Gills 1 Grimsby Town 0

By: Richard Lord
Date: 10/02/2001

Grimsby Town suffered a 1-0 defeat to Gillingham this afternoon at the Priestfield Stadium. The result fails to aid Grimsby's attempt to drag themselves away from relegation as their poor form away from home continues.

The Mariners started with a 4-4-2 formation with Coyne in goal and a back four of David Smith, McDermott, Enhua and Groves. Battling in midfield were Campbell, Burnett, Coldicott and Donovan. Starting his first league match up front was young Jonathan Rowan along with the more vastly-experienced Jeffrey.

The absence of Livingstone was felt with Town failing to hold the ball up front and creating very few chances early in the first half. It was Gillingham who bossed the opening 20 minutes although they failed to create any real clear-cut chances. Keeper Danny Coyne came to Town's rescue on a couple of occasions and the defence were made to work hard to go in at half time 0-0.

The second half started just as the first ended, with the Mariners desperately trying to force their way into the Gills penalty area. Groves has an early chance in the half but Gills keeper Vince Bartram held well. Both teams struggled to put passes together as the pitch began to cut up. The breakthrough finally came when substitute Carl Asaba played King through one-on-one with Coyne and the striker finished calmly.

From then on, as Grimsby pushed forward, it looked increasingly likely Gillingham were to grab a second. It was only in the last 5 minutes when Town managed to trouble the Gills defence. Paul Raven came on near the end as an emergency striker as the Mariners tried their best to salvage an undeserved point from the game.

The final result was one Lennie Lawrence had been hoping to avoid, stating before the match that it was a game the Mariners could not afford to lose. The defeat inflicted more pain, but luckily other results meant that Grimsby's fall towards the relegation zone was slowed down with heavy defeats to QPR and Sheffield Wednesday. Crewe had two points snatched from them as Norwich equalised with a minute to play, and Huddersfield relinquished a two-goal lead at Bolton.

The defeat this afternoon at the hands of Gillingham has emphasised the need of pace in the team, which is the attribute most lacking in the club at this present time. The Mariners started with a 4-4-2 formation with Coyne in goal and a back four of David Smith, McDermott, Enhua and Groves. Battling in midfield were Campbell, Burnett, Coldicott and Donovan. Starting his first league match up front was young Jonathan Rowan along with the vastly more experienced Jeffrey.

The absence of Livingstone was felt with Town failing to hold the ball up front and creating very few chances early in the first half. It was Gillingham who bossed the opening 20 minutes although they failed to create any real clear-cut chances. Keeper Danny Coyne came to Town's rescue on a couple of occasions and the defence were made to work hard to go in at half time 0-0.

The second half started just as the first ended, with the Mariners desperately trying to force their way into the Gills penalty area. Groves has an early chance in the half but Gills keeper Vince Bartram held well. Both teams struggled to put passes together as the pitch began to cut up. The breakthrough finally came when substitute Carl Asaba played King through one-on-one with Coyne and the striker finished calmly.

From then on, as Grimsby pushed forward, it looked increasingly likely Gillingham were to grab a second. It was only in the last 5 minutes when Town managed to trouble the Gills defence. Paul Raven came on near the end as an emergency striker as the Mariners tried their best to salvage an undeserved point from the game.

The final result was one Lennie Lawrence had been hoping to avoid, stating before the match that it was a game the Mariners could not afford to lose. The defeat inflicted more pain, but luckily other results meant that Grimsby's fall towards the relegation zone was slowed down with heavy defeats to QPR and Sheffield Wednesday. Crewe had two points snatched from them as Norwich equalised with a minute to play, and Huddersfield relinquished a two-goal lead at Bolton.

The defeat this afternoon at the hands of Gillingham has emphasised the need of pace in the team, which is the attribute most lacking in the club at this present time.

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