Mansfield Town 2-1 Accrington Stanley - Stags seal promotion to League One

Mansfield Town sealed promotion to League One with an assured win against Accrington Stanley at a euphoric One Call Stadium.

A George Maris cross-turned-shot, which was deflected beyond goalkeeper Radek Vitek by Accrington's Tommy Leigh, gave the Stags the ideal start and had the home fans in raptures from the outset.

A second-half Stephen Quinn goal, which the midfielder tapped home at the second attempt after he was first denied by the goalkeeper, completed an ultimately comfortable win for Nigel Clough's side.

A late Leigh response for Accrington made for a tense final few minutes, but was not enough to stop Mansfield from clinching their return to the third tier for the first time in 21 years.

Clough - a former England striker who enjoyed the best years of his playing career under his famous father Brian at Mansfield's county neighbours Nottingham Forest - has marked his 25th year in management with promotion success and the honour of being crowned League Two manager of the season.

As someone who, over two spells, masterminded Burton Albion's rise from the depths of the non-league football to take the Brewers to the Championship on a meagre budget, expectations will again be high at Mansfield next season.

Prolific midfielder Davis Keillor-Dunn, who has provided 10 assists to go with his 21 league goals this season, was recalled to the starting XI after scoring two goals and creating another in Saturday's crucial win at MK Dons.

The Stags knew a point would virtually assure them a place in League One, but they made it clear from the start that wanted to put promotion beyond doubt with a victory.

A fierce low cross from Maris in the second minute was helped into the back of the net by Leigh for a fortuitous opener, and only a sprawled save from Vitek denied Hiram Boateng from adding a second soon after.

Maris also sent a sliding finish just wide after the half hour mark of a game in which Accrington faced ceaseless pressure.

The visitors were starved of chances to hit back, but Christy Pym did have to be alert to clutch a close-range header in the first half.

Keillor-Dunn, one of three Mansfield players selected in the League Two team of the season, was the home side's biggest threat after the break and it was his cut-back pass that set Quinn up for the Stags' second.

A Vitek save denied Quinn from adding a third soon after, and Leigh's volleyed goal late on had Stags fans anxiously crowded around the pitch awaiting the full-time whistle to celebrate the win and promotion.

Stags finally get promotion party

A 19-game unbeaten run to start the season firmly established Clough's Stags as a promotion contender.

And while it was not until the final week of November that they suffered their first League Two defeat, they had to wait until the last week of February to top the table for the first time.

But their stint as league leaders lasted just a month, as defeat by fellow promotion chasers Wrexham saw the Stags slip from the summit at the end of March.

They then started April by dropping out of the automatic promotion spots following a heavy loss at home against Crawley.

It was a defeat that would undoubtedly have evoked memories of Mansfield's near misses of recent years while trying to escape the division.

They lost the 2022 League Two play-off final, missed out on automatic promotion on the last day of the season in 2019 and fell short of the play-offs on goal difference last term.

But two wins in four days against bottom side Forest Green and MK Dons - their nearest challengers for a top three finish - put them on the verge of going up at last.

And now, after more than a decade in the fourth tier, they have finally got over the line and earned their place in League One.

'Huge relief' - reaction

Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough told BBC Radio Nottingham:

"It's a huge relief to get over the line. We didn't want it to go to Saturday and possibly the week after going to Barrow.

"The MK Dons result from Saturday gave us that incentive to get it done tonight.

"We had a couple of chances in the first half to double our lead then Quinny did that. It was ideal getting that early goal, it settled everybody down.

"I think people were expecting a bit of an avalanche of goals after that, but football is not like that. The main thing is we got the three points, another win and have gone second in the league and we are there."