Mansfield Town 0 Macclesfield Town 1

Last updated : 06 November 2004 By Footymad Previewer

Macclesfield staged a classic smash and grab raid to beat promotion rivals Mansfield for the second time in five days with a 1-0 win at Field Mill.

This time the single Mike Sheron goal was enough to clinch their third away win of the season and leave the Stags without a win in five games - and with just one goal in that spell.

A lethargic Mansfield, who have now won just once in 11 games, totally dominated the second half but failed to find a way through Macclesfield's massed ranks as the Silkmen held on to Sheron's 41st minute header.

The home side, showing seven changes from the weakened side which crashed out of the LDV Trophy 4-0 at Macclesfield earlier in the week, almost scored twice in the opening two minutes.

First Wayne Corden's curling free-kick was hacked clear inside the six-yard area by Graham Potter and from the rebound Alex Neil glanced Craig Woodman's cross narrowly wide.

In the sixth minute Mansfield were fortunate to survive when Tom Curtis's inadvertent back header from a Matthew Tipton free-kick crashed against the bar.

Macclesfield, giants compared to Mansfield's lightweight line-up, harried the home side out of their stride throughout the first half and from one of many free kicks Tommy Widdrington struck a half volley into the side netting.

On the half hour a desperate lunge from Alex Jon-Baptiste deflected Danny Whitaker's fierce 20-yard drive over the bar.

But in the 41st minute there was no escape for the Stags when Jonathan Parkin beat Luke Dimech and fed Potter whose early cross was nodded in by the unmarked Sheron.

Mansfield made two half-time changes and in the opening seconds again went close to an equaliser, Colin Larkin curling wide and substitute Neil Mackenzie blazing wide.

Their hopes of a fight-back should have ended on the hour when Parkin just failed to convert Whitaker's by-line cross in a rare Macclesfield attack.

In the 66th minute Mansfield finally forced their first corner and from Neil's flag kick David Artell's header forced Macclesfield keeper Alan Fettis into his first save.

Derek Asamoah, Neil and Mackenzie all went close to an equaliser as Mansfield piled on the pressure with five corners in 14 minutes, but the Silkmen held on.