Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough delighted as clinical finishing equals club record win, but warns no one should get carried away

Stags had never beaten Harrogate at home and the visitors were in-form with six games unbeaten and in the play-off spots.

But Clough's men tore them to shreds to equal the club's record score against Rotherham United in 1932, netting five without reply by half-time on an astonishing night of drama.

It moved Stags to within a point of leaders Stockport County and Clough said: “I think most teams in the league would have struggled to cope with us tonight.

“It is such a bizarre scoreline to score nine – and I think we deserved to score nine.

“It might sound silly, but the only thing that stopped us scoring more was the professionalism of the opposition as they kept going.

“For a team to go 6-0 down away from and score two goals says an awful lot about their character as well.

“We have threatened to get big totals this season and we have scored four on the road three times. So we have got it in us.

“But tonight was an exhibition of first winning the ball and then hurting the opposition and finishing it.”

He continued: “We've had games this season when we have had 25-26 shots and ended up with one goal or maybe two at the most.

“Tonight we were extremely clinical in our finishing. I don't think their goalie had a chance with any of them all night.

“The only down side of the evening was conceding two goals in a minute. The result was not in doubt, but just don't concede them.

“We have confidence flowing through the team at the moment, especially the forward players.”

But Clough emphasised the hard work was still ahead of his promotion-chasers.

“We're not getting carried away yet. There are 15 games to go and no one has achieved anything yet,” he said.

“It was a wonderful performance but it was three points and all we are thinking about is Walsall on Saturday. That one has gone now and it will count for nothing come Saturday.

“Having missed out by one goal last season it is wonderful to increase our goal difference by that many tonight. It's worth a point by the end of the season.

“It was brilliant for the supporters who came out tonight on a wet night when it would have been easy to stay at home. It was lovely for them to go home having seen the record-equalling performance.”