Mansfield manager Nigel Clough was relieved to see his side clinch promotion with two games to play after a 2-1 home victory over Accrington.
The Stags had wobbled recently with one point from three games before roaring back, with this third straight win securing League One football for the first time since 2002.
Clough said: “I feel hugely relieved to get over the line – I didn’t want it to go to Saturday or possibly the week after going to Barrow.
“I think the MK Dons result on Saturday gave us a huge incentive to get it done tonight.
“But the season is not over yet. It is in terms of achieving our aim but we still have two games to play.
“So we will do everything we can to beat Gillingham on Saturday and then get something at Barrow the week after.
“It is a special night and an unbelievable achievement for Mansfield to be playing in the league above for the first time in 22 years.
“This is for the thousands that were here tonight, some people have been supporting the club for 50-60 years – it’s for them.
“They have seen some quite low times here over the years, so it’s lovely they can enjoy tonight.
“Some supporters have said to me it’s the best season they have ever seen at Mansfield, not just the promotion but the football – and that is pleasing.”
George Maris gave Stags the perfect start as, from a short corner, he launched the ball towards the near post where it found the net off Stanley’s Tommy Leigh.
Stanley goalkeeper Radek Vitek then made good saves to deny Hiram Boateng while Maris failed to turn a low cross into an empty net at full stretch.
But Stephen Quinn made it 2-0 on 63 minutes at the second attempt after Vitek saved his first effort.
Leigh did grab a fine volleyed consolation after 85 minutes before a pitch invasion and wild scenes.
Accrington boss John Doolan hoped watching the Stags’ celebrations would inspire his young side.
He said: “It’s Mansfield’s night and it’s fantastic for them.
“They have been trying for a number of years to get themselves up and promoted so well done to Nigel and Andy (Garner) and all the playing staff.
“That’s what you want to aspire to and that’s where you want to get.
“We’ve done it before so there’s no stopping this group of young lads that’s coming through and this is what they want. We will move on and hopefully that can be us in 12 months.
“We came here to try to spoil the party and I think the lads did their best and showed that.
“We wanted to stay in the game so we had a game plan to play in blocks of 15 or 20 minutes.
“That early goal kills you a little bit but the lads showed resilience and character to get in at half-time to sort ourselves out. They never stopped and we pushed them right to the end.”
Vardy eyes 100-point season after Leicester's title win
Jamie Vardy has challenged his Leicester City team-mates to reach 100 points after sealing the Championship title with one game to spare.
The Foxes were promoted back to the Premier League without kicking a ball after Leeds United’s 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday, but they needed to win on Monday to earn top spot.
Enzo Maresca’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Preston through Vardy’s brace and Kasey McAteer’s header, moving them to 97 points.
With one last milestone in their reach, Vardy wants to make sure they end an already successful season on a high.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We can celebrate it tonight, but now we have another target which is 100 points.
“We are over the moon. It has gone by quick but it's a graft. Not many days off, I'll tell you that.
“The lads - they've given it all. Thoroughly deserved, and I'm glad we've had 5000 to come and celebrate with us. It's not like it's 20 minutes up the road."
After a run of just three victories from nine games in the league between mid-February and April, Leicester have now won each of their last three outings.
Maresca has praised his players for their hard work in what he labelled a “tough season”.
“Fantastic, it's been a fantastic season. The Championship is a tough season and very intense, but I'm very happy," said Maresca.
"Now it's time to enjoy the work of the season to bring this special club back to the Premier League. We deserve it.
“The last two days they have been fantastic. We got promoted, but it was difficult in game preparation. But we used all of today to prepare for the game, the morning and afternoon. It was good.”
Preston 0-3 Leicester City: Foxes seal Championship title in style
Leicester City cruised to a 3-0 win over Preston in the Championship on Monday to clinch the title with a game to spare.
Jamie Vardy was the star for the Foxes as he scored in both halves before Kasey McAteer made sure of the points with an unmarked header.
Abdul Fatawu had the chance to cap an already memorable night for the travelling fans but hit the post with his curler.
Preston slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, while Leicester go into their final game against Blackburn Rovers with the knowledge that they will lift the trophy after the final whistle.
Data Debrief
Jamie Vardy has scored 18 goals this season (two in this game), more than any other Leicester player in the competition. He has also netted in his last three games, scoring four goals in total.
It was a dominant performance from the Foxes, who had 19 shots with 11 of those on target. At the other end, Preston only managed to test Jakub Stolarczyk once from their five attempts.
Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner
Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal.
Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.
He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic's deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.
Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus' team unbeaten through 28 games this season as they close in on a record-extending 18th title.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo misfires on return
Ronaldo was presented with the Saudi Pro League's Player of the Month award for March ahead of kick-off, having scored four goals in three league appearances last month.
However, his sights were off on Saturday as he failed to net despite three of the visitors' four big chances, as defined by Opta, falling his way. He led all players on the pitch for expected goals (1.27 xG), shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the area (nine) without reward.
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