Cod Almighty | Match Stats
Saturday 31 August 2019
Division 4
Walsall 1 Lavery (5)
Grimsby Town 3 Whitehouse (41), Hanson (68, 81 pen)
Attendance: 4812 (772 away fans)
Spatial awareness Hewitt! A dodgy thigh slap and an occasional meander aside, the willing workhorse was a solid presence uphill 'n' downdale and a potent pitcher. Yes, yes Big Jim is Da Man, but let's spread a little happiness around while we can.
In between the boilerplate mix of pleased and disappointeds the Jolleyman mused on his Hansonness:
"If you put the ball in the right areas, he's got a really good chance of scoring because he wins so many headers."
Oh indeed.
The superior Shorty tribute act mithered in self-delusion about their superiority being undone by just a couple of moments of sloppiness:
"Like I've said to the players, it's these moments you have to remember in football"
Oh indeed.
Confronted by fancy swordplay Town just pulled out the big guns and shot 'em.
Waterfall, The Hess and Big Jim are the foundations who have put Town back on our feet again after the bad, bad old days. That spine won't snap. Cook bustled, Hewitt hustled and Hendrie struggled again on the left. The system frayed, so a change to 4-4-2 fortified the dam.
The centre is strong. Persistence pays. We grind on.
Darrell's diminutive dashers are tactically cute and individually skilful, but he's forgotten that down here in the boondocks you just need some muscle on the door to keep out ne'er do wells and troublemakers.
These Saddlers look like a typical relegated team, still full of la-di-da airs and graces with a complacent sense of superiority in their style. They will overrun teams, eventually, for not every opponent has fortitude and a bunch of big blokes that just get in the way all the time. They just look too physically flimsy to fly and without adding some broad beams they'll be getting aeriated in limboland.
Only historians and Victorians have been happier in Walsall.
Mr D Rock
Like every other ref he has no need of friendship, for friendship causes pain, it's the laughter and the loving of home fans Dave Rock disdains. In the end he annoyed them more than us, so marvellously done lad, for nothing too daft observed: 7.212.
Never bring a knife to a bazooka fight.
In a word: indomitable
Walsall: Roberts, Clarke, Scar, Liddle, Pring, Hardy (McDonald 75), Sinclair, Sadler (Guthrie 75), Holden, Adebeyo, Lavery (Gordon 59)
Subs not used: Norman, Kinsella, Rose, Jules
Booked: Pring
Town: McKeown, Hewitt, Waterfall, Öhman, Hendrie, Whitehouse, Hessenthaler, Cook (Wright 69), Green (Pollock 83), Hanson, Ogbu (Gibson 78)
Subs not used: Russell, Ring, Vernam, Cardwell
Booked: Öhman