Delighted Mansfield boss Nigel Clough saluted an “outstanding” effort from his players after they won 2-0 at promotion rivals Stockport.
George Maris and Davis Keillor-Dunn bagged second-half goals which moved the second-placed Stags to within just two points of leaders Stockport.
“It’s a perfect start to the new year for us,” beamed Clough, whose side have still lost just once in the league this season.
“I felt we fully deserved to win. From start to finish I felt we were on top. It really was an outstanding performance away from home.
“I felt we needed a few fresh legs in there after the draw the other day, and changing the front four really worked I thought.
“We needed that bit of extra energy and that’s worked for us today.
“We should have scored after 20 seconds, but there was so much more from my team in the second half.
“It was a great header from George to get us in front, and that really gave us a big lift at a big time.
“We knew we wouldn’t have been able to let a team like Stockport settle, especially here, and our game-plan regarding that worked brilliantly.
“The season is far from over of course, but this is a huge result for us.”
It proved to be a largely uninspiring opening half at a packed Edgeley Park, not helped by three significant injuries between the two sides.
Mansfield came closest to a breakthrough when early sub Louis Reed’s low strike was brilliantly palmed onto the post by County keeper Ben Hinchliffe.
The Stags made the breakthrough just after the restart when Maris headed home Ollie Clarke’s precise cross.
Substitute Keillor-Dunn then wrapped up a big win for the Stags in the 102nd minute.
Stockport boss Dave Challinor was clearly concerned for the welfare of defender Kyle Knoyle, who was rushed to hospital following a sickening clash of heads with team-mate Ibou Touray in between the two goals.
Challinor said: “Kyle’s gone off to hospital.
“Obviously all of our thoughts are with him at this moment, but I’ve been banging the drum for a long time about our players talking.
“Now we’ve lost another player after two of our players have smashed into one another. That’s a horrific injury which has come about as a result of players not talking.”
On the defeat, Challinor added: “It looked to me like two teams who didn’t want to lose.
“Maybe we were playing it a bit too safe due to that, and in the end the game is decided by mistakes – that’s how it proved to me.
“It was just the top two teams playing each other with three points at stake as far as I’m concerned. Maybe too many players are getting too carried away – too many people are going into their shells.
“We’re not learning enough, but that could also be down to me not learning enough about the players too.”
Euro 2024 social round-up: Bellingham's new celebration and Kane in the Haaland role?
Day three at Euro 2024 brought plenty of action.
Jude Bellingham was the main man for England as the Three Lions beat Serbia 1-0.
Earlier in the day, Denmark drew 1-1 with Slovenia, and the Netherlands came from behind to beat Poland.
But there was also plenty of action on social media, and not just on the pitch. Here, we round up the best posts from Euro 2024.
Wolfpack
Bellingham celebrated his goal for England with Trent Alexander-Arnold, and the pair debuted a new "wolf" celebration.
They embraced before they each got down on one knee and placed a hand over their face.
Explaining the celebration, Bellingham told BBC Sport: "When we play Wolf, one of the staff loves that face when he doesn't have a clue what's going on! So that was kind of, a little group celebration for the wolf crew!"
Man on a mission
Bellingham may have grabbed the headlines, but Declan Rice was vital for England in midfield.
Indeed, only Bellingham (92) had more touches than Rice (90), while the Arsenal man led the team for passes (81), accurate passes (78) and interceptions (two, along with Alexander-Arnold and Kyle Walker).
And the official England account made sure to give Rice some love.
Harry Haaland?
At half-time in the England match, pundit and former Three Lions defender Jamie Carragher posted on X that Harry Kane was "playing the Haaland role".
By that point, Kane had only touched the ball twice, and the captain would go on to finish with 24 touches, exactly half the amount of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who ranked 10th in that metric of the 11 England players to start the game.
Carragher suggested that, like Erling Haaland at Manchester City, Kane was being instructed to stay high and wait for the ball to come to him, though does not feel that role suited him.
Kane, who was making his record-breaking 23rd appearance for England at a major tournament, nearly scored in the second half, but saw a header saved onto the crossbar.
How to save a life
A genius idea in the fan zones in Germany, is that there are CPR training units set up, so that supporters can learn the basics if they need to act quickly.
UEFA broadcast this on their official account.
Eriksen's emotional Euros return
The need for CPR training is only hit home when thinking about Christian Eriksen.
June 12 marked the third anniversary of Eriksen collapsing on the pitch in Copenhagen, during Denmark's opening game of Euro 2020.
Thankfully, and due to the swift actions of the medical staff that day, Eriksen survived the cardiac arrest he suffered, and on Sunday, matters came full circle as the 32-year-old scored his nation's opening goal against Slovenia.
Dress sense
Some managers go for a tracksuit. Others go for a smart casual look. Plenty wear a suit.
Poland boss Michal Probierz falls into the latter category, but he made sure to stand out with his bold choice in Sunday's clash with the Dutch.
Probierz went for an eye-catching tweed waistcoat and a brown blazer, drawing the attention of the Men In Blazer's X account, and in turn, their post was picked up by Poland's official team account too.
What do you think of the look?
Memphis' new look
Speaking of making a statement, Memphis Depay is not exactly shy when it comes to what he wears.
And for Euro 2024, it would appear the Netherlands' forward has a new look, with the 30-year-old donning a headband.
It's usually a look reserved for basketball, not football, but Depay will do what Depay wants to do. Not that it greatly helped his performance levels. The former Manchester United attacker had four shots, but didn't get any of them on target.
Tadic tips 'hungry' Bellingham to win the Ballon d'Or
Jude Bellingham "has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or", Serbia skipper Dusan Tadic insisted after his side fell victim to England's star midfielder.
Bellingham was the hero with his first-half header ensuring Gareth Southgate's side got off to a winning start at Euro 2024, as they edged out the Eagles 1-0 in Gelsenkirchen.
The Real Madrid midfielder built on the momentum from his memorable debut season with Los Blancos, for whom he scored 23 goals and helped win LaLiga and the Champions League.
The second player after Michael Owen to score at the World Cup and European Championship before turning 21, he is also the first to do so for the Three Lions while playing his club football outside of England.
And Tadic, who appeared as a second-half substitute in Serbia's first match at the European Championship as a unified nation, paid tribute to the 20-year-old.
When asked whether he thought Bellingham was the difference in the Group C contest, the Eagles skipper told reporters: "Yes, definitely. I think he is a great player and a great personality. I think he has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or.
"I think everything that he did was great today, he showed personality, he took England to the next level. He was always asking for the ball and I think he had a great game.
"What I think is most important for such a young player is that he always takes responsibility. That is amazing to see, and you can see he is very hungry."
Tadic tips 'hungry' Bellingham to 'win next Ballon d'Or'
Jude Bellingham "has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or", Serbia skipper Dusan Tadic insisted after his side fell victim to England's star midfielder.
Bellingham was the hero with his first-half header ensuring Gareth Southgate's side got off to a winning start at Euro 2024, as they edged out the Eagles 1-0 in Gelsenkirchen.
The Real Madrid midfielder built on the momentum from his memorable debut season with Los Blancos, for whom he scored 23 goals and helped win LaLiga and the Champions League.
The second player after Michael Owen to score at the World Cup and European Championship before turning 21, he is also the first to do so for the Three Lions while playing his club football outside of England.
And Tadic, who appeared as a second-half substitute in Serbia's first match at the European Championship as a unified nation, paid tribute to the 20-year-old.
When asked whether he thought Bellingham was the difference in the Group C contest, the Eagles skipper told reporters: "Yes, definitely. I think he is a great player and a great personality. I think he has everything to win the next Ballon d'Or.
"I think everything that he did was great today, he showed personality, he took England to the next level. He was always asking for the ball and I think he had a great game.
"What I think is most important for such a young player is that he always takes responsibility. That is amazing to see, and you can see he is very hungry."
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