Cod Almighty | Match Report

by Tony Rogers

18 August 2009

Grimsby Town 1 Rotherham United 2

For the first time this season Town's starting line-up looked properly balanced. No quizzical looks between fans hunched over text messages tonight: Sweeney and Leary paired in central midfield at last. In the fourth game of the 2009-10 campaign Jamie Clarke became Town's fourth right-sided midfielder of the season, or was it the fifth? Well, better late than never. You wonder what Adam Proudlock did wrong, exactly, to have found himself marginalised so soon after that majestic hat-trick against Lincoln in the spring, and you wonder what might still be up when Danny North can come in from the cold ahead of him tonight. Without Akpa Akpro in the team, though, and Bore being sent to train with the kids, North is the only player available with any pace, really, isn't he? Swap that Big Mac for a Cauldron organic mushroom and Wensleydale burger and the sky's the limit.

On a Costa del Humber evening which you could almost trust to stay warm, then, Mike Newell's balmy army numbered Forecast, Stockdale, Bennett, Atkinson, Widdowson, Clarke, Leary, Sweeney, Hegarty, Conlon, North, with Boshell, Fuller, Heywood, Linwood, Jones, Overton and Proudlock your alphabetically ordered substitutes.

First half
It was all Rotherham - but not in the way last Saturday was all Crewe. The visitors hogged the ball again, but this time Town looked intent on doing something about it rather than stepping aside politely for the convenience and comfort of their guests.

Most of Rotherham's attacking came down Town's left. Didn't you hear? Tom Newey has left the building. After five minutes of vague menace a cross from Jamie Green found Tom Pope, but Pope headed over the bar with considerable fallibility. He's their record signing you know - 150,000 quid from Crewe in the summer. Nice way to celebrate getting your debts written off, eh.

For all their huffing and puffing, Pope's effort was as close as the visitors got to a goal until the last few minutes of the half. Town were outplayed but not outfought, and while a narrow midfield was offering Rotherham the run of the flanks - and slack marking plenty of time to control the ball and keep possession - the back four mostly did their jobs. On top of that Clarke was offering Stockdale the protection he's lacked all season, whether he's right or wrong. Forecast again suffered from some perverse decisions, being judged to have conceded a corner when bouncing down an awkward ball to try and stop his own momentum carrying it out; despite these, and another horrible blind flap at a dropping ball, he looked a bit less terrified than last time.

Just when the game seemed so firmly fixed in the home half of the pitch that Rotherham were about to need planning permission, Hegarty had perhaps Town's best chance of the first 45. Ghosting up the flank, our pale leftist met a fierce Stockdale cross from the right wing and blasted over from around the edge of the goal area. Logical hegativists will note that it was moving at a right old pelt as well as at an uncomfortable height.

Shortly afterwards Rotherham did likewise with their most inviting opportunity of the half. Fortunately for us, Danny Harrison made with Dale Tonge's cross like Pope had earlier with Green's. Are you still with us? Town are, just.

And that was the first half - all Rotherham possession-wise, but with Town digging in determinedly to thwart them. The Mariners were applauded warmly from the field of play, and the home supporters spent the half-time break with big smiles on their faces considering their team had just been outplayed. "It's not as bad as Saturday!" everyone said, grinning Grimsbily. We'd probably still have settled for just the narrow defeat, thanks.

Second half
Rah! We're kicking towards the Pontoon! We're passing the ball and moving about and that! Rah! Noise, and commotion, and belief. This time it was Town's turn to use the width of the pitch, with Hegarty having one of those really good second halves that he used to have, mostly in the second half of the 2007-08 season (you know, the last time we actually won a few games together here and there). Second-Half Nick, that's what they'll be calling him. Conlon grew into the game too, bringing down the ball and laying it off. The midfield two were clicking and Clarke was ticking. Nice.

It was from just such a display of Grimsby excellence, of course, that Rotherham took the lead. Leary was dubiously called offside after poking a deflected North shot into the net, and while Town were still feeling sorry for themselves their quick-witted hosts ran up the other end and kicked the ball against Robbie Stockdale's arm. Forecast went the right way and couldn't have been far off saving the penalty, but Le Fondre always scores against us.

Great waves of vocal encouragement roared from the Pontoon and broke across Rotherham's box, like so much Humber surf battering the sea wall.

And Town responded, Sweeney lashing in a free kick, Bennett's head rising highest, just over; Sweeney, again, putting Conlon through, the ball again in Rotherham's net, the linesman again saying no, maddeningly, infuriatingly, wrongly, surely. Quickly, but you'd sooner he take a second or two and get it right, no?

So, Danny North. North produced a Reduced Shakespeare Company version of his entire GTFC career in the 80 minutes he was on the pitch. For much of the first half he was adrift, distant from the ball, too far from his strike partner to benefit from Conlon's shrewd nods and flicks. For the second he was all pace and purpose, chasing down channel balls with those Great North Runs and generally scaring the willies out of the other lot. Just after the hour he even performed a morally bankrupt and unconvincing dive when almost through on goal, in a kind of doomed reference to Chesterfield games of yore. Remember me then, he seemed to be saying; I can be that Danny again, just watch me.

But before the tickets could even go on sale for Danny's comeback tour (featuring no other original members), the ball broke to Sweeney, about 20 yards out in front of the 'D', and whack! Old man Warrington plunged to his right and got his hands to Sweeney's powerful drive but couldn't hold on, and Town were level. Elation. Jubilation. Salvation?

Consternation. The milliners immediately pressed Town back hard, in a mini-reprise of the first half. "Town need to get straight back on the front foot," observed a concerned Cod Almighty contributor. "If we give this lot an inch they'll be straight back in front."

Town gave them quite a few inches. Most of these were out on Rotherham's right, maybe five yards infield from the corner flag, where Joe Widdowson had Nicky Law penned into the corner. Mighty Joe lunged for the ball, and took it. Law lunged for the ground, and found it. No contact; free kick. No defence at the far post. Cummins headed in powerfully from six yards.

It all dropped a few decibels. Shoulders slumped and belief seemed to recede. The hush was short-lived, though, and Town pushed on again. Warrington's nervy handling toughened up when Sweeney hit a free kick on target, and the chances kept coming. Nothing quite rang true, though, and Rotherham nearly made it three in the dying moments as Law hit the post from 20 yards.

Those who weren't there will see only the result and sigh. The talk among attendees will be that Town have turned it round from the Crewe crapola; that the ref and rubbish linesmen robbed Newell's battlers of at least a point; that we can kick on from here and start climbing that league table. Swallows, summers. Don't believe the hype. This might well be the performance that kick-starts Town's season, but we've been here enough times before to know that there's just as much chance of slipping back to the dross we got last weekend.