Grimsby Town earned a point with a 1-1 draw against Mansfield Town at Blundell Park.
After a first half of few genuine chances, substitute Ira Jackson put the Mariners ahead just after the hour.
But their lead was to last only six minutes as the visitors hit back through a Nicky Maynard penalty.
Town had the better opportunities afterwards as both sides looked to push forward in a bid to snatch all three points but neither could force a winning goal.
Three changes were made to the Grimsby starting XI after the defeat by Newport in midweek, while new signing Filipe Morais was handed a place on the bench.
Danny Preston, George Williams and Owen Windsor came into the line-up as Montel Gibson, Owura Edwards and the suspended Luke Hendrie made way.
Sam Russell continued in goal as James McKeown was again named among the substitutes, with Harry Clifton, Mattie Pollock, Luke Waterfall and Preston forming the defence.
Elliott Hewitt, Terry Taylor, Danny Rose and Kyle Bennett were the midfielders, with Williams supporting Windsor in attack.
Morais and McKeown were joined on the bench by Joe Starbuck, James Tilley, Edwards, Gibson and Jackson.
Mansfield were looking to continue an upturn in form under new manager Nigel Clough which had seen them start to climb the League Two table.
They sat level on points with the Mariners at kick-off but a place higher in the table on goal difference.
An early shot by Windsor from distance was stopped by Mansfield keeper Marek Stech as Town made a positive start.
A low cross from Preston on the left on nine minutes was not dealt with by the away defence but nobody in black and white could capitalise on it.
Another Preston cross was turned behind for the game’s first corner on 12 minutes but Williams could not connect with Bennett’s low delivery and a foul by Clifton then took the pressure off the visitors.
Mansfield’s first attack of note came soon afterwards and led to a deep cross from the left, which was put out for a corner. George Maris’ delivery from the flag was half-cleared and when the ball was worked back to him, his cross went through to Russell.
Williams looked to have an opening on 15 minutes but he was stopped by a good challenge inside the penalty area by Farrend Rawson.
Preston won a corner on the left three minutes later and after a short delivery from Rose, Bennett’s cross was headed wide for a goal kick.
A corner then came at the other end when Preston dealt with a cross from the Mansfield left and Maris’ ball was headed behind at the near post for another one. This time, Waterfall headed clear.
The away side failed to make the most of a great cross-field ball from captain Ollie Clarke to Jordan Bowery as Town got men back.
Then, a cross from Mal Benning on the left just before the half-hour was headed down by George Lapslie but it lacked power and Russell gathered the ball.
A foul on Rose gave the Mariners a free-kick midway inside the Mansfield half on 34 minutes but Williams’ long-range shot from it caused no problems for Stech as it sailed off-target.
A corner at the other end led to a chance for the away side as Maris’ ball was met by Ryan Sweeney but his downward header bounced into the arms of Russell.
Another opportunity for Mansfield to put pressure on the Town goal came with a free kick on the right but Maris’ delivery was cleared after taking a deflection off the wall.
The hosts earned a corner on the right as the game moved into one added minute at the end of the half but Williams’ ball was headed clear by Bowery. Town regained possession and got the ball back into the box but Taylor was unable to turn it towards goal.
That proved to be the last chance of the first half, with the game remaining goalless at the break.
No changes were made before the restart and a foul by Bennett on Lapslie three minutes in earned the midfielder the game’s first yellow card. When the free-kick came in, there was a penalty appeal from the visitors for a handball but the referee waved the claims away and instead pointed for a corner, which was cleared.
Another free-kick from the away right was dealt with by Pollock, before a shot from Lapslie was deflected wide for a corner after he had got in between the Town centre-backs.
Edwards replaced Bennett on 52 minutes in the first Grimsby substitution.
A cross from Kellan Gordon soon afterwards was blocked for a Mansfield corner, which was headed out for another one by Waterfall. This time, the referee spotted an infringement as the ball came over from the flag and blew for a Town free-kick.
Jackson, Morais and Gibson were all sent on with 56 minutes on the clock, as Williams, Taylor and Windsor made way.
Russell made a good save from a low shot by Clarke on the hour, with the keeper then getting back up to stop the rebound.
The visitors were forced into a substitution soon afterwards when Maris went down with an injury. He was replaced by Stephen McLaughlin.
The deadlock was finally broken on 63 minutes and it was the Mariners who got the vital opening goal. A shot by Hewitt was parried by Stech and JACKSON was in the right place to tuck the rebound into the net.
A free-kick from Morais on the right was headed clear, before Nicky Maynard and former Town striker Andy Cook were sent on for Mansfield in place of Bowery and James Reid.
And soon afterwards, the visitors were back level when Harry Charsley beat the offside trap to burst into the Town box, where he was brought down by the onrushing Russell. The referee pointed to the penalty spot and after the keeper was booked, MAYNARD found the net to make it 1-1.
Clifton was yellow-carded for a foul on Maynard inside the Mansfield half, before Town’s final substitution saw Tilley replace Pollock in a move which saw Hewitt switch to centre-back.
A good attacking move from the Mariners led to a corner on the right on 78 minutes. The delivery from the flag was met by Waterfall but his header was well-saved by Stech.
A foul by Waterfall on Cook then gave Mansfield a free kick in a dangerous, central position with eight minutes to go. McLaughlin fired wide from it.
The away side were starting to get on top as they pressed in search of a winner, with the clock ticking down.
Morais became the latest to be booked after a foul just inside his own half but Mansfield were unable to create any serous problems from the resulting free-kick.
Lapslie was also shown the yellow card for a foul on Waterfall, before Edwards narrowly missed the target from 20 yards after a run through the middle.
Six added minutes was signalled, giving both teams extra opportunity to force a winning goal.
Edwards went close again as he sent a low shot just wide of the far post, then a shot at the other end was deflected wide for a corner.
Another Mansfield corner in the final minute of the six failed to cause a problem as a foul was spotted by the referee and a free-kick was awarded to the Mariners.
That proved to be the last chance for either side to grab a winner and both had to be content with a point.
Town are next in action on Tuesday, when they travel to bottom-of-the-table Southend United.
Town
- Sam Russell
- Elliott Hewitt
- Danny Preston
- Luke Waterfall (C)
- Matthew Pollock
- Danny Rose
- Harry Clifton
- Terry Taylor
- George Williams
- Kyle Bennett
- Owen Windsor
Substitutes
- James McKeown
- Owura Edwards
- Filipe Morais
- Joseph Starbuck
- James Tilley
- Montel Gibson
- Ira Jackson Jr
Mansfield Town
- Marek Stech
- Kellan Gordon
- Malvind Benning
- Farrend Rawson
- Ryan Sweeney
- Ollie Clarke (C)
- Harry Charsley
- George Lapslie
- George Maris
- Jordan Bowery
- Jamie Reid
Substitutes
- Aidan Stone
- Rollin Menayese
- Stephen McLaughlin
- Corey O’Keeffe
- Andy Cook
- Nicky Maynard
- Tyrese Sinclair
Referee: Carl Brook
Next Up: Southend (A)
