Goals from George Maris and Stephen Quinn in the second and 63rd minutes of tonight’s game against Accrington were enough to secure promotion for Mansfield Town. A consolation goal from Accrington’s Tommy Leigh five minutes from the final whistle wasn’t enough to rain on the Stags’ parade, and the Nottinghamshire will play next season in EFL’s League One.
The 2-1 victory for Mansfield was enough to secure a return to League One for the first time since 2002. And they achieved it with two games left of the season to play.
But while Mansfield have ended the season securing their promotion, their final two opponents have everything to play for.
On Saturday 20 April, Mansfield will host Colchester at the One Call Stadium (Field Mill), the oldest stadium in the Football League. Colchester are currently third from bottom on 44 points with three games left to play. They need to ensure they stay above second-from-bottom Sutton United, on 40 points with two games left to play, to retain their league position.
The final match of the season, on Saturday 27 April, sees the Stags travel to Barrow, currently in seventh place – the final playoff position. A host of teams are still in with a chance of making the playoffs, and it is likely that the full list of four playoff teams not being known until the final day of the season.
But while other teams still have everything to play for, the Stags have done the job, and the fans can celebrate – they’ll be dancing in the streets of Mansfield for some time!
