Haddocks at the ready as Grimsby live the dream
Grimsby Town midfielder, Gavan Holohan, says his side must relish today’s FA Cup quarter-final at Brighton – whatever the outcome.
Cup fever has swept through Lincolnshire since Holohan’s two penalties at Southampton in the previous round catapulted the League Two club into dreamland.
The Mariners became only the sixth team from the fourth tier or below to reach the last eight since 1959, and the first since Lincoln City in 2017.
Holohan said: “There’s no getting away from it. We knew after the last round the magnitude of the game, with an FA Cup quarter-final on the horizon.
“We’re under no illusions. It’s going to be a tough ask. They’re flying high in the Premier League.
“We’re going to give it everything and embrace the occasion. I think that’s key, to not let it pass you by because they don’t come round that often.”
It is not just Mariners fans, with their inflatable haddocks, living the dream. Paul Hurst’s side have already made FA Cup history by becoming the first club to knock out five teams from a higher division – Plymouth Argyle, Cambridge United, Burton Albion, Luton Town and Southampton.
They only regained English Football League status last summer after winning three National League play-off ties, all after extra time.
Holohan’s two penalties at Southampton sent the Mariners into the last eight for the first time in 84 years.
“It was a magical night, obviously one you dream of as a kid,” the 31-year-old Irishman said. “It’s a long career, with plenty of lows in there as well, but it makes it worth it when you get a special night like that.
“As League Two footballers we haven’t reached the heights of Premier League players, so it’s huge. You see how much it means to the community of Grimsby. It’s a working-class area, and they graft all week to come and watch their team.
“For us to be able to give them special days means a lot to us as as a group.”
Asked if he had celebrated St Patrick’s Day with a few pints of Guinness on Friday night, Kilkenny-born Holohan added: “Unfortunately not.
“But hopefully on Sunday, if we pull off a massive shock, I’ll have a kegful.”