Matt Green seals win for Mansfield Town at Blackpool

Mansfield Town made the perfect start to 2017 as they notched their first win in six games.
Mansfield Town's CJ Hamilton makes the pass - Pic by Chris HollowayMansfield Town's CJ Hamilton makes the pass - Pic by Chris Holloway
Mansfield Town's CJ Hamilton makes the pass - Pic by Chris Holloway

Ironically, the Stags secured their first three-point haul since beating Blackpool back in November.

The victory sees Mansfield rise to 16th in the Sky Bet League Two standings.

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The win was achieved thanks to Matt Green’s first half strike which was enough to see off the play-off chasing hosts.

Steve Evans had been busy in the transfer window prior to this fixture and he duly handed debuts to four players.

The quartet of Jake Kean, Ben Whiteman, Joel Byrom and Yoann Arquin all made their bows for the club and each one impressed against Gary Bowyer’s side.

Byrom was impressing with his set-piece deliveries although he couldn’t quite direct any to get past home stopper Sam Slocombe.

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Whiteman, on loan from Sheffield United, was in the right place at the right time to clear Kelvin Mellor’s header off the line after 20 minutes.

And that near-miss proved costly for the hosts when the Stags took the lead ten minutes later.

Matt Green notched his 11th of the season after his shot from the edge of the box took a slight deflection.

The goal followed Green’s strike just two days prior, when he scored during the draw against Doncaster.

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Stags failed to create any real chances until after the re-start.

Defender Krystian Pearce nodded over for Town shortly afterwards and then the visitors had to withstand some pressure from Bowyer’s troops.

However, when sub striker Jamille Matt did get any change out of the Town back four, retreating defender Kyle Howkins did well to foil his opponent before he could get a shot out of his feet.

Mark Cullen almost snatched a share of the spoils late on but after the forward chested the ball down, he smashed it wide and with that confirmed a vital three points for Evans’ troops.