Blundering Barnsley blew their chances as rock-bottom Mansfield Town chalked up an unlikely away win.
The shot-shy Tykes saw their problems mount up as they slumped further down the table thanks to their dismal defeat.
But they had only themselves to blame as they squandered a hatful of early chances before they fell to a second-half strike from Andy White.
The youngster collected a long ball that dropped kindly for him after 50 minutes, then provided a cool finish with the outside of his right foot.
Barnsley had a let-off before the goal when seconds before half time fussy referee Andy Penn gave Mansfield a penalty when Iyseden Christie went down in the area under a challenge from Chris Morgan.
Christie stepped up to take the spot-kick himself, but blasted it against the bar and over.
Barnsley had missed out after dominating a first half that saw them miss a string of chances.
Caretaker-boss Glyn Hodges said: "I'm absolutely devastated. We played okay in the first half, but didn't seem to have the stomach for the fight in the second half.
"You need that sort of fight when you are in a situation like we are. We were okay in the first half, but with that sort of pressure you have got to score goals and we've said that too many times this season.
"We seemed to lack the killer instinct and we're not ruthless enough. It's all about how the players respond now." Stags player-boss and ex-Barnsley player Keith Curle added: "Our attitude is improving and we're starting to have a bit of belief and that will help us get results.
"Barnsley are a big club with experienced players, so this is a good win for us. It's a foundation to build on."