Fox and Bapaga bright - but their team-mates don’t hit the high notes

MARKS OUT OF TEN FOR PLAYERS IN MIDWEEK DEFEAT

GRIMSBY Town fell to a 1-0 defeat away at Wealdstone on Tuesday night.

Here’s how we rated the performance, with a six seen as par for the course...

James McKeown: Superb penalty save to deny Umerah and keep Town level. Could do nothing to keep out Buse’s opener -8

Ryan Sears: It was the first game where Town missed the attacking qualities and athleticism of Michee Efete. Sears still defended well as often is the case -6

Luke Waterfall: Gave away Town’s penalty, which looked soft on first viewing. Was guilty of surrendering a lot of cheap free-kicks when grappling with Umerah. Unlucky not to level the game with a good header - 5

Ryley Towler: Wealdstone won too many headers in Town’s box from set-pieces and it was little surprise to see the opener come from that source. Booked in the second half for a late tackle -5

Adam Crookes: Solid enough defensively but not enough attacking quality when stepping over the half-way line -6

Ben Fox: Lost the midfield battle in the first half. Wealdstone had an extra man in there and it was evident as they popped the ball around and picked up pockets of space with ease.

Improved significantly after the break and was probably Town’s best player alongside Bapaga -7

Giles Coke: Didn’t show his experience often enough by taking the sting out of the game. Opposition midfielders appeared to have

too much energy for him, at times -5

Erico Sousa: Drifts in and out of the game too often, albeit that is an occupational hazard of being a winger -5

John McAtee: Tried to make things happen but a frustrating evening. Wealdstone did well at limiting his space. Substituted after 52 minutes after limping around for about 15 minutes, which is a worry - 6

Will Bapaga: Looked the most lively of Town’s attackers and the most likely to make something happen. Constantly fouled in the second half as he looked to spark a comeback -6

Lenell John-Lewis: Held the ball up well at times but struggled to press Wealdstone’s defenders as they played the ball out of the back -

6

Substitutes

Wright (McAtee 52): Looked right when he came on and produced a lovely cross from the right that Sousa should have done more with -6

Hunt (Coke 87) - N/A

Main picture, Will Bapaga on the run for Grimsby Town at Wealdstone on Tuesday night. Above, Ben Fox competes for a high ball. Below, James McKeown saves a penalty.