Mansfield may well have already been on the beach with a Piña Colada watching the play-offs with a passing interest, needing just a solitary point against promotion rivals MK Dons on Saturday.

Instead, thanks to a poor end to the season and a less-than-impressive performance in that final game, they find themselves involved in the lottery of play-offs with the ultimate prize being the promotion they agonisingly missed out on.

It may be surprising that the team who were 10th in the 86th minute on Saturday were the favourites to beat the team who were in the top three for the majority of 2019, but that was the case ahead of the semi-final first leg last night at Rodney Parade, with many predicting a home win for Newport. Home advantage is always key during the playoffs, but when the sides facing each other have two of the best home records in the division, it becomes paramount. Newport were looking to use their home form to their advantage and go some way to securing a place at Wembley. Mansfield were looking to spoil the party.

Mansfield’s quality is self-evident. They had four players in the EFL team of the season (Pearce, Walker, Hamilton and Benning), they came within a whisker of a place in League One, and they have the joint 3rd best defensive record in the EFL. The issue they had going into this game was picking themselves back up again after having had three opportunities to secure promotion, and failing all three times. As I said on the D3D4 podcast, if Mansfield could pick themselves up and get a win in the first leg, I’d fully expect them to win the lot.

In the first 30 minutes or so, it looked apparent that the Stags weren’t going to let the previous three losses define how they were to play in the next two (or three). They came at Newport, stopped them playing and tried to get an early goal. After a challenge which probably should’ve seen Newport centre half O’Brien sent for an early shower, an effective counter-attack from the away side saw CJ Hamilton thrash the ball past Joe Day in goal to give Mansfield an early, and deserved, 1-0 lead just 12 minutes in.

The next 15 minutes or so saw much of the same, with Mansfield’s quality proving too much for Newport to handle. One thing was clear; if Newport were to get a goal in this game, it would likely come from a set piece, and Mansfield were conceding far too many of them. This almost cost them, and if not for a superb save from Logan, star striker Jamille Matt would’ve made it honours even going into half time.

Half time came, and Mansfield had the advantage. The warning signs had been there from Newport, but as yet the away side were holding firm. Despite that, the tides were beginning to turn.

Going into the second 45, the Exiles knew that a home loss would be disastrous in terms of the overall tie, and they had to evoke some of the FA Cup spirit we’ve seen from them earlier this season and pull a result out of the bag. The second half started as the first had ended, with Mansfield being on the back foot and having to utilise the counter attack to the best of their ability to try and put the game, and possibly the tie, to bed.

Another brilliant save from Logan denied Amond from close range, and Newport had a goal rightly disallowed for offside when Willmott tapped in a rebound from another Logan save. The goalkeeper at other end, Joe Day (also in the TOTS) was also producing heroics of his own, saving two or three times to keep Newport in the game.

Logan’s hard work was all but undone, however, when he took down Newport forward Aziz in the box, and gave away a penalty in the 83rd minute. Upon watching the replay, it was evident the wrong decision was made, as Logan got the ball before he got the man, but it’s hard to deny that a Newport goal was coming. Logan almost rounded off one of the best goalkeeping performances I’ve seen in months when he saved the initial penalty from Padraig Amond, but he could do nothing to prevent the same player converting the rebound.

Both sides pushed for a winner, but it wasn’t to be, and the game finished 1-1, with plenty of drama to go around (and just the first EFL playoff game, too!).

Mansfield will be the happier of the two sides going into the second leg, as getting a draw at the fortress of Rodney Parade is no easy task, and all they need now is a win at home to book their place at Wembley. Will that be the case? On the evidence of the first leg, I’m not sure. Mansfield showed quality for much of the game, but one criticism I’d level at the Stags is the fact they allowed Newport to play at times, and that was their downfall in the end.

I said before the game I couldn’t see Mansfield getting past Newport over two legs, but with Mansfield’s home record this season, it’s all to play for going into the second leg at Field Mill. Just 90 minutes remain in this tie, and it’s all to play for.

words Alex Gardner, D3D4 writer