Reds have been playing for pride for a while now, but victory tomorrow and defeat for Cambridge at home to Port Vale would lift us to 13th which is our highest finish since relegation to League 2 three years ago. However, defeat and victory for Stevenage at promoted Wycombe could see us drop to a final position of 15th.
For Mansfield there is a lot more to play for. Along with Lincoln and Coventry , they are vying to fill the last two play-off spots with Exeter and Notts County. To have any chance the Stags must beat Crawley. If they win and Coventry and Lincoln both lose they will finish sixth or seventh if either of those two clubs avoid defeat, the other loses and Mansfield beat us. If the Sky Blues, who entertain relegation-threatened Morecambe, and the Imps, who host Yeovil, both win then Mansfield’s result is irrelevant and they will finish eighth and outside the play-offs.
Kane Hemmings (thigh) is an injury doubt for Mansfield. The former Dundee, Cowdenbeath and Oxford striker suffered the knock in last Saturday’s 3-2 win at Yeovil but is expected to be fit. Hayden White and Ricky Miller could return after injury. For Reds, Mark Randall is out with a broken toe sustained in the 2-2 draw at Exeter a fortnight ago.
Mansfield boss David Flitcroft (pictured) knows what to expect from Harry Kewell’s side on Saturday. “Crawley are one of the better football teams in the league,” he said. “You look at the teams that have gone up and are in the play-offs, they’re strong and robust teams. Crawley try to do it a different way, they move the ball round the pitch really well. There is no pressure on them and they’ll want to finish on a high.”
Reds have never won a Football League game at the One Call Stadium. Two previous visits ended in a 3-0 defeat in September 2015 and 3-1 loss in November 2016 when Bobson Bawling scored his only goal for the club. Our last win there was in the Conference-winning season of 2010-11 when Reds triumphed 4-1. Among the scorers that day was Dannie Bulman and you can get nice odds of 400-1 on a repeat on Saturday in a 1-0 win for Reds.
