No Stone Unturned

By: Rob Sedgwick
Date: 06/12/2025

AFTER a troublesome spell, Town bounced back with a perfect afternoon against Wealdstone, thrashing them 4-0, and the result was rarely in doubt. Grimsby raced into a 2-0 lead, Walker added a third midway through the first half, and Kabia put the final nail in Wealdstone's coffin early in the second.

Town boss David Artell often speaks about being more ruthless in front of goal, and they were exactly that, putting the ball in the back of the net with their first two attacks, and then punishing a poor clearance from the Wealdstone 'keeper.

Wealdstone were on a good run going into the game, and Artell picked a strong team to face the National League side, who had beaten the Mariners at Blundell Park in the same competition last year. Tharme (first start since August, following his contract extension), McEachran, Green and Kabia all started with Warren, Turi, Khouri and Rose dropping to the bench.

Grimsby scored with their first attack, which came from a breakaway move from Wealdstone's early corner. Walker broke and played the ball out to Vernam, whose cross Kabia steered in from close range.

Town looked to have gone 2-0 up, but Green was judged offside at the far post where he had finished from. But Green got a goal almost immediately when the 'keeper hit the ball straight to the Town attacker, who saw that Baptiste was out of position and launched the ball from distance into the unguarded net.

Grimsby were coasting and continued to boss the game. A third goal soon followed from another Vernam cross, which clipped Walker's heel to put Town 3-0 up with a quarter of the game gone.

The Mariners, facing the Pontoon, continued to look much the stronger team, and Wealdstone rarely troubled Pym.

A brilliant piece of control by Green early in the second half led to Grimsby's fourth. Green brought the flighted ball down, pulled back to Rodgers, whose cross-shot fell perfectly for Kabia, whose forward run into the six-yard box yielded him his second close-range goal of the day.

The 4-goal margin allowed Artell to rest the players who needed it most. Tharme's comeback lasted until the hour mark, when Green also came off. Grimsby still looked for more goals, but the 4 goal cushion and numerous changes made the game feel more like a training match, with the crowd very quiet.

Youth team striker Elliot Smith came on for his debut with 5 minutes to go, and the crowd were willing the youngster to score for a fairytale ending to a perfect day. Smith had a few touches and managed a shot on target, which was easily saved.

Town coasted to a win, with a rare clean sheet to boost confidence. They now await their next opponent in Monday's draw, but have a tough league fixture in the next week with Shrewsbury away and Notts County at Blundell Park to come.

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