Mansfield Town on top in clashes with Newport County

Stags have won 10 of their 19 clashes and drawn another three of them.

Ironically the current season began with a 3-0 home win over Newport and Stags will now hope it doesn’t end in a repeat of that fixture on Sunday with Wembley beckoning.

Mansfield lost their first three games at Newport from when they were first pitted back against each other in 2010 in the Conference.

A draw then followed before the first win there – 1-0 in August 2014 – when Reggie Lambe was the late hero.

Stags have since only won once more there – the only time they have scored more than once there too – when they triumphed 3-2 in a thriller on the opening day of the 2016/17 season.

Matt Green (12 minutes and debutant Danny Rose (66 minutes) had twice fired the visitors in front.

But Jack Compton (18 minutes) Joss Labadie (78 minutes) twice drew Newport level.

To make matters worse, Green had a goal disallowed for offside when Stags led 1-0 and saw the keeper make a world class save from him at 2-1.

However, the Stags were not to be denied and another player making his first appearance in a Mansfield shirt, Kevan Hurst, was the late hero as he crowned a man of the match display with a perfect curling finish over the keeper into the right hand corner from the edge of the box.

STAGS (4-1-3-2): Scott Shearer; Rhys Bennett, Lee Collins, George Taft, Mal Benning; Adam Chapman; Mitch Rose, Chris Clements, Kevan Hurst; Danny Rose, Matt Green.

The first of Stags’ two draws there came in September 2013 in a feisty affair.

The home side took the lead with a Chris Zebroski header from an Adam Chapman corner. But Mansfield were level on 67 minutes when Sam Clucas headed in from a Ben Hutchinson corner.

Lee Minshull was red-carded for Newport on 75 minutes with Matt Rhead joining him five minutes later.

Stags’ other draw at Rodney Parade came last season in October 2017 when Danny Rose’s first half goal was wiped out by Shawn McCoulsky on 69 minutes.