Notts County keeper Russell Hoult recovered from a pre-match injury to send Mansfield closer to relegation with a 0-0 draw at Meadow Lane.Hoult, on loan from Stoke, threw County into a state of crisis when he went down injured during the warm-up.

But he limped his way through the 90 minutes and Mansfield's failure to beat him in a tense Nottinghamshire derby leaves them facing relegation.

The Stags dominated for long periods and certainly carved out the better chances as Hoult twice dived to deny Jefferson Louis, while Nathan Arnold rattled the angle of bar and post with a fierce shot.

The dangerous Michael Boulding also tested Hoult and midfielder Stephen Dawson shot over, while County had nothing to offer as an attacking force.

It took the hosts 70 minutes to test goalkeeper Carl Muggleton for the first time through Danny Crow, and although the second half was evenly balanced, it ended in stalemate.

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