Brentford 1 Grimsby 3

By: Rob Sedgwick
Date: 22/11/2003

GRIMSBY came from behind for the first time in over eighteen months to deservedly beat Brentford 3-1 at a rain-drenched Griffin Park. A superb brace by top scorer Michael Boulding in the last ten minutes of the game sent a cold and wet away following home delirious.

Paul Groves kept faith in the side which drew 1-1 at home to Stockport, with the exception of restoring Welsh international Darren Barnard at left back in place of Greg Young. Striker Darren Mansaram kept his place on the bench with Iffy Onuora retaining his starting position, despite a poor game against County last week.

Brentford could count themselves lucky when they took the lead after just ten minutes through a highly dubious Stephen Hunt penalty following a John McDermott "handball", which only the referee appeared to see.

An Iain Anderson effort just tipped over for a corner was the nearest Grimsby came to equalising, until just before half time when Iffy Onuora headed home for the Mariners.

After the break Brentford had most of the play, but Grimsby always looked dangerous on the break, especially with the weather making life extremely hard for defenders, with parts of the pitch waterlogged and frequently stopping the ball going out of play.

Town almost went ahead when midfielder Jason Crowe was denied by a close-range save by the Brentford keeper, who also saved Iffy Onoura's follow-up.

Finally, for the second game running, a second half substitution by Paul Groves was to prove the turning point. Dutch winger Marcel Cas came on for Iain Anderson and set up Grimsby's second direct from a Brentford corner. The Dutchman raced the length of the pitch, crossed for Boulding, who side-footed home off the post. The celebrations led to one Grimsby supporter being arrested after coming on to the field of play.

Within four minutes Boulding grabbed his second and put the game beyond doubt, racing on to a long clearance from defence and cooly slotting the ball home.

Although Town absorbed a lot of pressure they overall had the better chances and deserved the three points. The win takes them above Brentford and Sheffield Wednesday to within just four points of the play-offs.

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