By Match report: Town suffer narrow defeat against Colchester
Grimsby Town were narrowly beaten at home by Colchester United in a game of few chances in League Two this afternoon.
A Tom Hopper goal in the first half proved enough to claim all three points for his side and condemn the Mariners to their first defeat in three matches.
Paul Hurst reverted back to the side that convincingly saw off Crewe Alexandra last Saturday, with Josh Emmanuel, Alex Hunt, John McAtee and George Lloyd all returning to the starting lineup.
Town were looking to build on their impressive victory over Luton Town in the FA Cup on Tuesday, while Colchester came into the fixture in excellent away form, having won their last four matches on the road.
The game got off to a bit of a scrappy start, as a couple of early injuries stopped either side from finding any fluency to create any chances in the opening 10 minutes.
It was the visitors that had the first opportunity when a dangerous-looking corner was flicked on at the near post by Luke Chambers and his header just went over the bar.
After struggling to retain possession and put a string of passes together, Town had their first shot through McAtee on 20 minutes and it went well wide of the goal from more than 30 yards out, typifying the lack of quality shown in the contest.
Having largely frustrated the Mariners throughout the first half, it was Colchester that took the lead on 32 minutes through Tom Hopper. A free-kick was flighted in from the right and Max Crocombe – coming through a sea of bodies to challenge for it – misjudged the flight of the ball and the U’s forward was on hand to head it into the empty net following a flick-on.
That opener really sparked the game into life, with Town almost finding an equaliser within a couple of minutes. A ball into the back post found Luke Waterfall, who nodded it back into a dangerous area and Michee Efete hit an effort narrowly wide of the goal.
The U’s then broke down the other end of the field and a neat flick led to Matt Jay carrying the ball towards the edge of the Mariners’ box, before the midfielder sent a curling effort on target that Crocombe did well to parry away from danger.
Harry Clifton had the home side’s first shot on target on the verge of half-time, with the keeper saving it comfortably to ensure his side went in ahead at the break.
In a bid to bolster his forward options and get back into the game, Hurst decided to bring on Danilo Orsi for Alex Hunt for the remaining 45 minutes.
Although Town managed to gain a bit more possession in the early stages of the second half, they still struggled to create any real opportunities.
With the game continuing in largely the same vein as the first half, it was Colchester that went closest to extending their lead through Fiacre Kelleher, who headed just wide from a corner into the box.
It was the visitors that had the next best chance of the game on 73 minutes when a quick counter saw Kwesi Appiah hold up the ball, before laying it off to Noah Chilvers and he curled a low effort just wide of the post.
A couple of Colchester players went down with injuries in the last 10 minutes to prevent Town from finding any rhythm to get the ball forward and find an equaliser.
It was the away side that had the next chance of the game with the clock ticking down, as Appiah eased Waterfall out of a long ball forward and hit a half-volley that went well wide of the goal.
The Mariners failed to create any opportunities towards the end of the game and will be disappointed with their performance against a well-organised Colchester side.
