Cod Almighty | Match Report

by Andrew Lumbard

14 October 2005

Cheltenham Town 0 Grimsby Town 3

"92 Clubs 12 Days No Racism" read the slogan on the T-shirts worn by the Town players as they warmed up, marking the start of this season's Kick it Out campaign. The officials were similarly attired. The Grimsby players undertook their synchronised sprints at the building site end of the ground; as usual, the subs were left on the pitch for shooting practice, although they had to be careful not to lose any balls in the bucket of a JCB. This current construction work is offering uninterrupted views of the match from the bedrooms of neighbouring houses, although, soon to be interrupted by a new 1,106-seat stand. The building work also meant that the 300-ish Town fans were housed in the side stand to the left of the camera shots on t'telly.

John Fenty joined the substitutes in chatting with the Town fans and then displayed his athletic prowess by sprinting all the way back around the pitch to the directors' hospitality area, and in a final act of generosity the subs gave their anti-racism T-shirts to selected members of the crowd.

First half
The Grimsby team lined up as follows: Mildenhall, The Legendary Status of McDermott, Whittle, Jones R, Newey, Francis, Bolland, Kalaah, Parkinson, Jones G, Reddy. Substitutes could be chosen from Ramsden, Cohen, Gritton, Crane and Toner. Just to avoid forgetting to mention it later, it was apparent as play progressed that Kalala was playing very deep in the centre of midfield. Meanwhile Jones the Lump roamed between attack and defence; it was usually a case of "can you wait until I get there?", but he was an asset in the defending set pieces.

Grimsby kicked off, playing from left to right, and were awarded a free kick resulting from a throw-in given within 20 seconds in front of the Grimsby bench. Newey's kick was deflected clear, but with Rob Jones staying up, a more accurate cross would have caused some danger. Free kick to Cheltenham though.

The ball moved rapidly up to the Grimsby end with Cheltenham winning a corner on their right. This was taken quickly along the goal line while most players' backs were turned, but fortunately Mildenhall was awake and pawed the cross-cum-shot to apparent safety, only for Francis to be caught in possession. The subsequent cross was cleared by the assured boot of Rob Jones.

It was the beginning of a very entertaining game. Cheltenham were fairly unsubtle with their starting tactics, playing a 4-5-1 with Odejayi up front picking up on the feeds and flicks from Damien Spencer. Craig Armstrong was at left-back.

After seven or eight minutes there seemed to be a noticeable dip in the illumination of the floodlights at the building site end, as the security guards put the kettle on. The game flowed from end to end. Jones G shot wide from long range; a little lob to Reddy on the edge of the area was judged as handball; Newey at fault as Odejayi went round him, only to produce a poor cross; Kalala was tackled in the centre circle resulting in a poor shot from Odejayi, easily dealt with by the Big M. Town battling hard. A cushioned header from Rob Jones to Mildenhall, who sent Newey away down the left.

Sixteen minutes gone and Francis sent a long ball from midway inside his own half into the 'Reddy channel', and who should be there but Paul Bolland. The ball dropped kindly for him to control and run into the area, leaving the defender in his wake. Bolland pushed the ball firmly to the left of the keeper, who failed to keep it out of the corner of the net. One-nil Town, "we are top of the league", etc, etc.

Cheltenham came back, and within two minutes Odejayi was free through the centre, taking the ball around Mildenhall's left. Alas, his touch let him down and he was unable to get a shot in. Valuable seconds were lost as he found himself on the goal line some 10 yards from the post. The threat continued after a poor cross was pumped back in to a suspiciously offside-looking player; Grimsby failed to clear sufficiently again, but the third wave was repelled competently by Jones the Stick.

After 21 minutes Jones G was fouled close enough to the area for Newey to step up and attempt a curler around the wall which got some sort of touch for a corner. The corner was safely punched away by Shane Higgs. Cheltenham received their first yellow card when Craig Armstrong caught Francis a tad late. The Robins fans thought it was a dive and continued to boo Francis for the rest of the game.

Cheltenham continued to push on with their unsubtle approach, looking for opportunities. Another long shot, this time from Spencer, easily dealt with by Mildenhall. A Cheltenham corner from the left found Brian Wilson free at the far post, who slipped and had to step back to complete the header, which issued no threat. He was probably thinking Wouldn't it Be Nice to Do It Again. He wasn't Smiling.

The Smile had completely disappeared when Wilson was booked for taking the next Robins free kick before the ref blew his whistle. The retaken free kick was safely cleared by a Whittle header. Still they looked for the opportunity to truly threaten the Grimsby goal. A one-two between Odejayi and Spencer; a curling shot just wide of Mildenhall's top left corner.

It was at about this time that Cheltenham remembered their team talk about the missing Gary Croft and the frailties of the Grimsby left, with both Wilson and David Bird having a go, but clearances and rubbish corners ending their moves. Rob Jones got away with a dubious handball to feed Francis for a long wide shot; the natives were starting to get a little restless with the ref.

Two minutes were added to the half in which Gary Jones produced a back-heeled flick from a Parky cross to free Reddy in the area. His shot was well saved by Higgs down to his right. The ball went quickly up the other end for a poorly taken chance by Wilson.

Half-time toilet talk
A half-time talk was given by Martin Gritton at the bottom of the stand.
"...delayed by the fair in Winchcombe..."
"I really wanted haddock."

Second half
No changes in personnel were made by either side, but Cheltenham pushed Spencer up alongside Odejayi in attack. The Robins kicked off and Grimsby got a throw-in within 1.32 seconds in the left-back area of the pitch. The game continued with much the same pace and entertainment, the Robins probing for the goalscoring threat and the Mariners defending with assured confidence.
Gavin Caines, the big centre-back, attempted a long ball from in front of the Town fans which sailed straight out for a goal kick, providing much amusement and inviting comments about the linesman's ability to see when a ball is in or out.

Spencer received a yellow card for a robust challenge on Whittle as the latter shepherded a stray throw-in out for a goal kick. The normally reliable Mildenhall took the free kick and sliced it with Coyne-esque aplomb between the dugouts.

The referee continued to invoke the ire of the home fans with his next pedantic performance. A Cheltenham free kick was being taken, and Gary Jones was delaying it, so the Cheltenham player kicked it against The Lump. The Lump was booked and the ref waved his whistle under the nose of the Cheltenham player, indicating "wait 'til I blow it". Home fans thought he already had. The kick was eventually taken and a firm header provided the counterattacking opportunity with Reddy and Parkinson linking up to threaten. Francis and Reddy were also linking well down the right, as they had done for most of the game.

The next comedy incident involved a Kalala/Bolland double injury during which Town won a free kick. Thanks to the Robins' physio for helping out, but of course they both had to go off the field of play while Town took the attacking free kick. Cuh.

Ebb and flow. Newey threatened again by Wilson, tackling a little late, booked for his efforts; Francis went through the centre, but having no support, couldn't keep the ball under control; Rob Jones and Odejayi tangled for a Cheltenham free kick, the resultant shot from the training ground tip-tap routine going wide. Another cross from the Cheltenham left, dealt with by R Jones. Long throws and crosses all dealt with by Jones, Jones and Whittle. Mildenhall leaning with one hand on the post.

A very real threat came with a cross from the right which 'only needed a touch' from David Bird sliding in, but he didn't. The ball was lobbed in from the left to Odejayi, whose shot skimmed the top of the bar as he fell backwards. Another long ball to Wilson on the right was intercepted and hooked away, this time, by Newey.

In the 65th minute Parkinson picked up the ball on the left side of midfield and pushed it through to Reddy, who had Caine in close attendance. As they both turned to chase, Caine fell over. Was he fouled? Did he trip? Did he dive as Reddy already had half a yard? Depends on which team you support. Reddy charged on with the ball, entering the penalty area on the apex, with two defenders preparing a pincer movement. Somehow at the point of the double tackle Reddy stayed on his feet, the ball stayed in his path, and he was able to administer the scuffy-type shot that always results in a goal for attackers, to the right of the out-rushing, diving Higgs. Thank you very much. Cue celebration.

Grimsby brought on Cohen for Parkinson, and Cheltenham kicked off, going on the attack immediately with another 'only needed a touch' cross, this time from their left, but Bird missing again.

The only Cheltenham substitution came when Jamie Victory replaced Adam Connolly. Simon Francis had another dart up the right looking to link with Reddy but coming to nought. A Cheltenham attack down the right ended with a throw-in. All throw-ins were now long, and this one was deflected off Jones the Stick. Odejayi and Spencer stood around expecting each other to react. Threat repulsed.
Around 75 minutes and yet another long throw into Town's area caused a modicum of panic. Individuals threw themselves to block shots; a penalty shout went up when the ball clung to a prone body, but eventually a shot flew over the bar to rattle against the front panelling of the roof of the stand. Wilson crossed for a free-ish Odejayi for another shot to balloon over the bar. More crosses as the Robins pressed on, but all came to nowt.

Gritton came on for Jones after 78 minutes and with the fresh pair of legs Town attempted to maintain some possession in midfield. Jones the Lump had worked hard and covered a lot of ground, with valuable contributions both in attack and defence. Once the possession was lost, Cheltenham were attacking and won another corner. The corner was cleared but still Cheltenham tried to exert some sort of pressure. Eighty-three minutes gone and Town still clearing crosses and blocking shots. Newey tried to release Reddy, but the ball was returned with Wilson again crossing from the right, only for Whittle to clear. A final long throw from Cheltenham was dinked from Spencer to Odejayi and over.

With a couple of minutes to go Reddy attempted a little clock running-down in the corner, but was dispossessed. Cohen was released for a run through the middle but to no avail. The final substitution saw Francis replaced by Ramsden. The stuffing had finally come out of the Cheltenham initiative as Paul Bolland battled to the end in the midfield. A final attack by the Robins saw all their players committed, and when the threat was repelled, Gritton was able to provide the 'slide rule' ball to Cohen who sprinted away from Caines, the final defender. He showed an ability to control the ball at speed and calmly placed the ball past Higgs for the third goal.

And that was that. Mildenhall showed some fancy footwork on the edge of his area, and the full-time whistle was blown.

So Town carry on undefeated away from home. Was 3-0 a fair reflection? Well, you've got to take your chances, and Grimsby maybe had five real ones. Mildenhall had very little to do, and in spite of their possession and territorial advantage, particularly in the second half, Cheltenham didn't create the chances that Grimsby did. One-on-one with the keeper? Grimsby 4 Cheltenham 1. Isn't this what the pundits call percentage football?

Nicko's man of the match
Cor, this is difficult. A great team effort. There were rocks in defence, diffusing Cheltenham's attacks; there was a huge workrate in midfield, with Bolland on the scoresheet; and Reddy was always a threat, running like Best Mate. The man of the match may be controversial, but is awarded to Simon Francis, always prepared to attack from deep positions, and always making himself available in any situation.

Official warning
Mr LW Proberts' place of residence being given in the programme as South Gloucestershire may have shrieked 'homer' to the Grimsby fans, but it turned out to be like having a Scunthorpe ref officiating at Blundell Park. Cheltenham got nothing. Some of the decisions may have been fair, and one or two were called into question by both sets of fans. The fans were raging with him, and while my sympathies are with them he was worth about 5.876 for us.