Former Sheffield United midfielder Louis Reed scored twice against his boyhood club as League One Mansfield Town stunned the Blades in a thrilling seven-goal FA Cup third-round tie.
Two excellent strikes from Reed before half-time, either side of Gus Hamer’s beautiful dipping strike from 20 yards, gave the Stags a deserved 2-1 lead at the break against their Championship opponents.
Buoyed on by approximately 5,000 visiting supporters, Mansfield raced into a three-goal lead soon after the interval through Lucas Akins and Rhys Oates.
But a goal from Blades substitute Patrick Bamford, as well as an own goal from Mansfield’s Nathan Moriah-Welsh, meant the Stags had a nervy final 25 minutes to see out.
United heaped on the pressure in the final stages as they searched for an equaliser but the visitors saw out the match to claim a famous win and clinch a fourth victory on the bounce in all competitions.
Reed returned to Sheffield United where he began his career and was handed his debut as a 16-year-old – becoming the club’s youngest ever appearance-maker in the league – by now Stags boss Nigel Clough.
“Back where it all began, bit of a bitter-sweet moment obviously because it’s against the team I support but what a result for all those fans behind the goal, and the team,” Reed told BBC Radio Nottingham.
“I just said to [Rhys] Oatesy then, in the warm-up, I think it’s one of the worst performances I’ve had in the shooting drill before but I suppose if you use them up there, they don’t come out in the game.
“I’ve not come up with many goals while I’ve been here so two is just brilliant. I think the first one is better, the second one took a bit of a deflection, but I’m still claiming it.”