AFC Mansfield 2 Garforth 1

The Miners lost out to a late goal in a scrappy encounter at the Forest Town Arena.

The early stages of the game saw Garforth pinned in their own half, and with us yet to enjoy any real possession, Mansfield took the lead. On 4 mins captain Jimmy Ghaichem supplied Callum Lloyd on the right who found the bottom corner with a looping strike over Paul Hagreen. A Town missing the aerial presence of Lee Turner up front gradually came into things and equalized on 34 mins. Mitch Hamilton made an excellent run through the heart of the defence and put clear Mark Simpson who gambled well and prodded the ball past Bulls keeper Dale Sheppard to find the net.

Four minutes later the home side almost regained the lead when a shot was blocked on the line after Hagreen dropped the ball under pressure from a corner, but in any case referee Paul Buck blew up for a foul on the keeper. Further Mansfield chances before the break saw Ghaichem hook over the bar from a Jamie Yates delivery, ex-Town defender Matt Plummer shoot over the bar from a loose ball and Yates sting the palms of Hagreen, the keeper claiming at the second attempt.

Good work from Sam Leach and Simpson down the right on 49 mins saw the latter deliver across the six-yard box, but with nobody in yellow to convert. In a game with numerous injuries to players on both sides, Town suffered a setback eight minutes later when Jack McMurrough went down injured in a challenge and had to be replaced by Simon Poole. The midfielder is understood to have suffered a twisted ankle and needed help from others to make it back to the changing rooms. Lets' hope he's back soon.

Whilst a draw would've been a fair result, a second goal from either side would likely prove to be the winner. On 64 mins Vincent Dhesi picked out Hamilton on the right in space but he lost his footing and the chance was gone. Around the 70 min-mark Buxton's shot from Yates's corner was deflected over the bar before Lloyd had a shot blocked by the Town defence from Buxton's cross from the left. Poole wasn't far off a first competitive goal for the club on 82 mins when his low effort through a crowd of players bobbled narrowly wide. Two mins before time though The Bulls grabbed all three points when Buxton received the ball deep in the box and despite defenders around him found space to half-volley into the net.

A game where in truth, both teams struggled for quality on a bobbly pitch but it was Town left to rue a second consecutive defeat. Another ten days sitting on our hands now before, by recent standards, a quickfire run of games for Rob Hunter's team to bring 2016-17 to an end. Next up is a return to Nottinghamshire a week on Tuesday when we face Handsworth Parramore (kick-off 7:45pm).