MANSFIELD Town fought back from behind to beat Southport and close the gap on the Blue Square Bet Premier play-offs to just three points.
Shaun Whalley put the hosts ahead early on before Stags captain Adam Murray equalised.
But the winner came early in the second half when Lee Stevenson made it two goals in two starts and it was enough to seal a 2-1 win on Merseyside today.
It was also a fourth successive away league win for Mansfield and following on from Tuesday night's victory at Stockport, the Stags have reeled in the nine-point gap to just three points on the top-five in the space of a few days and still have games in hand.
Southport: McMillan, Smith, Willis (Bakare, 46), Grand, Parry, Akrigg, Tames (Joyce, 73), Benjamin, Whalley, Ledsham, Moogan (Chalmers, 79). Subs: Hibbert, Lynch.
Mansfield: Marriott, Sutton, Beevers, Dempster, Jones, Meikle, Murray, Howell, Daniel (Briscoe, 89), Stevenson, Speight. Subs: Thompson, Clements, Rhead, Wright.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (Lancashire)
Attendance: 804 (80 visiting fans)
