A long awaited league win away from home finally came to fruition as AFC coasted past second-from-bottom Albion Sports.
Luke Walker poked home a Morgan James corner to give the Bulls a deserved lead at the break, before Grant Ryan netted in injury time on the break to secure a second league win on the trot and a first on the road of the entire season.
The first few minutes saw Albion the brighter side, with full-back Joe Thornton creating their first opening when his whipped cross from the right was headed wide by Alhassane Keita.
AFC had settled down in no time, though, as returning midfielder Jon D'Laryea was at the centre of several neat interchanges, although none created any real opportunities as Ross Duggan's attempted 35-yard looping volley would only fall into the arms of Matthew Smith.
Whilst the hosts were limited to chances from range, with Keita sending a 30-yarder comfortably wide, Matt Chatfield's men were growing into the tie and Luke Walker would have converted AFC's first corner of the game if his header was a few inches lower.
Morgan James, having whipped in that teasing corner, then created a chance of his own as he won possession deep into enemy territory before wiggling free and sending the ball whistling over Smith's crossbar.
Having begun to carve out increasingly more chances, the Bulls were finally ahead as Walker corrected his earlier miss and prodded home another Morgan James corner with just over half-an-hour played.
The first half continued to be an entertaining affair, with Walker almost making the right connection from Cameron Hough's deep cross before Jack Crook fired low into the arms of Hugo Warhurst from the edge of the AFC penalty area on the fringe of half-time.
The Bulls continued their search for a second after the break, and Jordan Annable came close to doubling the lead when he headed James' near-post free-kick delivery wide.
But the hosts, naturally, came increasingly eager to find a leveller, and Joe Thornton perhaps should have done so when he nodded a vicious cross just wide of the mark from ten yards out.
With pressure piling on the visitors, Matt Chatfield's side defended resolutely despite missing the likes of Matt Wilson and Kian Sketchley, as the tie headed into an excruciating injury time.
The Bulls' brick-wall defending then paid off in the dying seconds of the encounter, as AFC broke and Luke Walker did well to hold the ball up deep inside the penalty area before squaring for Grant Ryan to tuck home a second on 92 minutes and secure a landmark victory.
With two wins recorded on the bounce, AFC now set their sights on Saturday when promotion-chasers Bridlington visit the Forest Town Arena.
MATCH DETAILS
Final score | Albion Sports 0-2 AFC Mansfield
Scorers | Walker (32'), Ryan (90'+3)
Albion Sports XI | Smith (GK), Thornton, Coates, Ferguson, Pashley, Nebard (C), Rose (Oyebanji 46'), Keita (Olaoson 79'), Aldrich, Wood, Crook (Jannew 46')
Unused subs | Carlton, Russon
Yellow cards | Coates (62'), Nebard (74')
Bulls XI | Warhurst (GK), Hough, Slone (Kozluk 72'), D'Laryea, Annable, Harrison, James, Buxton (C), Duggan (King 88'), Ryan, Walker
Unused subs | McGuire, Saleh (GK)
Yellow cards |
Man of the Match | Morgan James
Attendance |
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