Cheltenham Town threw themselves a Division Two lifeline with this victory over fellow strugglers Mansfield Town at Whaddon Road.
The Robins had achieved only one win from their previous 14 matches and failure to win this one would surely have consigned them to the drop.
But a makeshift side featuring defender John Brough in attack alongside loan signing Marvin Brown, and 18-year old Dave Bird at right-back, performed well to defeat a Mansfield side that has enjoyed a revival under new boss Keith Curle.
The former Wimbledon player, who was managed by Cheltenham boss Bobby Gould during his time with the Dons, was missing from the team through suspension and his loss was felt by the Stags as early as the second minute.
Brough played a neat throughball for winger Martin Devaney, who raced away from the defence before beating goalkeeper Keith Welch from a tight angle.
Cheltenham had goalkeeper Shane Higgs to thank for good saves from Iyseden Christie and Liam Lawrence, but doubled their lead seven minutes before the break when John Finnigan sent Brown clear with a measured pass.
The19-year-old showed great maturity to take on and beat Welch with a cool finish.
The home side continued to look the more threatening in the second half until Mansfield gave themselves hope seven minutes from the end when Lawrence scored with a superb curling free-kick from distance.
But substitute Damian Spencer made the game safe for Cheltenham in injury time when he headed a cross from Bird past Welch to register a seventh win of the season for the former non-league club.
"It was nice to see so many young players out there and they epitomised what this club has become known for: Warm hearts and great spirit," said Cheltenham manager Bobby Gould.
"There is still a lot of work to do but that was probably the best performance since I have been here." Mansfield assistant manager John Gannon was less impressed.
"It was a very disappointing performance and we let everyone down," he said.
"We are not going to do very well if we keep on defending like that when the manager is not playing."