Cod Almighty | Match Stats

Tuesday 8 January 2008

League Trophy (SF)

Stockport County 1 Pilkington (61)

Grimsby Town 2 Clarke (59), Raynes og (79)

Attendance: 3679

There are several decent candidates. Rob Atkinson was the pick of the defenders and his occasional runs from defence added something to the side. Jamie Clarke stood out among the midfield -€“ the busiest and the best passer. Nick Hegarty's crossing was excellent, but defensively he was a bit lacking this time around. Danny North really deserves to win it for his workrate and his willingness to take Stockport on, single-handed if needs be. Had he taken that chance to make the game safe, it would be him, but if ever anyone shows the smallest sign of slighting Lumpaldinho, take their address and send them a DVD of clips from this match. Without every hurrying, he seems to be everywhere that matters with a confident touch to clear danger constructively, without ever playing us into trouble, or to bring players into the attack. Imagine Paul Futcher has put on a pound or two and been reborn as a forward and you have Gary Jones -€“ no matter what he looks like, he is a footballer.

"Grinding results out is not just something the players have done tonight. They have been like that for six weeks. They are playing as they should really. They are rolling their sleeves up, giving everything they have."

"Grimsby came to defend and we gifted them two goals and it was always going to be hard to break them down after that."

A decent side, working the ball forward along the ground, and exploiting space on the wings. In the final third, they ultimately lacked the guile to get past our centre-backs. That, coupled with Elding's wastefulness and a weakness in the heart of their defence which left them looking shaky under pressure, was their undoing.

Mr M J Jones (Cheshire)
There were no major decisions to make, and the referee had the sense not to go about looking for attention. Let's sound like Barry Davies and say he contributed to making the second half a great spectacle, and deserved 7.5.

First win against Stockport in nine attempts, did someone say? Don't mention the prices at Wembley -€“ Morecambe are getting better.