MANSFIELD Town suffered a frustrating afternoon at Adams Park as they were beaten 2-1 by Wycombe Wanderers.
Matt Rhead gave the visitors an early lead during an impressive first half in which they created several chances. But a controversial penalty from Paul Hayes and a second half goal from Peter Murphy meant it was the Chairboys who took maximum points.
Looking to build on last week's success at Exeter City, boss Paul Cox made one change at Adams Park, with Chris Clements replacing Jamie McGuire in midfield.
That meant a second successive start for Rakish Bingham, and the striker picked up where he left off.
With two minutes on the clock, he had tested Matt Ingram after latching on to Rhead's flick, firing goalwards from the right hand side of the area.
The Wycombe keeper pulled off a smart save to push the ball behind for a corner.
And two minutes later, he was called into action again when Bingham picked up on a loose ball to race through one-on-one.
Ingram conceded another corner and Rhead took advantage, powerfully heading home Adam Murray's ball in.
The visitors controlled the opening 15 minutes, with the Chairboys' sole attack coming from a mix-up between Ryan Tafazolli and Dimitar Evtimov as they tried to deal with a free-kick.
Lee Beevers eventually hacked clear after the ball was spilled, but it came back out to Aaron Pierre, who sent a fierce shot over the bar.
Stags though, should have been further ahead. Bingham had an effort ruled out for offside, while, in almost a carbon copy of the goal, Rhead got his head on a Murray corner, only, this time, for Ingram to save.
There had been little joy for Wycombe up front, and that was summed up with 18 minutes gone when Hayes failed to find the target.
The front man had battled hard to win the ball and play in Josh Scowen down the left. With the favour returned, Hayes' effort from outside the area lacked both power and precision.
The momentum changed on the half hour though, courtesy of a dubious penalty.
Martin Riley was penalised for a handball as he got in the way of Hayes' half-volley.
Referee Darren Deadman was quick to point to the spot, and Hayes stepped up to slot the ball low to Evtimov's left.
The equaliser sparked the home side into life, and they could have taken the lead before the break, with Aaron Holloway twice putting the ball over from close range.
A quieter, more even start to the second half saw little action of note for either side.
But set-pieces continued to be a useful weapon for the visitors, with Rhead, once again, meeting a Murray corner.
The goalscorer headed the ball downwards, and it was inches away from falling for Bingham to flick home; Sido Jombati though, intervened.
Scowen tried to get Wycombe going on the hour, with a probing run. And after that came to nothing, the winger tried his luck from range, firing straight at Evtimov.
As the half wore on, Mansfield tried to increase the pressure.
Chris Clements should have done better with 20 minutes remaining when he drove forward. Rhead and Bingham were in support, but Clements chose to go it alone and Danny Rowe got the block in.
It proved costly as, in the 77th minute, Wanderers took the lead.
Hesitant defending from the Stags, combined with good work from Hayes – who headed a cross back across goal - paved the way for Peter Murphy to finish.
Cox's side pressed forward in the closing stages in an attempt to rescue something from the game, but it was Wycombe who could have added to the scoresheet – Evtimov thwarting a brilliant long range effort from Sam Wood.
And Mansfield's frustrations were clear as boss Paul Cox was sent to the stands in the dying minutes.
WYCOMBE: Ingram, Jombati, Pierre, Mawson, Jacobson, Scowen (Lewis 76), Murphy (Bloomfield 80), Rowe, Wood, Hayes, Holloway (McClure 45). Subs not used: Richardson, Kretzschmar, Walker.
MANSFIELD: Evtimov, Sutton, Riley, Tafazolli, Marsden, Murray, Clements, Bell (Palmer 80), Beevers (Taylor 85), Rhead, Bingham. Subs not used: Studer, Fisher, McGuire, Heslop, Thomas.
ATTENDANCE: 3,106 (261 away).
