Huddersfield Town 1 Mansfield Town 3

Last updated : 01 May 2004 By Footymad Previewer

Midfielder Liam Lawrence was allowed to score a goal in each half as Huddersfield's promotion party was ruined by a series of defensive blunders.

Liam Lawrence bagged his first on 20 minutes from close range after the entire home defence stood and watched Wayne Corden's corner drift to the far post.

Unmarked Lawrence had the easiest of chances to net from close range and he was also left all alone on 75 minutes when he sealed the Stags victory with a 20- yard drive.

Liam Lawrence was allowed to run and shoot at goal unopposed after he collected sub Colin Larkin's pass from Corden's long throw.

Earlier, Huddersfield defender David Mirfin gifted the ball to Stags striker Junior Mendes on the edge of the box 38 minutes to present the forward with an easy chance to score.

And the result could have been more greater but Huddersfield defender Stephen Yates crashed a powerful header off the underside of his own crossbar following a right wing cross from Lee Williamson just after the restart.

The home side, whose defenders were trying to cope with a new 4-3-3 system, took an early lead when John McAliskey struck from close range after Pawel Abbott's right wing cross was knocked down by Andy Booth.

But after that it was all Mansfield and in the closing stages Lawrence was denied a well deserved hat-trick when keeper Paul Rachubka denied the midfielder with his legs.

The result was a massive disappointment to most people in a crowd of 19,000. It was Huddersfield's biggest crowd of the season and kick off was delayed for nearly 20 minutes to allow fans to gather safely for what they expected - the promotion party.

But the day belonged to Mansfield- who made certain of a play-off place with this win - and delighted boss Keith Curle says he does not fear other teams in the promotion shake up.

"It does not bother me who we get in the play-offs as I know that if we perform like this we will go out there and give any team plenty of problems," he said.

"This was a big result and a big performance for us and I am proud of the type of football we played today.

"We try to play the right way and as long as we keep doing that I am sure there is nothing to fear from the play-offs."