Mansfield manager Nigel Clough was delighted with his side’s festive points haul despite being held 1-1 at home by Doncaster.
Callum Johnson’s 21st-minute header was levelled by Joe Ironside’s fine 59th-minute equaliser but the Stags still moved up a place to second thanks to Wrexham dropping points.
“It was a good point on the back of the three wins to get 10 points out of 12,” said Clough.
“The effort from the players was brilliant tonight on the back of a third game in a week.
“One defeat in 23 and we have moved up to second with a game in hand. I don’t think we are in too bad a nick.
“The equaliser was unfortunate as it’s just hit Aden Flint and rebounded straight back to him and he’s scored from 18 yards.
“After that point it was all us and we just needed a break.
“We had an absolutely stonewall penalty. The referee was 10-15 yards from it and the assistant the same distance. It was very poor we didn’t get that penalty.
“There was a bit of tiredness in there tonight and Doncaster are on a poor-ish run so you know they will be fighting and scrapping, but it was us pressing for the winner.”
Right back Johnson buried a diving far-post header to put Mansfield ahead from Stephen Quinn’s cross.
But Rovers hit back as Luke Molyneux forced a save from Christy Pym while Harrison Biggins sent a six-yard header over and Jamie Sterry’s low shot deflected against a post.
After Biggins had shot wide on the restart, it was finally 1-1 as Ironside saw a shot come back to him off defender Flint and he buried it at the second time of asking.
Doncaster manager Grant McCann said: “I thought that was a good performance and a good point on the road.
“We had asked the players to be a bit braver and take more risks which we did today. We were much more in control.
“Mansfield changed their shape three times which was credit to us in how we played.
“We had some good opportunities before and after we conceded.
“Mansfield should have had a penalty too as Johnson was brought down and I think the referee was chasing the game a bit from there.
“We knew we had that performance in us.
“We played a diamond as we thought it was the best shape to play against Mansfield. We’ve watched them and they are a good team, very efficient, they work hard, they have got good players and they are dangerous.
“It has taken Nigel Clough three or four years to build this group he’s got and they will probably go on and achieve promotion.”
No Neymar return until 2025, says Al-Hilal boss Jesus
Neymar will not return from his anterior cruciate ligament injury until January 2025 at the earliest, Al-Hilal boss Jorge Jesus has warned.
Neymar left Paris Saint-Germain for Al-Hilal in a €90million deal in August 2023, becoming one of the faces of the Saudi Pro League's major recruitment drive.
However, he only played five matches for the club before rupturing his ACL while on international duty with Brazil last October.
The 32-year-old subsequently missed the remainder of the season as well as the Selecao's ill-fated Copa America campaign, and he remains some way away from a return.
Neymar was removed from Al-Hilal's Saudi Pro League squad in September, with the 19-time champions only able to register a maximum of eight foreign players for the first half of the season.
Reports had suggested Neymar was close to a return after Al-Hilal posted footage of him training on social media, but Jesus says Brazil's all-time leading scorer must wait until the halfway point of the campaign before being considered.
"Neymar is an important player for Al Hilal and the league in general," Jesus told reporters on Tuesday.
"I can't, however, specify a date as to when he will return, but we will look at the situation in January."
With no restrictions on foreign players featuring in the AFC Champions League, Neymar could, in theory, play in that competition if he returns to fitness before January.
Al-Bukayriyah 0-1 Al-Hilal: Leonardo sends defending King's Cup champions through
Marcos Leonardo's first-half penalty was enough to book Al-Hilal a spot in the King's Cup round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Al-Bukayriyah.
The defending champions dominated from the start, with Abdullah Al Hamddan and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic both seeing early efforts saved by Dziugas Bartkus.
Al Hamddan then won the game-winning spot-kick in the 40th minute, being brought down in the box by Ibrahim Al Sunaytan, and Leonardo made no mistake from 12 yards.
Al-Hilal kept pushing for another goal, with substitutes Renan Lodi and Aleksandar Mitrovic both testing Bartkus in the second half, but they could not add to the scoreline.
Neymar, who is gearing up for his return to action after a year on the sidelines, was not involved for Al-Hilal, who lead the way in the Saudi Pro League.
Data Debrief: Leonardo proves the difference
Al-Hilal were dominant in the first half, completely overwhelming their opponents as they had 12 of their 17 shots before the break, getting five of those on target.
But across the 90 minutes, it was Leonardo who was the standout, having the second-most shots (three) and accumulating 0.82 expected goals (xG).
His only shot on target may have been the winning penalty, but he proved a handful as he also had the most touches in the opposition box (10).
Al-Bukayriyah 0-1 Al-Hilal: Leonardo sends defending King Cup champions through
Marcos Leonardo's first-half penalty was enough to book Al-Hilal a spot in the King Cup round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Al-Bukayriyah.
The defending champions dominated from the start, with Abdullah Al Hamddan and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic both seeing early efforts saved by Dziugas Bartkus.
Al Hamddan then won the game-winning spot-kick in the 40th minute, being brought down in the box by Ibrahim Al Sunaytan, and Leonardo made no mistake from 12 yards.
Al-Hilal kept pushing for another goal, with substitutes Renan Lodi and Aleksandar Mitrovic both testing Bartkus in the second half, but they could not add to the scoreline.
Neymar, who is gearing up for his return to action after a year on the sidelines, was not involved for Al-Hilal, who lead the way in the Saudi Pro League.
Data Debrief: Leonardo proves the difference
Al-Hilal were dominant in the first half, completely overwhelming their opponents as they had 12 of their 17 shots before the break, getting five of those on target.
But across the 90 minutes, it was Leonardo who was the standout, having the second-most shots (three) and accumulating 0.82 expected goals (xG).
His only shot on target may have been the winning penalty, but he proved a handful as he also had the most touches in the opposition box (10).
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