Wednesday 18 March 2015 15:25, UK
Mansfield manager Adam Murray was emotionally exhausted after watching his side pick up three crucial points against AFC Wimbledon.
The Stags edged further clear of the relegation zone after Rakish Bingham's late goal gave them a 2-1 victory at the One Call Stadium. After going ahead through Lee Beevers' strike after 56 minutes, it seemed the hosts had thrown it away when Ryan Tafazolli's handball gifted the Dons a 69th-minute equaliser from the penalty spot. But, after surviving some late Dons pressure, Mansfield made three changes in three minutes and one of those substitutes Bingham, drilled home the winning goal in the 87th minute. "I am emotionally exhausted," admitted Murray. "We make it very hard for ourselves. But at the end we dug in and the team spirit was fantastic. "From the first minute we set about playing at a high tempo. But when you play like that in a 4-4-2 it takes a lot out of you and when we got to the 70-minute mark we hit a brick wall. "It affected us mentally as well and we had a couple of defensive lapses which could have killed us. "We needed to freshen things up and I did it all at once and it had the impact we wanted. "I just want the season over with now as I want time with my team to be able to prepare them and get them to play in a way everyone knows their roles. "There are six weeks and two days left - yes, I am counting - and I just want to get us over the line. "I want to get the job finished so we can go again and build an outfit we can all be proud of. "As the game went on the pitch was digging up and caused us a few problems. It caught Tafazolli off guard and I think he had about eight hands on the ball. There was no arguments over the penalty. "But let's not get carried away. It is only three points and it's back to work tomorrow as we focus on staying in the Football League."
