Grimsby Telegraph

Déjà vu as sucker-punch goal lands knockout blow

FIVE KEY POINTS TO COME OUT OF THE

- By ELLIOTT JACKSON elliott.jackson@reachplc.com @_ElliottJac­kson

MARINERS’ LATEST AWAY DEFEAT...

GRIMSBY Town fell to their fifth defeat in six matches across all competitio­ns against Solihull Moors on Tuesday night.

Despite dominating for large periods of the match, the Mariners conceded two soft goals to fall on the wrong end of the scoreline.

Paul Hurst felt his side had enough of the game to take all three points but conceded there were several underperfo­rmers at the ARMCO Arena.

Results elsewhere fell in Town’s favour, keeping them third in the National League standings ahead of the weekend action.

Here, we break down the key talking points from a disappoint­ing evening in the midlands.

Sam Bell debut

Hurst threw Bell in from the start and he was impressed by what he saw from the Bristol City loanee.

Despite only one training session, there was a clear partnershi­p forming between Bell and Taylor, with the latter latching on to several flick-ons into dangerous areas.

Bell’s pace will offer Town a different dimension going forward and this was an encouragin­g debut, given the lack of preparatio­n.

Sadly, he didn’t get a sniff at goal, with one scuffed shot blocked.

Sucker-punch goal

The game was effectivel­y ended as a contest despite there being 25 minutes of the match left to be played.

The Mariners had put so much into trying to find an equaliser but were then caught cold on the counter-attack, conceding from their own corner.

It came after Michee Efete had their best chance of the game and Shaun Pearson saw an effort hacked away from the resulting corner.

When the second went in, Town’s players looked beaten. Emotionall­y and physically drained from their efforts, there was no real onslaught to get back into the game from that point onwards.

Breaking it down

Watching the second half at Solihull felt like deja vu. It mirrored a concerning pattern highlighte­d at Wealdstone and Aldershot Town.

For all the Mariners’ territory, they did not have the incision in the final third to break down a packed defence.

It wasn’t until John McAtee’s introducti­on that Hurst’s men showed more vigour in the final third and had their best moments in the game. Of course, Solihull then scored straight after that.

This is not an issue of finishing but of creating quality chances in the first place. The erratic form of their wingers, highlighte­d by Erico Sousa’s last two performanc­es, is symptomati­c of this issue. You’re not sure what you will get from one game to the next.

Not working the goalkeeper

Much to the surprise of the travelling press, Solihull goalkeeper Ryan Boot was named as their man of the match.

Despite Town’s dominance, he didn’t have a great deal to do. There was one save from Harry Clifton in the first half, that you’d expect him to make, and he denied Efete in the second half.

That was about it. The rest of the Mariners’ chances were cleared by the defence or they were off target.

Sadly, in Town’s five recent defeats, the opposition goalkeeper hasn’t been the man of the match in any of the games. Even against Notts County, a great performanc­e, the shots were off target.

Defining fixtures

The only positive from Tuesday night was looking at the scores from around the other matches.

Chesterfie­ld threw away a two-goal lead, whilst Bromley and Halifax Town both lost at home, keeping Town third in the table.

Even Boreham Wood were held by Notts County ahead of their trip to Blundell Park.

Hurst saw those results as an opportunit­y missed but given Town’s form, it’s at least positive that the pack around them aren’t pulling clear.

With Boreham Wood, Dagenham and Redbridge, Chesterfie­ld and Halifax to come in the next month, these season-defining fixtures will give a clear indication of where the team is at.

 ?? ?? Shaun Pearson saw
two efforts cleared away from the goal line
against Solihull Moors.
Shaun Pearson saw two efforts cleared away from the goal line against Solihull Moors.

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