Town need to use away form to build confidence
GRIMSBY CAN’T AFFORD TO DWELL ON DEFEAT TO WREXHAM
GRIMSBY Town’s response to the end of their unbeaten run will be a true test of whether the team have been able to find consistency as they prepare for another difficult away assignment. Barrow are fighting for something more lucrative than the Mariners, with Pete Wild guiding his team to a play-off position with seven games to go in the League Two season. However, from Town’s perspective, the fixture is just as important to them as it is to their high-flying opponents to see whether the team can respond to the setback they faced last weekend against Wrexham, by implementing the game plan that has brought some joy in recent times.
Town have lost just once on the road since Artell’s appointment, but have also drawn quite a few of those games, which does paint a picture as to how they tend to approach these away matches.
They have been unfortunate not to pick up victories in some recently, particularly Sutton United away, but playing away from home suits this team in a way that it is acceptable for them to apply a low to mid block for most of the game and play on the counter.
That will likely be the approach against Barrow today, who are undeniably a strong outfit this season and have hit play-off form again in March after a tough run of games in February which saw them lose three on the bounce. Grimsby did get the win in the reverse fixture at Blundell Park, but that was back in October under Paul Hurst’s management. Much has changed about the Mariners since, both in the dugout and on the pitch. Barrow are a team built on a strong defensive set-up, having conceded the joint-second fewest goals in the fourth tier this term and are not bothered about giving the ball up to the opposition, sitting 20th in League Two for average possession.
Town may be allowed to have more of the ball, but it is in those games where they have often struggled this season, and that was the case last weekend against Wrexham, whose ruthlessness on the counter put Grimsby to the sword inside the first 45.
All Town have to do is rediscover the defensive solidity from the previous six before last Saturday to have a chance of at least a point at Barrow, which they will take in their current situation.
It is a test of their consistency as a team as it is easier to go again off the back of a win or a point with a strong performance than it is after a defeat, where the doubts can start to creep in if allowed to, so the response has to be clear.