By Match report: Town cruise to superb victory at Crewe
Grimsby Town claimed a comfortable victory on the road at Crewe Alexandra in League Two this afternoon.
Goals from John McAtee and debutants George Lloyd and Tom Dickson-Peters ensured the Mariners eased to a 3-0 win – their first in the league at Gresty Road since 1990.
Paul Hurst also handed a debut to new signing Josh Emmanuel, who came in from the start to form a back five.
Town got off to the perfect just three minutes into the game when McAtee picked the ball up inside the Crewe half, before driving forwards and curling an effort into the corner to give his side the lead.
The hosts almost responded immediately when a dangerous free-kick from the edge of the box just drifted past the post.
Some excellent play from the Mariners on eight minutes eventually led to McAtee striking the ball high and wide in what would have been a lovely goal had he managed to find the net.
The visitors continued to push forward in pursuit of a second and it almost arrived when Danny Amos’s long-range effort just went past the post.
It was then McAtee’s turn to then go close again, but the attacker couldn’t quite get the height required on his lobbed shot to lift it over the keeper.
The Railwaymen then had a good spell midway through the half, but the Town defence defended its box well and managed to prevent the hosts from creating any clear-cut chances.
Emmanuel put in an inviting cross on 29 minutes that Harry Clifton took down well, before he unleashed a shot that went off target and behind for a goal kick.
Just a couple of minutes later, though, the Mariners managed to find a second through Lloyd, as the forward picked up a loose ball and fired the ball home on 31 minutes.
There was very little goalmouth action towards the end of the half, with Town taking a deserved lead in at the break.
They started the second half well and had a chance to make it three on 47 minutes, but Clifton’s shot went high and wide.
They were almost gifted a third a few minutes later when Dave Richards made a mess of coming to claim the ball from a free-kick and Luke Waterfall tried to loop it over his head, but the keeper just managed to get back to keep it out.
Crewe pushed forward looking to halve the deficit over the course of the next 15 to 20 minutes, with some strong defensive work from the Mariners preventing them from having a shot on target.
Clifton had another chance to get himself on the scoresheet when he broke forward with McAtee, but the midfielder didn’t quite get a good enough connection on the ball and the keeper saved it comfortably.
Town did eventually seal the three points with six minutes left on the clock when Clifton broke down the right and his ball in found Amos, whose effort on goal was diverted into the net by substitute Dickson-Peters.
That really finished the game off and the Mariners cruised to a comfortable victory on the road that takes them up to 16th in the League Two table.
Contact Gi Grimsby
Email us: news@gi-media.co.uk
Follows us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest local stories, breaking news and to join the conversation
