Cambridge United could consider themselves unlucky not to have taken anything from Field Mill, as Mansfield Town ran out 2-1 winners in Sky Bet League Two.

Despite taking the lead through Leon Legge before the hour mark, United came away empty handed following a penalty from Jacob Mellis and a late winner from Danny Rose.

Shaun Derry named an unchanged starting eleven for the fourth consecutive Sky Bet League Two fixture, whilst Jake Carroll returned to the bench for the U’s.

Jevani Brown came closest of anyone to breaking the deadlock in a quiet first half, when the tricky forward caught a half volley sweetly on the swivel, only to see the effort turned past the post by Mansfield keeper Conrad Logan.

The U’s were comfortable defensively throughout the opening 45 minutes with only a mid-range strike from Kane Hemmings which was held by Forde and an attempted overhead kick by Danny Rose threatening to cause any hint of a problem.

The match continued in similar fashion after the break and United should have scored when Mingoia picked out a delightful cross to find Ibehre who guided his head the wrong side of the post from six yards out.

Uche Ikpeazu fired another warning sign for the U’s when he drifted in from the right before driving a left footed shot past the far post.

However, Shaun Derry’s men did deservedly break the deadlock on 58 minutes when Legge powered a header into the turf and past Conrad Logan from George Maris’ corner delivery, to score his second goal of the season.

The lead was short-lived though as referee Ben Toner dubiously awarded the Stags a penalty five minutes later when Hayden White was floored in the U’s area and Jacob Mellis converted from the spot despite David Forde’s best efforts.

The goal provided Steve Evans’ side with the perfect get out of jail free card, as the hosts registered with two minutes of normal time remaining through Rose, who slid in a late winner to complete the unfortunate final score line for the U’s.

Mansfield Town: Logan, Digby (Mellis, 53 mins), Pearce, MacDonald, White, Potter (Anderson, 53 mins), Mirfin, Hunt, Hemmings (Angol, 73 mins), Butcher, Rose

Cambridge United: Forde, Halliday, Legge, Taylor (Howkins, 90 mins), Dunk, Mingoia, Deegan, Maris (Amoo, 80 mins), Brown (Elito, 67 mins), Ikpeazu, Ibehre

Attendance: 3,814 (349)