Grimsby 0 Exeter 0

With Grimsby fans making a long 6 hour journey south for this match would they becoming away with all three points to end this winless streak?

Grimsby Lined up in a normal 4-4-2 line up unchanged from the 1-1 draw at Wycombe the previous weekend.

With what some fans estimated at 250-300 loyal Mariner fans in attendance Grimsby needed to go out and play like the side in the first half against Wycombe and the second Half against Scunthorpe instead, Exeter started the stronger side, coming close on 12 min`s when Phil Barnes had to make a great save to deny Exeter with what some would say was a deserved goal.

The first half really could of gone to either side with both clubs coming extremely close, Bore and Hegarty both having splendid chances to put the Mariners 1 nil up but the stubborn Paul Jones kept the mariners at bay.

With Nathan Jarman again playing like a player on fire, Grimsby look the likeliest to score in the first half Nathan had a great chance in the first half, but wanting to score fluffed his chance wide of the goal, instead of taking his time over the chance.

Has half time came Grimsby fans were impressed with the performance but again worried about where this goal was going to come from, would we be able to get the three points?

HT Exeter 0 Grimsby 0



Has Second half started Exeter came out and had an extra spring in there step as they dominated the early parts of the second half, they had a penalty claim denied short after half time when Tom Newey brought down Exeter`s Matt Taylor in the box, referee signalled for play to continue but it didn`t last for to long as Taylor and Newey went head-to-head, Newey looked as if he had lost the plot and was going for head butting him, but as we later found out, he didn`t. Referee calmed things down and gave Newey a yellow card.

Exeter continued to press and was the stronger looking side against a woeful looking town side, Grimsby again were sitting back and not putting the pressure on, much to the disarray to the noisy following of town fans.

When Grimsby finally started to attack, a rash challenge on Jarman gave Grimsby, a free kick from Clarke about 35 yards out. Now some fans were asking the question why Clarke? Everyone knows Clarke only scores on a Tuesday!

The free kick was wasted after a miscommunication lead to the ball going backwards and out for a throw instead of towards Jones goal, much to the frustration of town fans (and by there faces some players).

Exeter Pressed again and luckily for the Mariners Bennett made up for some earlier mistakes when he cleared a shot from the right.

Grimsby then attacked again, and they should have had a penalty but instead the referee who struggled to keep up with play awarded a free kick from outside the area, Town fans were up-in-arms about this decision as a piece of a grass that came up in the area showed where bore had been brought down. The resulting free kick was disappointingly wasted.

Both Grimsby and Exeter continued to press with neither really showing signs of getting that first goal.

Special mention has to be said when Mike Newell brought on Grant Normington for his first appearance in a town shirt, and he made some great runs and shows some great potential at the tender age of only 18.


Crowd Rating
With Grimsby fan’s making a 6 hour journey for this match and some being in vocal spirit, we feel it only fair to award them 8/10 for passion and commitment.

Ground Rating
This is a new feature for away days, we will factor in food, drink, stewards and the home crowd.

Food – being in devon, cornish pasties were the main item on the menu, by the amount on the floor they weren’t that nice.

Drink – Little alcohol selection on offer, but it was ok non-the-less

Stewards- were happy for gtfc to put up two giant flags on the back fencing, one saying “GTFC – pride of Lincolnshire” the other a flag that travels around the world with England.

Home Fans – Noisy behind the goal and a drum to the side, made for a vocal backing.

Overall rating 7/10