NO WAY BACK AS CLARK SLIPS UP
MICHAEL JOLLEY hailed his Grimsby Town team’s performance after they picked up their second victory in a week – but insisted it will still take time for his side to grow.
Wes Thomas’s goal inside the first minute and JJ Hooper’s second-half strike saw the Mariners beat Port Vale at Blundell Park, and pick up their first home league win of the season.
The result marks quite the turnaround for Grimsby, who dropped into the relegation zone of division following defeat to Morecambe the previous week.
But they followed up their midweek win over Carlisle with another deserved three points to make it a successful week for Jolley and his players.
“We wanted to build on the game on Tuesday, where we thought we played well and deserved to win, and I think overall we deserved to win this game as well,” he said.
“In the first half, I wasn’t particularly happy with our control of the game but, obviously, we got a great start with Wes’s goal.
“In the second half, I thought we stepped on to the game and played some good football. I thought we were unlucky not to get more than the one goal we got in the second half, but I’m really pleased overall.
“We’re not going to be an overnight success. I think we’re going to grow and improve, and if people can give us the time to go through that process then I think we can be much better over the longer term.”
Just over 30 seconds into the game, Grimsby found themselves ahead as Mitchell Clark sold Scott Brown short with a back-pass, with Thomas latching onto it before rounding the goalkeeper and rolling the ball into the empty net.
“All your preparation goes out the window a bit when you concede in 30 seconds,” said Port Vale boss Neil Aspin. “I’ve spoken to Mitch because I think he’s been fantastic since he came to the club, and he’s still learning. I don’t want him to be making mistakes at our expense while he’s learning, but to be fair it’s the first mistake one he’s made.”
Chances were few and far between for both sides for the rest of the first half, although Tom Pope went close for Vale as he flashed a volley just over the crossbar.
Grimsby should have doubled their lead just after the break when the ball broke to Hooper in a great position inside the penalty area, but he could only strike a post.
He made no mistake moments later though as Thomas and Charles Vernam linked up well on the edge of the box, with the latter playing the ball across the face of goal for Hooper to tap home and earn his side the victory.
“We took off a midfield player and went with an extra striker, but then that leaves us more vulnerable,” said Aspin. “Unfortunately the second goal killed us.”
GRIMSBY TOWN: McKeown 7, Hall-Johnson 7, Whitmore 6, Collins 7, Hendrie 7, Embleton 7, Mitchell Rose 7, Clifton 7, Vernam 6 (Ahkeem Rose 87, 6), Thomas 8, Hooper 7 (Woolford 81, 6). Subs not used: Dixon, Hessenthaler, Robles, Russell, Pringle.
PORT VALE: Brown 6, Rawlinson 6, Legge 6, Smith 6, Clark 6, Worrall 6 (Whitfield 78, 6), Conlon 6, Kay 6 (Joyce 86, 6), Hannant 6, Pope 6, Hardcastle 6 (Miller 45, 6). Subs not used: Hornby, Kanu, Dodds, Vassell.