Meanwhile in attack, Sam Smith got his last chance to prove he’s good enough to stay at the club. Our goalscorer against Mansfield, Ben May, dropped out of the team. And youngsters Karlton Watson, Samuel Hancock, and Robert Taylor took residence on the bench, alongside Matthew Barnes-Homer (there solely for if the match turns sour).
The reason for the relatively minor changes is that most of my young players are actually pretty terrible, now that I think about it. The ones with real potential are all in the sixteen here, except maybe midfielder Chris Atkinson—who is on a season-long loan and probably won’t be asked back for the next campaign.
Watson and Hancock were looking at competitive debuts if they came off the bench. Both could have very bright futures ahead, so I’m eager to give them first-team exposure.
All eyes turned to Michael Woods and Grimsby striker Liam Hearn, however. Either player could hold the keys to winning in their hands.
Woods exerted more influence in the early stages of the game. He put Smith through with a half-chance in the seventh minute, then won a decisive tackle in the centre of the park a few minutes later.
Koroma went on a brilliant solo run through the middle in the 13th minute, firing off a shot that the keeper fumbled in the rain. Only quick reactions from Grimsby defenders kept the striker from pouncing on the rebound.
Despite looking the weaker of the two sides, Grimsby broke the deadlock in the 39th minute. Aaron Brown lost his marker and powered a Soares corner beyond Halstead with an excellent header.
Annoyed, I told my players to attack. Rui Marques nearly scored a header of his own two minutes later, denied only by the woodwork. But the momentum had shifted in Grimsby’s favour.
We may have the championship in the bag, but there was no excusing for the performance on display, I yelled at half time.
A few minutes into the second period, I brought youngsters Watson and Hancock into the fray. Gowling and Koroma weren’t playing to their usual standards, and they both looked tired, so they made way.
I finally bit the bullet and brought Barnes-Homer on with 15 minutes to go. Smith was struggling to make any sort of impact, and we needed some dynamism up front.
Hancock went close to equalising in the 86th minute. He turned well inside the box and fired off a quick shot that the keeper was stretching for. It sailed wide of the mark, however.
Then poor goalkeeping and subpar defending handing Grimsby their second goal two minutes into stoppage time. Townsend was given too much time on the left to line up his cross, while Halstead should have been able to hold on to the ball. Instead, the keeper parried it right into the path of Kirkpatrick—who said thank you very much and volleyed the ball into the back of the net. Nobody had picked him up.
A woeful performance in a horrendously-low-quality match of football. We were decent in the midfield, poor everywhere else.
For Grimsby the result is fantastic news, though. Their defence did a fine job containing my attackers, who have scored more than two goals a game this season. And they assured their place in the play-offs, meaning that they have a real shot at promotion.
At the other end of the table, Stockport secured their relegation with a match to spare—losing 3-2 away at York.
I was heartbroken to see that 16 year old forward Samuel Hancock left the game with a bruised rib. That means he won’t be fit to take part in the last game of the season. I was thinking about giving the youngster a run from the start. I feel awful for the lad.
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