10/04/2008 - Stockport 2 Mansfield Town 1
It only takes a second to score a goal - but it took even less than that to decisively change the course of this match.
Three-quarters of the way through, Mansfield looked well set for a point in what was, on paper, the hardest game of their end-of-season run-in.
While a tall and physically strong Stockport side were a constant menace from set-pieces, they had failed to cut open the Stags in a manner their fans might have anticipated.
And, for their part, the visitors were certainly not overawed by their in-form opponents and had one or two glimpses of goal themselves. The 1-1 scoreline was reflecting an evenly-balanced encounter.
But then came the moment that ended the match as a contest - and it really was as clear-cut as that.
As Tommy Rowe ran at the Stags defence, Alex John-Baptiste came across to cut out the danger.
Somehow, though, the central defender miskicked. Certainly the bobbly Edgeley Park pitch - that bore a greater resemblance to a farmer's field than a surface to play football on - did not help his cause.
With Rowe ghosting into the area and looking set to pull the trigger, Jake Buxton slid in with a desperate challenge and was adjudged to have brought down the striker.
Not only did the referee award a penalty to Stockport, but his most telling action was to send off the Mansfield skipper.
It was bad enough that Stags went 2-1 down as Liam Dickinson slotted home his 18th goal of the season from the penalty spot by sending Carl Muggleton the wrong way. But the additional punishment of being down to ten men effectively meant a Mansfield comeback was over before it had started.
In trying to throw players forward and grab an equaliser, Mansfield only served to leave themselves wide open at the back.
The result was that in the closing minutes it could have been an even more comprehensive win for the Hatters that would have flattered them.
After the game, Paul Holland vented his frustration at the double-whammy, feeling a penalty was punishment enough.
But under the current rules, having decided it was a foul on Rowe, the referee really had no other choice.
Holland does have a point about the consistency of the rule, though. In the home games against Darlington and Hereford, Michael Boulding was chopped down by last men Steve Foster and Dean Beckwith - and both escaped with yellow cards.
Perhaps, once again, it is an indication that precious little seems to go in your favour when you are down at the bottom.
It also highlights why the teams are where they are. It was not a spectacularly good performance from Stockport but, as so often, they ground out a result.
The Hatters needed no second invitation to take their match-winning opportunity and then closed the game down - something the Stags have done on precious few occasions.
Mansfield, unchanged for a fourth consecutive game, were immediately pushed on to the back foot and Gary Dicker's early header from a corner had to be pushed away by Carl Muggleton.
Dickinson missed a great chance when Buxton failed to cut out a routine clearance from Rose's long ball before the Mansfield captain headed inches wide from Matt Hamshaw's well-flighted free-kick.
It was the visitors who made the breakthrough in the 39th minute as confusion reigned.
Hamshaw's low cross from the right broke for Michael Boulding, who was clearly fouled by goalkeeper John Ruddy in attempting to finish from close range, but the ball spun up into the air and into goal.
At first it seemed the referee was going to award a penalty, but as he ran over to his assistant, and after considerable deliberation, he signalled a goal.
As for the scorer, the referee gave it to Boulding but those who saw a video of the incident claimed Dicker, in trying to clear, had got the final touch.
Either way, it was the first goal the Hatters had conceded in 526 minutes of football.
But the visiting supporters' joy was short-lived as Mansfield could not even hold on to the advantage until half-time.
A minute from the break Stephen Glesson's corner was punched into his own net by Muggleton under pressure from two Stockport players. The keeper felt he was fouled, but most observers agreed County had done nothing wrong.
As the players emerged for the second half, the Stags made an immediate change as Keith Briggs came on to replace the injured Gareth Jelleyman.
However, there was little in the way of telling goalmouth incident until John-Baptiste's costly and uncharacteristic mistake that would have brought relief to Notts County and Dagenham fans.
In the end it was another case of winning more admirers than points for Holland's side. But it was not in this game that Mansfield slipped up - no, it was last Saturday in giving up a two-goal lead in the last 20 minutes against Barnet where the players let themselves down. Yet the good news is that no real damage has been done because both Notts County and Wrexham have lost their midweek games in hand.
It really is as you were, with the gap between Mansfeld and the drop zone still three points. But for survival to be achieved, there really can be no more pivotal mistakes.