Cod Almighty | Diary

Sweet dreams are made of this

28 August 2025

Miss Guest Diary writes: Wow, just wow. In 35 years of visits to Blundell Park – the last 28 as a season ticket holder – last night was undoubtedly the best atmosphere and the best result I have ever witnessed. The singing and cheering began before kick off and continued until the last penalty kick was taken – and then the stadium went wild. I daresay Town might face a fine for the pitch invasion, but it will surely be worth every penny.

I like to think we fans played some part in inspiring the team to such a famous victory; they certainly inspired – and fully deserved – our support with a fearless and impressive team performance. I have seen the result described in the media this morning as the biggest upset in the history of the League Cup. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't – apart from the media who really cares? What we Town fans do know is that football watchers around the world have seen us beat the second biggest club on the planet in style.

Not for Artell's team a cagey performance where we defended in numbers and hoped to get a goal on the break or from a set piece. From the off Town played their own passing game and took the fight to Manchester United and, but for a very dodgy offside decision which ruled out Cam Gardner's goal, I believe we would have won the game in the 90 minutes. But in the end that linesman did us a favour by paving the way for the epic penalty shoot out. It prolonged the evening's enjoyment, made the occasion even more memorable and gave every one of the finishing 11 an opportunity to score in front of the Pontoon to tumultuous applause. If that doesn't inspire them – and us – for the rest of the season then I don't know what would.

Rubin Amorim got it right in his post-match interview when he said that ManU had the best players – how could they not when their squad is valued at something in the region of £750 million and most, if not all, of their players are internationals – but he admitted that Town had the best team. Anyone watching could see that. Yes, we were a bit fortunate that Onana let the ball slip past him for Vernam's goal, but the passing move which created it was pure teamwork. And when ManU started to press and things got tough defensively every member of our team was there putting his body on the line for each other and for us.

Watching the TV coverage of the match this morning – like everyone else who was there last night, I'm sure – I began to pick up more on the details. At the start of the second half ManU brought on Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo and Matthijs de Ligt, later adding Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee while Grimsby's substitutes were an 18-year old in his first professional season, two players who were playing in non-non-League last season, a loanee from Bradford who only signed the previous day and our one international player, who represents the Faroe Islands. No disrespect to any of our players, but really… As the football finance podcaster Kieran Maguire put it: "Last night wasn't David v Goliath financially, it was David v Goliath, his twin brother Big Steve, plus half a dozen mates from the local flat roof pub." Quite.

Another noticeable thing on the TV coverage was how relaxed our management team were compared to ManU's. While Rubin Amorim was hiding in the dugout during the penalty shoot out, David Artell and Shaun Pearson were laughing and joking on the touchline surrounded by other club staff and players. More evidence of the team spirit that Artell has built.

I know a lot of people who have no interest in football, but something they do all know is how much supporting Grimsby Town is part of my life. So when there is a game that gets a lot of publicity, like the FA Cup quarter final a couple of years ago, or beating Manchester United yesterday, I expect to hear from them. Sure enough on the way home last night and again this morning messages arrived from friends and family congratulating me on the win – as if it was my personal triumph. And in a way it was – it is – a triumph for all of us who spend the money and travel the miles to support the team in good times and bad, in bad weather and fair. Without us there'd be no point in them playing. So let's all meet in Sheffield next month and do it again.

UTM