Full back Mal Benning’s second wonder goal in a week helped Mansfield Town defeat bottom-of-the-table Newport County 3-0 to clinch their third successive win and remain unbeaten at One Call Stadium this season.

Benning thumped in a 20-yard volley in the 70th minute to make it 2-0 and calm any home nerves, a week after opening the scoring with another spectacular strike in the 4-3 victory at Dagenham and Redbridge.

The full back converted Jack Thomas’ pinpoint crossfield pass, the young midfielder’s second assist of the game.

Thomas cleverly knocked on one of many dangerous Benning left wing crosses to allow Craig Westcarr to volley in the opener four minutes after half-time and reward the Stags for their total dominance in the first period.

Two minutes came Benning’s stunning strike. Newport refused to capitulate and it needed two more excellent stops by ‘The Beast’ to stop Ansah giving the visitors late hope.

In injury time home substitutes Mitchell Rose and Adi Yussuf combined for the striker to turn and find the bottom corner from 18 yards for his second goal in a week.

Afterwards Stags boss Adam Murray called for even more from his side, who went fourth: “That’s the first quarter of
the season done adn we need to up a gear now.

“We are happy, but focused. There is a strong belief in there. There were times second half when I thought we took out foot off the gas in the second half, but we soon put that right.

“We have some good people, some strong characters and they are in the position they are as a team because of how hard they are working. We have to give credit to this group. After a quarter of the season they want everything. They work
tirelessly day in day out and we’ve got to keep that going. “Nothing is achieved yet.

“We knew we had a good group but we thought it would take a bit longer to click. So we are probably ahead of schedule. With time I do believe I can get this club where it needs to be.

“I think Mal Benning is going for goal of the season on his own. It was another great bit of skill, then Adi does what he does.

“Mel’s goal has got to be up there (with the best goals I have ever seen). His one last week was a joke but that was extra-special today. It was a great ball from Jack to pick him out. He could have just put it into an area. But he’s picked him out and Mal did the rest.

“It was a tricky one today and they changed formation second half, which threw us again. We were going to get two centre forwards on the pitch but they were creating overloads against us.

“Greeny had to work his socks off for the team again and we thoroughly deserved the three points.

“It was a tough one to plan for and a tough one to prepare for. It was going a little bit into the unknown today, which I wasn’t comfortable with.

“With a new manager we didn’t know exactly what they would come with. We couldn’t prepare to as fine a detail as I would like to. So we knew we had to be on our mettle from the off.

“I spoke to the lads before the game about being ruthless. On the run we are on we need to make sure we keep putting teams to the sword – and it was a ruthless performance today.

“By half-time we were doing okay. Territory-wise we were dominating. We had a a lot of the ball but we needed that X-factor, that ruthlessness to make something happen.

“They were defending well to be fair, so we knew we’d have to be patient and shift them a bit by adding a little bit more width.

“Then we had a great a little bit of play around the box that led to Westcarr’s opener – and what a finish.