Burton Albion FC 2 - 1 Mansfield Town : Albion hang on to deny Stags

Promotion-hunting Burton survived a second-half fightback by Mansfield to scrape a 2-1 win.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's side looked in control thanks to goals from Matt Palmer and Kelvin Maynard, but the Stags ran them close after reducing the deficit through Reggie Lamb.

The visitors, who included five debutants after a hectic week of transfer dealings, should have been ahead inside the first minute but Lambe fired wide of a gaping net.

It proved a costly miss, with Darragh Lenihan hitting the Mansfield woodwork before Palmer struck in the eighth minute when he found the far corner of the net with a free-kick from the angle of the area.

And it was from a Palmer corner that Maynard rose unchallenged to power in a six-yard header to double Burton's lead in the 24th minute.

The Stags were back in the contest six minutes after the break when a Michael Raynes header was turned home by Lambe from close range, ending Burton's run of four successive clean sheets.

The hosts had plenty more defending to do, but Billy Kee could only steer another Raynes header the wrong side of a post.