Despite a late comeback against Swindon Town at the County Ground, Grimsby Town were defeated.
The Mariners went down when Dan Kemp opened the goal for the high-flying hosts in the first half, and despite creating chances to equalise the scores, the visitors were handed a further blow when Jake Cain made it 2-0 just after the hour.
That prompted Town manager Paul Hurst to look to his bench, and within seconds of coming on, substitute Donovan Wilson scored his first goal for the club, cutting the deficit in half.
The visitors surged forward in quest of an equaliser, but their efforts were in vain as Swindon claimed the three points.
Grimsby boss Paul Hurst made five changes to his lineup after last week’s home defeat by Crawley. Luke Waterfall, Alex Hunt, Jamie Andrews, Arthur Gnahoua, and the fit-again Danny Rose all came in for Kamil Conteh, who was suspended, and Anthony Glennon, Gavan Holohan, Otis Khan, and Rekeil Pyke, who were all put to the bench.
Toby Mullarkey, Harvey Rodgers, Waterfall, and Michee Efete formed the defensive, with Jake Eastwood in goal. Hunt and Andrews were supported in the midfield by Gnahoua, Harry Clifton, and Abo Eisa, with Rose heading the assault.
Danny Amos, Harvey Cartwright, and Wilson came on as subs for Glennon, Holohan, Khan, and Pyke.
Swindon began the day fifth in Sky Bet League Two, knowing that a win would move them into the automatic promotion spots, while the Mariners were six points behind their hosts and looking to go up from 17th.
Former Premier League striker Charlie Austin, who will team up with top-scorer Jake Young in the home attack, will look to be among the key threats.
Tariq Uwakwe’s early cross went out for a throw-in before Rose won the ball and found Clifton, who made his way into the penalty area before being stopped.
Austin hit the post with a header after meeting Remeao Hutton’s cross into the area, despite the fact that the flag had been raised for offside against the striker.
Eisa won the first corner of the afternoon for the Mariners in an end-to-end opening to the action, and it immediately led to another. Hunt swung the ball in towards the far post this time, and it was headed behind for a third successive flag-kick, which was cleared.
Mullarkey turned inside the box and delivered a low ball across the six-yard line, but it was collected by Swindon keeper Murphy Mahoney. Clifton was then booked for a foul on Saidou Khan as Town attempted to start an effort from the halfway line.
Waterfall was forced to surrender a corner in order to clear a Young cross, but the centre-back was also in the perfect location to clear Cain’s delivery from the left flag.
On 17 minutes, another home corner was awarded, but the ball was punched away from danger by Eastwood.
The Swindon pressure was increasing, and the game was primarily being played inside the Town half as the 20-minute mark approached.
When Efete was pulled down in the centre of the pitch by Austin, Waterfall had an opportunity to create his own issues, but he could only head Andrews’ free kick through to Mahoney.
A cross from Mullarkey on the right was missed by Rose, Clifton, and Eisa at one end, before a fantastic block by Rodgers deflected Young’s strike away from goal for a corner at the other, as both teams looked for a way to break the deadlock.
The first goal came on 26 minutes, and the hosts seized the lead. Austin clipped the ball into the middle for KEMP, who had plenty of space to handle it, pick his place, and beat Eastwood with a low 20-yard strike.
Swindon put the pressure on as they attempted to extend their advantage, forcing Town to do more defending in and around their own penalty area, including a superb Rose block from Kemp’s powerful shot.
When Gnahoua let fly from 25 yards after a run through the centre, Mahoney was called into action, with the keeper diving to stop the strike.
After a foul on Khan, the referee spoke with Mullarkey, and a shot by Udoka Godwin-Malife was blocked by Rodgers. Hunt hooked clear of the resulting corner.
On 36 minutes, the Mariners had two chances in rapid succession to tie the game. When Eisa’s initial strike was stopped, Hunt found Clifton on the left, but the midfielder was denied from close range by Mahoney.
Clifton’s next shot was blocked at the edge of the box as Town began to show signs of life, though Swindon remained a threat and a Hutton cross had to be headed behind for a corner, which was dealt with.
With one minute put on at the end of the first half and no further chances for either side, Grimsby went into the locker rooms a goal down.
THE SECOND HALF
Before the interval, no changes were made, and Town created the first chance of the second half when Clifton crossed from the left, but his ball was diverted away from Gnahoua at the far post.
Mullarkey won a challenge with Uwakwe and took the ball down the right, but his cross was unable to find a teammate, and Gnahoua blasted wide from the edge of the box.
Town had a golden chance to equalise when Uwakwe made a mistake and Mullarkey played the ball into the box from the right, but keeper Mahoney got a hand to Rose’s point-blank effort to keep it out of the net. The visitors retained possession, and Mullarkey had a chance seconds later, but he was also unable to convert as Swindon escaped again.
Eastwood deflected a right-wing free kick away from danger before Uwakwe was replaced by Tyrese Shade and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy replaced Young in a double substitution for Swindon on 58 minutes.
Although Frazer Blake-Tracy was booked for taking Eisa down as the winger attempted to break into the penalty area, Andrews’ free kick beat everyone and went out for a throw-in.
Clifton’s name was also entered into the referee’s notebook following a foul on defender Tom Brewitt.
Town had been the better side since the break, but they suffered a big setback on 64 minutes when the hosts scored on the counter-attack to make it 2-0. Kemp provided the assist this time, as his chipped ball behind the Town defence found CAIN, who clipped a nice finish past Eastwood and into the far corner of the net.
Gnahoua, Hunt, and Eisa were replaced by Khan, Holohan, and Wilson four minutes later in a triple substitution for the visitors.
And it had an immediate impact, as an Efete throw was headed on to WILSON, who spun away from two players on the edge of the box and tapped past Mahoney into the far corner of the net.
The referee denied a home penalty appeal after Rodgers appeared to have hauled Hepburn-Murphy back, while a cross from Godwin-Malife was blocked by Clifton as Swindon moved forward again.
On 76 minutes, a push by Efete on Kemp earned the hosts a free kick on their right, but Kemp’s effort was headed clear, and Liam Kinsella came in to replace Cain in the third home substitution.
After Kemp beat Efete on the right and passed the ball across the six-yard line for Shade at the far post, Eastwood had to make a wonderful stop to keep the score at 2-1. It appeared to be a tap-in for the substitution, but the keeper got a firm hand to his shot and blocked it.
On 84 minutes, a Khan cross from the Town left was headed behind for a corner, but Efete could only direct his header over after receiving the delivery from the right.
The Mariners were pressing for an equaliser and won another corner when Rose’s shot was sliced behind. It eventually resulted to a third flag-kick in rapid succession, but Mullarkey’s header went off-target this time.
With two minutes remaining, Pyke was substituted for Clifton, and Town were inches away from a vital second goal when Rodgers’ flick rolled wide of the far post as the game entered six more minutes.
Austin was replaced by Harrison Minturn for the hosts as they attempted to finish the game, and Rodgers was booked after a foul.
We were still driving forward, and Khan’s first-time strike from the edge of the box went wide.
With less than two minutes remaining and the Mariners still looking for a share of the spoils, Swindon’s Khan became the latest to receive a yellow card from the referee.
Holohan came within inches of scoring in a dramatic finish to the game when he let fly from distance but saw his ferocious strike go inches over the bar.
That proved to be the visitors’ last chance to salvage a positive result as time ran down, and despite being under severe pressure, Swindon held on for all three points.
Town are next in action on Tuesday, when Barrow are the visitors at Blundell Park.
