WILL Evans immediately got off the mark for Mansfield after being given a rapid debut following his move from Newport County AFC.

The striker's transfer from the Exiles to the Stags for a fee that could hit £200,000 was confirmed on Tuesday after he had spent Monday in the East Midlands sorting out the fine details.

The 27-year-old then got the nod in the XI for a friendly against Matlock, his first action of the summer after being troubled by a hamstring niggle.

Evans, who caught the eye of Nigel Clough by scoring 25 goals last season, struck after 27 minutes when he swept in a cross.

It was a brief first outing for Mansfield with no risks taken as he works towards full fitness.

Evans was taken off just after the half hour as the Stags now focus on Friday's League One opener at Barnsley.

The hard-working forward is unlikely to be a starter at Oakwell but will hope to make an impact if he lands the role of impact sub, adopting the same approach that made him a County favourite.

“I will just work hard,” he told the Mansfield Chad after the game at Matlock. “I want to repay the fans for spending their hard-earned money coming to watch us and travelling home and away religiously.

“I will give everything for the team and pop up with the odd goal. When I made the step up to the pro game I said I was going to stick to what I do and if it wasn't good enough then that’s fair enough.

“Thankfully I proved myself last year and now this is a new challenge and step up. I was brought in for a reason and hopefully I can see that through.”

Evans hopes the Stags’ style can help him make the step up to League One.

“They are an attacking team who press from the front and get balls into the box,” he said. “I will get myself in and around the six-yard box and hopefully put them away.

“I think it suits me and hopefully I can repay the faith Mansfield have shown in me.”

Clough, a classy forward as a player, is confident that Evans will be a good fit at Field Mill.

“We needed someone with legs and energy who will stretch the game at times. His goalscoring was outstanding last season, and all different kinds of goals as well for Newport,” said the Mansfield manager.

“We got good references from everybody that we spoke to about him, about his character and his attitude.

“We are very pleased and looking forward to working with him for the next two or three years.

“We think he will score goals with the amount of chances we create in our team. We created plenty in League Two and we aim to do the same in League One, hopefully he will relish it.”