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  • Kick-off: 15:00
  • Venue: Field Mill Ground
  • Attendance: 3334
  • Referee: Hegley, G

Live Commentary

90mins

That's it, it's all over, the referee has blown the final whistle.

90mins

The ref has blown his whistle for full time.

88mins

Nathan Arnold is being taken off, Simon Brown has come on in his place.

87mins

Goal!! Michael Boulding scores for Mansfield.

82mins

Chris Wood is being taken off, Dan Martin has come on in his place.

78mins

Steven Leslie is being taken off, Graeme Lee has come on in his place.

68mins

Shrewsbury are replacing James Constable with Guy Madjo.

67mins

Mansfield are replacing Stephen Dawson with Kevin Horlock.

49mins

Dave Hibbert is being taken off, Chris Humphrey has come on in his place.

46mins

The second half is under way with the score currently at 2 v 1.

45mins

The ref has blown his whistle for half time.

37mins

Goal!! Michael Boulding scores for Mansfield.

22mins

Goal!! Michael Boulding scores for Mansfield.

2mins

Goal!! Shrewsbury have scored with Marc Pugh putting it in the back of the net.

0mins

It's 3pm on Saturday, April 19th, the match has kicked off.

Match Report

Hot-shot Micky Boulding fired the first hat-trick of his Mansfield career - taking his tally for the season to 25 goals - to keep alive the Stags' hopes of avoiding relegation from the Football League.

But the battling Stags had to do it the hard way, coming from behind to win at Field Mill for the first time this season after conceding a goal after just 75 seconds.

Young keeper Jason White was to blame for the early breakthrough, but he redeemed himself with a crucial second-half save that paved the way for the crucial win alongside Boulding's treble.

The Stags had to field a makeshift defence for such an important match. Captain Jake Buxton was suspended while full-back Gareth Jelleyman and keeper Carl Muggleton were both injured.

And the reshuffled back five cost them dear after just 75 seconds when White fumbled Marc Pugh's 12-yard shot, allowing the ball to squirm through his grasp.

The brave Stags, fighting for their League lives, refused to let the goal dent their attacking approach and they continued to pour forward in search of the goals to keep alive their hopes of avoiding relegation.

Nathan Arnold and Jefferson Louis both had shots charged down, while Marc Tierney and Dave Hibbert were both fortunate to escape yellow cards for high challenges.

The Stags' best hope of an early reply was wasted by Louis as his close-range flick from Boulding's 15th-minute cross was blocked at the near post by Darran Kempson.

But their pressure was finally rewarded in the 22nd minute - Boulding touching in his 23rd goal of the season from Matt Hamshaw's clever lobbed cross, which left keeper Scott Bevan stranded, after a long pass from Keith Briggs.

Two minutes later the rampant home side were almost in front. This time Bevan redeemed himself with a fine low diving save to keep out Briggs' header from a deep Hamshaw corner.

On a rare Shrewsbury counter-attack, Hibbert headed Kevin McIntyre's cross wide from close range.

The Shrews were punished seconds later by a terrific turn and finish from Boulding, from yet another Hamshaw cross.

Hibbert curled a shot narrowly wide in first-half stoppage time as he continued to be the visitors' best hope of levelling.

Briggs went close from successive Hamshaw corners at the start of the second half, but first his acrobatic shot was blocked and then he glanced an effort wide.

Then Louis' turn and piledriver flashed over as the Stags looked for a crucial third goal.

Mansfield should have been punished for that miss when Pugh broke down the right and crossed to the unmarked James Constable but, with just the keeper to beat, he prodded the ball wide.

Substitute Guy Madjo's low drive was held by the diving White, who later did well to keep Pugh's fierce shot out.

Mansfield, tiring, were now limited to breakaways, and from one Boulding crashed a drive across the face of goal from a neat Arnold pass.

At the other end White beat away a close-range finish from Madjo after a weaving Pugh run and cross.

And that save proved so decisive three minutes from time when Louis' flick put Boulding clear and he fired under the advancing Bevan to clinch the vital victory.

Mansfield Town Team

Shrewsbury Town Team

Mansfield Town

Shrewsbury Town

Corners

611

Fouls

812

Goal attempts

1618

Shots off target

58

Offsides

63

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