The Fishy - Grimsby Town FC



League Two Table

  PGDPts
1Stockport44+4789
2Mansfield44+4282
3Wrexham44+3382

4MK Dons44+1374
5Crewe44+770
6Barrow43+968
7Crawley Town44+466

8Walsall44+165
9Doncaster43064
10Gillingham44-1063
11AFC Wimbledon44+1062
12Harrogate Town44-762
13Bradford43-360
14Notts County44+358
15Morecambe44-1357
16Newport County44-1055
17Tranmere44-154
18Accrington Stanley44-954
19Swindon44-453
20Salford44-1747
21Grimsby44-1746
22Colchester43-1744

23Sutton Utd44-2540
24Forest Green44-3636

Full League Two Table
Prem|Champ|L1|L2|NL|NLN|NLS
SPL|SC|S1|S2

Follow the Fishy on Twitter
NewsNow logo

Question of the Week

Who will go down?







Parky: MOM
Parky: MOM

Gutted

By: Rob Sedgwick
Date: 28/05/2006

GRIMSBY will spend a third consecutive season in League Two after falling at the final hurdle in a lacklustre display against a mediocre Cheltenham side in the Play-Off final. Town had their chances, and decisions went against them but a Stephen Guinan goal saw the Robins go deservedly through.

Home > 2005-2006 Season > Reports > Cheltenham (n)


Grimsby lined up as expected, with the only surprise being Junior Mendes starting on the right wing in place of Gary Cohen. Michael Reddy, as expected, started the game after two substitute appearances in the semi-final matches against Lincoln.

Town started nervously and two mistakes in the opening ten minutes almost gifted Cheltenham the lead Firstly Town gave the ball away and it broke to Gillespie whose shot was only just parried wide of the post by Steve Mildenhall.

Even worse a few minutes later was an attempted Rob Jones back header, but it looped up and into the path of Guinan, who had the time to control the ball. Instead he decided to volley it, fortunately straight at Town's 'keeper.

Town once again lost a player in the first half through injury for the fifth consecutive game. This time it was Michael Reddy's turn, who had to go off after a clash of heads with former Mariner Craig Armstrong. Both players needed to be substituted, with Gary Cohen coming on in place of Town's talisman.

Strangely the unanticipated swap seemed to inspire Town and they had their best spell of the game for the remainder of the half.

A big turning point of the game then occurred when Town's best outfield player Andy Parkinson went down in the box. It looked a cast iron penalty, but the referee waved play on to the consternation of Grimsby's players.

Town created several chances in the remainder of the first period, the best of which was a Gary Cohen shot which produced a finger tip save, to finish the half in the ascendancy.

The start of the second half was a major disappointment, with Town failing to recapture their form of the first part of the game. Nothing of note happened for the first 15 minutes and neither side really looked like scoring. Then a poor Town clearance eventually fell to Guinan on the edge of the box, whose cross evaded everyone and crept into the net. The replay in the stadium seemed to show three players standing in an offside position. Were they interfering with play?

Cheltenham looked to have the game sewn up when they were awarded a penalty with 20 minutes to go after a rash Woodhouse challenge. Mildenhall kept the Mariners in the match however with a spectacular save low to his right.

Shortly after the penalty a McCann shot hit the crossbar and Mildenhall again kept Town in the game with a smart save to deny Wilson's header from the rebound.

Town brought on Futcher for Croft in the final 15 minutes, playing 3 up front, and piled on the pressure. Gary Jones came closest to scoring when his point-blank header was somehow saved by Higgs.

But that was it. Cheltenham go up and Grimsby remain in League Two. Town's players did not perform to their utmost and seemed subdued by the occasion. Only Andy Parkinson and Steve Mildenhall played near the top of their game. Cheltenham were not brilliant, but were the least poor of the two sides!

The biggest disappointment for me of the closing few games was the fact that Town spent the last 10 minutes or so at Leyton Orient time wasting when the score was 0-0. Games you lose you can't do much about, but games you don't do your utmost to win when you have the ball you can! The other big minus was Russell Slade's decision not to sign a new contract leading up to this match, which must have sent the wrong message to his squad. Will that contract offer still be on the table? The only plus to come out of the play-offs is the money we'll get from them and the fact that Lincoln are still in the division.


League Table


Vote for your Man of the Match

Your Name (optional)
Your Email Address (optional)
Your Man of the Match

Add To Facebook


This site is by the fans, for the fans, and we will consider articles on any subject relating to the Mariners whether it be related to current news, a nostalgic look back in the past, a story about a player, a game or games in the past, something about Blundell Park or football in general. Click here to submit your article!


Related Stories


Forum Latest
Thread TitlePostsLatest Post
Prediction Thread Swindon H9WayneBurnettsJockstrap18/04 14:13
The Financial Brutality of The Championship 11diehardmariner18/04 14:12
"Beat the Clock"  Swindon12grimsby pete18/04 14:04
Cup Replays Scrapped 24Maringer18/04 13:54
Steve Evans28HertsGTFC18/04 12:52
Pots11diehardmariner18/04 12:30
Corner shop v Tesco10grimps18/04 10:53
EFL Goal of the season. 5RonMariner18/04 10:22
Last 2 games15Marinerdeano18/04 10:05
Euro 2024 13percentagefootball18/04 09:51