LOAN striker Emile Sinclair terrorised 10-men Salisbury with his pace to help the Stags end a five-match losing BSP run at Field Mill on Saturday afternoon with a thumping 3-0 victory.
First he pounced on a defensive error to race clear and give Mansfield Town an 18th minute lead – his third goal in his loan spell from Nottingham Forest - in front of 1,921 fans (64 from Salisbury), the lowest home attendance of the season.
Then in the 34th minute his trickery won a penalty, which saw Salisbury defender Sangare sent off. Ahmed converted the spot kick for his first Stags goal.
Sinclair and Ahmed both might added a third on half-time, but two terrific saves from James Bittner gave Salisbury hope.
At the start of the second half Sinclair twice went close again as the Stags looked to build on their 2-0 half-time lead.
Then keeper Bittner produced two more fabulous saves to deny substitute Mark Stallard.
He repeated his heroics to stop an Arnold piledriver and a follow-up from Hurren, but then Stallard hammered the ball into the roof of the net to secure victory two minutes from time.
However, Bittner had won over the home fans with supporters in the South Stand chanting 'We want Bittner' in injury time.
The visitors had looked the better side in the opening 15 minutes, despite being ravaged by the loss of players due to a cash crisis, with former Stags midfielder Darrell Clarke looking lively.
The Stags, unchanged from the 3-1 defeat at Chesterfield and hovering dangerously just one point above the relegation zone, ironically last avoided defeat in a league match against Salisbury - a terrific comeback to win 3-2 back on 27th September.
But that was their only away win of the season and the next two matches are also away from Field Mill, making this afternoon's match vital for the Stags.
Since that September match the Whites have found themselves in a cash crisis, leading to the departure of their better players, though a recent six-match losing run has been halted.
That has left them with just one striker, Charlie Griffin, who lined up in a 4-5-1 formation - with former Stag Darrell Clarke in midfield.
It was Salisbury who reported Stags boss McEwan to the Football Conference for not wearing the appropriate Umbro shirt during the Stags 3-2 win, leading to a row between the two clubs.
And in his match programme notes, Stags chairman Andy Perry joked: "Finally, today we are running a competition. If any supporter manages to take a photo of a Salisbury player/official in the dugout not wearing the appropriate 'bench wear', then you could stand the chance of winning £100.
MANSFIELD TOWN: Gamble; Silk, O'Hare, Moses, Jeannin; Ahmed (Hurren 72mins), D'Laryea, Somner; Arnold, Sinclair (O'Connor 74mins), Lee (Stallard 64mins). Subs: Herriott, Chanot.
SALISBURY: Bittner; Bartlett (Ruddick 79mins), Sangare, Bass, Clohessy; Davies (Cook 45mins), Herring, Clarke (Maher 69mins), Dutton, Sinclair; Griffin. Subs: Turk, Robinson.
REFEREE: Mr W. Barratt.
BOOKINGS: Mansfield - Ahmed 25mins, foul; Hurren 79mins, foul.
SENDING OFF: Salisbury - Sangare 34mins, foul.
16.54: Sub O'Connor so close to a fourth for the Stags, just failing to convert Arnold's low cross from close range after a great pass from Moses inside the full back.
16.51: Stags fans in the South Stand chant 'We want Bittner'!
16.50: Five minutes of added-on time announced.
16.48: GOAL! Stallard clinches victory, hammering into the roof of the net after hero keeper Bittner thwarted Arnold and Hurren.
16.42: The attendance is announced and 1,921 (64) is the lowest at Field Mill this season.
16.38: Another great save from Bittner, getting down low to deny Stallard after the sub controlled Silk's cross on his chest and volleyed goalwards from eight yards.
16.31: Arnold's dipping shot just clears the bar as the Stags are still rampant without the comfort of a third goal.
16.30: Substitute Stallard also brings the best out of Salisbury keeper Bittner, the striker's flicked header tipped away by the flying keeper.
16.19: D'Laryea's 20 yard drive clears the bar and the South Stand.
16.15: At the other end great Silk pass allows Sinclair to cross, but the ball is scrambled clear.
16.14: Another worrying moment for the Stags as Sinclair somehow crosses from the byeline and the ball flashes across the face of goal and out.
16.11: More Stags pressure sees Lee drive a cross into the six yard area, which hits O'Hare and is cleared by a defender as it spun goalwards.
16.06: Two minutes into the second half and Sinclair again goes close, heading wide from an Arnoldcross.
15.47: In the second minute of injury time Gamble spills a Sinclair free kick under little pressure, this time the Stags get away with the error and go in two goals up at half-time.
15.45: Two terrfic saves from Bittner deny the Stags a third goal on the stroke of half-time. First he clawed away a Sinclair drive after another fine breakaway from the loan striker and then recovered to beat away Ahmed's 18 yard piledriver from the follow-up, after good work by Arnold.
15.42: Griffin long range free kick deflected wide as Salisbury look to get back into the game.
15.40: Arnold lobs over as the Stags are now rampant after the uncertain start.
15.34: PENALTY! Sangare trips Sinclair as he races clear after poking the ball past two defenders. Sangare is sent off and Ahmed scores from the spot after a delay as the Salisbury defender left the pitch, sending his kick low to the left as the keeper dived the other way.
15.33: Clarke, looking desperate to score against his old club, picks up the ball midway in the Stags half and curls well wide.
15.31: A real let-off for the Stags. Jeannin misses a header just inside the Stags half and Griffin races clear, but with just Gamble to beat the lone striker fires horribly wide from 10 yards.
15.25: Ahmed booked for mis-timed challenge on Herring in the centre circle.
15.24: Arnold's deep free kick is knocked by O'Hare and Moses almost doubles the lead, his low shot on the turn well held by Bittner.
15.18: GOAL! Sinclair takes advantage of Bartlett's hesitation in dealing with a bouncing Somner clearance just inside the Salisbury half, surges clear down the right, cuts inside and finishes with aplomb, curling in his left-footed drive from 12 yards.
15.17: Good left wing run by Arnold, cutting inside, ends with Ahmed poking the ball tamely wide.
15.14: The Stags create their first chance, Lee heading a Jeannin free kick down in front of goal as he beat the keeper. But with the defence hesitating and the ball bouncing in front of goal, no Stags player took advantage.
15.12: Griffin heads a Herring free kick across the face of goal and narrowly wide as the Stags again look vulnerable at a set piece.
15.05: Davies shot easily saved by Gamble as the Stags struggle to get out of their own half.
15.02: Salisbury win first corner in the second minute and should have taken the lead through ex-Stag Darrell Clarke, who nodded wide at the far post from a Sangare head back.
15.00: The match kicks-off to a few crys of 'yellows, yellows' among the small crowd, including about 50 following Salisbury.
14.54: Close to kick-off and there are large empty area in the West and South Stands, with the match likely to see the lowest home league crowd of the season - previously 2,741 against Grays in August.
14.30: The Stags warm-up before kick-off, only their fourth home match in their last 12 games.
