A well-drilled and clinical Brighouse Town cruised to victory at the Yorkshire Payments Stadium on a wet and very windy afternoon.
Goals from Aaron Martin, Tom Haigh and Adam Jones condemned the Bulls to their first defeat of of the new year, despite a hard-fought second half from Rudy Funk's side.
It took only ten minutes for Town top scorer Aaron Martin to bag his 17th of the season, cutting in and firing low into the bottom corner at Jason White's near post.
Without AFC mustering any chance of their own, the hosts doubled their advantage on 24 minutes, as Tom Haigh expertly volleyed home after a clearance ricocheted perfectly into his path.
Haigh could have had a second in quick succession if not for AFC's number one, with White using his feet to block the midfielder's low effort from a tight angle.
The Bulls' best bit of play all afternoon came on the half-hour mark, when Sean Whaler delightfully used his skill to knock the ball inwards before Joe Iaciofano laid off for Cameron Healey, whose effort struck the Brighouse crossbar.
Jordan Annable was almost left red-faced early in the second half, as he directed Haigh's low cross towards goal and forced White to get down and claim just in time.
White came to the rescue again not long after, doing well to deny Gabriel Johnson in a one-on-one chance.
Brighouse's comfortable victory was assured when Adam Jones tapped home from close range following a corner, putting the result beyond any reasonable doubt.
The Bulls remain in 17th in the East Division table despite the result, and will have the opportunity to make a real difference to their league standing when they welcome Wisbech Town in a huge relegation clash.
MATCH DETAILS
Final score | Brighouse Town 3-0 AFC Mansfield
Scorers | Martin (10'), Haigh (24'), Adams (73')
Brighouse Town XI | Porter, Field (C), Wright, Jones, Harris, Hurtley, Robinson (Jenkinson 78'), Haigh (Heeley 82'), Martin, Thomas (Williams 65')
Unused subs | Seth, Ibrahim
Yellow cards | N/A
Red cards | N/A
AFC Mansfield XI | White, Marsden, Ghaichem (C) (Dudley 64'), Lindley, Annable, D'Laryea, Whaler, Healey (Wall 74'), Fearon, Iaciofano, Buxton (Dawes 85')
Unused subs | Lawrence, Crosby
Yellow cards | Buxton
Red cards | N/A
Man-of-the-Match | N/A
Attendance | 311
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