04/02/2008 - Mansfield Town 2 Brentford 3
BEING a Mansfield fan has come to resemble the life of an amateur surfer - occasionally you catch an exhilarating ride on the crest of a wave, but a spectacular wipe-out is never far away.
So following the unadulterated joy sampled by those who saw the Stags snatch a last-gasp win at Lincoln, there was a familiar sense of feeling all washed up by the end of Brentford's visit.
As is always the case when a club is buoyed by an encouraging performance, there was a genuine hope things would be different this time.
Going into the clash, the hosts had lost their last four at Field Mill, including the FA Cup defeat to Middlesbrough. Along with that, the team had failed to win back-to-back games all season.
The feeling among the home crowd was that the Stags had to put to bed those sorry statistics sooner or later and, boosted by new signings Jefferson Louis and Will Atkinson, they would never have a better chance. Unfortunately for Mansfield, though, the law of averages does not apply to football matches. If it did, they would now be out of the bottom two for the first time since before Christmas.
And because games are won and lost on the field, not on mathematical probability, the Stags' hold on their Football League status is becoming ever more perilous as the weeks go by. Whatever Billy Dearden had planned, Andy Scott's in-form Brentford had not read the script.
The Bees, on the back of a five-game unbeaten stint, were keen to keep their splendid run of form going and saw Field Mill as an ideal place to do it. Their task in taking the three points back down the M1 to West London was made that much easier by finding Mansfield in a generous mood at the back.
Whether the reshuffle in the defence had any effect, only the players selected will know. Yet it was the same four players and formation that finished the previous game at Sincil Bank where the Stags kept it tight.
Gareth Jelleyman replaced suspended and injured Dan Martin at left-back, Johnny Mullins moved into the centre to partner Jake Buxton and Chris Wood slotted in at right-back - which should have been fine.
However, when Brentford were on the attack, there was always a worry for the home supporters the Bees were about to break through. Some fans questioned why Louis and Atkinson were not given starts, particularly the latter, who had helped to balance the team at Lincoln in the closing stages.
But Dearden felt neither were fit enough to last the full 90 minutes and so instead Ian Holmes was given licence to impress alongside Michael Boulding, while Jonathan D'Laryea continued as the most left-sided of what were effectively three central midfielders.
Any concerns seemed irrelevant in the opening minutes as Mansfield set out as if a win was a racing certainty rather than a possibility.
Buxton was denied his second goal of the season by the crossbar before Boulding cut in from the left to drag a shot wide.
The pressure told in the 15th minute as Matt Hamshaw's free-kick was flicked goalwards by Boulding. Brentford debutant Nathan Elder stuck out a leg trying to block the ball but managed only to guide it into his own net past a stranded Ben Hamer.
Perhaps Mansfield relaxed and took their foot off the pedal but the opening goal was the signal to wake up Brentford. They hit back strongly as Alan Connell headed just wide before Carl Muggleton saved well from the blond-headed striker and Elder.
By the time Kevin O'Connor's brilliant 22-yard free-kick had found the top left-hand corner in the 25th minute, a leveller was no more than the Bees deserved.
Either side of the break, Scott's team looked the more threatening and it was no surprise when the lively Connell put them in front 11 minutes after the restart with an angled drive from inside the box. With the tide having turned, Dearden's response was immediate as D'Laryea and Holmes were replaced by Atkinson and Louis.
Within minutes the two's impact began to show, giving credence to the argument they should have started, and an equaliser was soon secured.
After Boulding had battled for the ball, it dropped kindly for Louis just inside the box. He didn't need a second invitation and placed it wide of the advancing Hamer.
Louis appeared to have won the battle of the debut strikers - and a point would have been a satisfactory result for the hosts - but Elder had other ideas. He atoned for his early own goal by racing clear to fire past a helpless Muggleton with five minutes to go, as Mansfield's offside protests went unheeded.
But regardless of the legitimacy of the goal, it was still a poor one for the Stags to concede coming, as it did, from their own throw. The final whistle brought another bitter blow with the news Mansfield had been plunged back to the bottom of the Football League after Wrexham's 2-0 victory over Darlington.
The Stags are now one point behind the Red Dragons with a tough trip to Wycombe to follow this weekend. But with games fast running out, Mansfield must believe victory at Adams Park is not beyond the realms of possibility.
Like a surfer being dragged out to the open ocean by a strong current, the Stags are slowly drifting towards the uncharted seas of non-league football.