Stars of the Future, Future, Win At Horncastle.

By: Tony Butcher
Date: 28/07/2001

THE MARINERS secured another win yesterday beating Horncastle 3-1. Well, not the real Town, nor the reserve Town, but the stars of the future, future, with Woods and Childs (stars of the past, past) in charge. Regrettably, Childs is sans moustache and wavy gravy hair, he almost looks normal.

Town lined up in a 3-4-1-2 formation. Unfortunately there was no programme, nor a proper tannoy announcement, so I don't know the full names of the players. The tannoy announcer gave up after 4 Grimsby players as he was having difficulty pronouncing all those foreign names. Like Steve and John.

The crowd, perhaps 200, inclusive of half a dozen kids in Grimsby shirts, included some amazing sights, as befits a semi-rural community.

Enough triviality. The match! The Town kids were in total control in the first half, such that Horncastle didn't have one shot. This was fortunate as the small Town 'keeper looked very uncertain. The score was 3-0 at half time, courtesy of a side footed volley from a corner; a terrible fluff by the 'keeper allowing the boy-in-the-hole to roll the ball into the empty net; and a super goal made by the very, very impressive left wing back and volleyed on the turn by the boy-in-the-hole. Town also had a goal disallowed for offside and missed an open goal. Total domination by the boys in yellow (with blue sleeves).

So the players. The left centre back, number 3, referred to by his chums as "Scotty" looked interesting. He had legs Jim, but not as we know them. He mixed some Handyside-esque passes with Lever moments. This shouldn't hinder him as, let's face it, Lever has had a long career with many Lever moments. A boy with potential. His captain, and the fulcrum of the centre backs, "John" thought far too much of himself and made loads of mistake.

The other centre back (the number 2) was OK until he had to tackle someone. The two midfielders (number 6 and 4) were small and anonymous. The two centre forwards were terrible - especially the number 9, "Lee", who added an ability to drift offside to poor touch, lack of pace, no movement and lack of just about everything else.

And now the good bits. The left wing back (number 8, "Steve") was super. Fast, tricky, determined, and skilful. Could be a contender. He had a touch of the Dave Gilbert about him, with Fjortoftian turns. The right wing back (number 7, "Adie") was not too far behind "Steve". The boy-in-the-hole, the number 10, was similarly small, tricky and nippy.

The second half was not so good. The youngsters tired, a few substitutions were made and the formation changed to 4-4-2. A substitute centre half came on and looked quite decent. Sorry no idea who he is, but his shorts were too long. After 20 minutes Horncastle scored a good goal on the break and the Town team held on, rather than controlled the game.

One Town substitute lasted about 5 minutes before he got a whack in the mouth. Everyone called him "Gio" and the remarkable thing about "Gio" was that he was a 16-year-old Jack Lester. The hair, the complexion, the way his shirt hung, the way he ran, the way he pushed over the opposing defender was a magnificent impression of he that went away.

So as with all Youth teams a mixed bag, but we do seem to have a couple of very tasty wingbacks and raw but promising centre backs. They just need to fill out a bit now.

It seemed to be the barbecue and the bouncy castle which brought in most of the punters - perhaps Town should roast a pig at half time in the open corners.

Horncastle Lineup - (Not Known)

Grimsby Town:

"Boy in Hole"
"Scotty"
"Lee"
"Steve"
"Adie"
"Gio"
Rest were not known!

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