We owe our fans promotion for their loyalty in the bad times, says Mansfield Town goal hero George Lapslie

Tonight the fans cheered their side home to a crucial 2-0 victory over Stevenage – a game in hand that has edged Stags to fifth, just a point off the top three places with only two games to go.

“The fans have been unreal all season and I would like to say thank you to them,” said Lapslie, who put Mansfield on their way tonight with his 51stminute strike.

“As a player when you are not on a good run and the fans stick with you it's an unbelievable feeling.

“We said before the game how much we owe this to them and they know we are giving all we've got.

“They will be in full voice at Salford and we will see them there on Monday.

“It was a big three points and that's all that mattered tonight.”

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Lapslie believes Stags will need to win both their last games to have a chance of overhauling rivals Northampton Town and Port Vale.

“Tonight's win keeps us in the race and we go again on Monday,” he said.

“Every game we have now is obviously going to feel like the most important one. To have a chance we do need six points if we want automatic.

“But from where we have come from, we have no pressure on us now. It's just up to us to chase the people above us.

“This is an unbelievable group of lads, probably one of the best I have been involved in.”

Stags struggled to break down Stevenage before Lapslie's goal and then had to wait until the 93rd minute before Matty Longstaff sealed the points with the second.

“We expected their game plan to be that they would sit in and, as a player, it's frustrating as you want to get on the ball and create stuff.

“Their shape was decent and when they're sitting that deep that's how the game went. But it opened up second half.”

On his goal, he said: “The ball fell to me. Lucas (Akins) did well as he held off the man for me and given me that time to shift it on to my left to make it a clear path to the goal.

“When you're 1-0 up you don't actually need that second goal but you want it to relax a bit.

“I would rather have got it sooner so we could have enjoyed the last 15 minutes a bit more, but three points is all that matters.

“It made it a bit easier when they went down to 10 men with the injury.”