21/04/2008 - Mansfield Town 3 Shrewsbury 1
As he admitted during the first week of his tenure as Mansfield manager, Paul Holland did not agree with everything predecessor Billy Dearden did.
But he must be awfully glad his former boss took the decision to offer Michael Boulding a new contract for this season.
At the time it was most certainly a gamble. Boulding's first season back in the game after retiring to concentrate on his business interests had been far from a success.
Played out of position on the left flank or often left on the bench, the former Barnsley and Grimsby man often cut a frustrated and despondent figure.
It would not have come as a surprise to the vast majority of supporters if the 32-year-old had been released.
But a large chunk of those disappointments had come during Peter Shirtliff's reign and Dearden - who plucked Boulding from non-league Hallam in his first spell at the Field Mill helm - was canny enough to realise much better was likely to come.
Not only did he ask the Sheffield-born player to re-sign, he also installed him in his favoured position of striker.
And Boulding has never looked back - scoring vital goals throughout a struggling Mansfield season.
But never has his value to the club - and Holland - been underlined more than on Saturday, when his hat-trick provided the inspiration for a crucial victory.
What made Boulding's effort all the more remarkable - as he took his tally to the season to 25 - was that he was not even fully fit.
An ankle injury that forced him off at Macclesfield has meant he had only been able to jog and do light ball work leading up to the clash.
But you wouldn't have known it, the way he ran himself into the ground and took his goals with consummate skill and ease.
Yet while Boulding was undoubtedly the stat of the show, there were other heroes too as Mansfield cane back from a goal down to win at home for the first time this season.
Chris Wood came in at right-back and did an admirable job. Keith Briggs was also solid in a makeshift role on the other side of the defence in the absence of the injured Gareth Jelleyman.
Johnny Mullins and Alex John-Baptiste got themselves in the way of shots and made countless clearances at important times.
Nathan Arnold was his usual tricky self to link the play well and, on the other flank, Matt Hamshaw provided the ammunition for Boulding's two first-half strikes.
Jonathan D'Laryea and Stephen Dawson worked hard in the middle of the park to deny Shrewsbury the space to play, while Jefferson Louis held the ball up with determination and took some of the load off Boulding's shoulders.
But aside from Boulding's treble, perhaps the most invaluable contribution came from goalkeeper Jason White, whose fumble from Marc Pugh's shot after 75 seconds allowed Shrewsbury to take the lead.
He turned from villain to hero when he somehow kept out Guy Madjo's close-range finish with the Stags rocking at 2-1 in the closing stages.
Without it, Mansfield could well have drawn the game and the roar from the home fans, who were hugely supportive of their side, might never have come.
It was out of the blue that the Shrews had taken the lead after Mansfield had started the game brightly.
But the early goal did not get the hosts down and it was a mistake from the opposition keeper, Scott Bevan that brought them level.
He misjudged a high, looping, right-wing cross from Matt Hamshaw which left Boulding to tap home from close range in the 22nd minute.
But if that strike was simple, the striker's second was anything but, nine minutes from the break as he took Hamshaw's pass and swivelled to fire a shot just inside the left-hand post from ten yards.
With confidence seeping through the Stags, it seemed they would go on to get a third either before or after half-time, but neither Louis nor Briggs could make the most of headed opportunities.
It was midway through the second half that Mansfield suddenly seemed to withdraw. And with fresh legs on for Shrewsbury, that was only ever going to invite pressure.
James Constable missed a sitter before White's reflexes kept Madjo at bay following Pugh's run.
By that point Mansfield supporters were biting fingernails, but the tension evaporated three minutes from time when Boulding shrugged off Darran Kempson chasing a Louis through ball and, cool as you like, slotted past the advancing Bevan.
Game, set and match.
On a day when defeat, coupled with wins for Chester, Notts County and Dagenham, would have sent Mansfield down, the pressure was on to deliver.
The fact they did, and those three teams all lost, suddenly means the Stags are once again in with a shout of saving their skins.
Now there are five teams in the melting pot for the two relegation places, which clearly strengthens Mansfield's hand.
Two more games remain and still it is no clearer in which division the Stags will be playing their football next season. But one thing is for sure, if Mansfield do not lose at home to Rotherham next week, then they will travel to Dagenham and Redbridge on the last day knowing a win should keep them in the Football League on goal difference.
However, there has to be a word of warning. A loss to Rotherham next week, together with wins for their closest rivals could send the Stags down regardless.
As such, Mansfield will be keen to do what they have failed to do all season - produce the goods two games running.
With a striker of Boulding's calibre, though, they will always have a chance.