Mansfield Town head for their big FA Cup tie at Turf Moor on Saturday licking their wounds, ironically after one of their best displays of the season.
With 27 shots and 19 corners, it seemed Stags would put visiting Peterborough United to the sword on Tuesday night.
But that sword proved to be blunt as they wasted chance after chance and then gifted Posh two goals in 13 minutes before a late fightback fell short in a 2-1 defeat.
It was a cruel way to see a nine game unbeaten run ended just before a huge cup tie at a Premier League club and boss Nigel Clough was despondent after the game.
A positive moment against Peterborough as George Abbot scores on his debut. Photo by Chris & Jeanette Holloway / The Bigger Picture.mediaplaceholder image
A positive moment against Peterborough as George Abbot scores on his debut. Photo by Chris & Jeanette Holloway / The Bigger Picture.media
But he now faces the task of lifting those heads in the dressing room and patching up an injury-hit defence before Saturday.
Home fans had quietly drifted away frustrated after two successive home 0-0 draws.
Last night they were on the edge of their seats throughout, giving fantastic, noisy backing to their side, and stayed to applaud them off the pitch for a night of sparkling approach play and entertaining football.
However, Clough said afterwards he wanted points not plaudits and slammed his side for wasting probably their best performance in the 10 games.
Emotions were running high in that moment, but on reflection, he will hopefully see that if Stags can produce that sort of football and that number of chances on a regular basis the results will come as how some of those chances stayed out last night is baffling.
Under new boss Luke Williams, Posh have hauled themselves off the bottom of the table into the play-off reckoning with a string of great results.
They hit six past Wigan last weekend and arrived full of beans.
But were it not for keeper Alex Bass and some wayward finishing from almost every member of the home team, they might have ended up conceding six instead.
On another night, one goes in off a Stags player's backside or someone slices their finish and it spins in instead of straight at the keeper.
But you know in football that missing that many openings you will be made to pay – we have seen it so many times before – and so it was again as Posh were handed a couple of gifts that they gratefully accepted.
Finally, after 295 frustrating minutes without a home goal, new signing George Abbott, on as a sub, poked home. And deep into stoppage time Dejo Oshilaja almost snatched a point, but Bass smothered his finish.
Clough made seven changes to freshen things up and they were a joy to watch for much of the game with several of them having one of, if not the, best game in a Stags shirt so far this season.
So once the dust has settled there are many positives to take to Burnley.
I have little doubt that Stags fans will win their noise battle in the stands with uptake on home tickets slow and away tickets sold out.
A side struggling the Premier League will doubtless still be streets ahead in quality of a League One club.
But Mansfield can cause the Clarets problems going forward, as they showed racing into a 4-1 lead at Sheffield United in the last round.
The worry is at the back with two of their big, dominant centre halves now missing and the incisive passing that Baily Cargil offers now also unavailable.
The defence will centre around Deji Oshilaja, likely with Elliott Hewitt, Frazer Blake-Tracy or Stephen McLaughlin alongside him in a four or a three.
All of a sudden, Jordan Bowery's return from injury is needed quicker than ever.
Whatever happens at Burnley, it should be a great day out with nothing to lose, but the real focus will remain on league matters at Blackpool on Tuesday.
The Seasiders have only won once in eight games and are a single point above the drop zone and represent another chance for Stags to strengthen their mid-table position and avoid being dragged into trouble with 17 games still to play.
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