Grimsby Town - The Nightmare Continues Part 2(2)

By: Chris Smith
Date: 19/08/2009

THERE didn't appear to be many in the ground. The Pontoon was empty with a few minutes to go and the Yorkie end only started to fill with a few minutes to go. Presumably they had taken the Town match as an opportunity for their annual experience of dining out and had been gorging on chips before the game. "Aye, ah laks t’try summat different- Lincolnshire spuds". They don't stint when it comes to the burger van either.

I was looking over from my vantage point and could almost hear their justification for stuffing themselves with what passes for haute cuisine in their area. "Ah well, chips, that’s spuds innit? That’s one portion of me veg. Tomater ketchup lahk. That’s two. Oh aye. Chips done in veggie fat for, er, how much is that, er, three. What do you mean ah’m unhealthy?" Anyone remember that footage of mothers stuffing burgers through the school fence a year or two ago? I was embarrassed to live in the same county.

The Pontoon were in good voice though and a good thing about evening games is that the sound seems to carry better. There wasn't going to be much from our end of the Upper Findus as we found ourselves in splendid isolation (as we always do when there isn't a ticket offer on). There were six in our group which seemed to be about half of our bit of the stand. The away lot were quiet as they tried to remember the words to some songs, preferably of the single syllable type.

Town started slowly in the first half and I was wondering when we were going to concede. However, I didn't think Rotherham had offered that much as the first half came to a close and we had shown some good moves. We really should have taken the lead when we shot well over from close range. Still, anything was better than Saturday. The main thing to note was the way that Rotherham committed any number of unpunished fouls our side.

In another worrying development, we didn't even take the p*** out of Gary for his continuing lack of success in the half-time draw. His stated optimism is almost heartbreaking but the highlight is when he points his finger in his own face at close range whilst making threatening gestures in frustration. This game really is tiring me out, when I can’t be bothered with my old rituals. We decided to go to the guano infested left side of the Findus for the second half in the hope that we would be pressing the away side then. This must have led the bloke and his lad in front of us as lonely as an away Dagenham/Accrington/Morecambe fan in the Osmond and wondering whether they should have been putting on deodorant before setting out.

Our decision seemed to be borne out as Town came out attacking, and even putting some pressure on. We didn't even concede within a few minutes of kick-off. Unfortunately, what seemed to be a harsh penalty decision for accidental handball led to Town going behind. This is where we may have turned the corner, as the Town players didn't let their heads drop and neither did the fans. Justice was served when Sweeney belted one in and I dared to think the unthinkable. However, we conceded again within a few minutes from a dubious free-kick and couldn't get back on level terms despite a decent performance. Even I could see that our disallowed goals were offside though I did bounce up on the first occasion before the great unwashed broke away for their first goal.

We do need to improve though and perhaps toughen up. This wasn't a poor Town performance but we need the points and don't want to find ourselves rooted to the foot of the table already. I think we deserved at least a point, if not all three, but things go against you when you are struggling. The officials were poor and when I can see that, they must be. This defeat really sticks in my craw as we were playing a team that should be plying its trade in the Unibond League. I'll feel equally cheated if we lose yet again to Darlington. It isn't lost on me that we are going to find things difficult against a team that can suddenly splash money out where there was previously none.

Other positives? I'm not a Yorkie, and I don't have to pathetically try and justify my team’s continued existence a la whining L*ton fans. I think we did well to get 3,500 of our own fans through the gate after the last home performance. I was also pleased to see that we didn't have the usual blustering player apologies after the last home game. I got sick and tired of hearing Fenton come out with those and it seems to be Hegarty that gets the job now. I really would prefer to have them do their talking on the pitch and if Mike Newell puts a gagging order on them after a crushing defeat, that’s fine by me. Just as an aside, does anyone remember another team featuring a Hegarty sound alike?

Hagerty F, Hagerty R, Tomkins... Aye, it’s part of the Barnestoneworth team from Ripping Yarns. I hope it’s not an omen...

More pressure on Saturday as my second Time of The Week approaches. If you hear about a murder committed by lawnmower in Thorne on Saturday, spare a bit of bail money please. I want to go to Bury for some reason.

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