The Good and the Bad: Grimsby Town 1-2 Imps

October 9, 2024 Gary EFL Trophy, Grimsby, Lincoln City, Matches, Reports 2

Good: Fringe Players Taking Their Chances

One of the biggest bonuses this type of game brings is fringe players getting a chance to shine. That means two types of players – those edging their way into the squad and those firmly on the periphery. In my opinion, one who stood out last night was Saxon Earley, on loan from Plymouth. He played left wing-back and I thought him and Jack Moylan looked a real threat in the first half. He’s energetic and eager to get on the ball, and he delivered a couple of decent crosses. The problem facing Earley is we have six possible left wing-backs in the squad, and that makes his route to the first team very hard (Duffy, Reeco, Ring, Jeffries, Roughan and him).

I also thought Erik Ring had a good evening. I can see how he’s a little rusty, still getting up to speed, but last night he played 90 minutes and had a lot of energy right through until the final few minutes. These are the sort of players I wanted to see making a huge impact, and while it wasn’t a convincing win, it was nice to see some of those fringe players getting minutes and doing well.

Bad: The Odd Poor Performance

There was the odd poor performance, and I’ve singled out two. The first is Oliver Mackey. Yep, you don’t know him, he was the referee. Generally, he didn’t have a lot to do, and generally, what he did was right. However, he bottled a big decision late on which could have been costly. In the final minute, their keeper collides with Draper and, watching back, it perhaps should have been a penalty. Cadamarteri scores from the loose ball, but the ref blows for a foul on the keeper. However, he’d let a similar one go in the first half. Mackey is currently being fast-tracked to the EFL through the National League, and I hope to see young referees showing a bit more consistency as they come through. He’ll watch back and doubtless learn from that moment.

One hopes Rob Street can do the same. I don’t like to be overly critical, but let’s be honest: the former Cheltenham man had a stinker last night. He hasn’t had the minutes in recent weeks, but he was miles off the pace until he was withdrawn. I appreciate he’s a long-term project, given the four-year deal, and I think we have to be aware of that when critiquing his performance, but our attacking intent looked infinitely more potent when Freddie Draper came on.

Good: Oisin Gallagher, Denny Oliver and MJ Kamara

This tournament, for me, should also be about youth. If the Premier League Under-21s are in and developing, why should we not give our young players a runout? That’s tradition. In an early incarnation of this competition, we gave the likes of Chris Moyses a debut, as well as Matt Carbon, Lee Frecklington, Hayden Cann and Steve Williams (there are obviously loads of others). Denny Oliver didn’t get on, but being a part of the matchday squad will be huge for him, and after a couple of quiet seasons in terms of promotions from the youth setup, it’s nice to see a new name around the first-team squad.

Oisin and MJ came back from Peterborough Sports, and both got on. Oisin we’ve seen before, and he put in a competent display in midfield. I didn’t notice him, which means he looked like a solid first-team player, and I know we have high hopes for the young Irishman. As for MJ, I was especially delighted to see him feature. He’s been getting rave reviews with the Turbines, taking Man of the Match awards and featuring prominently. To see him make his Imps debut was massive, and I thought he did well, aside from one moment where he claimed offside and chased the assistant, not the ball. Still, he didn’t look out of place either, which is good news for us.

Bad: Sloppy Defending

Once or twice, we switched off, and that is perhaps a symptom of having an unfamiliar back three. In the early stages, Grimsby could (and should) have been 2-0 up, and I’m not quite sure why we looked all at sea, even if we were very close to the actual sea. They got in behind twice, and only two woeful finishes kept things level. This article would have looked very different had we been 2-0 down before the break, perhaps a bit more like a Bristol Rovers reaction this morning!

Then, the ever-dependable George Wickens spills a routine save for their goal as well. In a way, George is lucky. If it had been a league game, or we’d lost, fans might be all over it, but with it being the Mickey Mouse Cup and ending in a win, it will be forgotten. He didn’t have an awful lot to do for the rest of the evening, and while the goal was really poor to concede, I’d rather see such slapstick in this competition.

Good: Injured Players Returning

Ethan Hamilton looked half-decent, but he was obviously not near his level. Reeco Hackett looked the same, putting in a decent shift but not setting the world on fire. However, they’re not expected to. I didn’t think either was going to come in and run the show, but they came in, got minutes and emerged unscathed on the other side. That is massive for the club, as it’s two senior players coming back into the fold, ready to be deployed in the league. Our central midfield is already brimming with talent – Tom Bayliss and Jack Moylan are fighting for one spot, McGrandles is holding the other with Erhahon a staple. Dom Jeffries did a job there yesterday and JJ McKiernan, on international duty last night, is there or thereabouts. To see Hamilton back in red and white only adds an even richer vein of talent to the squad.

As for Reeco, he’s still probably the starting left back, especially when we play a 4-4-2 out of possession, as he’s more of a natural winger, and Sean Roughan can drop out wide. However, as one of six potential left wing-backs, his return adds the sort of depth I always thought was reserved for the Premier League clubs forcing their fingers into the orifices of the EFL with this competition.

Bad: Fist Pumping

Really? Okay, I guess it’s a ‘tradition’ now, and in the league, I don’t mind it, but in the Group Stage EFL Trophy game against a League Two side that made seven changes to their lineup?

Not for me. Maybe I’m just like the Grinch or something.

Good: Character

All in all, I thought the players showed good character. The first half wasn’t brilliant, but it wasn’t ‘awful’ either (a comment I saw multiple times on social media). I thought we looked like a patchwork team, as did they, and the cohesion of the game suffered as a result. Going 1-0 down, as we have to Harrogate and Chesterfield in the cups (and Accrington late last season), wasn’t ideal, and I wondered if this might be four cup defeats from four. Instead, we showed some resilience, and the changes (even in this competition) showed a degree of depth. To keep going was a testament to our character, even after the late disallowed goal.

It actually showed me a fresh side to the team. In our other cup games we’ve looked a bit devoid of ideas after going behind, and struggled to beat a side that dug in. Last night, we did the opposite, but it could be because Grimsby had a go. Dare I say, that maybe the late exchanges, the mild drama at the end of a damp squib of a game, were the manifestation of a local derby, albeit a water-down, slightly stained one in a competition only a few really care about?

That said, a win against the Codheads is a win against the Codheads. Until next time, our fishy friends.

You may notice there’s no Bubs gallery this week. Bubs is currently out of action and will be for a few weeks. We’re all wishing him a speedy recovery here at the Stacey West.

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