Preview: Grimsby v Darlington

The Opposition

This season has been one of large peaks and troughs. A decent first 8 games saw Darlington sit 6th, before a few poor results and negotiations with Bournemouth about their vacant manager position saw Dave Hodgson sacked at the beginning of October; another manager to serve his last game in charge against Town. Dave Penney, who had a very successful period in charge of Doncaster, then took over and won his first 6 games before losing the next eight. The club look a safe bet for another season in the basement division.

Goalkeeper Lee Jones has joined on loan from Blackpool with a view to a permanent deal and has immediately taken the No1 jersey. Alun Armstrong (left), who has played for Middlesbrough and Ipswich, should feature although ex-Sunderland forward Martin Smith, who scored twice against Town in September and has 8 goals in total, is currently injured. Tommy Wright has just joined from Barnsley and the striker scored on his debut in midweek.

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Head to Head

Despite a good historical record, The Mariners have failed to beat Darlington in any of the last 8 meetings.

P 49 W 22 D 10 L 17 F 74 A 53

Darlington Head-to-Head (25th on The Opposition Ladder)

Last Meeting

The Quakers’ last two visits to Blundell Park both resulted in infamous 1-0 defeats for The Mariners, including last season when Town conceded two penalties (although one was saved) and had two players sent off.

Grimsby Team: Mildenhall, Ramsden, Crane, R Jones, McDermott, Bolland (Toner, 88), Croft, Newey, Parkinson (Cohen, 57), Reddy (Andrew, 72), Gritton
Subs: (not used) Whittle, G Jones

Darlington Team: Russell, Martis, Hutchinson, Clarke, Valentine, Wainwright (Duke, 85), Dickman, Peacock, Logan, Wijnhard (Sodje, 67), Johnson (Ndumbu-Nsungu, 76)
Subs (not used): Webster, Jameson

Attendance: 3,904   Report

Bookings: Mildenhall, Newey (Grimsby)

Sent Off: Newey, Crane (Grimsby

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