James Gale’s first league goal sees Mansfield Town to a crucial victory at Newport County

James Gale's first EFL goal proved to be the winner as Stags actually dropped a place out of the play-offs on goal difference due to Salford City winning 2-0, but Nigel Clough's men still have a game in hand.

Stags – now unbeaten in eight games – bagged a goal in each half as their encouraging momentum heading towards the final few games of the regular campaign continued.

Clough named an unchanged line-up for the trip to south Wales, and it proved to be a rather untidy opening 15 minutes from both sides.

The first real opportunity fell to the Exiles, with Nathan Moriah-Welsh firing straight at Christy Pym after he’d met Mickey Demetriou’s long throw-in.

Charlie McNeill then took aim from distance, only to see his effort drift wide.

The hosts were on top, and the woodwork then came to the Stags’ rescue when Demetriou’s header clipped the crossbar.

It was against the run of play when the Stags then struck after 24 minutes.

Jordan Bowery flicked the ball to Hiram Boateng from a throw on the right, and he took a smart touch before poking a shot past keeper Joe Day – his third goal in four games.

Suddenly the Stags’ tails were up, and Alfie Kilgour headed off target after he rose to meet Boateng’s floated cross.

Elliott Hewitt also came close to grabbing a second when his curler was smartly dealt with by Day.

James Perch, already booked, was lucky to stay on the field just before the break when he caught Scott Bennett with a swinging boot and Clough elected to replace him with Riley Barbottle at half-time.

The Stags were soon on the front foot again early in the second period.

Lucas Akins found space in the Exiles’ box, but Day made a decent save and David Keillor-Dunn then worked himself an opening, only to drag his effort off target.

The Stags had impressed pretty much from the start at Rodney Parade, but the relative security of a second goal was all that was missing as the hour mark approached.

That was highlighted when Pym was forced to make a superb double save to keep out Calum Kavanagh and Will Evans on the hour.

However, sub Gale effectively sealed the Stags’ win with 17 minutes left when he Stags broke quickly through Boateng and he found Gale who skipped past a challenge before curling home exquisitely.

Gale then also rapped a shot against the post on 83 minutes.

With four minutes to go the home side set up a nervy finish as Aaron Wildig nodded home a Lewis cross at the far post.

The Welsh side were then furious with the officials as they called for a penalty for handball against Jason Law in eight minutes of stoppage time that Mansfield saw out well for a first win at Rodney Parade in almost seven years.

However, the Stags' long injury list looks to have quickly added Stephen McLaughlin back onto it as, just nine minutes after coming on as a late substitute, he took a nasty kick and had to limp off again.

Jordan Bowery also came off with a hamstring problem.

Stags now have four games left to secure their play-off berth, three of them at home in eight days over next week.

NEWPORT: Day, Drysdale (Baker, 45), Farquharson (Lewis, 68), Demetriou, Norman, Moriah-Welsh, Bennett (Wildig, 57), Evans, Waite (Bogle, 67), Kavanagh, McNeill. SUBS NOT USED: Rai, Bowen, Townsend.

STAGS: Pym, Hewitt, Kilgour, Perch (Harbottle, 46), C Johnson, Wallace, Boateng (McLaughlin, 81 (Law, 90)), Quinn, Keillor-Dunn, Bowery (Gale, 68), Akins. SUBS NOT USED: Flinders, Anderson, Abdullah.

REFEREE: Thomas Kirk.

ATTENDANCE: 3,575.