12/03/2008 - Mansfield Town 0 Hereford 1
Caretaker manager Paul Holland's rhetoric before the match was all about the Mansfield squad showing pride in their performance and playing without fear - and he certainly engendered both.
But the one thing he could not change from Saturday's disaster against Rochdale also happened to be the most important - the final result.
Make no mistake, the Stags should feel hard done by to have lost this match just as they did in losing 2-1 at Edgar Street earlier in the season.
They were infinitely better and looked like a totally different side from the one hammered 4-0 to bring about Billy Dearden's departure.
Playing with a steely determination throughout the game, even when they had gone behind early on, Mansfield passed the ball better than they have done in any Field Mill game this year.
It meant Hereford, a side chasing promotion, were left to hang on for dear life for almost the entire second half as wave after wave of attacks were directed at their goal.
That they managed to survive was down to one man only - their inspirational keeper Wayne Brown.
The man known as 'superman' to his Bulls team-mates showed just how he has come to earn that nickname with a string of top saves.
The most heart-breaking of those for Stags fans was a stoppage-time penalty stop from Michael Boulding, which denied the hosts a deserved share of the spoils.
A sign of just how well Mansfield played came as the players left the field where they were applauded and cheered off despite another defeat.
Supporters knew full well the team could not have done anything more and were desperately unlucky.
Not only did Brown have a blinder, but other events conspired against them too - as must happen for a team to lose nine home matches out of ten.
Firstly, the free-kick awarded against Stephen Dawson for Clint Easton's winner looked harsh to say the least. Indeed, some of Mansfield's players thought the referee had blown for a foul on the Irishman.
And then Bulls defender Dean Beckwith was fortunate to escape a red card when he hauled down Boulding with the striker in the clear.
The referee seemingly pointed to the fact the striker was heading slightly away from goal but Boulding would have certainly got in a clear shot on goal and Beckwith was, without doubt, the last man.
To Hereford's credit, though, they took advantage, with Brown's help, to keep their promotion bandwagon firmly on course.
For the Stags, another pointless match means they are now five points adrift of safety after Macclesfield's win at Dagenham.
Nevertheless, such a positive display can only give everyone encouragement for the weeks to come as the race to beat the drop reaches the home straight.
Holland had promised to stamp his own mark on things and he did so by dropping Jefferson Louis and recalling Nathan Arnold for a rare start to play just behind Michael Boulding up front.
The only other change saw Jonathan D'Laryea back in the side with Keith Briggs unfit because of a hamstring tweak.
Mansfield set their stall out early to get in Hereford's faces and not allow them to settle on the ball.
It looked to be working well until the setback of Easton's seventh-minute strike. There may have been some doubt about the award of the free-kick, but there was no doubt about the quality of his left-foot shot that curled around the wall and into the bottom corner.
But Mansfield were undeterred and, if anything, it strengthened their desire.
Brown's heroics started by tipping Matt Hamshaw's goalbound drive from the edge of the box round the post and moments later he touched Arnold's spectacular volley over the top.
The Bulls looked at their most dangerous on the counter but both Tomani Diagouraga and Theo Robinson spurned decent openings.
At the other end, Johnny Mullins and Alex John-Baptiste headed over when unmarked from Hamshaw corners either side of the departure of Carl Muggleton with a groin strain - giving Jason White his first senior involvement since October.
However, he was a virtual spectator for the second period as the Stags took command.
Mullins' looping header following John-Baptiste's flick-on dropped onto the roof of the net with Brown beaten while Boulding fired just beyond the far post after ghosting past Beckwith.
Arnold then shot wide when well placed while Dawson mis-kicked and, as time began to run out, Holland threw on strikers Rory Boulding and Jefferson Louis.
Dawson looked to have levelled two minutes from time, but his fizzing low drive was finger-tipped away by Brown.
Then, Boulding was adjudged to have been held back by Ben Smith in the box, only for Brown to come up trumps again from the spot kick that was well placed towards the right-hand corner.
And there was still time for the keeper to come to Hereford's rescue again as he pushed away Louis' downward header in the final minute of stoppage time.
Despite the indelible mark left on the Stags by Holland, there are no guarantees he will be in charge for Saturday's trip to Bradford.
He confirmed nothing had been said as to who will be in control for that game but stressed he hopes to be given the chance to build on what he has started.
Had the Stags found a way past Brown, and on the back of an impressive display, it would have been hard to see how Holland would not have taken the team up to West Yorkshire.
As it is, he will face an anxious wait to see if his reign will last for just one game - as it did in his previous stint as caretaker.
In the meantime, he has at least helped restore some pride. Now all Mansfield need are some points to go with it.