Matchwinner Jordan Bowery delighted to score first Mansfield Town goal of the season in win over Walsall

Aden Flint's early goal was cancelled out by Ran Stirk's equaliser.

Then Will Swan put the ball across from the left and Bowery met it with a volley that somehow found its way into the net off the far post.

It was the right back's first goal of the season and he said: “For me it’s been a long time coming to get a goal. But the main thing is to get three points and be 19 games unbeaten.

“It looked perfectly good from where I was stood,” smiled Bowery. “I think the keeper thought it was going wide. It took a while to go in. It went in in slow motion and it just clipped the post and went in. I couldn’t see, I had to go off the fans’ reaction.”

“It’s up there. It’s nice to win 4-1 at your local rivals, Notts County, but when you’re not always 100 per cent at it and they get back in to quieten us down a bit, it’s always good to get that goal to win.

“I thought we looked well in the first half. We created a few chances. They didn’t create many and we looked quite solid.

“Second-half, they looked good and we knew what they were capable of, they have a good front four. We got back into it and looked quite settled after that.”

Bowery continued: “Garns (Andy Garner, first team coach) and the gaffer have been saying it all season – goals win games.

“We look strong at the back and are trying to keep as many clean sheets as we can. If we keep doing that then it’s about people popping up the other end and getting on the scoresheet.

“We’re solid all-round. It’s not just the back four, back five. It starts at the front and the pressure we put on teams.

“We have quality players, quality staff, and I feel like when we go out there we all know our jobs and what we’re going to do. As a whole, as a club, we look hungry this year and it looks positive. Hopefully there’ll be good things to come.

“It’s early on, but I think someone said on the bus the other day if we beat Harrogate, who are our bogey team, and the same goes for Sutton, it could be a different season for us. It could be a good season and it looks good so far."