MK Dons 1-4 Mansfield Town (13.04.24) EFL League Two

The title may be gone, congratulations to Stockport County or Wrexham, but automatic promotion for EFL League Two Nigel Clough’s often-free-scoring Stags is still, very much on the cards, and that was helped in their huge, come-from-behind win, away to fellow promotion hopefuls, MK Dons, at the weekend.

It was the visitors who took the lead, after thirteen minutes, to shock the former leaders, Stags defender Jordan Bowery being outmuscled by Max Dean who managed to keep the ball following a long delivery, before curling an effort beyond Christy Pym in the visitor’s goal.

On the half-hour though, Clough’s charges levelled proceedings when former Don, Hiram Boateng (65 appearances between 2019-22) crossed for Elliott Hewitt to tap home, the two promotion battlers going in level at the break.

Clough brought on his top-scorer, Davis Keillor-Dunn, at the start of the second half, and within six minutes he’d afforded his side the lead with his twentieth of the season when prodding home during a goalmouth scramble.

The hosts were unable to get back into the game though, once they’d fallen behind, but it took until the closing minutes before the Stags wrapped everything, netting twice at the death to seal an impressive, 4-1 win.

First the mercurial Keillor-Dunn bagged his second of the game, and twenty-first of the season, in the 90 minute, he involved in a fast break before outpacing the home defence to score; then, two minutes later Keillor-Dunn turned provider, for the tenth time this season (he’s now been involved in more than thirty goals), setting up fellow substitute James Gale (on for Boateng minutes earlier) to thump home an emphatic fourth.

Victory for the Stags kept them in third place, with three games remaining; Stockport can win the title with victory over Notts County on Tuesday night, and won on Saturday courtesy of a 2-0 home success against Morecambe, whilst Wrexham made it back-to-back promotions and sit second after an emphatic, 6-0 win over visitors Forest Green Rovers.

Mansfield host Accrington Stanley in their next game, on Tuesday 16 April, knowing a win should seal automatic promotion, their first in the Football League since 2002 when finishing third in the old Third Division.

After Accrington, the Stags host Gillingham (20 April), before wrapping up the 2023/24 league season with a trip to Barrow at the end of the month (27 April); the season sees Keillor-Dunn currently on 21 goals (10 assists) from 48 games, whilst the goals from both Hewitt and Gale were their first of the season.

Mansfield Town: Christy Pym, Elliott Hewitt (George Maris, 59), Jordan Bowery, George Williams (Stephen McLaughlin, 73), Ollie Clarke (Tom Nichols, 59), Louis Reed, Aaron Lewis, Hiram Boateng (James Gale, 86), Lucas Akins, Will Swan (Davis Keillor-Dunn, 45).

*Article provided by Peter Mann (Senior Correspondent).

*Main image @mansfieldtownfc James Gale celebrates his first goal of the season for Mansfield.