Mansfield boss Nigel Clough believes his side deserved the luck that helped them to their first away win of the League Two season after a 2-1 triumph at Stevenage

The Stags had Birmingham loanee Ryan Stirk to thank after he struck the winner in the 65th minute, 10 minutes after Boro skipper Scott Cuthbert had equalised following John-Joe O’Toole’s first-half opener.

But Clough’s men needed the woodwork to help them secure a fourth consecutive win in all competitions, the first time they have achieved the feat in four years, after Stevenage forward Jamie Reid twice saw shots rebound off the uprights.

Clough said: “Without doubt it was probably the toughest win out of the four.

“We made it hard for ourselves in the first half, we scored a great goal and should have gone into half-time more than one goal up.

“We had a good one-on-one chance and a few other little chances but you have to remember that they have hit the post twice through Jamie Reid.

“Sometimes you need that little bit of luck and it was on our side today. We were very relieved to see the ball come back off the post. Anyone who’s seen us this season would agree you deserve a little bit of luck.

“Ryan Stirk played very well today and you could see the quality he’s got with his finish.

“We’ve missed him when he’s been out. With the injuries we’ve had in the last few weeks and getting some back, I’ve said Ryan Stirk’s the one we need back because he brings something different.”

Stevenage manager Alex Revell admitted his side should have scored twice when Reid hit the post and bemoaned the fact both of Mansfield’s goals came from set-pieces.

Stephen McLaughlin’s excellent free-kick teed up O’Toole after just 19 minutes before substitute Stirk found space in the box to curl home what proved to be the decisive strike.

The result left Stevenage 21st in the table and Revell said: “It’s a tough one to take, conceding to two set-pieces.

“We’ve hit the post twice in the same place, and I believe we should have had a penalty in the first half.

“You just want to score in that moment, but we conceded a poor goal and that put us on the back foot. Then you could see mistakes happen and then maybe confidence diminished slightly.

“We got back into the game. We should have scored two goals from when we hit the post.

“When you concede another poor goal you don’t give yourself a chance to win the game. We huffed and puffed, but ultimately the end result is that we’ve lost the game.”