Match Report: vs Accrington

By: Bradley King
Date: 26/12/2007

If a newcomer to the game of football wanted to understand the meaning of the clichéd term ‘game of two halves’, they need look no further than to today’s proceedings at Blundell Park, where The Mariners sent a belated Christmas gift to Accrington Stanley.

Despite still having no players with qualities of genuine wide men the squad, Alan Buckley decided to start the game with a 4-4-2 formation-Danny Boshell and Nick Hegarty on the flanks. Martin Butler partnered Gary Jones in attack. Midtable Accrington included dangerous seven goal striker Paul Mullin whose aerial ability was certain to prove a problem for Town.

The first half was certainly Town’s, with Accrington struggling to make any real impact on the game. Town made their dominance pay early on when Nick HEGARTY struck from 12 yards to beat the keeper at his bottom right hand corner. The away side should have then had a man sent off when Martin Butler was hauled down by the last man, but the referee, poor throughout the game, crazily waved play on. Although Stanley’s hard-hitting centre halves seemed to have Jones and Butler under control, Town went into half time looking relatively comfortable.

However in true Grimsby Town style, The Mariners went on to surrender their first half lead. The first question asked was from a cross from the Accrington right wing which failed to be dealt with by the deep Town defence. Paul MULLIN was the beneficiary placing his header in the top corner.

It looked like half time had come at completely the wrong moment for Town and a neutral could be excused if they believed it was a different team out there. Taking advantage of Town’s misinterpretation of the ‘season of goodwill‘, PROCTOR fired Accrington in front after the back four’s schoolboy defending, to the delight of the small travelling army of Lancastrians.

By now Town had completely lost their way, and the late introduction of North and Bore did little to change matters. After a pre-Xmas mini-revival, Town have come crashing down to Earth and it seems some very harsh New Years resolutions need to be passed at Blundell Park.

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