Grimsby Town fall to frustrating home defeat at hands of Carlisle

Grimsby Town fall to frustrating home defeat at hands of Carlisle

Grimsby Town were beaten at home by Carlisle United in League Two this evening.

First-half goals from Owen Moxon and former Mariners loanee Kristian Dennis were enough to earn the visitors all three points at Blundell Park.

Michee Efete grabbed a goal back for the hosts just past the hour-mark, but they were unable to find an equaliser, with the scoreline ending 2-1.

Paul Hurst decided to freshen up the starting lineup for the game, on the back of Saturday’s defeat at home to Swindon Town.

Niall Maher and Danny Amos came into the defence for AJ Smith and Anthony Glennon, while Jordan Maguire-Drew, Otis Khan and Keyendrah Simmonds replaced Brendan Kiernan, Gavan Holohan and Lewis Richardson.

The game got off to a slow start, with both teams feeling each other out and failing to create any early openings in front of goal.

The first chance fell to Town on six minutes, as Hunt picked the ball up on the edge of the box, before striking towards goal and forcing Tomas Holy into a save to keep the scoreline level.

That wouldn’t last long, though, with Carlisle going straight down the other end and opening the scoring through Moxon, who found himself unmarked on the edge of the area and fired the ball into the bottom corner.

The Mariners responded reasonably well to that early setback, as they looked to press high out of possession and build attacks from the back.

Chances were at a premium for them in the opening stages of the game, however, with their next chance also falling to Hunt, who was unable to bend a curled effort into the far corner on 20 minutes.

Just before the half-hour mark, Khan was inches away from levelling things up for the hosts. His right-footed effort from the edge of the box beat the keeper but just went past the post.

Town were completely in control of possession, but Carlisle looked like a pretty solid unit at the back and remained in the lead with their only shot on target.

The home side’s next opportunity came on the counter four minutes before the break, with Harry Clifton firing over from the edge of the box as the Mariners went in pursuit of an equaliser.

They were then punished against the run of play on 44 minutes by Carlisle. A sloppy back-pass by Efete was capitalised on by Dennis, who rounded Max Crocombe and rolled the ball into the empty net.

It went in 2-0 at half-time, with Grimsby well in control of possession but failing to create much in front of goal, while United were clinical with their chances.

Just like the first half, the second period also got off to a slow start, with Carlisle sticking 10 men behind the ball and Town unable to break through the lines and get into dangerous positions.

The first sight of goal for them came on 54 minutes, but it was once again from distance and Khan couldn’t direct his effort on target to trouble the keeper.

Luke Waterfall had a half chance from a corner a few minutes later, although he couldn’t direct his header on goal and it went wide of the post.

With an hour played, Hurst decided to roll the dice to try and get back into the game, by bringing on Danilo Orsi and Richardson up top for Simmonds and Ryan Taylor.

The substitutions gave the fans a boost and the Town players immediately tried to move the ball forward quicker than they had been previously.

And they were rewarded just four minutes later when Efete tapped the ball home into an open goal, following Khan’s lovely low cross into the six-yard box.

Richardson then went on a mazy run just after the Carlisle kick-off, before being brought down on the edge of the area in a dangerous position. But from the resulting free-kick, Alex Hunt was unable to guide the ball over the wall.

Richardson and Orsi continued to have an impact on the game, with the substitutes teaming up to win the ball back on the halfway line, before the former drove forward towards the edge of the box and unleashed a fierce effort that was blocked behind for a corner.

Town’s momentum was halted for the next 10 minutes, though, as the away side looked to soak up pressure and slow down play.

With six minutes left on the clock, the Mariners moved to a back three, with Kiernan coming on for Amos in an attempt to get more forward-thinking players on the pitch.

But that change didn’t have the desired impact, as Town struggled to create any chances towards the end.

Carlisle saw the game out to claim the three points, with Hurst’s side dropping to 12th in the League Two table.

Although Town dominated possession, they lacked a cutting-edge in front of goal on what was a frustrating night.

They will be hoping to get back to winning ways when they head to Salford City on Saturday afternoon.