MATCH REPORT: Misery for Mansfield Town as they are well beaten at Oldham Athletic
It was sweet revenge for a Latics side beaten 6-1 at Mansfield in October when they had two men sent off.
The struggling Stags looked to have turned the corner by beating Bradford City 3-0 last time out and boss Graham Coughlan had called on them to build on that and find consistency.
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Hide AdBut goals from Jonny Smith, Thomas Hamer and Gevaro Nepomuneco condemned Coughlan’s charges to a fourth defeat in five, substitute Otis Khan grabbing a stoppage-time consolation as the ‘After The lord Mayor’s Show’ Coughlan feared became a reality.
The Stags failed to fire at Boundary Park and have now won just two of their last 14 outings.
Defeat saw Coughlan’s side - who sit eight points above the relegation zone - leagfrogged by the Latics.
It was one way traffic in Greater Manchester and the Stags’ goal was peppered by the hosts.
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Hide AdStopper Bobby Olejnik was called into action to stop Nepomuneco’s early effort.
But the keeper could do nothing as Smith opened the scoring in the 23rd minute. Nepomuneco’s cross found his opposite winger who expertly blasted into the far corner.
The Latics continued to dominate as Danny Rowe fired wide of the target.
Olejnik made a simple save to keep out Zachary Dearnley’s effort after the forward did the hard work to get into the box.
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Hide AdBut the hosts' endeavour prevailed as Hamer headed home off the post to double the advantage.
It could have been three just after the restart as Olejnik produced a smart stop to keep out Nepomuceno.
Coughlan quickly made a double swap as Andy Cook and Willem Tomlinson replaced Nicky Maynard and Harry Charsley in a bid to change the game.
But winger Nepomuceno got a deserved goal before the hour with a fantastic finish after cutting in to fire home.
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Hide AdThe Latics continued to push with captain David Wheater nodding wide of the target.
Mansfield had a couple of late chances with substitute Khan and new boy Kelland Watts kept out by Zeus de La Paz.
But Khan finally got the visitors on the scoresheet deep in stoppage time – his first goal since back in August 2018.
Stags now prepare for the visit of another fellow struggling side, Carlisle United, on Saturday with the Cumbrians on a high after two successive wins and a superb 4-1 victory at Forest Green Rovers tonight.
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Hide AdOLDHAM: de La Paz, Hamer, Wheater, Piergianni, Borthwick-Jackson, Smith, Sylla, Missilou (N’Guessan, 84), Nepomuceno (Branger, 87), Rowe, Dearnley (Maouche, 63). Unused subs: Allen, Mills, Azankpo, Wilson.
MANSFIELD: Olejnik, Riley, Pearce, Sweeney, Benning, MacDonald, Watts, Charsley (Tomlinson, 51), Hamilton, Rose (Khan, 71), Maynard (Cook, 51). Unused subs: Stone, Knowles, Preston, Bishop.
REFEREE: Michael Salisbury.
ATTENDANCE: 2,961 (395 away).