Biggest Mistake - Livvo

By: Stephen Bateman
Date: 20/11/2000

Grimsby Town's never-say-die strike hero Steve Livingstone has spoken of his disappointment after the Mariners weekend defeat at the hands of Sheffield United. Furthermore, it seems that Livvo's place in the forward line is not guaranteed for Tuesday nights clash with Wolves.

"The biggest mistake ever"

Speaking after the match, the burly front man said: "We made the biggest mistake you can ever make in football. We scored a goal and we should have defended for the next five or ten minutes like our lives depended on it. We never did and that was it, the turning point in the game."

After going a goal down Livingstone equalised for the Mariners with a left-footed drive into the corner of the net, although the personal victory was ultimately pyrrhic for the Tees-sider: "It was nice to score to make it 1-1 but it means nothing now really. I'll get a bit of confidence from that, but we have got nothing from the game, nothing from the day."

Livingstone then went on to look ahead to Tuesday's match against Wolves - a game which could well see him dropping back into the centre of the Mariners defence - saying: "We know what we are capable of, we now know what we should and should not be doing, we have got to put the day behind us now, the game has gone, and focus our minds on Tuesday night."

Defensive worries

Meanwhile, Mariners boss Lennie Lawrence reflected on another poor defensive performance from his team. Having conceded seven goals in the last two games, Lawrence is realistic about Grimsby's need to tighten up defensively as he said: "You know you've got to be very lucky to come away with anything when you've defended like we did on occasions out there. We can't deal with big kicks down the middle and that's what's caused us to lose on Saturday."

Once again Lawrence expressed his disappointment that his side are unable to master the basics of defending as he went on to say: "The lack of concentration at times is chronic, but they do have a go at it, they never give up. It is not a disgrace and it is not even an anger really, it is a frustration at the lapses of concentration and the basic errors, and that is what we do away from home."

Gallimore and Allen to miss Wolves trip

Saturdays injury to Tony Gallimore means that Grimsby must shuffle their already makeshift back line in order to cover his absence. It is expected that Gallimore will be out of action for at least a month and may even require surgery on a torn abductor muscle.

The Fishy are also able to reveal that the Mariners injury woes will continue on Tuesday night as Bradley Allen again misses the trip to Molineux after failing to recover from an achilles tendon injury. Lawrence will almost certainly now be forced to disrupt the prolific partnership between David Nielsen and Steve Livingstone as he searches for defensive cover after Gallimore's injury and Paul Groves' dismissal against the Blades.

"I will probably have to break that [partnership] up now, as I have lost Gallimore," said the Mariners boss.

Monday's news that Norwegian Knut Anders Fostervold has completed a three-month loan deal with Grimsby may prove significant for the Mariners in light of their injury worries and it seems likely that he will be drafted straight into the squad for Tuesday night as a tailor-made replacement for Gallimore.

"If I am required I will be ready and happy to play. I hope to be involved in the squad even if it is just on the bench," said Fostervold.He is also looking at the opportunity of staying with the Mariners permanently after his loan term expires.

"I love English football and I hope everything goes well here so that I can come here for a long time," he said.

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