ADAM Murray claimed his first win as manager of Mansfield Town as Vadaine Oliver's goal clinched a 1-0 result for the ten-man Stags at AFC Wimbledon.
It was goalkeeper Dimitar Evtimov though, who really made the difference, proving absolutely unbeatable in a top class performance.
The visitors had made an impressive start to the game, creating the better chances.
But it looked like they were going to be up against it when a red card for Rob Taylor left them to play with ten men for the best part of an hour.
Wimbledon though, failed to make it count and Mansfield showed great spirit and determination, taking the lead after the break and surviving immense pressure to keep a clean sheet.
For the third successive game, Murray made five changes to his side as Mansfield returned to league action following their FA Cup exit.
Goalkeeper Evtimov, full-back Kieron Freeman and winger Junior Brown were all cup-tied for the 1-0 defeat to Cambridge United in midweek and returned to the side, with Sascha Studer, Lee Beevers and Simon Heslop the players to miss out.
Jamie McGuire came into the starting XI wearing the captain's armband and Matt Rhead partnered Vadaine Oliver up front, as Rakish Bingham and Ollie Palmer dropped to the bench.
There was an early blow for the hosts as Adebayo Akinfenwa limped off with less than five minutes on the clock.
The big front man took a knock in the midst of a first minute melee in the box as Callum Kennedy's free-kick caused problems, though the offside flag ensured the danger was limited.
That aside, it was a quiet start to the game with little in the way of goalmouth action – what there was, the visitors had the better of.
Rhead hit the post with quarter of an hour gone and should have done better when Taylor's left-hand cross found him unmarked a few yards out.
The Stags striker tried his luck from distance shortly after, but his drive never looked like troubling keeper James Shea.
The Dons enjoyed their fair share of possession but struggled to hurt their opponents, while Mansfield looked bright going forward.
A dipping shot from Taylor from 30 yards dropped just over the bar, then a surging run by the midfielder deserved greater reward with 23 minutes on the clock.
Taylor picked the ball up from just past the halfway line and powered forward into the box. Rhead had gone with him to offer support, but pulled up short and the subsequent pass went straight to a blue shirt.
It had been a promising start from Taylor and his team, but the afternoon took a downward turn for both in the 32nd minute.
A rash two-footed lunge from Taylor on Sammy Moore left the Wimbledon player needing treatment and the Stags man heading for an early bath as referee Darren Deadman issued a straight red card.
The travelling fans could have been forgiven for thinking their team would find themselves up against it thereafter. But the home side couldn't make the extra man count before the break.
George Francomb's fierce effort from distance was all they had to offer, and it flew well wide.
And it was the visitors who grabbed the advantage after the interval.
Oliver muscled past his marker to drive forward into the box, coolly slotting the ball beyond Shea to give his side something to cling on to.
And cling to it they did.
The Dons laid siege to the Mansfield goal on the hour, with Evtimov tipping over Dannie Bulman's rising effort then sparing Luke Waterfall's blushes by preventing an own goal from Francomb's cross.
In an entertaining second half however, the momentum then swung the other way as Stags twice went close to extending their lead.
Rhead's header from Freeman's cross was cleared off the line, with Shea getting a hand to Waterfall's effort in the air from the resulting corner.
At the other end, Evtimov also proved his worth, twice denying Moore in the space of a minute.
The first effort from just outside the box was comfortably held, the second, from a similar distance, pushed away as Murray's men continued to hold firm.
The Nottingham Forest loanee was proving immense between the posts, and kept his side in front again with ten minutes to go.
Moore let fly at the far post from a corner, but Evtimov pushed his shot on to the woodwork, then quickly grabbed the loose ball.
In a hairy final few minutes, Wimbledon put the visitors under pressure as they desperately searched for an equaliser.
Matt Tubbs headed Francomb's free-kick wide, then Evtimov denied the forward from close-range deep into added time, pulling off a string of saves in a goalmouth scramble to make sure of the three points.
AFC WIMBLEDON: Shea, Fuller, Barrett, Goodman, Kennedy, Francomb, Bulman, Moore (Pell 84), Rigg, Akinfenwa (Azeez 5 (Oakley 74)), Tubbs. Subs not used: McDonnell, Harrison, Nightingale, Sutherland.
MANSFIELD: Evtimov, Sutton, Tafazolli, Waterfall, Freeman, Brown, Clements (Heslop 84), McGuire, Taylor, Oliver (Bingham 56), Rhead (Palmer 87). Subs not used: Studer, Riley, Bell, Lambe.
ATTENDANCE: 3,790 (178 away).
