Mansfield Edge Nine-Goal Thriller as Cardiff Fightback Falls Short

Mansfield Town FC closed their League One campaign with a chaotic 5–4 victory over Cardiff City FC in a nine-goal spectacle on matchday 46, surviving a late onslaught from the visitors at Field Mill. Detailed data for lineups, attendance and other match events is not available.

The hosts exploded out of the blocks, taking the lead inside two minutes. Ryan Sweeney struck first, finishing after a pass from Nathan Moriah-Welsh to make it 1–0. Mansfield tightened their grip midway through the first half as Lucas Akins netted twice in quick succession.

League One FINISHED

2026-05-02 14:00

Mansfield Town FC

5 - 4

Cardiff City FC

Matchday 46 REGULAR_SEASON

Akins made it 2–0 on 23 minutes, converting from a Louis Reed assist, before adding his second three minutes later, this time set up by Will Evans, to put Mansfield 3–0 up and seemingly in complete control before half-time.

Cardiff’s response only arrived after the break. Substitute Isaak Davies pulled one back on 61 minutes, finishing from an Ollie Tanner assist to reduce the deficit to 3–1. Any hopes of an immediate comeback were checked two minutes later when Rhys Oates restored Mansfield’s three-goal cushion, again from a Reed assist, for 4–1.

The game then descended into a wild end-to-end contest. Omari Kellyman, introduced on 57 minutes, struck for Cardiff on 66 minutes after good work from Rubin Colwill to make it 4–2. Mansfield seemed to have settled it in the 79th minute when another substitute, Oliver Irow, scored their fifth, once more assisted by the influential Reed.

Cardiff refused to fold. Ronan Kpakio made it 5–3 on 86 minutes, and deep into added time Kellyman grabbed his second of the afternoon, finishing from Davies to drag the score back to 5–4. Kellyman had earlier been booked in the 65th minute, while Regan Hendry and Irow also saw yellow for Mansfield late on.

Despite Cardiff’s spirited late surge and a raft of substitutions on both sides, Mansfield held on to secure a dramatic final-day win. For full match context and league standings, visit the League One page on Ballaxy.

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League One Standings

Season: 2025/26

#	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Form
1	Lincoln City FC	46	31	10	5	89	41	48	103	W W W D W
2	Cardiff City FC	46	27	10	9	90	50	40	91	L W W W D
3	Stockport County FC	46	22	11	13	71	58	13	77	W L W L D
4	Bradford City AFC	46	22	11	13	58	51	7	77	W D D D L
5	Bolton Wanderers FC	46	19	18	9	70	52	18	75	L D D W L
6	Stevenage FC	46	21	12	13	49	46	3	75	W D W D L
7	Luton Town FC	46	21	11	14	68	56	12	74	W W W D W
8	Plymouth Argyle FC	46	22	7	17	75	63	12	73	W W D W D
9	Huddersfield Town AFC	46	18	13	15	74	64	10	67	W L D D D
10	Mansfield Town FC	46	16	17	13	62	50	12	65	W D W W D
11	Wycombe Wanderers FC	46	17	12	17	69	58	11	63	W L L D L
12	Reading FC	46	16	15	15	64	60	4	63	L D L L L
13	Blackpool FC	46	17	9	20	54	65	-11	60	W W W W L
14	Doncaster Rovers FC	46	17	9	20	50	69	-19	60	W D L W W
15	Barnsley FC	46	15	14	17	68	73	-5	59	L W L L D
16	Wigan Athletic FC	46	14	14	18	49	58	-9	56	L L D W W
17	Burton Albion FC	46	13	15	18	50	60	-10	54	D D D W D
18	Peterborough United FC	46	15	8	23	64	68	-4	53	L D L D L
19	AFC Wimbledon	46	15	8	23	51	72	-21	53	L W L L L
20	Leyton Orient FC	46	14	10	22	59	71	-12	52	D L L D L
21	Exeter City FC	46	12	13	21	52	61	-9	49	L D D D W
22	Port Vale FC	46	10	12	24	36	61	-25	42	L W L L D
23	Rotherham United FC	46	10	11	25	41	71	-30	41	L D L W L
24	Northampton Town FC	46	9	8	29	39	74	-35	35	L L L L L