Stags Pick Up Boxing Day Win

Former Stags favourite, Davis Keillor-Dunn, failed to dampen his former employers’ festive spirits as his current side, Barnsley, slipped to a 3-2 defeat at home to Mansfield Town on Boxing Day in EFL League One.

Pushing for a playoff spot, Barnsley found themselves two goals to the good inside fifteen minutes after Reyes Cleary opened the scoring after just two minutes, and Keillor-Dunn, who plied his trade with Mansfield from early 2022 until the summer of 2024 on thirteen minutes.

However, a penalty from Louis Reed on twenty-five minutes kept the Stags in the hunt, and a second half turnaround, which saw goals from Stephen McLaughlin and Aaron Lewis, sent the points back to Nottinghamshire.

Barnsley’s opener came after Keillor-Dunn and Patrick Kelly combined for the latter to play the ball in from the left and Cleary finished well past Liam Roberts in the visiting goal; ten minutes later and the hosts doubled their advantage as this time Kelly and another former Stag, Caylan Vickers, combined, the latter laying off for Keillor-Dunn who hits a lovely finish into Roberts’ bottom corner.

Festive delight amongst the majority of the 43,7224 Oakwell crowd was dampened though when the Stags were awarded a penalty and Louis Reed fired past Murphy Cooper in the home goal.

There was a glimmer of a second spot-kick for the visitors minutes later, referee Martin Coy though waved it away after Stephen McLaughlin looked to have been brought down by Cooper, goal-kick awarded instead.

The hosts came close to a third in stoppage time at the end of the first half, home captain Luca Connell’s ball over the Stags backline reaching Cleary, but his curled attempt came to naught as his side went in with a 2-1 interval lead.

Nigel Clough’s Stags though, came out fighting in the second forty-five, Frazer Blake-Tracy slicing wide minutes after the restart, before levelling just before the hour mark through McLaughlin.

A lofted pass by Reed is headed back across goal by Elliott Hewitt, with McLaughlin’s final touch helping the ball over the line; Keillor-Dunn came close to restoring the Tykes’ lead, but his headed effort went wide of Roberts’ goal.

With both sides going for the clincher, it would be Clough’s charges who’d grab it with seven minutes of normal time left on the clock; Nathan Moriah-Welsh saw his cross collected by Will Evans, who then proceeded to shoot at Cooper. The home ‘keeper saved the initial strike, but the rebound is met by Lewis, who fired home in-front of the visiting support.

Conor Hourihane’s hosts though couldn’t muster anymore though, and the visiting Stags hung on for a big, 3-2 road win, that sees them back up to seventeenth in the table, two

points above the relegation zone, and Rotherham United, in twenty-first, and with it a first win in seven games.

MANSFIELD TOWN – Liam Roberts, Deji Oshilaja, Ryan Sweeney (capt), Baily Cargill, Elliott Hewitt, Louis Reed, Stephen McLaughlin, Frazer Blake-Tracy, Nathan Moriah-Welsh, Aaron Lewis, Will Evans

Meanwhile, in EFL League Two, promotion-chasing Notts County slipped to a 2-0 defeat away to a Chesterfield side who joined the Magpies in sixth, on thirty-eight points.

Goalless at the break, the Spireites opened the scoring on sixty-five minutes through Lee Bonis pouncing with a rebounded effort from Ronan Darcy’s initial attempt; the hosts added a second a little over ten minutes later when Liam Mandeville’s cross was helped into the goal by visiting ‘keeper, Kelle Roos.

Next up for both sides, Mansfield are away to promotion hopefuls Bolton Wanderers, whilst County travel to fourth place MK Dons, in another big, promotion-chasing clash, both on the evening of Monday 29 December.