Stevenage have played Mansfield in each of the last six seasons, as the two clubs have become familiar foes in Sky Bet League Two...
In total, Boro have won 6, drawn 2 and lost 7 games across 15 meetings with the Stags, with 11 of those games coming in the EFL. Whilst the Stags certainly have had the upper hander in EFL fixtures - 6 wins & 2 draws - Stevenage have had the better of it whilst the two clubs were in the Conference, with 3 wins and 1 defeat out of 4.
The first clash between the two sides came in October 2008, when goals from Mitchell Cole, Steve Morison and Michael Bostwick helped secure a 3-2 home win. Mansfield won the reverse fixture at Field Mill that season, but in Boro’s title winning campaign the following year, won both games.
It took four years before Mansfield joined Stevenage in the Football League and the first ever meeting between the teams in the fourth tier ended in a convincing 3-0 win for Graham Westley’s side, as Chris Whelpdale scored a brace and Charlie Lee added another to heap misery on Paul Cox’s men.
Since then, Boro have only won twice against the Stags, both memorable 2-1 wins away from home. In October 2016, Stevenage – managed by Darren Sarll at the time – travelled to Field Mill in desperate need of a win to get their season going and after a first half header by Charlie Lee was cancelled out by Pat Hoban’s second half equalier, loanee Harry McKirdy scored a sensational winning goal by taking the ball the length of the pitch before finishing calmly to win the game.
Perhaps the most memorable of meetings though came two season’s ago in the penultimate game of the season, with Stevenage needing a win to keep their Play-Off hopes alive and Mansfield needing a win to secure automatic promotion.
A brilliant Kurtis Guthrie goal put Boro ahead, but the Stags piled on the pressure in the second half and Tyler Walker’s equaliser set up a grand-stand finish to the game. With minutes to go, Stevenage’s catalyst for the club’s end-of-season run, Ilias Chair, combined with Kurtis Guthrie before finding the bottom corner from outside the box, prompting wild scenes on the touchline to keep Boro’s promotion dreams alive.
With Stevenage just one win behind Mansfield in the all-time record, and a goal-difference of 0 after 20 goals scored and 20 goals conceded, a victory for Alex Revell's side could see Boro nudge back ahead in the head-to-head standings.
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