Cod Almighty | Diary
Why did the tap run?
26 November 2018
Trentside Diary writes: We only manage a few away games each season, usually chosen for distance from home (Notts County is a 10-minute walk), proximity to relatives or just because it seems like a good idea. Northampton Town comes in the proximity to relatives category so it's usually going to be a good day irrespective of the football.
It's a long time since I went to Sixhills. Last time there was a steward who looked like Lionel Ritchie and someone had taken a very large monkey soft toy. For 90 minutes in a dreary nil-nil draw we sang to the steward and threw the monkey around boisterously. Move on 13 years and some lad was told off by a steward for throwing his hat in the air. Obviously this is to be encouraged in universities but not for the likes of us football fans, however much we feel like celebrating.
Football stewarding may have become less tolerant but this was a very different experience to all those years ago. Yes, it was another draw but how much pleasure did we take in this one?
It didn't start too well but oh how we battled back. Town played some good football and worked on getting back into the game. It really was a pleasure to watch. We had such resilience in going behind twice but not once letting our heads drop. When we started passing the ball around, you could see what Jolley is trying to do. Players had a great attitude and showed spirit. For once I was watching and thinking "we can do this, we can score".
James McKeown has saved us many points this season but on Saturday his reaction was lightning-fast and he made a stop that was just stunning. He really is having a heck of a season. Maybe one or two of those 'fans' who kept having a go and saying that he wasn't good enough for this league will have a rethink? But probably not. Knockers watching Town seem to take pleasure in having a go at players and they are probably never going to stop. Let's just drown them out with our enthusiasm. Saturday really was a great atmosphere.
The 698 travelling fans saw a lively performance against a team that started the day six places above us and we ended the day with something to celebrate.
We also beat them hands down in the battle of the towers. Theirs is ugly, concrete and known locally as 'the Lighthouse', while ours really is a thing of beauty. The Dock Tower wasn't actually used for long but it really is my favourite building in Grimsby. Theirs is for testing lifts. That long drop, all the way to the bottom, is symbolic of what has happened to our club. Looking at clips from the last 20 or so years, we really did drop like a stone – but just hopefully there can be some changes at the club and Mr Jolley is starting us on the long climb back up. UTM.