for the club, in the previous weeks win at home to Barnsley, on Saturday, in Bristol, he also netted the opening goal, in a quick-fire start for the visitors.

Home ‘keeper, Jed Ward, was seen to misplace an early pass out from the back which was intercepted by Will Evans, he putting in a low cross for Vickers to prod home the opener, at the second attempt.

The hosts had a great chance to equalise when Christy Pym tipped an effort from range, by Shaw, over the bar as the game ticked towards the twenty-minute mark, before doing so less than ten minutes later, Romaine Sawyers firing a low shot past Pym and into the far corner after being set up by Shaq Forde – it was the scorer’s first goal for the club.

An early change was made by the Stags boss, just after the half hour mark, it looking like a tactical one with Aaron Lewis replacing Hiram Boateng, who’d been booked ten minutes earlier.

Level at the break, and in a relatively even contest, Clough started the second by replacing goal-scorer Vickers, with Dwyer, as both sides went looking for goals; Will Evans shooting wide early in the half, then Pym making a double-save at the other end, the latter of the two brilliantly denying Sawyers what would have been his second of the day.

Just before the hour mark, a second goal was netted, the visitors grabbing what would prove the winner, via their half-time substitute.

Again, it was a goal out of the hosts’ own doing, this time a wayward back-pass from Connor Taylor picked up by Keanu Baccus, who squared for Dwyer to net his first Stags goal, tapping into an empty net.

Ward did however keep Rovers in the contest, denying both Evans, and Dwyer, goals, as the Stags continued to create, whilst at the other end, with the game heading towards the final ten, Pym was called into action, denying Isaac Hutchinson, on the volley, inside the box.

The Stags held on to earn a valuable three points from an entertaining, battling encounter, against a side four points, and one place above the drop zone, the visitors opening a five-point gap between the two.

Next up for Clough’s side, it’s the visit to the One Call Stadium of the promotion-chasing Addicks, fourth place Charlton Athletic arriving on Tuesday (1 April), and on the back of a 4-0 win at home to Huddersfield Town, Tyreece Campbell with a brace.

Mansfield Town – Christy Pym, Elliott Hewitt (Jordan Bowery, 71), Deji Oshilaja, Bailey Cargill, Stephen McLaughlin, Louis Reed (Alfie Kilgour, 82), Lucas Akins, Hiram Boateng (Aaron Lewis, 32), Keanu Baccus, Caylan Vickers (Dom Dwyer, 46), Will Evans (Aden Flint, 82).